ABSTRACT

Municipalities large and small are grappling with how to address enduring water quality challenges stemming from the impermeability of much of the built environment and how to address shifting precipitation patterns due to climate change. Finding ways to fund and finance the redesign, retrofit, and adaptation of the built environment, however, presents a major obstacle in an environment of municipal fiscal austerity. In this paper, we examine how municipalities are adopting different fee structures and financial tools to pay for stormwater abatement through green and gray infrastructure and improve their capacity to deal with the impacts of climate change. Drawing on a survey of 233 municipalities and interviews with municipal leaders, we show that transitioning towards green infrastructure in municipal stormwater and climate change planning is a broad goal among most respondents, but stormwater fee systems are typically not sufficient for meeting regulatory mandates as well as the operation and maintenance costs needed to replace or repair urban water infrastructure. This shortfall has led many municipalities to use a host of other financial tools, such as credit and mitigation banking and social impact and green bonds. We suggest this shift has important implications for achieving sustainability and ensuring just transitions.

摘要

大大小小的市政当局都在努力解决如何应对由大部分建筑环境的不渗透性引起的持久水质挑战，以及如何应对气候变化导致的降水模式变化。然而，在市政财政紧缩的环境中，寻找为建筑环境的重新设计、改造和适应提供资金和融资的方法是一个主要障碍。在本文中，我们研究了市政当局如何采用不同的收费结构和金融工具，通过绿色和灰色基础设施来支付雨水减排费用，并提高其应对气候变化影响的能力。通过对 233 个城市的调查和与城市领导的访谈，我们表明，在市政雨水和气候变化规划中向绿色基础设施过渡是大多数受访者的广泛目标，但雨水收费系统通常不足以满足监管要求以及更换或维修城市供水基础设施所需的运营和维护成本. 这种短缺导致许多市政当局使用许多其他金融工具，例如信贷和缓解银行业务以及社会影响和绿色债券。我们认为，这种转变对实现可持续性和确保公正过渡具有重要意义。这种短缺导致许多市政当局使用许多其他金融工具，例如信贷和缓解银行业务以及社会影响和绿色债券。我们认为，这种转变对实现可持续性和确保公正过渡具有重要意义。这种短缺导致许多市政当局使用许多其他金融工具，例如信贷和缓解银行业务以及社会影响和绿色债券。我们认为，这种转变对实现可持续性和确保公正过渡具有重要意义。