DC’s Stormwater Retention Credit trading program can be a complex marketplace to navigate. District Stormwater has developed financial modeling tools for developers to help with decision-making. These tools help estimate the cost-savings and amenity opportunities that developers can attain by meeting a portion—or in some circumstances all—of their stormwater retention requirements offsite.
As the largest supplier of voluntary, High Impact (Tier 1) Stormwater Retention Credits (SRCs) in the market, District Stormwater can meet your credit needs—both large and small. The following dashboard provides a real-time look at our credit offerings:
Total credits certified: 1,216,215
Total credits sold: 1,141,131
Total credits currently available: 75,078
Total number of credits coming online in 2024: 445,722
Through the District’s SRC program, developers can spend less on installing onsite stormwater retention infrastructure by satisfying retention requirements through the open credit market. These credits, which are generated offsite at a fraction of the cost of expensive onsite infrastructure, allow developers to both reduce regulatory costs and maximize onsite amenities.
Reduce Costs—Onsite stormwater retention (e.g. installation of green roofs, cisterns, and grey water systems) is technically challenging and expensive. The credit market allows developers to avoid these costs by buying credits that will achieve retention requirements offsite where retention is cheaper.
Maximize Property Space—The SRC market creates an opportunity for developers to maximize property space by reducing the amount of required onsite retention. Minimizing onsite retention infrastructure allows for installation of value maximizing amenities (e.g. rooftop/underground parking lots, pools, and bars) that may otherwise have been infeasible.
Less Red Tape—When credits are purchased, the regulatory requirements for the site are immediately met and regulatory liability for the portion of credits bought is shifted away from the site manager to the offsite credit seller. This translates into less regulatory responsibility for the site manager.
