Talk:Low impact development

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Moreau1 01:40, 29 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] External links

The link "Low Impact Development in Stormwater Management" is a commercial site and was deleted as per WP:LINKS. Moreau1 (talk) 04:29, 23 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Text added by user Hilpll (March 2008)

Some of the material you added is potentially useful but needs editing; other material is inappropriate or redundant. Please see the Wikipedia rules for content, style, etc. on the various Help pages. Also, when editing the article, please do not delete existing links or references unless they are inacccurate, broken, out of date, etc. Thanks.

• The "How to Implement LID" section is not appropriate for Wikipedia. See WP:NOT. This article is not a tutorial or a design manual. Such documents may be cited as references. I recommend this section be deleted from the article. (The term "IMPs", used by some as an alternative to the term "BMPs", needs a definition in Wikipedia.)
• The "Benefits of LID" section is a good idea, but at this point it is just an outline. Expansion is needed, with references.
• "Design of LID" covers a few topics which need organization into separate sections. The sentences in this section need editing generally. CWA jargon such as "MEP" should be eliminated. The use of passive voice is confusing and the bureaucratic tone is not appropriate for a Wikipedia article, e.g. "...standard guidance for state permits should consider..."
• New photo. A new photo is welcome, but it needs a more informative label. Describe the object. What are we looking at? Is it an infiltration trench? The resolution of the photo is low (it cannot be enlarged by the viewer) and it's hard to make it out. See WP:IMAGE.

Moreau1 (talk) 23:13, 28 March 2008 (UTC)

I revised the text per the above comments. The benefits section is retained, mainly as an outline, with some links added. Some of the deleted text was redundant and some is not in keeping with Wikipedia policy (e.g. not a "how-to" manual, use of jargon, etc.) However, the deleted text contains a few ideas about LID concepts which have not yet been addressed in the article. For that reason, the deleted text is provided here in case someone would like to modify it to fit in with the existing article.

How to Implement LID

As a design strategy, LID starts with planners, using hydrology as the integrating framework to reduce imperviousness and preserve natural features. The goal is to maintain/or replicate the pre-development hydrologic character of the site by using integrated management practices (IMPs) to infiltrate, filter, store, evaporate and detain runoff close to its source.

LID is a comprehensive technology-based approach to managing urban stormwater. This approach incorporates many technologies to manage runoff close to its source through intelligent site design. Often, it has been associated with small, cost-effective landscape features located near each site.

Design of LID

LID is not just about vegetation. As the site needs to mimic the pre-existing hydrologic conditions, often vegetation landscaping works in tandem with a combination of structural/proprietary controls and vegetation are included. If performance, economics and site constraints are accurately assessed, a suite of best management practices (BMPs) will emerge that reduces the impact of developments to the MEP. The best solution for any site is likely to be a combination of structural and landscape-based BMPs.

Design considerations for Low Impact Development include climate, site conditions and exiting infrastructure and utilities:

• Climate – Areas with high storm intensity will put the site at risk, as small-scale IMPs that are not suited for these rainy areas may fail. Arid areas limit the vegetative options.
• Site Conditions – Infiltration is not always feasible. A look at soil type, proximity to utilities/foundations, potential groundwater contamination, slopes, and overall pollutant load of the site needs to be considered.
• Existing utilities and infrastructure

Stormwater management systems design is a site-specific process that must consider environmental, operational, economic and political constraints as well. Regulations should encourage engineers to use an approach that will meet the core goal of limiting the impact of development to the maximum extent practicable.

LID is associated with techniques and tools whose application may be the most cost effective way to meet water quantity and quality goals for stormwater management. When implementing LID standards, rules and regulations, standard guidance for state permits should consider: 1. Source Control. 2. Site Design. 3. Treatment Controls.

Revision to photo--I am consdering changing the photo to one that is more obvious visibly (i.e. to a general audience) and is clearly labeled. This replacement could be reverting to the previously-used bioretention cell photo, but other LID photos are welcome (medium or high resolution, please). Moreau1 (talk) 02:30, 21 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] LID History

The development of LID concepts was well underway before the efforts in Prince George's County, Maryland (USA) in the 1990s. For example, a 1991 conference paper (Masiaki et al. 1991) discussing land development "measures for the preservation of the hydrological cycle" describes results from a 1981 pilot project that was undertaken to examine the hydrologic effect of multiple infiltration devices on a suburban site. (I have no further information about how or where the tested techniques were put into practice elsewhere.)

In 1988 the Washington State government issued a publication describing the use of biofiltration for controlling runoff water quality (Horner, 1988). (Similar state or local publications may have appeared earlier.) Design recommendations for biofiltration swales in the Seattle area were published in 1992 (Seattle Metro, 1992).

Various sources (including a Wikipedia article) say that green roof technology was initially developed in Germany in the 1960s.

Several stormwater management concepts and devices have been, since their inception, aggregated under the moniker "LID" (and SUDS) in some of the literature. Consequently, it may be very difficult indeed to establish precisely when the development of LID concepts began. Rather than argue for one particular year of origin, the article might simply acknowledge that by the 1990s a variety of agencies and organizations in the U.S. were actively examining or promoting LID concepts under a variety of names. Such a statement could be substantiated with references.

References

Horner, R. 1988. Biofiltration systems for storm runoff water quality control. Washington Dept. of Ecology. 84 pp.

Katumi Musiake, Srikantha Herath and Sadayuki Hironaka. 1991. Effects of urban stormwater infiltration systems and their evaluation. International Seminar on Efficient Water Use, Mexico, October 21, 1991.

Seattle METRO. 1992. Biofiltration swale performance: recommendations and design considerations. Publication No. 657. Washington Dept. of Ecology. 220 pp.

Gruener (talk) 21:54, 19 May 2008 (UTC)

Please edit the article and add your information. Perhaps the statement about PG County should be revised to state that it sponsored the first implementation of LID in the U.S. Perhaps also the first local government to publish a design manual. Following the 1981 pilot study described in the conference paper, were there any efforts to imeplement the concepts in government programs, publications, etc? (Also, please sign your posts in this space by entering 4 'tilde' symbols (~~~~) at the end.) Thanks. Moreau1 (talk) 13:45, 12 May 2008 (UTC)