Low Impact Developments
Low Impact Development (LID) is an innovative stormwater management approach with a basic principle that is modeled after nature: manage rainfall at the source using uniformly distributed decentralized micro-scale controles.
LID's goal is to mimic a site's predevelopment hydrology by using design techniques that infiltrate, filter store, evaporate, and detain runoff close to it's source.
Techniques are based on the premise that stormwater management should not be seen as stormwater disposal instead of conveying and managing/treating stormwater in large, costly end-of pipe facilities located at the bottom of drainage areas, LID addresses stormwater through small, cost-effective landscape features located at the ID level.
These landscape features, known as Integrated Management Practices (IMPs), are the building blocks of not only open space, but also rooftops, streetscapes, parking lots, sidewalks, and medians. LID is a versatile approach that can be applied equally to new develiopment, urban retrofits, and redevelopment/revitalization projects.