Editor’s note: This commentary is by Heather Furman, the state director of The Nature Conservancy in Vermont.
[W]e’re hearing a lot these days from our new state and federal administrations about the need to invest in infrastructure. Indeed, this is an issue that affects all of us and can cost our communities millions in upgrades and replacements.
The American Society of Civil Engineers gives Vermont’s infrastructure a “C” for the quality of our bridges (C), dams (C), drinking water (C-), wastewater (D) and roads (C-). And, with the new requirements to clean up Lake Champlain by addressing stormwater, roads and agriculture at a cost approaching $68 million per year, infrastructure is sure to get a lot of attention.
While for some the word “infrastructure” will conjure images of fresh pavement and cement storage bunkers, I look into the future and see nature. This is an opportunity to create a new vision for “infrastructure” that looks first to nature-based solutions as a cost effective tool for cleaning our waters, building flood resilient communities and buffering ourselves against climate change.
Natural systems like broad floodplains and spongy wetlands can provide many of the services we need, such as storing river overflow during floods and filtering pollutants from our lakes and ponds to reduce toxic algae blooms. Natural systems add efficiency to existing water treatment facilities, often at a lower cost than “gray” or “built” infrastructure. Protecting adjacent forested hillsides and setting aside spacious river corridors that filter and slow runoff will lower the impact of increasingly frequent storms on aging bridges and failing culverts in our communities.
Natural solutions cannot always replace built infrastructure, but where it’s possible, these investments have the added benefit of enhancing recreational opportunities, improving habitat for Vermont’s wildlife and making our communities more desirable for employers and job seekers attracted to Vermont’s quality of life.
Right now, our Legislature has the opportunity to permanently support investments in nature-based solutions as part of Vermont’s Clean Water Fund and by fully funding the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board’s conservation programs.
So how do we know where to invest in nature-based solutions? The Nature Conservancy has recently released a Water Quality Blueprint to help answer this question. Compiled from nearly 100 data sets in a unique analysis, the blueprint is an innovative and interactive, web-based map that identifies the best places to make smart investments. It’s a tool for municipal officials, watershed managers, and conservation practitioners to create a new vision for how we plan for the future in our communities.
This vision is already becoming a reality. Through a collaboration with the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, The Nature Conservancy is integrating the Water Quality Blueprint with the state’s Clean Water Roadmap due out in March. Local watershed groups are making great progress restoring river floodplains by planting trees, and almost one third of Vermont communities have adopted river corridor protection standards that preclude development in floodplains.
Right now, our Legislature has the opportunity to permanently support investments in nature-based solutions as part of Vermont’s Clean Water Fund and by fully funding the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board’s conservation programs. This will help expand the use of river corridors, wetlands, floodplains and upland forests to help our towns and villages reduce flood and storm damage, improve water quality and protect Vermont’s natural assets such as fish and wildlife habitat.
The Nature Conservancy’s polling shows strong bipartisan support for these kinds of investments. The alarming state of our infrastructure requires innovation and bold action. It will require Vermont’s Legislature and our current administration to think beyond what we’ve done in the past, and put nature back into the equation.
