Stronger Together for a Resilient Great Lakes

As climate change accelerates, Great Lakes communities face more extreme weather-related threats. One of the most common is frequent flooding, causing expensive damage to property, polluting and stressing our water systems, decimating aquatic habitats, and overwhelming our region’s farmlands. Increased flooding also disproportionately impacts low-income communities in the region, exacerbating economic disinvestment even further.

This past year Delta Institute began a new partnership with Environmental Consulting & Technology, Inc. (ECT) to develop a coalition of leaders devoted to increasing resilience across the Great Lakes. This group, RISC (Resilient Infrastructure for Sustainable Communities) Solutions, provides resources to Midwest communities to design, fund, and implement Green Infrastructure (GI) solutions at scale including practices such as permeable pavements, rain gardens, box tree filters, and stormwater planters.

Delta’s efforts will more efficiently manage millions of stormwater gallons annually, reducing flooding risk and safeguarding both communities and natural habitats. Please contribute today.

Through Delta’s Green Infrastructure efforts, millions of gallons of stormwater are more efficiently managed annually, saving residents from more severe flooding while reducing water pollution. We are excited to have an even greater impact thanks to our partnership with ECT through RISC Solutions.

The benefits of implementing GI are numerous: improved water and air quality, reduced stormwater runoff, neighborhood beautification, increased access to green space, and much more. However, many municipalities face barriers that prevent widespread adoption. To overcome financing challenges, which is often among the most significant reason GI is not implemented, the Delta/ECT partnership is developing a financial playbook for the Midwest to make GI more financially attainable.

This partnership will provide more communities with step-by-step instructions that illustrate how local measures can work in tandem with private-public investment opportunities. Our work will also identify priority regions with the greatest need and readiness for investments. Ultimately, we hope to execute multiple $10M+ investments that lead to improved water quality and more green neighborhoods across the Midwest. .

Please support Delta’s efforts so that more Midwestern communities implement GI, improve their water quality, and create more green space for residents to enjoy.

Please join us and donate today to create a more resilient Midwest.

Sincerely,