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Non-residential Low Impact Development Tools
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Street Design/Transportation
Parking Lots
Site Planning
Guidances

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Many of the documents listed on this site are PDF files. Viewing a PDF file requires use of Adobe's free Acrobat Reader software.  *EPA's PDF page  provides information on downloading the software.

Street Design/Transportation
Street Storage System for Control of Combined Sewer Surcharge: Retrofitting Stormwater Storage into Combined Sewer Systems
Street Storage System for Control of Combined Sewer Surcharge: Retrofitting Stormwater Storage into Combined Sewer Systems Project description and documents of two case-studies in Illinois used to delay storm runoff into CSS. The premise was accepting the full volume of stormwater runoff into the sewer system but greatly reducing the peak rate of entry of stormwater into the system. System components include street berms, flow regulators, surface and subsurface stormwater storage sites.

LID Training for Linear Transportation Exit EPA Disclaimer
Materials presented at a training course for transportation agency officials on how to incorporate LID into linear transportation projects. It was developed in National Highway Institute format.
 

City of Portland, OR, Livable Streets Program Exit EPA Disclaimer
City of Portland Metro has published three handbooks that provide practical step-by-step methods for designing safe and healthy city streets. Handbooks are 11 inches wide by 8 1/2 inches tall in size, with soft covers and spiral bindings. Single copies of the handbooks are free (including shipping) to residents of the Metro region; there is a charge for multiple copies. Handbooks are for sale to residents outside the Metro region. Titles: Creating Livable Streets: Street Design Guidelines for 2040 (second edition), Green Streets: Innovative Solutions for Stormwater and Stream Crossings, Trees for Green Streets: An Illustrated Guide.

Management of Runoff from Surface Transportation Facilities Exit EPA Disclaimer (*PDF, 144 kb)
A peer-reviewed paper from ASCE on impacts on water quality from surface runoff.
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Parking Lots

Parking Lot (*PDF, 65 kb)
A fact sheet illustrating a case study conducted by the City of Olympia on permeable and other alternative pavement surfaces. The study demonstrates the potential of alternative pavement systems to reduce stormwater runoff and provide water quality and cost savings benefits.
   
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Site Planning
Low Impact Development Urban Design Tools Exit EPA Disclaimer
The LID Center, Inc., site provides design specifications, technical diagrams, and cost-sheets for LID techniques including bioretention, green roofs, permeable pavements, rain barrels and cisterns, soil amendments, and tree box filters. These tools and techniques may be used to meet regulatory and receiving water protection program goals for urban retrofits, re-development projects, and new development sites. The site has been developed through a Cooperative Assistance Agreement under the US EPA Office of Water 104b(3) Program in order to provide guidance to local governments, planners, and engineers for developing, administering, and incorporating Low Impact Development (LID) into their water resource protection programs.

Interactive Design for LID Techniques Exit EPA Disclaimer
Interactive Design Page for LID techniques where the user can read about specific design concerns and caveats, download detailed specifications, determine a construction schedule, and understand the maintenance and cost requirements site planning tools.

LID Integrated Management Practices (IMP) Standards & Specifications Exit EPA Disclaimer
Standards and Specifications for four LID Integrated Management Practices 1) Bioretention cells, 2) Bioretention swales, 3) Permeable Pavement Blocks, 4) Soil Amendments. The standards are written using AASHTO and ASTE criteria where possible, for ease of standardization.

LID Planning Process for Urban Areas Exit EPA Disclaimer
A handbook for urban planners and landscape architects to use to develop LID master plans and assess the feasibility of using LID’s multifunctional landscape for not only environmental protection and restoration, but community development. site planning tools currently unavailable (HTML format)
 

National Stormwater Best Management Practices Database Exit EPA 
	Disclaimer
This interactive database provides access to BMP performance data in a standardized format for over 190 BMP studies conducted over the past fifteen years. Data when available is presented on the efficiency of pollutant removal.

Environmental Center of the Rockies Demonstration Project Exit EPA Disclaimer
Interactive Public Demonstration and Research Project on the Impact of parking lots, landscaping and design on water quality.

CA Stormwater Best Management Practice (BMP) Exit EPA Disclaimer
Handbooks from the state of California Includes residential, municipal, industrial and other non-residential applications, and BMPs for preventing pollution from urban areas.

Low-Impact Development Pilot Projects (*PDF, 19 kb)
A fact sheet by the Naval District, Washington, containing descriptions of several low impact development practices, including bioretention, permeable pavers, disconnecting impervious surfaces, rain barrels, street tree filters, storm drain inlets and soil amendments. Naval District, Washington.

Natural Approaches to Stormwater Management Exit EPA Disclaimer
A Web-based display of the Puget Sound Action Teams' study on using LID techniques such as soil amendments and bioretention, harvesting rooftop rainwater, and using permeable pavement to better deal with stormwater, and restore ecological water balances.

Site Planning for Urban Stream Protection Exit EPA Disclaimer
Center for Watershed Protection
The document presents a watershed approach to site planning, examining new ways to reduce pollutant loads and protect aquatic resources through non-structural practices and improved construction site planning. Provides insight into the importance of imperviousness, watershed-based zoning, the concentration of development, headwater streets, stream buffers, green parking lots, and other land planning topics.
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Guidances
Stormwater Planning - A Guidebook for British Columbia Exit EPA Disclaimer
The stormwater planning guidebook — a new tool for local governments — presents a methodology for moving from planning to action that focuses on implementing early action where it is most needed. The guidebook approach is designed to eliminate the root cause of negative ecological and property impacts of stormwater by addressing the spectrum of rainfall events.

Low-Impact Development Hydrology Analysis (*PDF, 2.0 mb)
The hydrology supplement to the national low impact development manual provides information on hydrologic analysis procedures for this technology Prince George's County, Maryland, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Conservation Design for Stormwater Management, Delaware (*PDF, 9.93 mb)
A conservation design manual that provides guidance on protecting and incorporating natural site features into a site’s land development process and stormwater management plan. Contains guidance on site assessment; design principles, procedures and practices; and case studies.

Innovative Urban Wet-Weather Flow Management Systems
This manual provides a conceptual history of water in the urban environment, then, describes innovative methods to develop improved wet weather flow management systems for urban developments of the 21st century.
 
Low Impact Development Design Strategies, Prince George's County, MD (*PDF, 8.61 mb)
The national low impact development manual presents goals and principles for this technology, and guidance on site planning, design practices, erosion and sediment control considerations, maintenance needs, and techniques for public outreach.

Urban Small Sites Best Management Practice Manual Exit EPA Disclaimer
The Minnesota BMP manual provides information on tools and techniques (to assist Twin Cities municipalities and WMOs) to help them guide development and redevelopment. The manual includes detailed information on 40 BMPs that are aimed at managing stormwater pollution for small urban sites in a cold-climate setting. The goal of the manual is to support the principles of accomodating growth while preserving the environment. Clear design guidelines with diagrams are provided for each BMP.