6 Who will pay for the project? • Stormwater utilities often have program funding that can be used to construct and maintain stormwater features in parks. • In some cases, stormwater management agencies may provide direct funding to parks to operate and maintain stormwater management features that the stormwater utility builds in the park or areas adjacent to the park. • Depending on the jurisdiction, costs can be shared across agencies. • Grants might be available from the state or other granting organizations, such as nongovernmental agencies that have an interest in enhancing the park and the community in general. Examples of such funds include community revitalization, smart growth, or watershed restoration funds. • A wider range of grants could be available because of the multifunctional nature of such projects (e.g., park enhancement, watershed, and neighborhood improvement grants). Who will pay for maintenance? Parks managers often are concerned about the lack of funds available to maintain their parks. Maintenance of stormwater features in parks can be funded by numerous methods which vary by the institutional arrangements in a given jurisdiction. For example: • If the community has a stormwater utility, money can be set aside for green infrastructure maintenance. • If both parks agencies and stormwater agencies receive general funds, a maintenance budget can be negotiated and allocated according to each agency’s responsibilities. • When deciding to engage in creative management arrangements such as these, be sure that funds are budgeted before the project is constructed and that long-term operation and maintenance needs are incorporated into the continuing operating budget. This will help ensure that adequate funds are allocated to the agency responsible for the maintenance burden. Who will perform maintenance? Maintenance arrangements will be determined by the institutional structure of the jurisdiction. For example: • If funds are allocated to supplement the existing park maintenance activities, park maintenance staff or contractors managed by the park can perform the necessary maintenance. • Most green infrastructure practices can be maintained by landscape professionals who have received some supplemental training specific to the stormwater practices being implemented. • In other cases, the stormwater agency might want to either directly manage maintenance or oversee maintenance to ensure proper functioning of the stormwater management practices. • Maintenance responsibilities can also be divided between the park maintenance staff and staff trained or managed by the stormwater utility, depending on the practices employed. For example, maintenance of bioretention facilities typically can be taken care of by the regular landscape crews as long as they understand what to mow and weed and how to identify problems. More difficult maintenance activities, such as the use of vacuum sweepers for permeable pavements or the maintenance of water features, could be performed by the stormwater utility. • Ideally, the details, responsibilities, and funding allocations should be worked out in a memorandum of understanding (MOU) or other such agreement between agencies (see page 18). Should we be concerned about maintenance becoming a burden? All landscape and stormwater features require maintenance. Green infrastructure features usually are not more maintenance intensive, especially if they are designed correctly: • Most vegetative practices like rain gardens are maintained like any landscaping—weeding, pruning, digging, and removing trash. • Rainwater harvesting practices require simple cleaning of gutters and downspouts. • Permeable pavement is low maintenance but can benefit from occasional vacuum sweeping. Special equipment, excepting vacuum sweepers, generally is not needed. Municipal governments often have the in-house expertise and equipment. If not, the work can be contracted to an outside company.
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