Survey Results of Green Infrastructure Implementation in New Jersey

An online survey was undertaken to document the extent of green infrastructure (GI) installations throughout New Jersey at the municipal level and to determine the barriers to implementation of these techniques for the state's municipalities. An in-depth online survey was sent to various officials in each of the state's municipalities. Responses were received from 147 (26%) of New Jersey's 565 municipalities. Of the respondents, 108 (74%) already had at least one GI practice installed in their town, with rain gardens being the most popular practice with installations in 91 municipalities (62%). Reducing stormwater runoff was the most common primary motivating factor for GI installations with 19 affirmative responses (13%), while climate change adaptation was not chosen by any respondents. Funding was stated as the primary barrier to GI installation, but many municipalities had not applied for grants to defray costs. Despite the lack of state incentives and inconsistent municipal conformance with components of the state stormwater rules, the movement to manage stormwater through the use of GI techniques appears to be steadily moving forward in New Jersey.