Presenter: Aaron Hutton, Malcolm Pirnie, the Water Division of ARCADIS
Session 06: Cutting-Edge Research

The City of Fort Wayne, Ind., evaluated 17 alternatives for controlling combined sewer overflows. Using a “Green Scorecard,” the city looked at three asset-management-only alternatives, as well as six gray-only, two green-only, and six hybrid green–gray alternatives.

The scorecard is broken into economic, social, and environmental impacts based on a triple-bottom-line approach. The city also identified 22 metrics, such as capital cost, job creation, and flood protection, and weighted them based on the city’s objectives. The city scored each metric, generally from 1 to 5, with 5 being the best — highest benefit, lowest cost, or lowest risk. However, metrics could get a zero if they were not applicable or a negative score if they worsened a problem. The Green Scorecard results were fairly balanced, recommending one asset management, one green-only, and two hybrid solutions. See an example of the Green Scorecard.