LID Case Studies

Overview

This page is a repository of recent case studies that the Sustainable Technologies Evaluation Program (STEP) have conducted over the past two decades or so. Keep your eye on this page as new projects wrap up and technical briefs or reports are developed they will be added to this page.

Each of the documents are separated by the LID BMP feature that was studied / monitored or built, several of these documents will appear several times throughout this page as many have information on multiple LIDs' performance.

Bioretention

This report by TRCA found several stormwater management benefits by incorporating several LID principles Bioretention, Infiltration trenches/Infiltration chambers, and Enhanced grass swales into sustainable functional design in an underutilized space, now named the 'Bentway' under Toronto's Gardiner Expressway. This allowed for dual functioning of a public recreational area and suitable stormwater management. Read more by clicking the button above.

This report by TRCA discusess the recent 'Markham Municipal Green Road Pilot Project' that was established between 2015 - 2018 and which is located on Vanni Avenue, south east of the intersection of 14th Avenue and Middlefield Rd. in a a mixed use residential and commercial property area. The specially designed road includes multiple low impact development (LID) technologies, including permeable paver boulevards, bioretention and infiltration trenches/galleries underlain beneath the bioretention features to manage stormwater at the source. To learn more about this "Green Street" read the project brief by clicking the button above.

This report by CVC highlights the benefits of a multi-LID retrofit on a mixed-use street with residential homes and an education centre on Elm Drive in Mississauga. The retrofit included, a Permeable pavement sidewalk and parking layby along with six Bioretention cells connected with an underdrain. The site now provides stormwater treatment by improving the quality of stormwater discharged (thermal mitigation, reductionm in runoff volume to storm sewers, etc.) to Cooksville Creek. Read more by clicking the button above.

This report by CVC provides a thorough overview of the monitoring work done at the Imax corporate Headquarters, located in Mississauga, ON. The parking lot was expanded and retrofitted with a combination of traditional asphalt and permeable pavement. The asphalt runoff drains to one of three vegetated bioretention units on site. The The parking lot runoff is collected, absorbed and filtered by these LID practices before entering a wetland adjacent to the parking lot. Read more about these features performance over this multi-year study by clicking the button above.

Read more about *Bioretention here.

Stormwater Tree Trenches

The Sustainable Sidewalk project was initiated as a solution to address the disturbance of street tree roots associated with the removal of sidewalks for utility cuts. A working group with participants from various City of Toronto Divisions was formed and the group decided to use soil cells for a stormwater tree trench system (bioretention) and in the fall of 2008 constructed The 'Queensway Sustainable Sidewalk Pilot Project'. Monitoring results from the study found that the soils were able to reduce TSS (>80%) and heavy metal concentrations in the road run off that entered the system. Also the outlet flow meter did not show any flow release after a rainfall of 3 mm that was preceded by a period of no rain, showcasing the systems ability to mitigate excess stormwater runoff in the heavily urbanized location.

Read more about Stormwater Tree Trenches here.

Sustainable Technologies Evaluation Program

Low Impact Development. A stormwater management strategy that seeks to mitigate the impacts of increased urban runoff and stormwater pollution by managing it as close to its source as possible. It comprises a set of site design approaches and small scale stormwater management practices that promote the use of natural systems for infiltration and evapotranspiration, and rainwater harvesting.

Best management practice. State of the art methods or techniques used to manage the quantity and improve the quality of wet weather flow. BMPs include: source, conveyance and end-of-pipe controls.

A shallow excavated surface depression containing prepared filter media, mulch, and planted with selected vegetation.

Toronto and Region Conservation Authority

A stormwater management strategy that seeks to mitigate the impacts of increased urban runoff and stormwater pollution by managing it as close to its source as possible. It comprises a set of site design approaches and small scale stormwater management practices that promote the use of natural systems for infiltration and evapotranspiration, and rainwater harvesting.

A shallow excavated surface depression containing prepared filter media, mulch, and planted with selected vegetation.

Credit Valley Conservation

The portion of water precipitated onto a catchment area, which then flows as surface discharge from the catchment area past a specified point.

Water from rain, snow melt, or irrigation that flows over the land surface.

A mixture of mineral aggregates bound with bituminous materials, used in the construction and maintenance of paved surfaces.

An alternative practice to traditional impervious pavement, prevents the generation of runoff by allowing precipitation falling on the surface to infiltrate through the surface course into an underlying stone reservoir and, where suitable conditions exist, into the native soil.

A vegetated area such as a bog, fen, marsh, or swamp, where the soil or root zone is saturated for part of the year.

Total suspended solids