Geography 482/582/DL582 - GIS Data Management Final Project - V20171013
GIS Data Management for Green Infrastructure
Goal: The final project (combining lab assignments 4, 5 and 6) is organized to have student groups (2-3 students) perform geodatabase development in support of geodesign assessment about green stormwater infrastructureusing an enterprise approach to GIS. Each student group will chose a municipality from among municipalities located within a WRIA ofKing County, Washington. However, we strongly encourage you consider a municipality within WRIA9. The motivation for this choice is that Labs 1-3 developed databases within WRIA 9 and now there is an opportunity to extend and focus on a project topic with these data. You are welcome to draw from any data sources you can identify. Note: Local datasets are likely to be of higher resolution that state and federal datasets.
In regards to learning outcomes, this database development activity is intended to:
- help students better understand how water flows across and through land cover types for both overland (natural flow) and constructed flow (stormwater pipes), improving our understanding of the influences on water quality and habitat;
- get students to think about more than water flow, that is, flow conditions related to what is influenced by water flow, while using a GIS approach to examine these conditions in some detail;
- encourage critical thinking about how waterconditions influence other conditions, e.g. land, transportation, housing, etc., at a variety of spatial, temporal, and functional scales.
Students are expected to discuss the influence of conditions on other conditions and the importance of scale as part of your project presentation and final report since you will have considerable context.
1. Green Infrastructure for Sustainable Development within Watersheds
Final projects will focus on municipal scale assessment of opportunities for green stormwater infrastructure within one of municipalities within King County available in GISHUB. Each small group project team will choose one of the municipalities for their project with GISHUB. See document **2a** for a collection of municipalities for which there are storm drainage areas.
1.1 Water Resource Inventory Area-level (WRIA) Context for local Municipal Actions
**1a**The WRIA-scale context for each of the final projects is given by the Puget Sound Watershed Characterization Project(PSWC) performed by WA Department of Ecology.
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/puget_sound/characterization/
The PSWC is the foundation GIS project for the Puget Sound Partnership, whose mission to is to coordinate the Public, Private, and Not-for-Profit Sector in the Cleanup and Restoration of the Puget Sound Basin; remember, this includes the land that contributes water to the water.
What is a watershed 'characterization'?
It is a set of water and habitat assessments that compare areas within a watershed for restoration and protection value. It is a coarse-scale tool that supports decisions regarding:
- Where on the landscape should efforts be focused first?
- What types of actions are most appropriate to that place?
It provides an initial filter for regional and local governments in landscape-level planning. Results can identify areas of the landscape that are:
- Priorities for acquisition (or protection via conservation easements)
- More appropriate for restoration (mitigation/conservation banks)
- Less likely to be damaged from development impacts.
This helps direct limited funds to areas with greater probability of successful protection and restoration of aquatic and terrestrial resources, while providing a predictable land use framework. Such a framework guides continuous land and water quality improvement leading to sustainable development within watersheds.
Purposes of Watershed Characterization in Land Use Planning
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/mitigation/landscapeplan.html
- Sustain and restore aquatic resources.
- Establish a common approach to coordinate planning efforts.
- Involve the community in developing a green infrastructure plan.
- Promote the integration of the Growth Management Act (GMA) and Shoreline Management Act (SMA).
- Support Shoreline Management Plan (SMP) updates by:
- Establishing a framework for characterizing landscape processes and developing a restoration plan as required under the SMA.
- Promoting "no net loss" of shoreline and wetland function.
Regional scale example: Snohomish River (WRIA 7) Basin
https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/publications/documents/1506009.pdf
Local scale examples:
Storymaps for four case studies.
https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/coastalatlas/wc/landingpage.html
Take away: Understandingflow conditions within the world, e.g. water and its influence on habitats for humanity and wildlife, at multiple space-time scales is needed to take informed action related to sustainability management of those conditions.
1.2 Green Infrastructure focus forfinal projects
Green Infrastructurecharacterized by the US EPA
https://www.epa.gov/green-infrastructure/what-green-infrastructure
Municipal (local) Context:
**2a**Green Stormwater Infrastructure Potential within King County Municipalities
S. Tezak and D. Danker 2016. Prioritizing Areas for Green Stormwater Infrastructure: A King County Landscape Analysis. UW Master of GIS for Sustainability Management Program.
https://depts.washington.edu/mgis/capstone/files/GEOG569_2016_Tezak_Danker.pdf
GIS Data Management Students:Choose one of the municipalities with the stormwater drainage basin (SWB) data for your final project. NOTE: not all of them have SWB data.
See Appendix III in Tezak and Danker 2016, AND more particularly the GISHUB data store.
**2b**Green stormwater infrastructure in stormwater management at the Cities of Mukilteo and Duvall
Mukilteo storymap provides an example of GIS Workflow worth emulating
https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/coastalatlas/wc/StoryMap.html?id=mukilteo
The City of Mukilteo’s GSI strategies plan is here…
http://mukilteowa.gov/departments/public-works/surface-water/programs-and-planning/watershed-based-stormwater-strategies-plan/
Duvall storymap provides an example of GIS Workflow worth emulating
https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/coastalatlas/wc/StoryMap.html?id=duvall
City of Duvall’s Watershed Plan
http://www.duvallwa.gov/350/Watershed-Plan
Regional Context:
Watershed characterization for regional (cross-jurisdictional) planning, see Appendix A.
https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/publications/SummaryPages/1106016.html
Take away: Understanding conditions about green stormwater infrastructure in relation to conditions of the community at multiple space-time scales is needed to understand the foundation of resilience of urban-regional sustainable development, and subsequently take informed action for improvement of water flow, water quality and/or habitat in relation to that development.
2. Geodesign Workflow for Watershed Assessment and Intervention
Geodesign is defined by Carl Steinitz (2012) as ‘applying systems thinking for changing geography by design’. The idea of ‘geography’in that definition can be deepened by considering ‘geographic systems’, e.g. ecosystems, transportation systems, water systems, land use systems, and combinations of these. Using this perspective we can treat elements of a comprehensive plan for growth management as sub-systems and relate them to one another for system assessment and design intervention. See for example, geodesign dynamics for sustainable urban watershed developmentin King County, WA at the sub-watershed level for land use planning in the following article.
http://faculty.washington.edu/nyerges/nyerges_etal_2016_geodesign_dynamics_for_SUWD.pdf
Steinitz’s Geodesign Framework (see graphic in above referenced publication) outlines how geographic system assessment and intervention modeling can be organized to better understand how information can be treated in a comprehensive decision support workflow.
The geodesign framework is composed of two phases of modelingwith three modeling steps in each phase (See graphic in above reference for framework graphic):
assessment modeling
representation modeling
process modeling
evaluation modeling
intervention modeling
design modeling
impact modeling
decision modeling
Conducting a geodesign study usesthree passes that iterate through the six modeling steps:
forward pass as scoping the modeling problem in steps 1 6
reverse pass as designing the modeling workflow method in steps 6 1
forward pass as implementing the geospatial modeling tools in steps 1 6
Each modeling step has a schema associated with organizing the way data are treated to create certain information. Information output from one model constitutes the data to be input to the next model forming a knowledge production process. We iterate as needed to upgrade and refine what is to be known for decision making purposes. As such, the geodesign framework organizes a collaborative thinking, learning and decision making workflow. However, it is possible to skip modeling steps, and as such, uncertainty about data and information results. Nonetheless, the modeling process is quicker and cheaper; but it might result in less-than-confident information.
GIS Data Management for Assessment – a schema for every step
The following is a three-step assessment modeling framework for Geog 482/582 final project
- Managing representation database models
**3**Data elements for characterizing water flow is in figures 2 & 3 (pages 3 & 4) in...
https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/publications/SummaryPages/1006014.html
- Managing spatial-temporal information/knowledge models
Four components of water flow are delivery, surface storage, recharge, discharge, and evaporation in figures 2 & 3 above, are combined into an importance score and intactness/degradation score. These combinations are computed at (finer) micro-scale, and attributed to (coarser) focal scale.
- Managing evaluation value models
The combination of importance and degradation form a matrix (Figure 4, page 5) as an evaluation framework for potential management of the impairment.
Ecosystems Services Evaluation
Data Management for Intervention – a schema for every step
The following is a three-step intervention modeling framework NOT EXPECTED of GIS Data Management Students.
- Managing design database models
Specific management actions can be proposed based on impairment evaluation. Management actions include the lists at… https://www.epa.gov/green-infrastructure/green-infrastructure-modeling-tools
- Managing impact information/knowledge models
Ecosystems Services Evaluation can be performed for the actions being proposed.
decision value models
Ecosystem Management Decision Support environment
Green Infrastructure Information and Data
Green infrastructure information emerges out of the evaluation modeling of green infrastructure strategy suitability in various places. The data in the form of a representation model are used to develop that information. The section focuses on green stormwater infrastructure due to its importance.
3.1 Green Stormwater Infrastructure Strategies and Benefits
In this sub-section strategies for designing green stormwater infrastructure(GSI) as natural capital are compared to benefits of ecosystem(sustainable system) services derived from that capital.
Green Stormwater Infrastructure Strategies
Green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) strategies for both best management practices (BMP) options and low impact development (LID) options can be used for retrofit of stormwater management and new urban development. The BMP and LID strategies for green infrastructure were compiled from work performed by the City of Mukilteo,WA Dept of Ecology, and the US EPA .
Regional engineered strategies – influences surrounding water flow area as well as sites
A: Detention/retention pond – natural area constructed to detain deep water in a pool
B: Constructed wetlands – engineered wet and vegetated area
C: Restore depressional wetlands – naturally occurring wet and vegetated area
D: Cisterns – concrete water holding contained
E: Permeable pavement – pervious pavement
F: Engineered bioretention filter (infiltration trench) – constructed microbial denitrification substrate
G: Vegetated bioretention swale – vegetated area along a highway/walk path
H: Reduced street width – provides reduction in impervious surface
On-site strategies – predominantly influences a site only.
I: Soil amendment/restoration – treat the soil
J: Plant trees – tree cover and root systems
K: Rain Gardens – planted area with various root filtration
L: Vegetated filter strips – gently sloping area covered in vegetation
M: Disconnect downspouts – disconnection from gray stormwater system
N: Vegetated rooftops – planted areas on roofs
O: Rain barrels – container for reusing rain water
Additional Strategies
P: Protect/acquire open space (parks and forests) – focus on vegetated open space
Q: Restore upland vegetation – upland flows to lowland
R: Restore buffer vegetation – vegetation buffers, particularly riparian corridor buffers
S: Education – broadly disseminate information about benefits of green infrastructure
Natural Capital Service Benefits Associated with Water Quality and Water Flow
Natural capital benefits from green stomrwater infrastructure have been identified by the City of Seattle, which appear in the 2015-2020 Green Stormwater Infrastructure Implmentation Plan available at http://www.seattle.gov/documents/departments/ose/gsi_strategy_nov_2015.pdf.
In line with the WA Dept of Ecology emphasis on watershed charaterization planning to improve water quality and water flow, we call out three of 14 possible benefits (see the document for others) that can be cross-referenced with the strategies.
A: Improves water quality (WQ)
B: Decreases flow/prevents flooding (WF)
C: Recharges groundwater (WF)
ComparingGSI Strategies and Benefits
The strategies and benefits were cross-referenced, then evaluated for potential benefit using a ranking of 1 – 3 in the able below, wherein…
1= High effectiveness contributing to benefit
2= Medium effectiveness contributing to benefit
3= Low effectiveness contributing to benefit
GSI Strategy Effectiveness Related to Benefit
Green stormwater infrastructure strategy / See Benefit ID# aboveA:WQ / B:WF / C:WF
A: Detention/retention pond – natural area constructed to detain deep water in a pool / 1 / 1 / 1
B: Constructed wetlands – engineered wet and vegetated area / 1 / 1 / 1
C: Restore depressional wetlands – naturally occurring wet and vegetated area / 1 / 1 / 1
D: Cisterns – concrete water holding contained / 2
E: Permeable pavement – pervious pavement / 1 / 2 / 1
F: Engineered bioretention – constructed microbial denitrification using electron-donor substrate / 1 / 2 / 1
G: Vegetated bioretention swale – vegetated area along a highway/walk path / 1 / 2 / 1
H: Reduced street width reduces impervious surface / 2 / 2 / 1
I: Soil amendment/restoration – treat the soil / 2 / 2 / 1
J: Plant trees – tree cover and root systems / 1 / 1 / 2
K: Rain Gardens – planted area with various root filtration / 1 / 1 / 1
L: Vegetated filter strips – gently sloping area covered in vegetation / 1 / 1 / 1
M: Disconnect downspouts – disconnection from gray stormwater system / 1 / 3 / 1
N: Vegetated rooftops – planted areas on roofs / 1 / 2
O: Rain barrels – container for reusing rain water / 1 / 2
P: Protect/acquire open space (parks and forests) – focus on vegetated open space / 1 / 1 / 1
Q: Restore upland vegetation – upland flows to lowland / 1 / 1 / 1
R: Restore buffer vegetation – vegetation buffers, particularly riparian corridor buffers / 1 / 1 / 1
S: Education – broadly disseminate info about benefits of green infrastructure
The goal of the final project is to use what we come to know about GSI strategies to enumerate landscape criteria, i.e. feature classes and respective attributes within geographic information systems (GIS) data , that can be used to assess potential locations of GSI strategies across the landscape. The criteria emerge out of the character of the GSI strategies as described in the table above. Unpacking the descriptions and examining various reports (e.g. the City of Seattle 2015-2020 Green Stormwater Infrastructure Implmentation Plan referenced above) can lead to developing datasets for locations suitable for different types of GSI across the landscape.
3.2 GIS Data for Green Infrastructure
There are various sources of data useful for evaluating (assessing) suitability of green infrastructure strategies. You are welcome to use whatever sources you find.
Geography Dept GISHub - Municipalities in King County
See Appendix V in Tezak and Danker 2016 for data sources used in their projecthttps://depts.washington.edu/mgis/capstone/files/GEOG569_2016_Tezak_Danker.pdf
King County GIS Portal
http://www5.kingcounty.gov/gisdataportal/
Check to see if a GIS data portal exists for your chosen municipality.
Note: There is considerable data related to Ecology’s WRIA Watershed Characterization
http://www.ecy.wa.gov/services/gis/data/inlandwaters/pugetsound/characterization.htm
However, the scale is not appropriate for municipality scale data processing, as it was developed for a regional-scale assessment.
4. Final Project WorkPlan: Lab Assignments 4, 5, and 6
Review the goal of the final project described earlier. You are free to reorganize the following workflow to suit the needs of your final project.
* Identify a municipality of your choice. Find 1 or 2 other students who want to explore the same municipality. Form a team.
The following questions emphasize development of a representation model.
* Can your group create a controlled vocabulary (vocabulary for which you all agree) for land use / land cover to assist your work? How might your group use the King County controlled vocabulary for stormwater?
Formulate a conceptual database model for municipal GSI condition assessment based on what you have been provided and what you discover through literature review. What you do not understand or what is not clear about a conceptual model is an opportunity for synthesizing information from informed literature. How much has your group discussed the issues related to the final project problem?
What is the nature of the feature datasets that you formulated for the conceptual database model?
* Identify the WRIA in which the municipality is located. Identify the water flow area that represents the flow neighborhood, up-drainage and down-drainage.
*How can you characterize the municipal drainage neighborhood, that is, areas of water flow into and out of the municipality, using the WRIA PSWC for your chosen municipality? This characterization helps establish a basis for micro-regional water governance. What other group final project are related to your final project by consideration of these overlapping neighborhoods? The flow neighborhoods are different for each municipality because the flow conditions differ. So, pay attention to areas around your municipality for opportunities for discussion.
* Develop a logical database model, flesh out the feature classes and raster layers as appropriate, using the conceptual database model as a start. Use ArcGIS Diagrammer if it helps. Did you read all the way through the workflow before composing the logical database model so you know what data are needed? This will be an iterative process through the GIS problem solving process.