Low Impact Development

What is Low Impact
Development (LID)?

LID is a design strategy that aims to minimize the impact of development on the local watershed. It works by maintaining and replicating the natural hydrologic patterns that the landscape had prior to development.

Conventional approaches to design and development typically create large areas that are impervious to stormwater. As development occurs, buildings, parking lots, and streets replace or cover the natural soils and vegetation and allow water to run over them at an increased rate. Conventional approaches to stormwater management typically collect the storm water runoff and convey it to a stormwater facility, usually a pond.

LID practices use several integrated design techniques to mimic the natural hydrology of a particular landscape.

• Decentralized stormwater retention and detention areas
• Reduction of impervious surfaces
• Lengthening of flow paths and runoff time
• Preservation of environmentally sensitive areas and site features such as riparian setbacks, wetlands, steep slopes, mature trees, floodplains, woodlands, and highly permeable soils.

These solutions can be integrated into the infrastructure of a development and have the added bonus of being more cost effective and aesthetically pleasing than traditional, storm water conveyance systems.

Typical Components of a LID Design

• Riparian and Wetland Setbacks
• Conservation Development
• Permeable Pavement
• Green roofs
• Bioretention
• Grass Buffer Strips
• Sand filter
• Grass Swales
• Tree Boxes

LID for Home Owners
Home owners can make a significant contribution to stormwater management in their neighborhoods. They can do this by installing simplistic features such as Rain Gardens and Rain Barrels to their landscape. These stormwater management tools have shown to have a very positive impact on local water quality and quantity management. They have also shown to help in recharging local ground water supplies. To learn more about these tools please click on the links on the right.