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Delta Institute, 35 E. Wacker, Ste 1200, Chicago, IL 60601

312-554-0900

delta@delta-institute.org

Planning

Publications

Green Infrastructure Designs: Best Management Practices for Replicability

September 1, 2021

Conservation in Illinois: Hotspot Analysis and Implications for Program Design

August 9, 2021

2021 City of Chicago Waste Strategy

July 14, 2021

Land Acquisition Strategy: Michigan City

December 3, 2020

City of Gary Green Infrastructure Plan

October 9, 2020

Projects

Restoring The Duck Creek Tributary In Northwest Indiana

Restoring The Duck Creek Tributary In Northwest Indiana

Delta Institute is restoring a key waterway in Hobart, Indiana, that flows throughout the entire watershed and ultimately into Lake Michigan. Currently the waterway, the Duck Creek Tributary, overflows with pollution, sediment, and toxins—impacting the water quality downstream for many communities, including multiple that are designated Environmental Justice (EJ) communities.

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Expanding and Stewarding Regional Forest Canopy via a Tree Planting Consortium in Northwest Indiana

Expanding and Stewarding Regional Forest Canopy via a Tree Planting Consortium in Northwest Indiana

Delta Institute (Delta) is working with municipal, business, and community partners in Lake County, Indiana to expand regional forest canopy acreage via an innovative multi-community approach to comprehensive canopy mapping; forest planning, installing 2,240+ trees, and expanding maintenance and capacity building. These efforts will be achieved via a collaborative tree planting consortium structure with foundational inclusive community engagement throughout the entire process.

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Forest Preserve District of DuPage County – Developing a Clean Energy, Resiliency, and Sustainability Plan

Forest Preserve District of DuPage County – Developing a Clean Energy, Resiliency, and Sustainability Plan

The Forest Preserve District of DuPage County has partnered with Delta Institute (Delta) and ECT to develop a plan to advance sustainability, climate action, and resiliency. We are developing a plan that will be comprehensive, equitable, partnership-driven, actionable, fundable, and measurable. Ultimately, we believe this plan will position the District as a regional leader in advancing sustainability.

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Community-Led Planning to Reduce Shoreline Flooding in the South Shore Neighborhood of Chicago

Community-Led Planning to Reduce Shoreline Flooding in the South Shore Neighborhood of Chicago

Delta Institute (Delta) is working with local groups and public agencies to complete in-depth community engagement centered around shoreline resilience planning and implementation for the South Shore neighborhood of Chicago. For years this community has been buffeted by extreme weather and Lake Michigan events, and a comprehensive, cohesive community planning process is essential.

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Generating Critical Data and Methods to Support Nature-Based Green Infrastructure in Chicago Communities

Generating Critical Data and Methods to Support Nature-Based Green Infrastructure in Chicago Communities

Delta Institute (Delta) is working with community partners to install and monitor the impacts and benefits of nature-based Green Infrastructure projects in the BIPOC-majority Chicago neighborhoods of Washington Park, Woodlawn, and South Shore in concert with Emerald South’s Terra Firma project to develop replicable resources for communities throughout the region. Our goal is to streamline green infrastructure implementation, maintenance, and assessment strategy.

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Overcoming Barriers to Municipal Green Infrastructure Implementation

Overcoming Barriers to Municipal Green Infrastructure Implementation

Delta Institute (Delta) is examining the barriers preventing Green Infrastructure from being installed across the Great Lakes at the scale needed to address climate change. Delta’s research will inform the development of potential support services that will help municipalities overcome these barriers and improve local water quality, reduce flooding, and improve quality-of-life for their residents.

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Proactive Municipal Climate Planning: Delta Institute and the Resilience Innovation Hub

Proactive Municipal Climate Planning: Delta Institute and the Resilience Innovation Hub

Delta Institute (Delta) joined the Resilience Innovation Hub, focused on increasing community adaptability while lowering insurance premiums. We are undertaking activities focused on understanding the barriers to implementing resilience activities at the local and regional scale while creating innovative solutions to assist communities to implement projects and initiatives to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

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2021 City of Chicago Waste Strategy

2021 City of Chicago Waste Strategy

The City of Chicago has the opportunity to implement strategies to tackle waste and materials management that impact our economy, environment, and citizens every day. These strategies offer opportunities to reduce waste; increase diversion through reuse, recycling, and composting; reduce costs; and increase economic and environmental justice opportunities. Delta Institute (Delta) was hired by the City of Chicago Office of the Mayor to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the entire municipal waste system and its directly related impacts on the community. As a core part of our efforts, Delta developed a holistic, pragmatic roadmap with short-term recommendations for 2021-2022 to re-envision what materials management in Chicago could look like, while ultimately turning waste into resource.

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Waukegan Beneficial Use of Dredged Material Project

Waukegan Beneficial Use of Dredged Material Project

Recreational beaches around the Great Lakes have experienced significant erosion due to high water levels, more intense storms, and other conditions. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) recently selected six sites within four municipalities to be eligible for pilot participation and receiving sand for restoring beaches. Under this federal pilot project, each of the municipal park districts must decide whether they wish to receive the dredged sand from outside Waukegan Harbor. To support these communities, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources’ Coastal Management Program provided funding to Delta Institute (Delta) and GEI Consultants.

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Stormwater Tree Planting on the Hart Montague Trail in Oceana County, Michigan

Stormwater Tree Planting on the Hart Montague Trail in Oceana County, Michigan

Stormwater runoff from parking lots, roadways, buildings, and other impervious surfaces carries oils, grease, pesticides, sediment, and excess nutrients such as phosphorous and nitrogen into groundwater and nearby natural bodies of water--including to Lake Michigan through watershed tributaries. Due to the increased frequency and severity of storms as a result of global climate change, volumes of stormwater runoff continue to increase. Delta Institute (Delta) and our partners are planting more than 700 trees in Oceana County, Michigan along the Hart Montague Trail, and on roadways within five adjacent communities.

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Creating a Green Infrastructure Plan for Gary, Indiana

Creating a Green Infrastructure Plan for Gary, Indiana

Delta Institute's Gary Green Infrastructure Plan was a two-year project focused on assisting the City of Gary with planning and implementing Green Infrastructure designs, identifying 61 Priority Projects to install 26 acres of rain gardens, permeable pavements, street planters, and other GI designs, collectively reducing the negative impacts of 132 million gallons of stormwater annually. The GI Plan was approved and officially adopted as part of the City of Gary Comprehensive Plan in Fall 2019.

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Cheney Run Wetland Creation, Stormwater Design and Installation in Michigan City, Indiana

Cheney Run Wetland Creation, Stormwater Design and Installation in Michigan City, Indiana

Delta Institute (Delta) partnered with the Michigan City Sanitary District (MCSD) and the Alliance for the Great Lakes to make stormwater, ecological restoration, and recreation improvements at Michigan City’s Cheney Run. A 40-acre site surrounded by wetlands, Cheney Run is a primary source of stormwater-related pollution that ends up in the Trail Creek, a major tributary that feeds into Lake Michigan.

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Stormwater Management and Beautification Installations throughout Hobart, Indiana

Stormwater Management and Beautification Installations throughout Hobart, Indiana

Delta Institute (Delta) and the City of Hobart have implemented four GI installations throughout the city, including a courtyard rain garden at Hobart Middle School, a parking lot rain garden and permeable pavement in the front and backsides of Hobart City Hall, and a large bioswale in the city’s Hillman Park. These installations will collectively provide an additional 800,000 to 3.5 million gallons of stormwater management capacity that will improve water and soil quality within two major watersheds, while also serving as both beautification and environmental education tools for local residents.

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