Brabrec, Elizabeth. 1992. Trees Make Sense. Trees decrease the amount of water that runs off a site by breaking the impact of the rain and slowing the flow, allowing time for water to infiltrate the soil. This reduction has implications in the infrastructure costs of storm sewer capacity of sewage treatment plants, flooding of rivers and streams and the loading of sediment and pollutants into rivers and streams. Approximately 5 to 10 percent of the current electric demand in cities is spent to cool buildings just to compensate for the heat island effect.
Trees are the only part of the municipal infrastructure that actually increases in value every year.
Money spent by a municipality on roads, fire hydrants, and street lights depreciates in value every year. Trees, however, increase in individual value, as well as adding to adjacent property values. These property values lead to increased tax revenues for the municipality, and often to the revitalization of residential and commercial areas In Cincinnati, the dollar value of public trees slated for removal must be paid by the offending party before the tree is removed. Sandfort, Steve and Reno C. Runck. 141-145, and American Forestry Association.