Increasing Stormwater Resilience and Water Quality in Downtown Missoula

The EPA’s Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change Grants program (Community Change Grants) is awarding approximately $2 billion in Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funds in environmental and climate justice activities to benefit disadvantaged communities through projects that reduce pollution, increase community climate resilience, and build community capacity to address environmental and climate justice challenges. These place-based investments will be focused on community-driven initiatives to be responsive to community and stakeholder input. They are designed to deliver on the transformative potential of the IRA for communities most adversely and disproportionately impacted by climate change, legacy pollution, and historical disinvestments. 

CIS was part of a team led by Climate Resilience Consulting that was awarded a contract to provide technical assistance to the City of Missoula’s Stormwater Utility and Montana Conservation Corps. The team supported the development of a Community Change Grant application focused on enhancing stormwater resilience and improving water quality in Downtown Missoula, which relies on a Sole Source Aquifer supplying drinking water to over 40,000 households. As climate change increases drought risks, protecting the water quality of this vital supply is more crucial than ever. The project will integrate stormwater resilient design across the downtown area, including in downtown streetscapes with threatened tree canopy, a series of riverfront parks and their gateways to downtown, and the roof of the public library which functions as a resilience hub during extreme weather events in the Missoula area. As part of the project, CIS led outreach and engagement with underserved communities, including with local government agencies, Tribes, school district representatives, community-based organizations, and community members.

The application is focused on three goals: i) protecting local water resources, ii) creating greater connectivity to the riverfront, and iii) generating human well-being and economic development co-benefits such as through workforce development.