The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC) and Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) asked a team that included Teska Associates, Orion Planning + Design and Hey and Associates, Inc. to investigate the feasibility of a stormwater credit trading program across suburban Cook County, an area covering 2.5 million residents. Our team analyzed approximately 900 stormwater permits to determine the potential demand for a successful stormwater credit trading market in Cook County for both detention and volume control.
The analysis resulted in a dynamic model in which TNC, MPC, and MWRD can change certain variables to test results under different circumstances. The model adjusts for land use, development costs, the minimum cost for off-site savings, and cost of stormwater facilities. The model found that approximately 17% of permit applicants would have potentially benefitted from an off-site trading solution and could make infill development more economically feasible for a wide range of potential projects throughout the County.
