Abstract:
Low-impact development, or LID, is a new stormwater management strategy. Instead of diverting runoff away from its origin, LID assimilates rainwater where it falls, through a system of small, discrete methods distributed throughout the landscape. It uses the hydrological functions that were there before the property was developed. Instead of using traditional methods of water conveyance, like roof downspouts, curbs and gutters, or drainage pipes, builders can use bioretention areas (rain gardens), grassy swales, vegetated buffer/filter strips and infiltration trenches.