Low-Impact Development

VCC recognizes that there will be substantial development in our region. Where that development happens and how it is designed are two key factors in reducing development's impacts on land and water resources.

Low-Impact Development (LID) techniques attempt to minimize changes in the way water flows across and soaks into the ground on a site when a property is developed. Often LID designs will use a mixture of methods--reducing the amount of hard, impervious surface on the site; storing or otherwise slowly the flow of rain water to avoid heavy runoff from storms; and providing low lying "rain gardens" and other landscape elements so water can soak into the ground on site rather than run off a parcel.

The amount of impervious surface in a watershed is one of the best indicators of a stream's health. Reducing the amount of pavement and roof surface is one way to reduce the volume of runoff. Another way is to help that water soak into the ground close to the source. There are many agencies, organizations and consulting firms working to encourage practices that reduce stormwater runoff from new development or help existing sites retrofit their drainage.

LID links

Low Impact Development Technical Bulletin Final Draft, November 2005. Produced as a result of the efforts of Virginia's Low Impact Development Assessment Task Force (MS Word Format)

The National Association of Home Builders Research Center has many resources at: www.nahbrc.org

The Practice of Low Impact Development (July, 2003, 131 p.) is available for free as a pdf document through HUD. "This PATH (Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing) document focuses on technologies that affect cost impacts and environmental issues associated with the land development process. It provides a brief introduction to low impact development and discusses conventional and alternative techniques and technologies that developers can integrate into their existing land development practices in order to provide built environments that enhance the natural environment."

The Center for Watershed Protection www.cwp.org is a leading resource for technical information and great examples of successful practices.

The Low Impact Development Center has a great resource section, including a clearinghouse for practitioners and researchers to share information: www.lowimpactdevelopment.org/resources.html
www.nrcs.usda.gov/technical/stream_restoration/newtofc.htm

www.epa.gov/owow/watershed

www.epa.gov/owow/watershed/publications.html

www.epa.gov/owowwtr1/NPS/lid/lidlit.html

www.epa.gov/owow/nps/pavements.pdf

www.epa.gov/owow/nps/roofcover.pdf

www.stormwatercenter.net

Urban Design Tools:

www.lid- stormwater.net/intro/sitemap.htm

www.nafsma.org

www.nemo.uconn.edu

Environmentally Green…Economically Green, Tools for a Green Land Development Program

www.nahbrc.org

Bioretention/Raingardens Discussion Group

www.psat.wa.gov/Programs/LID.htm

RainGardens.org

	Low-Impact Development VCC recognizes that there will be substantial development in our region. Where that development happens and how it is designed are two key factors in reducing development's impacts on land and water resources. Low-Impact Development (LID) techniques attempt to minimize changes in the way water flows across and soaks into the ground on a site when a property is developed. Often LID designs will use a mixture of methods--reducing the amount of hard, impervious surface on the site; storing or otherwise slowly the flow of rain water to avoid heavy runoff from storms; and providing low lying "rain gardens" and other landscape elements so water can soak into the ground on site rather than run off a parcel. The amount of impervious surface in a watershed is one of the best indicators of a stream's health. Reducing the amount of pavement and roof surface is one way to reduce the volume of runoff. Another way is to help that water soak into the ground close to the source. There are many agencies, organizations and consulting firms working to encourage practices that reduce stormwater runoff from new development or help existing sites retrofit their drainage. LID links Low Impact Development Technical Bulletin Final Draft, November 2005. Produced as a result of the efforts of Virginia's Low Impact Development Assessment Task Force (MS Word Format) The National Association of Home Builders Research Center has many resources at: www.nahbrc.org The Practice of Low Impact Development (July, 2003, 131 p.) is available for free as a pdf document through HUD. "This PATH (Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing) document focuses on technologies that affect cost impacts and environmental issues associated with the land development process. It provides a brief introduction to low impact development and discusses conventional and alternative techniques and technologies that developers can integrate into their existing land development practices in order to provide built environments that enhance the natural environment." The Center for Watershed Protection www.cwp.org is a leading resource for technical information and great examples of successful practices. The Low Impact Development Center has a great resource section, including a clearinghouse for practitioners and researchers to share information: www.lowimpactdevelopment.org/resources.html www.nrcs.usda.gov/technical/stream_restoration/newtofc.htm www.epa.gov/owow/watershed www.epa.gov/owow/watershed/publications.html www.epa.gov/owowwtr1/NPS/lid/lidlit.html www.epa.gov/owow/nps/pavements.pdf www.epa.gov/owow/nps/roofcover.pdf www.stormwatercenter.net Urban Design Tools: www.lid- stormwater.net/intro/sitemap.htm www.nafsma.org www.nemo.uconn.edu Environmentally Green…Economically Green, Tools for a Green Land Development Program www.nahbrc.org Bioretention/Raingardens Discussion Group www.psat.wa.gov/Programs/LID.htm RainGardens.org	Resources from VCC's LID for Engineers Workshop, 2005. Richard Street's presentation handout from November 29, 2005 (PDF format) Manual for Low Impact Site Design Soon to be released by the Northern Shenandoah Valley Regional Commission (NSVRC). Draft Table of Contents (MS Word format) Notes on the Manual, (MS Word format) by Brian Henshaw of NSVRC. LID Resources from Friends of the Rappahannock Contents of the Friends' LID Tutorial and Toolkit CD (MS Word) A rain garden soaks up the runoff from an existing parking lot in this award winning retrofit from the City of Lexington, Virginia. Note the cut in the curb to allow water to flow into the garden. .
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Low-Impact Development

LID links

Resources from VCC's LID for Engineers Workshop, 2005.