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===Alleviating Pressures Using Low Impact Approaches to Development===
===Alleviating Pressures Using Low Impact Approaches to Development===
[[File:Urban_Hydrology_3.png|thumb|Urban hydrology with Low Impact Development]]
[[File:Pearson_Graph.png|thumb|Typically designed to handle the smaller, most frequent storm events, LID practices in Southern Ontario are usually sized according to the 90th percentile event]]
There are many reasons that make LID the smart choice when it comes to stormwater management. The creation of well-designed permeable landscapes provides an opportunity to capture, retain and infiltrate stormwater runoff close to its source. Rather than treat stormwater as a waste product to be discarded, LID recognizes stormwater for what it is – a resource to be safeguarded and harnessed for the benefit of both the built and natural environment.
There are many reasons that make LID the smart choice when it comes to stormwater management. The creation of well-designed permeable landscapes provides an opportunity to capture, retain and infiltrate stormwater runoff close to its source. Rather than treat stormwater as a waste product to be discarded, LID recognizes stormwater for what it is – a resource to be safeguarded and harnessed for the benefit of both the built and natural environment.
A central tenet underpinning low impact development approaches to stormwater management is the treatment train approach, which describes a hierarchical suite of practices which manage rainfall where it falls, followed by the attenuation, filtration and infiltration of stormwater along its path of travel and – eventually – using an end-of-pipe detention and polishing process. While many LID practices – including bioretention, soakaway pits and others – are not necessarily intended to remedy issues related to urban flooding per se, they are effective at easing the pressure on aging, overburdened stormwater infrastructure. That being said, there are new options in the LID toolkit which have the capacity to provide both peak flow and large event runoff volume control.
A central tenet underpinning low impact development approaches to stormwater management is the treatment train approach, which describes a hierarchical suite of practices which manage rainfall where it falls, followed by the attenuation, filtration and infiltration of stormwater along its path of travel and – eventually – using an end-of-pipe detention and polishing process. While many LID practices – including bioretention, soakaway pits and others – are not necessarily intended to remedy issues related to urban flooding per se, they are effective at easing the pressure on aging, overburdened stormwater infrastructure. That being said, there are new options in the LID toolkit which have the capacity to provide both peak flow and large event runoff volume control.
Typically designed to handle the smaller, most frequent storm events, LID practices in Southern Ontario are usually sized according to the 90th percentile event (See Figure). In the GTA, this translates into events that are approximately 25 mm or less in size. Note that 25 mm is also considered to be a suitable representation of the ‘first flush’ volume, and that controlling this amount of runoff provides stormwater engineers with control over 90% of the mean annual pollutant load <ref>Pitt, R. 1999. Small Storm Hydrology and Why it is Important for the Design of Stormwater Control Practices. In: Advances in Modeling the Management of Stormwater Impacts, Volume 7. Computational Hydraulics International, Guelph, Ontario and Lewis Publishers/CRC Press. 1999</ref>.
Typically designed to handle the smaller, most frequent storm events, LID practices in Southern Ontario are usually sized according to the 90th percentile event (See Figure). In the GTA, this translates into events that are approximately 25 mm or less in size. Note that 25 mm is also considered to be a suitable representation of the ‘first flush’ volume, and that controlling this amount of runoff provides stormwater engineers with control over 90% of the mean annual pollutant load <ref>Pitt, R. 1999. Small Storm Hydrology and Why it is Important for the Design of Stormwater Control Practices. In: Advances in Modeling the Management of Stormwater Impacts, Volume 7. Computational Hydraulics International, Guelph, Ontario and Lewis Publishers/CRC Press. 1999</ref>.
==References==
==References==
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