United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Green Infrastructure Program
Community Partner Profiles
2011 Partners
REGION 8: Denver, Colorado
Community Background
The City of Denver sits at the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains in
Colorado. Denver's downtown area is located at the confluence of
Cherry Creek and the South Platte River. During times of heavy rain
or snowmelt, these water bodies receive large flows of stormwater
that carry a mix of contaminants, including bacteria, nutrients, and
sediments.
EPA Contact
Stacey Eriksen
US EPA Region 8
1595 Wynkoop St
Denver, CO 80202
Denver is currently in the process of redesigning the the riverfront according to sustainable and green
infrastructure principles. In 2010, the City of Denver was selected by EPA to become a partner for its
Sustainable CommunitiesPartnership. In 2011, the city and several collaborators were also selected as
EPA green infrastructure partners. The City and County of Denver, Denver Housing Authority, the
Greenway Foundation, the Trust for Public Land, and the Urban Drainage and Flood Control District
comprise EPA's partners in Region 8.
Drivers for Green Infrastructure
The city and its partners recognize that the quantity and quality of stormwater flowing into Cherry
Creek and the South Platte River is impairing water quality and increasing flood risks for waterfront
property. Green infrastructure offers cost-effective solutions that will both reduce stormwater
volumes and treat stormwater pollutants.
Green Strategies and Programs
Denver has an extensive history of brownfield redevelopment and restoration using green
infrastructure principles. In 2008, the Denver Housing Authority (DHA) completed a small, EPA-funded
brownfields cleanup project that redeveloped three acres of brownfield for unrestricted residential
use. This project was part of a larger redevelopment effort known as the South Lincoln Development
Project (SoLi). In 2009, the DHA along with other key players completed a Master Plan for the SoLi
development, which emphasized land use management, energy, transportation, and public health.
The SoLi project was later selected as an EPA Partnership for Sustainable Communities Project in 2010.
EPA 832N12008
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Green Infrastructure Community Partner Profiles
2011 Partners
The DMA partnered with the EPA Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization, the EPA Office of
Sustainable Communities, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the
U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to form the Denver Partnership for Sustainable Communities
Brownfield Pilot project, which will continue to work with the DHA on the Soli site. The project will
include porous landscape detention, grass buffers and swales, porous pavement, planter boxes, and
urban gardens to reduce the amount of runoff discharged into Cherry Creek and the South Platte River.
A design charrette on stormwater and green infrastructure design was held in April of 2011. Denver
and the DHA will continue to work on the Soli development project with continued assistance from the
EPA, HUD, and the DOT.
Denver has also worked closely with the Trust for Public Land (TPL) to provide more open space and
access to waterfronts. TPL is working to acquire distressed land and assemble multiple contiguous
parcels through partnerships with private development. By acquiring industrial and commercial land
parcels and looking at aggregating stormwater detention systems, TPL and the city of Denver have
succeeded in designating a greater portion of the land adjacent to the South Platte River as open space
in the community master plan. The City of Denver, TPL and the EPA have also worked together to
create a green infrastructure stream restoration design on a tributary to the South Platte River that ran
through a vacant lot. Located in a low income community, the vacant lot is now a public park and
community garden.
The City and County of Denver's sustainability plan, Greenprint Denver, has coordinated the planting
of thousands of trees throughout Denver and works to preserve open space for the mitigation of
stormwater and the enjoyment of the community.
Finally, Denver's Urban Drainage and Flood Control District is a national leader in the development of
hydrologic models. Their most recent modeling software is offered to developers free of charge and
allows them to directly model the effectiveness and design requirements for green infrastructure
techniques like bioinfiltration and green roofs. Having ready access to this modeling software exposes
developers to practices beyond traditional curb and gutter conveyances and allows them to generate
estimates of effectiveness and maintenance needs. They're Volume 3 Best Management Practices
details green infrastructure approaches to dealing with stormwater.
For more information:
The South Lincoln Development Project
The Trust for Public Land - Redfields to Greenfields
Greenprint Denver
http://www.greenwayfoundation.org/web/index.php/planning/rvip
http://udfcd.org/
EPA 832N12008
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