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A Review of Applicability and Effectiveness of Low Impact Development/Green Infrastructure Practices in Arid/Semi-Arid United States
Citation:
Jiang, Y., Y. Yuan, AND H. Piza. A Review of Applicability and Effectiveness of Low Impact Development/Green Infrastructure Practices in Arid/Semi-Arid United States. JOURNAL OF ARID ENVIRONMENTS. Elsevier Science Ltd, New York, NY, 2(0):221-249, (2015).
Impact/Purpose:
A comprehensive review of LID/GI studies in the arid/semi-arid US Southwest/West with focus on field performance and quantitative analysis and recommendations base on cost-effectiveness comparison based on a range of practices.
Description:
Southwestern/Western United States is among the fastest growing urbanized area and faces multiple water resource challenges. Low Impact Development (LID) /Green Infrastructure (GI) practices are increasingly popular technologies for managing stormwater; however, LID is often not as common in the Southwestern/Western area due to the current lack of regulatory or economic drivers. There is also a lack of performance evaluation of these practices, particularly at the field scale. This study focused on investigating the hydrologic and pollutant removal performance of field-scale LID/GI systems in arid/semi-arid climates. Nine types of typical practices were reviewed: rainwater harvest system, detention pond, retention pond, bioretention, media filter, porous pavement, vegetated swale/buffer/strip, green roof, infiltration trench, as well as integrated LIDs. This study evaluated these practices based on cost-effectiveness analysis and also made recommendations for the arid/semi-arid area. The analysis would provide data support and insights for the future implementation of LID/GI in the Southwest/West.