Brightstorm Projects
Stream Restoration, Improved Stormwater Management will Improve Drinking Water in Columbus, Ohio
The greater Columbus, Ohio region experienced a growth rate of 12.5% between 2010 and 2020, making it one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the U.S. While this accelerated development has increased economic activity and investments in the region, it also poses a threat to freshwater ecosystems and local drinking water supplies, especially in the region’s two main watersheds—the Upper Scioto and Licking River. The tributaries of the Scioto River provide 85% of Columbus’s drinking water supply.
Key Takeaways:
- Brightstorm’s work with TNC’s Ohio Chapter aims to improve water quality and reduce flood risk in the Columbus area.
- Brightstorm’s efforts will identify the relative suitability of locations where stormwater management investments can provide the greatest environmental benefits to the local community.
- The work is supported by Google, Amazon Web Services and Ryan Companies.
Because of climate change, the Columbus, Ohio region has—over the past 50 years—experienced a 20% increase in precipitation and rainfall intensity. As a result, infrastructure capacity and stormwater regulations must be adjusted to account for these changes, but existing and new building projects are regulated based on non-climate change-adjusted rainfall models, which is increasing flood risk, reducing water quality, and decreasing summer water availability.
TNC’s Ohio chapter seeks to find solutions for these challenges and is working with Brightstorm and the chapter’s corporate partners in the Columbus area to do so. Specifically, the Ohio chapter is working with Brightstorm to provide corporate partners that have existing and expanding facilities within in or near Columbus with a watershed-scale evaluation to identify:
- Top ranking existing real estate holdings where stormwater management investments will yield the greatest watershed returns with respect to water quality, flood hazard, community uplift, and water supply improvement opportunities.
- Potential partnership investments to restore or enhance critical downstream riparian zones hydrologically connected to and influenced by the respective partners upstream real estate holdings.
The output will guide the TNC’s Ohio chapter to justify the priority watersheds where corporate stormwater investments will deliver the greatest OH water resource value.
The work in the Columbus region is supported by Google, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Ryan Companies, which, after receiving the list of projects and methodology for prioritization, are interested in supporting the implementation of one to three projects in a subsequent grant in 2024.