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Beyond The Regulations -- Stormwater Management Through Lid And Good Design
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2008
[PDF-40.12 KB]
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Description:Low Impact Development (LID) is an alternative land development strategy to manage stormwater that incorporates sound land use planning and innovative engineering practices to retain or restore the natural hydrologic regime within the developing watershed. LID encourages decentralized stormwater management that treats stormwater close to its source. The natural hydrologic regime of the watershed is relationship of water's movement after precipitation, between evapotranspirin​g from the vegetation, infiltrating into the ground and flowing over the land. After traditional development occurs, this balance is greatly altered, creating more overland flow and less infiltration, which leads to degradation of the aquatic ecosystem. LID differs from traditional development in that it integrates stormwater management planning and natural resource protection at the beginning of the development planning process and uses properties of the soils and vegetation to treat stormwater quality and quantity at a micro-scale. Traditional development is designed to treat stormwater as a waste, transporting stormwater off the site as quickly as possible. In contrast, LID treats stormwater at a lot level scale and uses it as a resource within the landscape. LID encourages identifying key hydrologic features prior to designing placement of development on the property. These key hydrologic features include sensitive areas such as steep slopes and wetlands, natural drainage patterns, current soil porosities, riparian forest and waterways. In identifying these areas, developers will be informed on the lands best suited for development within their property to minimize impacts on local waterways. After identifying features, developers can incorporate LID best management planning practices such as minimizing clearing and grading; limiting duration of exposed soils; protecting riparian forest, wetlands, intermittent streams and seeps, highly permeable soils and steep sloped areas; and conserving larger stands of forested or undisturbed areas to maximize protection of the predevelopment hydrologic regime. In the design stage developers can uses a wide variety of techniques to reduce impervious surfaces within the development and decrease generated stormwater. After minimizing impervious surfaces, LID engineering practices, including bio-retention cells, porous pavement and water harvesting systems can be installed at lot level to manage stormwater generated.
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Sea Grant Document Number:LCSG-T-08-001
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Rights Information:Public Domain
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