|
Low impact development, or LID, is a method of land
development that effectively addresses storm water
management problems at or near their source with
techniques that preserve, enhance, or mimic natural
conditions.
Conventional land development often depends on collecting
excess storm water shed by pavement and rooftops, then
conveying it, along with suspended pollutants, through a
piped storm sewer system that discharges into a natural
stream with little or no consideration for water quality.
The LID approach exchanges the conventional storm sewer
system for a strategic use of storm water control
techniques throughout the development landscape. An LID
system stresses preventative measures, and utilizes
naturally existing or enhanced components of the project
site to route, filter, absorb, evaporate, and discharge
storm runoff.
To achieve a successful LID, the designer bunches the
homes or commercial units more closely on smaller lots,
with the clusters separated by large areas of natural
habitat and landscaped common green space. An LID limits
excessive storm water runoff with narrower street
pavements, fewer parking spaces, and maximized undisturbed
open space. Natural streams, grassy watercourses,
protected buffer zones, and constructed wetland habitat
act together to carry, filter, and dissipate storm water
in an LID.
|
