Low-Impact Development and Coastal Waters: Can Public Health Standards Be Protected?

Many coastal waters are designated under the federal Clean Water Act to be used for swimming and shellfishing. While Congress has established a legal obligation to protect and restore these "existing" uses of coastal waters, conventional stormwater management measures fail to adequately treat and remove bacteria from urban stormwater runoff. This means that as development occurs these existing uses of coastal waters are frequently prohibited to protect public health. This presentation examines the potential of Low-Impact Development (LID) practices to successfully prevent and reverse this persistent and widespread form of water quality degradation in urbanizing coastal areas. The legal water-quality protection imperatives that LID must satisfy are identified, technical challenges unique to coastal areas discussed, and real life experiences with LID use and performance along the coast on North Carolina reviewed. The conclusion is that LID has the potential to protect and restore coastal water quality as long as it successfully replicates natural hydrology, and LID strategies should become the cornerstone of watershed management strategies including Total Maximum Daily Load implementation plans.