MidAmerica Watershed.Org · Resources

Free tools and know-how for watershed-smart development.

Free, practical resources that help communities, developers and cities build with clean water in mind — starting with our green-infrastructure decision tools, and growing from here.

Open GIST — our GI selection tool Browse all resources

Works on phone or desktop · No sign-up · Built for planners and the public alike.

Green infrastructure streetscape — permeable pavers, bioswale plantings and native grasses along a building frontage

GIST turns 16 site conditions into a ranked list of green-infrastructure practices — with GIS lookups, a printable report, and a saved-site map.

Free tools library · 2 live, more on the way

Decision tools you can use today

Hands-on tools that turn watershed and site data into clear, defensible choices — free to use, no sign-up. Every tool we add lands here.

Featured toolLive & free

GIST — Green Infrastructure Selection Tool

Answer a short set of questions about a site and GIST ranks the best-fit Best Management Practices (BMPs) and Low-Impact Development (LID) strategies for it — in real time. Built for planners, developers, community groups and the curious alike.

16 site criteria, plain-language guidance
Real-time ranked recommendations
Free GIS lookups for every input
One-page report for project files
Save multiple sites to a shared map
Export a GeoJSON layer for QGIS

Launch GIST

Plan the neighborhood before it's built

Run several parcels, save each with its location, and GIST rolls them into a combined ranking and one map — a preview of the area-wide green-infrastructure system.

Try a scenario →

Live · always free

GIST — GI selection tool

Match any site to its best-fit BMP & LID practices, with narrative and a printable report.

Open the tool

Live · always free

OASIS — open-space assessment

Score any open space across 18 sustainability & connectivity measures into one weighted index, radar profile and report.

Open the tool

In development

BMP cost & upkeep estimator

Ballpark install and maintenance cost for the practices GIST recommends.

Suggest the next free tool →

Guides & standards

Reference material for getting it right

Standards, field guidance and background reading to support design, review and community conversations.

MW-1 BMP Technical Standard

The MidAmerica green-infrastructure BMP technical standard (v2.0 draft) — design-basis parameters, condition tiers, assessment protocols and declassification for each practice family. Written to be cited directly in permits, ordinances and plan-review conditions.

Read the standard

Green Infrastructure Strategy Guide

A practical field guide to blending BMP and LID strategies into resilient, place-based design.

Learn more

Field Survey SOP

Standard operating procedure for the field surveys that feed OASIS — species, habitat and ecological-condition data collection.

Request a copy

Framework & vocabulary

A shared language for BMP performance over time

Three working concepts MAWA uses across its tools and standards to name both the problem — and the fix — when green infrastructure drifts from its design intent.

The problem to prevent

Sustainable Functionality Degradation (SFD)

Green infrastructure that looks and works well at install but loses function over time, as materials, design, maintenance and site conditions fall out of alignment. Naming SFD makes slow failure visible — and fundable — before a practice has to be declassified.

The approach

Adaptive Materials Mapping (AMM)

Choosing materials and construction style to fit the specific site rather than a generic template — matching each practice to the environmental context it actually has to live in.

The approach

Contextual Material Optimization (CMO)

Selecting and tuning materials for a project's unique environmental and site-specific factors — optimizing long-term performance and sustainability, not just day-one appearance.

These aren't just labels. The MW-1 Technical Standard names the context-matched design targets (AMM / CMO) and the failure modes (SFD) for each practice family — so degradation is addressed in design, permits and plan review rather than discovered at failure.

Learning & certification

Build skills and credentials

Training and certification to help professionals and community members design, install and maintain green infrastructure with confidence.

Green Infrastructure Certification series

A growing certification and training program for maintenance crews, designers and reviewers. Enrollment opens in stages.

Express interest

Workshops & community sessions

Charrette support, plan-review help and public education that put these tools to work in real projects and neighborhoods.

Bring one to your area

Who it's for

Two ways in — same clean-water goal

Whether you're exploring what's possible or delivering a project, start where you are.

Explore Communities & advocates

See what green infrastructure could look like on a site you care about
Bring plain-language findings to a council or neighborhood meeting
Map several sites to picture a greener, cooler block

Start with GIST

Deliver Developers, planners & cities

Screen sites early and defend BMP choices with a one-page report
Model a district and export GIS layers for your own maps
Bring in MAWA for standards, review support and training

Partner with MAWA