Low Impact Development in Municipalities

Low Im p act Development (LID) is an innovative • Eases the burden on wastewater treatment approach to urban planning and development plants and combined sewer outflow systems that aims to reduce the impacts of stormwater by during heavy rainfall events, ensuring more collect ing and treating runoff as close to its source efficient and effective water management. [...] • Mitigates stormwater runoff and peak Challenges to implementing Low Impact discharges, reducing the volume and intensity Development (LID) practices include: of water flow. [...] improving source water quality through • Insufficient availability of comprehensive advanced wastewater treatment and guidelines and templates for designing and reduced drinking water treatment needs. [...] Canadian municipalities are at the forefront rainwater harvesting incentives to residents, of LID initiatives, showcasing innovative encouraging the collection of rainwater for approaches to create environmentally non-potable uses like irrigation and toilet resilient and sustainable urban spaces. [...] Adopting LID practices enhances (or, in some cases, replaces) conventional stormwater approaches to protect water quality and biodiversity and increases community resilience to local impacts of climate change.