EARTH ECONOMICS CITED in ARTICLE, In Peoria, Green Infrastructure As a Path to Social Equity
“In the summer of 2018, one of the country’s first stormwater farms opened in Peoria, Illinois. It was complete with 126 hybrid poplar trees, a 3,000-square-foot floriculture space and 100 agricultural planter beds — all designed to capture water runoff from a 1.55-acre area, to prevent an estimated 1.3 million gallons of stormwater from entering the city’s combined sewer system each year.”
In Fall of 2019 Earth Economics’ research team provided an analysis for The Well Farm Project on the economic contribution to the estimated value of nature-based solutions in Peoria, Illinois.
“We have a technical challenge we’re trying to solve, but our proposal is about how we use a solution to a technical challenge to address more adaptive challenges of social and economic inequality,” stated Anthony Corso, Peoria’s chief innovation officer. The city’s response was to begin implementing pilot projects, starting in 2017 and onward. “Another pilot — and the one that has earned the most attention — is the Well Farm at Voris Field, also on the South Side. The city partnered with Greenprint Partners, a green infrastructure “delivery partner,” to transform a vacant city-owned lot into a lush garden that captures stormwater runoff while growing harvestable timber and vegetables. An impact report by Earth Economics found the farm’s generated $2.8 million dollars in economic output in the county, 29 full-time equivalent jobs,and $1.5 dollars in economic activity in the county for every $1 invested.”
Through the analysis, it was also found that:
The Well Farm project will capture more than 3000 lbs of harmful air pollutants over the next 30 years, and save more than $8,000 in public health expenses. This is especially crucial because the Well Farm site is located in a neighborhood with some of the highest air pollution levels in the city.
The poplar trees on site will sequester more than 840 metric tons of CO2 over the next 30 years. Scaled across the city, these type of installations could sequester 42,000 metrics ton of CO2.
The site will capture 1.3 million gallons of stormwater per year, saving at least $197,340 in stormwater costs over the next 30 years. Scaled across the city these sites could capture more than 65 million gallons of stormwater annually and save nearly $10 million dollars in stormwater costs over the next 30 years.