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Line 1: − This is an approach referenced in few different studies and seems to fit well with the benefits of LID in light of climate change. Tie back to the fact that climate change projections are uncertain, especially at local scales, so why not implement LIDs – they are practices that work well for stormwater management with and without the effects of climate change.+ + + + + − *Climate change should be considered in future planning but the uncertainty in estimates makes it harder for those involved − *“Acknowledging that there is uncertainty as to how the climate will change and at what rate, the team developed strategies that are built upon three principles which ensure that their recommended actions make sense under any scenario:+ − ** Triage: Avoiding efforts that are unlikely to succeed and concentrating on areas where improved management can have the biggest impact;+ − ** Precautionary principle: Not waiting for certainty to act where the consequences of potential impacts are high; and + − ** No regrets: Focusing on actions that provide benefits regardless of how the climate changes <ref>Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts. (2011) Wisconsin’s Changing Climate: Impacts and Adaptation. Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Madison, Wisconsin.</ref><ref name = "HRWC"> Huron River Watershed Council. (2013). Climate Resilient Communities. Retrieved from https://www.hrwc.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Water Infastructure.pdf</ref> − *“No-regrets actions are those that provide benefit under both current climate conditions and potential future climate conditions. No-regrets options increase resilience to the potential impacts of climate change while yielding other, more immediate economic, environmental, or social benefits <ref>Heltberg, Rasmus, Paul Bennett Siegel, and Steen Lau Jorgensen. 2009. "Addressing Human Vulnerability to Climate Change: Toward a ‘no-Regrets’ Approach." Global Environmental Change 19 (1): 89-99. doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2008.11.003. </ref>. The no-regrets approach is considered “proactive adaptive management” which is based on the development of a new generation of risk-based design standards that take into account climate uncertainties. There are a wide variety of no- regrets actions that improve the adaptive capacity of the watershed to handle stormwater.” <ref name = "HRWC"/> − *‘No-regrets’ strategies “Faced with uncertainty about future climate change, and given constraints on available resources, communities may choose to pursue no-regrets strategies – actions that are beneficial in addressing current stormwater management needs regardless of whether or how climate may change in the future <ref>Means, E.G., Laugier M.C., daw J.A. and Owen D.A. Impacts of climate change on infrastructure planning and design: Past practices and future needs, Journal (American Water Works Association), ISSN 0003-150X, 6/2010, Volume 102, Issue 6, pp. 56 - 65</ref> <ref name ="Pyke">Pyke, C., Warren, M. P., Johnson, T., LaGro, J., Scharfenberg, J., Groth, P., … Main, E. (2011). Assessment of low impact development for managing stormwater with changing precipitation due to climate change. Landscape and Urban Planning, 103(2), 166–173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2011.07.006 </ref> + − “The results of this study also demonstrate the effectiveness of site redevelopment, including increased density and reduced impervious cover as a no-regrets adaptation strategy for reducing pollutant loads associated with stormwater runoff.” <ref name ="Pyke"/>+ − − “management infrastructure, a challenge that many practitioners and decision makers are just beginning to consider <ref>Hilda Blanco, Marina Alberti, Ann Forsyth, Kevin J. Krizek, Daniel A. Rodríguez, Emily Talen, Cliff Ellis; Hot, congested, crowded and diverse: Emerging research agendas in planning, Progress in Planning, May 2009 Volume, 71(4) p.153-205</ref>. Responding to climate change will be complicated by the scale, complexity, and inherent uncertainty of the problem, therefore it is unlikely that this challenge can be solved using any single strategy. The scenario analyses conducted in this study illustrate the potential effectiveness of one common element of LID, reducing impervious cover, in the context of climate adaptation.” <ref name ="Pyke"/> − − *“Managing green infrastructure for climate adaptation is primarily about managing risks or uncertainties created by anthropogenic activities. The risk-based approach to climate change has three defining aspects: problem framing and role; embedded policy discourse; and planning approaches. First, problems associated with adverse weather conditions, including rainstorms, floods, heat waves and cyclones, tend to be understood in probabilistic terms. The ‘thing’ that matters is not discrete material benefits that can fulfill the needs of the public, but non-linear, irreducible uncertainties associated with changes in the climate. Functioning as a risk buffer, green infrastructure actually helps minimize the impacts of public ‘bads’ (i.e. natural perils) and, by doing this, indirectly provides public ‘goods’. There is limited precision as to where and when these impacts will eventuate and in what manner. The ‘necessity’ for green infrastructure is thus reduced to a matter of probabilities that are influenced by global climatic dynamic and humanity’s collective actions. It is driven by problems that we seek to avoid and are unable to predict with high level of precision.” <ref>Matthews, T., Lo, A. Y., & Byrne, J. A. (2015). Reconceptualizing green infrastructure for climate change adaptation: Barriers to adoption and drivers for uptake by spatial planners. Landscape and Urban Planning, 138, 155–163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2015.02.010 </ref> − − ----
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[[File:Railway noregrets.jpg|300px|thumb|right|No regrets: Implementing strategies that are beneficial now and in the future, regardless how the climate changes (Blum, 2020) <ref>Blum, A. 2020. LinkedIn post. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/its-time-no-regret-moves-andrew-blum/ </ref>. ]]
Low Impact Development (LID) practices are highlighted across several studies as effective strategies for stormwater management that remain beneficial under both current and future climate conditions. Given that climate change projections are highly uncertain, particularly at local scales, LID represents a “no-regrets” option—actions that improve resilience to climate impacts while providing immediate environmental, social, and economic benefits (Heltberg et al., 2009; Huron River Watershed Council, 2013)<ref>Heltberg, Rasmus, Paul Bennett Siegel, and Steen Lau Jorgensen. 2009. "Addressing Human Vulnerability to Climate Change: Toward a ‘no-Regrets’ Approach." Global Environmental Change 19 (1): 89-99. doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2008.11.003.</ref><ref name = "HRWC"> Huron River Watershed Council. (2013). Climate Resilient Communities. Retrieved from https://www.hrwc.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Water Infastructure.pdf</ref>. Planning for climate change requires consideration of uncertainty in both the rate and magnitude of projected impacts. To address this, researchers have emphasized three guiding principles (Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts, 2011; Huron River Watershed Council, 2013)<ref>Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts. (2011) Wisconsin’s Changing Climate: Impacts and Adaptation. Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Madison, Wisconsin.</ref><ref name = "HRWC"> Huron River Watershed Council. (2013). Climate Resilient Communities. Retrieved from https://www.hrwc.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Water Infastructure.pdf</ref>:
*Triage: Focusing resources where they have the greatest impact.
*Precautionary principle: Acting even without certainty when risks are high.
*No-regrets strategies: Implementing actions that provide benefits under any climate scenario.
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"Faced with uncertainty about future climate change, and given constraints on available resources, communities may choose to pursue no-regrets strategies – actions that are beneficial in addressing current stormwater management needs regardless of whether or how climate may change in the future" (Means, 2010)<ref>Means, E.G., Laugier M.C., daw J.A. and Owen D.A. Impacts of climate change on infrastructure planning and design: Past practices and future needs, Journal (American Water Works Association), ISSN 0003-150X, 6/2010, Volume 102, Issue 6, pp. 56 - 65</ref>
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No-regrets approaches, often described as proactive adaptive management, rely on risk-based design standards that account for climate uncertainty and promote actions—such as reducing impervious cover—that enhance watershed resilience under any scenario (Huron River Watershed Council, 2013)<ref name = "HRWC"> Huron River Watershed Council. (2013). Climate Resilient Communities. Retrieved from https://www.hrwc.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Water Infastructure.pdf</ref>. Evidence also shows that redevelopment strategies like increasing density and decreasing impervious cover function as effective no-regrets adaptations, reducing pollutant loads in stormwater runoff while addressing broader climate adaptation goals (Pyke et al., 2011)<ref name ="Pyke">Pyke, C., Warren, M. P., Johnson, T., LaGro, J., Scharfenberg, J., Groth, P.,...Main, E. (2011). Assessment of low impact development for managing stormwater with changing precipitation due to climate change. Landscape and Urban Planning, 103(2), 166–173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2011.07.006 </ref>. However, climate change adaptation in infrastructure planning remains complex due to the scale, interconnectedness, and uncertainty of the problem, requiring integrated solutions rather than single strategies (Blanco et al., 2009)<ref>Hilda Blanco, Marina Alberti, Ann Forsyth, Kevin J. Krizek, Daniel A. Rodríguez, Emily Talen, Cliff Ellis; Hot, congested, crowded and diverse: Emerging research agendas in planning, Progress in Planning, May 2009 Volume, 71(4) p.153-205</ref>. Green infrastructure plays a key role in this risk-based framework by functioning as a buffer against uncertain climate impacts. Rather than offering only direct, measurable benefits, it reduces the risks of extreme weather events such as flooding, heat waves, and storms, helping communities avoid negative outcomes while also providing wider social and environmental benefits (Matthews et al., 2015)<ref>Matthews, T., Lo, A. Y., & Byrne, J. A. (2015). Reconceptualizing green infrastructure for climate change adaptation: Barriers to adoption and drivers for uptake by spatial planners. Landscape and Urban Planning, 138, 155–163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2015.02.010 </ref>. Together, these perspectives underscore why LID should be widely implemented: it supports current stormwater management needs while simultaneously preparing communities for uncertain future climate conditions.
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