Low Impact Development

The Rice Creek Watershed District was a contributor toward the establishment of a model Low Impact Development (LID) project along the Vermillion River. This project is a finalist for the 2006 Minnesota Environmental Initative Awards, the most prestigious environmental award in Minnesota.

As explained by one of our partners in this project—the Minnehaha Watershed District: Low Impact Development (LID) is an innovative stormwater management approach with a basic principle that is modeled after nature: manage rainfall at the source. LID uses uniformly distributed decentralized micro-scale controls. LID’s goal is to mimic a site’s predevelopment hydrology by using design techniques that infiltrate, filter, store, evaporate, and detain runoff close to its source. Techniques are based on the premise that stormwater management should not be seen as stormwater disposal.

Instead of conveying stormwater and treating it in large, costly end-of-pipe facilities located at the bottom of drainage areas, LID addresses stormwater through small, cost-effective landscape features located at the lot level. These landscape features, known as Integrated Management Practices (IMPs), are the building blocks of LID. Almost all components of the urban environment have the potential to serve as an IMP. This includes not only open space, but also rooftops, streetscapes, parking lots, sidewalks, and medians. LID is a versatile approach that can be applied equally well to new development, urban retrofits, and redevelopment / revitalization projects.

LID Presentation (4.5 MB pdf)