Green Infrastructure

What is green infrastructure and how does it relate to stormwater?

Green infrastructure refers to a number of different stormwater management practices, which absorb, delay and treat stormwater, rather than have the water runoff from roads, parking lots, and other hard surfaces polluting or flooding waterways that feed into the Wabash River. Green infrastructure may also provide habitats to insects and small animals, and protect aquatic ecosystems from chemicals or nutrient overloads. Such practices, also called Best Management Practices (BMPs) include rain gardens, vegetated swales, permeable pavers, and more. Check out all the different BMPs that the City of Lafayette maintains. 

On the map below, click on a grey circle to see what the various BMPs look like.

The various types of green infrastructure in the city are ordered below, by tab. Click on a tab to learn how each one works.

  1. Aqua-Swirl™
  2. Contech VortSentry®
  3. Conveyance Channel
  4. Forebay
  5. Permeable Pavers
  6. Ponds- Wet and Dry
  7. Porous Asphalt
  8. Rain Garden
  9. Sediment Basin
  10. Stormceptor©
  11. Vegetated Filter Strip
  12. Vegetated Swale
Aquaswirl diagram


Aqua-Swirl™ Stormwater Treatment System allows for the removal of sediment, debris, and oil using vortex separation to speed up the ability of the system to separate by means of gravity. Stormwater enters through the inlet, and the flow produces a circular flow pattern that allows for the settling of the contaminates to the base of the unit. Various drag forces encourage sediment and debris to drop out of the flow and move to the middle of the chamber where the velocities are the lowest. The flow that is treated exits through an outlet behind the arched baffle, as shown in the figure. There is a pipe that rises vertically to the baffle to expose the system to atmospheric conditions.

There are numerous Aqua-Swirls located throughout the city, and these structures are underground, covered by manhole covers. Locations include at the Columbia Park Zoo entrance, on Fortune Drive, and Greenbush Street.