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FRAMEWORK FOR PLACEMENT OF BMP/LID IN URBAN WATERSHEDS
Citation:
Lai*, D AND L. Shoemaker. FRAMEWORK FOR PLACEMENT OF BMP/LID IN URBAN WATERSHEDS. Presented at LID Conference: Putting the LID on Stormwater Management, College Park, MD, September 21 - 23, 2004.
Impact/Purpose:
To inform the public.
Description:
A number of stormwater control strategies, commonly known as best management practices (BMPs), are used to mitigate runoff volumes and associated nonpoint source pollution due to wet-weather flows (WWFs). BMP types include ponds, bioretention facilities, infiltration trenches, grass swales, filter strips, dry wells, and cisterns. Another control option is “low impact development” (LID) – or hydrologic source control – which strives to retain a site’s pre-development hydrologic regime, reducing WWF and the associated nonpoint source pollution and treatment needs. To assist stormwater management professionals in planning for BMP/LID implementation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) has funded the development of a decision support system for selection and placement of BMP/LID at strategic locations in urban watersheds. The BMP/LID assessment tools, based on sound science and engineering, will help develop, evaluate, select, and place BMP/LID options based on cost and effectiveness. The system is called the Integrated Stormwater Management Decision Support Framework (ISMDSF). The ISMDSF will provide a means for objective analysis of management alternatives among multiple interacting and competing factors. The desired outcome from the system application is a thorough, practical, and informative assessment considering the significant factors in urban watersheds. The ISMDSF will be applied to a real urban watershed to evaluate its ability. The initial phase of this research is expected to be completed in 2005 and will include a comprehensive design with all pieces in place but not all functionalities. The subsequent phase will include an enhanced GIS capability for visualization of placement options, more powerful post-processors, expanded cost estimating functions, improved BMP simulation processes, and more importantly, a cost-optimization component. This presentation will include project background, rationale, approach, review findings of watershed and BMP/LID models, and the near final design of the framework.