Green Infrastructure (Stormwater Management Mandates)

This might look like a typical parking lot, but it was updated with environmentally-friendly features in 2024. Why? When it rains, water flows across the pavement carrying toxic pollutants like automobile oils and fluids, tire dust, and animal feces toward Lodi Lake. It's called "stormwater."

To protect the water quality of the lake, several elements of Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) have been added to screen out some trash and pollutants before it flows into the lake and the Mokelumne River. Notches in the curbs known as "curb cuts" direct water from the parking lot into a swale: a constructed shallow depression. This one is lined with rocks that slow the flow of water and spread it out, letting it soak into the soil slowly where biota and plant roots help reduce the worst of the pollution.

These features help the City of Lodi comply with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) stormwater regulations, which require state and local agencies to take action to reduce stormwater pollution to protect rivers, lakes, fish and wildlife habitats. This GSI system is part of a larger effort to safeguard the Mokelumne River and Lodi Lake for all species, including humans, to enjoy.