Nature-based solutions as critical urban infrastructure for water resilience

Background/Question/Methods

Nature-based solutions (NBS) are key for managing water resources, as well as providing many other benefits. While traditionally ‘gray’ highly engineered strategies have been used to manage water in urban areas, we articulate the role that NBS can play in managing water related to flooding, drought, and water quality challenges. Specifically, NBS for water can range from hybrid ecological-technological features explicitly engineered to manage stormwater to other designed or intact natural features such as wetlands or parks that may provide water management as a co-benefit. They also vary in size and siting from smaller and more distributed to larger and more centralized. Criteria are reviewed for choosing the best NBS for the intended goal(s), and we showcase several case examples of NBS for water resilience from around the world.

Results/Conclusions

NBS range in their performance for particular hydrologic and water quality metrics, and thus it is important to select the appropriate type of NBS for the setting and goals. Financial, regulatory, and geophysical constraints are also key considerations in the choice of NBS. Remaining knowledge gaps for NBS-for-water implementation include space challenges, changes in performance over time, understanding of NBS performance at catchment scales, and incorporation of NBS that are not explicitly engineered for water management into existing management and regulatory frameworks. Additional considerations for the future include integrating planning of NBS for achieving water resilience with other co-benefits, and identifying optimal placement of NBS in catchments as well as figuring out how to overcome sociopolitical barriers in getting NBS in these most optimal locations.