On March 6, Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn issued an executive order that promotes the use of green infrastructure to treat 3785 L (1000 gal) of stormwater per resident per year by 2025. In total, this is 2.65 billion L (700 million gal) of stormwater treated annually via natural systems, or six times the current amount managed with green infrastructure.

The Seattle City Council supports the mayor’s order, among the first of its kind in the U.S., and will consider the goal as a resolution later this month. According to the press release, the goal will be achieved through city-led projects on public land, code-driven private sector-investments, and voluntary and incentivized actions on private property. The city code currently requires projects to implement green infrastructure to the maximum extent feasible for flow control. Read more.