Green Infrastructure Plan




Contra Costa County
Green Infrastructure Plan

The County’s focus is to improve stormwater before it drains into the County’s creeks and streams that flow into the Delta and the San Francisco Bay. The County’s Green Infrastructure Plan is detailed in the Contra Costa County Green Infrastructure Plan (PDF).		Contra Costa County Green Infrastructure Plan cover Opens in new window

How will the County implement Green Infrastructure?

The County is developing a Green Infrastructure (GI) Plan for the next 20 years that will identify locations where GI can be installed. The County’s projects are focused on cleaning stormwater before it drains to creeks and streams that flow into the Delta and San Francisco Bay.

How will these projects be funded?

The County is currently examining both public and private funding of the projects, including San Francisco’s Green Benefit District approach. Learn more about this innovative method of funding GI projects by visiting the San Francisco Dogpatch & NW Portrero Hill Green Benefits District website.


Where will these projects be located?

The GI projects will be located on County property or along county roads.




When will Green Infrastructure work begin?

The Green Infrastructure Plan was completed in 2019 and projects began after that. The County will continue to install GI projects over the next few decades so eventually most rain water will be cleaned before it drains to our creeks and streams that flow into the Delta and the San Francisco Bay.

Where can I find more information?

For more information, email John Steere, Watershed Management Planning Specialist in the Watershed Program of Contra Costa County Public Works.


Contra Costa County Green Infrastructure Projects

All physically feasible project opportunities that did not include a previously defined non-GI stormwater capture facility (e.g. stream restoration projects provided by stakeholders as part of the Storm Water Resource Plan project request), were assumed to be feasible for GI implementation as part of the Storm Water Resource Plan (SWRP) project opportunity classification. The projects identified can be categorized as parcel-based, regional, or ROW / green street projects:

Green Infrastructure Project Types and Categorization Criteria

GI Project TypeDefinitionDescription
 ROW / green street projects

 Treating the road and portions of adjacent parcels.

 • All street-based projects.
 Regional projects Treating a large area draining to the parcel

 • The parcel contains at least 0.5 acre of undeveloped or pervious area (as identified through the land use class); and 

 • The drainage area is larger than the parcel itself and the location is sufficiently close to a storm drain (i.e., within 500 feet, where storm drain pipe data is available).

 Parcel-based projects Treating the drainage area only on the identified parcel • All other parcel locations.