City of Atlanta Green Infrastructure Program

Blue Heron Nature Preserve

 Blue Heron Nature Preserve  is a 30 acre preserve in north Atlanta with four distinct habitats: pond, meadow, wetland and woodland. Founded in 2000 to preserve seven acres of floodplain from development, the preserve has since added an additional nine-acres of wetlands.

Beecher Hills Greenway

Nestled between Westview Cemetery and Lionel Hampton Park, this protected greenway offers access to neighborhood, Lional Hampton Trail, and Beecher Hills Elementary School.  PATH Foundation  and  Atlanta BeltLine  built paved trails thru the greenway.

Standing Peachtree

Approximately 100 acres of mature hardwood forest known as Standing Peachtree protects Atlanta’s drinking water intake. The property is owned by the Department of Watershed Management, and a small part is accessible to the public through an agreement with the Department of Parks and Recreation. Standing Peachtree was a Creek Native American village, the closest settlement to what is now the Buckhead area. Located where Peachtree Creek flows into the Chattahoochee River, in today's Paces neighborhood, Standing Peachtree was the end of the Creek Peachtree Trail, which ran from near Toccoa to just south of what is now Piedmont Hospital in Buckhead. Fort Peachtree was built here in 1812. 

Herbert Greene Nature Preserve

The Herbert Greene Nature Preserve, which was recently inducted into the  Old Growth Forest Network , is a favorite natural area for residents of southwest Atlanta. Located along Boulder Park Road at Dollar Mill Rd SW, just outside I-285, the tract is a shared property co-managed by the Department of Parks and Recreation and the Department of Watershed Management. The entire preserve is approximately 105 acres with a total of 43 acres managed as a Greenway Property. In 2009, the community, in partnership with Park Pride, completed a conceptual vision for the park which included a soft-surface walking trail. The trail was opened in 2015.

Rodney Cook Sr Park in Historic Vine City

Sited in what was historically a residential area prone to frequent flooding, this 13-acre capacity relief project will be capable of storing 10 million gallons of stormwater and will reduce flooding and combined sewer flows in the surrounding area. The project's wet pond and numerous green infrastructure features - including bioretention, stormwater planters, rainwater harvesting cisterns, and soil restoration - have been designed to both divert runoff from the combined sewer system in the Proctor Creek Watershed and serve as amenities that will enhance aesthetics in the new Rodney Cook, Sr. Park.

Dean Rusk Park

In 2021, the Department of Watershed Management (DWM) completed $1.8 million in stormwater infrastructure improvements to Dean Rusk Park and Pond. The pond, constructed in 2003 as part of a combined sewer separation effort in the Greensferry subwatershed of Proctor Creek, was designed to attenuate peak storm flows and improve water quality. DWM’s MOST-funded project enhanced the pond’s urban stormwater management capacity, while also supporting biodiversity, saving mature tree canopy, and beautifying the park. The project includes the following components:

• A new trash interceptor

• A monitoring system with adaptive control of the pond outlet to allow drawdown of the pond prior to a storm event for additional storage capacity

• A large vegetated bioretention area that captures and infiltrates stormwater runoff from surrounding impervious surfaces while also serving as a prominent new entry feature

• A floating wetland boom between the forebay and the main pond to intercept additional litter and allow overflow during major storm events

• Management of invasive vegetation, such as English ivy and kudzu, to preserve mature trees in the park and help manage urban stormwater naturally

Numerous community and environmental organizations, including the Ashview Heights Neighborhood Association, Friends of Dean Rusk Park, Truly Living Well Urban Farm, Morehouse College, Park Pride, and Trees Atlanta, have contributed to ongoing improvements at Dean Rusk Park.

McDaniel Branch Ponds and Wetlands

In order to enhance the benefits of the McDaniel Branch stream restoration project and further protect the South River ecosystem, the City of Atlanta constructed five stormwater ponds and wetlands at the McDaniel Branch site to control and treat stormwater runoff prior to entering the stream. During rain events, the majority of the water flowing onto the site will be retained in the ponds, filtered through the vegetation to remove sediments and dissolved pollutants, then slowly released to the McDaniel Branch. The 7-acre site is planted with a variety of native vegetation. The area around the ponds is an open planting of trees and shrubs in a meadow of native grasses and wildflowers. The banks and floodplain of the restored stream are more densely vegetated with numerous species of native bottomland hardwood trees, while the ponds feature aquatic species such as pickerelweed. The habitat attracts a diversity of wildlife, including birds, butterflies, and fish.

Lindsay Street Park

Not only does this neighborhood greenspace serves as a gathering and recreation area, a series of large rain gardens collect and absorb stormwater runoff from the adjacent street, helping to reduce local flooding and improve the water quality of the stream that runs across the property.

Selena Butler Park

The Department of Watershed Management, in collaboration with the City of Atlanta Department of Parks and Recreation, is installing Green Infrastructure in several of the city’s parks to holistically manage stormwater runoff to provide capacity relief to the city’s storm drainage system, alleviate flooding, and recharge groundwater resources. When integrated in parks, these practices, including rain gardens and bioswales, can also enhance aesthetics, provide habitat for pollinators and provide opportunities for environmental education. The bioretention installed in Selena Butler Park in June of this year diverts roughly 10,000 gallons of stormwater runoff during rain events from the park’s recreation center roof, surrounding parking and streets, and allows this water to slowly infiltrate into the ground instead of flowing directly into the Clear Creek combined sewer.

Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech is developing an integrated, ecologically-based campus landscape to achieve environmental sustainability, specifically in the reduction of stormwater entering the City’s sewer system. This bioswale is one of many practices across campus designed to infiltrate, capture, reuse, and/or evaporate the first 1.2" of rainfall.

Cleopas Johnson Park

Bioretention and bioswales sited in existing planting beds and underutilized lawn areas within the park divert approximately 25,000 gallons of runoff from the combined sewer in each storm event. In addition to new bioretention, new plantings and mulch stabilize an eroding embankment within the park. Working closely with DPR, DWM’s goals in these projects are to seamlessly integrate GI in park landscapes to simultaneously enhance water quality, recharge groundwater, provide capacity relief in combined sewer areas, enhance aesthetics and provide opportunities for environmental education.

E. Rivers Elementary School

Bioretention in school bus loop.

Atlanta Eastside BeltLine Extension

Bioswale cells

Stormwater Planters

Stormwater Planters are contained landscape areas, often along a curb or sidewalk, designed to receive stormwater runoff from paved surfaces and provide storage, infiltration, and evapotranspiration. Stormwater planters consist of a lined or unlined planter box, an engineered soil mix, and trees, perennials, and shrubs; the top of the soil is lower in elevation than the surrounding pavement to allow runoff to flow into the planter.

Joseph E Boone Blvd "Green Street"

Stormwater planters are an integral element of “Green Streets,” which are urban transportation corridors that achieve multiple benefits, including improved water quality and more livable communities, through the integration of natural stormwater treatment techniques, landscaping, and pedestrian and bicycle improvements. DWM is currently converting a 1.2-mile stretch of Boone Boulevard in Proctor Creek Watershed to a Green Street, installing stormwater planers to provide capacity relief.

Southface Institute

A green roof is a living extension of a conventional roof which involves installation of a layered system of membranes, substrate and plants. Green roofs have a number of environmental benefits. In addition to improving air quality, conserving energy and reducing the urban heat island effect, green roofs benefit water quality by absorbing water during small storms and slowing stormwater runoff from large storms. Plants help evaporate the water, releasing it back into the atmosphere instead of down drains and sewers.  Southface Institute 

Sam Nunn Federal Building

Located in The Gulch, at the headwaters of Proctor Creek, the Sam Nunn Federal Building has an extensive green roof.

Georgia Tech Clough Undergraduate Learning Commons

Intensive Green Roof with trees, walking paths and benches.

Woodruff Arts Center

Modular green roof, which designed for simple installation, and allow for ease of access for roof

maintenance and repair.

Interface HQ

Green roof with 15,000-gallon rainwater collection system for flushing.

725 Ponce

Green Roof on new Kroger at 725 Ponce de Leon Ave NE.

Ponce City Market

The Home Deport Backyard

Almost 225,000 gallons of water quality in a 3-inch stone layer under the 7-acre park. Rubble from the Georgia Dome demo and additional stone make up the entire field section. Infiltration is through pavers and field underdrains are piped into lowers levels of stone.

E. Rivers Elementary School

Permeable Pavers in parking area of Atlanta Public School.

Atlanta History Center

SkyHouse South

Permeable Pavers in ground floor retail parking area.

Southface Institute

Porous Concrete

Westside Provisions District

Permeable paver parking spaces.

WaterHub at Emory University

The WaterHub is an on-site water recycling system on the Emory University campus which utilizes eco-engineering processes to clean waste water for future non-potable uses. It is the first system of its kind to be installed in the United States. Emory’s WaterHub is capable of recycling up to 400,000 gallons-per-day –nearly 40% of Emory’s total campus water needs. (from Emory University website)

Wastewater cleaned by the WaterHub is used as process make-up water in Emory’s steam and chiller plants and for future toilet flushing in select residence halls. The system will reduce Emory’s draw of water from Atlanta’s municipal water supply by up to 146 million gallons of water annually. The WaterHub includes a 50,000 gallon emergency water reserve which will allow Emory’s heating and cooling systems to function for an average of seven hours, depending on seasonal operating demands, in the event of any disruption in water availability.

Southface Institute

Roof top rainwater harvesting, provides water source for landscaping on site.

Blue Heron Nature Preserve

Blue Heron Nature Preserve is committed to sustainable practices, including water conservation, in their role as stewards for Atlanta's waterways. This rain barrel collects water for re-use in the watering hoses that care for the community garden.