Meeting Challenges of Stormwater Management in Semi Arid Climates with Low Impact Development

The Low Impact Development (LID) techniques have been found to be advantageous in mimicking the pre-development hydrologic regime of urban and developing watersheds by attempting to preserve or restore the components hydrologic cycle. LID applications are common in humid climates in the northwest, mid-west and eastern portions of the United States but have been limited in the semi-arid climates of southwestern states due to some hydrologic issues. In this paper, a thorough evaluation of alternative approaches to stormwater management has been conducted using CH2M HILL's LIFE^TM model for a case study in California. This case study provides a brief summary of the results of the LID application and outlines considerations for implementing strategies to reduce the effects of development tand a better understanding of the benefits of implementing LID techniques to minimize the effects of development on stormwater pollution, stream bank erosion, and habitat degradation.