A Review of Applicability and Effectiveness of Low Impact Development/Green Infrastructure Practices in Arid/Semi-Arid United States

Yan Jiang,Holly Piza,Yongping Yuan

doi:10.3390/environments2020221

Yan Jiang, Holly Piza + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/environments2020221

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Journal: Environments	Publication Date: Jun 8, 2015
Citations: 66	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Environmental Protection Agency

Abstract

Urbanized areas of the southwestern/western United States are among the fastest growing in the nation and face multiple water resource challenges. Low impact development (LID)/green infrastructure (GI) practices are increasingly popular technologies for managing stormwater; however, LID is often not as common in the southwest/west due to the lack of regulatory and/or economic drivers. There is also a lack of performance evaluation of these practices, particularly at the field scale. This study focused on investigating the hydrologic and pollutant removal performance of field-scale LID/GI systems in arid/semi-arid climates. Nine typical practices were reviewed: rainwater harvest system, detention pond, retention pond, bioretention, media filter, porous pavement, vegetated swale/buffer/strip, green roof, and infiltration trench, as well as integrated LIDs. We evaluate these practices by a cost-effectiveness analysis and also recommend best practices for the arid/semi-arid area. The analysis provides data support and insights for future implementation of LID/GI in the southwest/west.

Highlights

IntroductionLow impact development (LID) is an approach to land development (or redevelopment) that works with nature to manage stormwater as closely to its source as possible
Low impact development (LID) is an approach to land development that works with nature to manage stormwater as closely to its source as possible
The effectiveness of LID/Green infrastructure (GI) was evaluated by runoff reduction and pollutant removal

Summary

Introduction

Low impact development (LID) is an approach to land development (or redevelopment) that works with nature to manage stormwater as closely to its source as possible. Many municipalities are implementing LID or GI programs known for their benefits in reducing stormwater runoff and nonpoint source pollution. Many of these techniques were developed and evaluated mainly in the eastern United States [1], where rainfall is abundant. Few studies have focused on the arid and semi-arid regions of the western/southwestern U.S because of the perception that LID or stormwater control is useless in a region with so little annual precipitation [2].

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