Low Impact Development and Green Infrastructure:

The Low Impact Development Center is a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of Low Impact Development technology. Low Impact Development is a new, comprehensive land planning and engineering design approach with a goal of maintaining and enhancing the pre-development hydrologic regime of urban and developing watersheds.

The Puget Sound Partnership is a community effort of citizens, governments, tribes, scientists, and businesses working together to restore and protect Puget Sound.

Evaluations, Scorecards, Calculators, etc.

Green Values® Stormwater Toolbox was originally developed primarily for use by planners, engineers, and other municipal staff. This site is designed to help explain what green infrastructure is and does; how the use of green infrastructure saves money; and the costs and benefits of using green infrastructure to mitigate the need for different types of built water infrastructure, such as sewers and detention basins.

Water Quality Scorecard EPA’s Smart Growth Program, in conjunction with the Office of Water, has released Water Quality Scorecard: Incorporating Green Infrastructure Practices at the Municipal, Neighborhood, and Site Scale. This scorecard offers policy options for protection and improving water quality across different scales of land use and across multiple municipal departments.

Center for Watershed Protection: The Code and Ordinance Worksheet (.pdf) allows an in-depth review of the standards, ordinances, and codes (i.e., the development rules) that shape how development occurs in your community. Part of the Post Construction Guidance Manual (.pdf~22 MB).

Manuals, Guidance Documents, and Other Resources for Municipal Officials

Natural Resources Defense Council: Rooftops to Rivers – Green Strategies for Controlling Stormwater and Combined Sewer Overflows was developed to provide local decision makers with examples of controlling stormwater in urban environments, the economic benefits of green solutions, and policy recommendations. Case studies from around the United States are also included.

US EPA: Reducing Stormwater Costs through Low Impact Development (LID) Strategies and Practices summarizes 17 case studies of developments that included LID practices and concludes that applying LID techniques can reduce project costs and improve environmental performance.

Watershed Impact Assessment Guidance for Public Lands and Facilities: An Approach for Municipal Managers to Integrate Watershed Management and Asset Management Strategies was developed by LMI with an EPA grant, and is for state and local public works managers who are interested in integrating watershed management into their strategic municipal asset management process.

Low-Impact Development Strategies and Tools for Local Governments (.pdf) discusses a life-cycle cost analysis method for evaluating LID projects as an alternative to, or a part of, conventional stormwater controls at a development site.

Sourcewater Collaborative Twenty-three national organizations have united to protect America’s drinking water at the source – in the lakes, rivers, streams and aquifers we tap for drinking purposes. The Source Water Collaborative (SWC) was originally formed in 2006 with 13 groups to combine the strengths and tools of a diverse set of member organizations to act now, and protect drinking water sources for generations to come.

American Rivers LID Manual for the Lower Maumee and Ottawa River Watersheds provides stormwater managers and site designers with a common understanding of LID goals and objectives, site assessment considerations, and a toolbox of stormwater BMPs applicable to the Lower Maumee and Ottawa River watersheds.