Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
• Disconnect. Decentralize. Distribute
• Integrate natural systems
• Maximize the multiple benefits of LID
• Use LID everywhere
• Make maintenance a priority.
Plan first.
To minimize stormwater impacts and optimize the benefits of LID,
stormwater management and LID should be integrated into the community
planning and zoning process.
Prevent. Thenmitigate.
A primary goal of LID is preventing stormwater runoff
by incorporating nonstructural practices into the site development process. This
can include preserving natural features, clustering development, and minimizing
impervious surfaces. Once prevention as a design strategy is maximized, then
the site design—using structural BMPs—can be prepared.
Minimize disturbance.
Limiting the disturbance of a site reduces the amount
of stormwater runoff control needed to maintain the natural hydrology.
Manage stormwater as a resource—not a waste.
Approaching LID as
part of a larger design process enables us to move away from the conventional
concept of runoff as a disposal problem (and disposed of as rapidly as possible)
to understanding that stormwater is a resource for groundwater recharge, stream
base flow, lake and wetland health, water supply, and recreation.
Mimic the natural water cycle.
Stormwater management using LID includes
mimicking the water cycle through careful control of peak rates as well as the
volume of runoff and groundwater recharge, while protecting water quality. LID
reflects an appreciation for management of both the largest storms, as well as
the much more frequent, smaller storms.
Disconnect. Decentralize. Distribute.
An important element of LID is direct-
ing runoff to BMPs as close to the generation point as possible in patterns that
are decentralized and broadly distributed across the site.
Integrate natural systems.
LID includes careful inventorying and protecting
of a site's natural resources that can be integrated into the stormwater man-
agement design. The result is a natural or ''green infrastructure'' that not only
provides water quality benefits, but greatly improves appearance by minimizing
infrastructure.
Maximize the multiple benefits of LID.
LID provides numerous stormwater
management benefits, but also contributes to other environmental, social, and
economic benefits. In considering the extent of the application of LID, communities
need to consider these other benefits.
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