Low impact development technology : implementation and economics

132 Pages·2015·2.13 MB·English

by  Edited by Michael L. Clar, P.E., D.WRE, Robert G. Traver, Shirley E. Clark, Shannon Lucas, Keith Lichten, Michael A. Ports, Aaron Poretsky, Edited by Michael L. Clar, P.E., D.WRE, Robert G. Traver, Shirley E. Clark, Shannon Lucas, Keith Lichten, Michael A. Ports, Aaron Poretsky

Low Impact Development
Technology

Implementation and Economics

SPONSORED BY

Low Impact Development Committee
of the Urban Water Resources Research Council
of the Environmental and Water Resources Institute
of the American Society of Civil Engineers

EDITED BY

Michael L. Clar, P.E., D.WRE
Robert G. Traver, P.E., D.WRE
Shirley E. Clark, P.E., D.WRE
Shannon Lucas
Keith Lichten, P.E.
Michael A. Ports, P.E., D.WRE
Aaron Poretsky

Published by the American Society of Civil Engineers
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Low Impact Development Conference (2011 : Philadelphia, Pa.)
Low impact development technology : implementation and economics / sponsored by Low Impact
Development Committee of the Urban Water Resources Research Council of the Environmental and
Water Resources Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers ; edited by Michael L. Clar,
P.E., D.WRE, Robert G. Traver, P.E., D.WRE, Shirley E. Clark, P.E., D.WRE, Shannon Lucas, Keith
Lichten, P.E., Michael A. Ports, P.E., D.WRE, Aaron Poretsky.
pages cm
Papers presented at the 2011 Low Impact Development Conference, held in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, September 25-18, 2011.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-7844-1387-6 (paper : alk. paper) -- ISBN 978-0-7844-7896-7 (PDF) 1. Urban runoff--
Management--Congresses. 2. Sanitary engineering--Congresses. 3. Sustainable development--
Congresses. I. Clar, Michael L. II. American Society of Civil Engineers. Low Impact Development
Committee. III. Title.
TD657.L69 2015
363.72'84--dc23
2014043591

Published by American Society of Civil Engineers
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Copyright © 2015 by the American Society of Civil Engineers.
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ISBN 978-0-7844-1387-6 (paper)
ISBN 978-0-7844-7896-7 (PDF)
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Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1
LID Implementation Roadblocks
Puget Sound Partnership’s LID Technical Assistance Program:
2009-2011 Update ........................................................................................................ 5
Bruce T. Wulkan
Overcoming Barriers to Implementation of LID Practices .................................. 17
Rod Frederick, R. Fernando Pasquel, and Hunter J. Loftin
A Low Impact Development (LID) Guidance Document and
Model Ordinance ...................................................................................................... 26
Steve Trinkaus and Michael Clar
The Farmington River Enhancement Grants: A Tale of Three Towns and the
Path to Low Impact Development ........................................................................... 35
Steve Trinkhaus
Beyond the Green Infrastructure: What Do You Do with the Trash
and Debris? ................................................................................................................ 46
Hans de Bruijn Sr.
LID Economics
Measuring the Cost-Effectiveness of LID and Conventional Stormwater
Management Plans Using Life Cycle Costs and Performance Metrics ............... 54
J. Alex Forasté, Robert Goo, Joel Thrash, and Lisa Hair
Economic and Adaptation Benefits of Low Impact Development ....................... 74
Robert M. Roseen, Todd V. Janeski, Michael Simpson, James H. Houle, Jeff
Gunderson, and Thomas P. Ballestero
A Comparison of Maintenance Costs, Labor Demands, and System
Performance for LID and Conventional Stormwater Management .................... 93
James J. Houle, Robert M. Roseen, Thomas P. Ballestero, Timothy A. Puls, and
James Sherrard
Integrated LID and Green Infrastructure Planning at Rutgers University to
Achieve Better Ecological Outcomes at Lower Cost ........................................... 106
Ted Brown, Jennifer Dowdell, Seth Richter, and Larry Porter
iii
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Preface
Low Impact Development (LID) technology has rapidly become the standard for
stormwater management in Federal, State and local jurisdictions throughout the
United States and in many other countries throughout the world including; Australia,
Canada, China, England, New Zealand, and Taiwan. As with many new and
emerging technologies there is a learning curve associated with the application of the
technology. The Low Impact Development Committee of the Urban Water Resources
Research Council (UWRRC) of Environmental and Water Resources Institute
(EWRI) of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) was formed to bridge
this learning curve and facilitate the adoption of this new technology. One of the
primary tools of the committee has been the sponsorship of a series of national and
international conferences on LID technology which present the latest ideas and
advances in the technology. One of these conferences was held in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania in September 2011.
The Philadelphia LID conference addressed two of the major areas of uncertainty in
LID which include implementation procedures and roadblocks and the economic
impacts associated with the implementation of this technology. These two topics are
the focus of this publication which presents a number of selected papers from the
Philadelphia conference.
Topics covered under the implementation of LID at the local level include:
(cid:120) Regulations & Codes
(cid:120) Outreach Activities
(cid:120) Planning and Information Exchange
(cid:120) Policy Incentives to Encourage LID
(cid:120) LID Strategies: Changing Behavior of Individuals & Institutions
LID economics, addresses a wide range of economic issues which include:
(cid:120) Economic Benefits of Individual LID Practices
(cid:120) Operations and Maintenance Considerations for LID Practices
(cid:120) LID Life Cycle Costs and Performance Metrics.
The Philadelphia LID conference also addressed a wide range of LID design topics
and presented a number of case studies of LID applications. These materials are
presented in a companion volume, Low Impact Development Technology: Design
Methods and Case Studies.
v
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Acknowledgments

The Philadelphia National LID conference and the proceedings of the conference
could not have been possible without the dedicated efforts and leadership of the
conference chairs: Dr. Robert Traver, Villanova University; Dr. Bill Hunt North
Carolina State University; and Dr. Allen Davis, University of Maryland. In addition
the outstanding efforts of Ms. Cathy Smith, Extension Associate of North Carolina
State University are hereby acknowledged.

Many individuals were responsible for the success of the Conference. Our
appreciation and gratitude are extended to the conference partners:

(cid:120) US EPA
(cid:120) Environmental & Water Resources Institute
(cid:120) LID Center
(cid:120) Water Environment Research Foundation
(cid:120) Philadelphia Water Department - Office of Watersheds
(cid:120) Temple-Villanova Sustainable Stormwater Initiative
(cid:120) Temple University - Center for Sustainable Communities
(cid:120) Center for Watershed Protection
(cid:120) Chesapeake Stormwater Network

Our gratitude is also extended to the authors of the papers presented in this
publication for their hard work and valuable contributions in the advancement of Lid
technology.

We also extend our gratitude to the co-editors who donated their valuable time and
intellect editing the technical papers presented in this publication. The co-editors
include:

(cid:120) Michael Clar, Ecosite, Inc., Ellicott City, MD
(cid:120) Shirley Clark, Penn State University-Harrisburg, PA
(cid:120) Shannon Lucas, Brightwater, Inc., Ellicott City, MD
(cid:120) Keith Lichten, California Water Boards, Oakland, CA
(cid:120) Michael Ports, Ports Engineering, Jacksonville, FL
(cid:120) Aaron Poretsky, Geosyntec, Portland, OR
(cid:120) Robert Traver, Villanova University, Villanova, PA

vii
viii LID: IMPLEMENTATION AND ECONOMICS
Finally our gratitude is also extended to all the conference co-sponsors both public
and private organizations, including:

(cid:120) USEPA 319 National Monitoring Program
(cid:120) Contech, Scarborough, ME
http://www.contech-cpi.com/urbangreen
(cid:120) Tetra Tech, Inc., Pasadena, CA
http://www.tetratech.com/
(cid:120) Filterra Bioretention Systems, Ashland, VA
http://www.filterra.com/
(cid:120) AbTech Industries, Scottsdale, Arizona
http://www.abtechindustries.com/
(cid:120) CDM, Cambridge, MA
http://www.cdm.com/
(cid:120) AKRF, New York, NY
http://www.akrf.com/
(cid:120) Belgard Commercial, An Oldcastle Company, Atlanta, GA
http://www.oldcastle.com/
(cid:120) Biohabitats, Baltimore, MD
http://www.biohabitats.com/
(cid:120) Greenhorne & O’Mara, Laurel, MD
http://www.g-and-o.com/main.asp
(cid:120) Michael Baker Jr., Inc., Philadelphia, PA
http://www.mbakercorp.com/
(cid:120) Ernst Conservation Seeds, Meadville, PA
http://www.ernstseed.com
(cid:120) Trans-Pacific Engineering Corporation, Willow Grove, PA
http://www.tpeceng.com
Introduction

Low Impact Development (LID) technology is being increasingly adopted by
Federal, State, and local government agencies as the preferred and sustainable
approach to stormwater management associated with land development and
redevelopment activities. Considering that this technology is only slightly over ten
years old (e.g., the first LID Design Manual was published by Prince George’s
County, Maryland in 1998), it represents an unusually rapid rate of adoption for a
new technology. This rapid adoption is due in part to the realization by local
governments that the traditional approaches to stormwater management were not
achieving the desired environmental protection goals, as well as the recognition that
LID technology is based on ecologically sensitive and sustainable concepts that are
essential and necessary to ensure that these environmental protection objectives are
achieved.

The rapid adoption of LID technology notwithstanding there are two major areas of
uncertainty which confront the application of LID technology and which were
addressed at the conference. These two topics which are the focus of this publication
include LID Implementation Strategies and LID Economics.

Issues Associated with the Implementation of LID

As any new idea or technology is introduced, it is typical to experience some degree
of resistance to its implementation. In the case of LID, which is a permanent change
in our land use practices, it represents a paradigm shift in the way that we look at
development practices and the handling of stormwater, this pushback can be
significant. On the regulatory side of the coin, there are three major areas where this
resistance has been encountered and documented.

1) Regulatory Framework
2) LID Technology
3) Education and Training

Regulatory Framework. There are various regulatory requirements which create
conflicts between land use agencies with the current approach to site development
and stormwater management today. The implementation of a new paradigm like LID
can create larger conflicts between these agencies. In many parts of the country, land
use decisions are commonly made at the County or Municipal level. In many cases,
there are multiple agencies which have input in the final land use decisions and not
all of the individual agency goals are aligned which creates these conflicts. In order
to implement LID, the various agencies and goals must become more aligned for the
greater good of the environment and society.
1