As Providence grapples with the challenges posed by more frequent and intense storms testing its aging drainage systems and polluting its water resources, there are a lot of reasons to be hopeful for the future. Stormwater management strategies focused on green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) are being developed and implemented citywide, and these systems do a better job filtering runoff and mitigating flooding while providing a whole host of other neighborhood benefits. More GSI means stronger, healthier, and more beautiful neighborhoods.

What is GSI? At its core, GSI combines natural systems and engineered designs to filter and infiltrate rainfall as close to where it falls as possible. With GSI systems like rain gardens and bioswales, the disciplines of civil engineering and landscape architecture come together to mimic natural processes. Plants are carefully selected, soils have technical specifications, and the site is carefully graded to manage the direction and velocity of flow. These systems slow, clean, and absorb runoff, reducing flooding and filtering pollutants before they reach our rivers, ponds, or the bay. GSI also can add many other community benefits, such as reducing heat in the summer months, calming street traffic, connecting wildlife habitat, and improving neighborhood aesthetics. Simply removing extraneous pavement (parking spaces going unused? streets excessively wide?) and replacing it with plantings and trees is a simple application of GSI. We like to think of green stormwater infrastructure as lovable infrastructure.

One of the most dramatic examples of advanced GSI implementation is in Providence’s Roger Williams Park. If you’ve visited the park lately, you might have noticed rain gardens and other GSI features blended into the landscape. Amongst so many other claims to fame, the park is now home to the Stormwater Innovation Center (SIC), Rhode Island’s GSI living laboratory, where science, policy, and community come together to test solutions for some of the state’s most pressing water quality challenges.

The ongoing stormwater improvement retrofits at Roger Williams are the result of many years of careful planning. The historic 435-acre park contains seven ponds totaling some 100 acres, and over time the water quality of the ponds became severely degraded because of adjacent urban development and poorly designed stormwater management systems. The city started addressing the challenge big-picture first — looking at the entire watershed — by developing a master plan designed to improve water quality and biodiversity in the park’s ponds. Based on detailed study of existing conditions, the master plan outlined and prioritized GSI practices designed to retrofit existing infrastructure and address the city’s goals. The past 10-plus years have seen the phased implementation of over 30 stormwater measures, most of which include GSI practices. These are all part of the larger effort to manage runoff in ways that keep waterways cleaner, reduce flooding, and bring a bit more green to the city.

The SIC at Roger Williams Park is a working laboratory for advancing GSI. It shows how these practices work in the real world. More than just a showcase, it’s a hands-on research center where scientists track how installations handle storms of different sizes, collecting data on water quality, infiltration, and flood reduction. It also serves as a training ground for municipal staff, engineers, landscape professionals, and community volunteers, helping ensure GSI is designed, installed, and maintained effectively. The center also engages the public through educational tours, volunteer monitoring programs, and outreach activities that help residents understand stormwater impacts and how GSI benefits neighborhoods. By linking science, design, and community action, the SIC ensures that GSI is not just a concept, but a tested, measurable solution to urban water quality challenges.

GSI represents a resilient approach to managing rain in urban areas, emphasizing nature-based designs that slow, spread, filter, and absorb rainwater where it falls. Whether you are a planner, engineer, policymaker, or simply a Rhode Island resident, GSI is worth learning about and embracing, and the Roger Williams Park Stormwater Innovation Center offers a clear, practical view of how these strategies are applied and tested in the real world.

Jon Ford is a senior associate at the Horsley Witten Group in Providence.