Implementing LID for New Development in the United States: What are the implications of changing regulations to allow or require developers to use low-impact-development practices?
The LID Bandwagon
“The policy makers have jumped on the low-impact development (LID) bandwagon and have given the marching orders to staff: LID for everyone! Come back with an implementation plan,” writes Gordon England in the July-August 2010 issue of Stormwater Magazine.
His article is about a fictitious town somehwhere in the United States. Yet the rules and procedures are drawn from real conditions and municipal regulations typical of many cities.
Context
The author sets the context with this paragraph: “LID stormwater practices revolve around the concept of providing a variety of onsite, distributed, small-scale, landscaped features and engineered devices that capture rainwater, slow down runoff, enhance filtration, and filter out pollutants before the runoff assimilates into large volumes in traditional stormwater systems.”
Conclusion
“On a macro scale, moving flood control facilities back into the watershed instead of concentrating them at one downstream point mimics natural hydrology by increasing overall times of concentration of the watershed. The biggest improvements will be in the aesthetics provided by increased landscaping breaking up the uniform pattern of traditional lot designs, giving a greener look to urban settings.” concludes Gordon England.
Acknowledgement:
Before STORMWATER, The Journal for Surface Water Quality Professionals, there was no single publication written specifically for the professional involved with surface water quality issues, protection, projects, and programs.
Posted July 2010