In the Winter '09 Planning Comm'rs Journal:
Managing Stormwater Runoff: A Green Infrastructure Approach, by Lynn Richards
The U.S. EPA has excellent information about stormwater, with contact information at the local, regional, and national level. They also have a fact sheet on Street Designs and Patterns, extensive information about green infrastructure, and stormwater stickers for kids to collect.
The EPA's Office of Policy, Economics, and Innovation Smart Growth Programs has additional resources on stormwater and development.
The Vermont Stream Geomorphic Assessment from the state's Agency of Natural Resources provides a comprehensive glossary of terms for those new to the vocabulary of stormwater.
Projects highlighted in Lynn Richards' article include:
The Rain to Recreation Program, a regional watershed approach to address stormwater quantity and quality in Lenexa, Kansas. Goals of the program are to reduce flooding, protect water quality and natural habitat, and to provide recreational and educational opportunities. See also PCJ Editor Wayne Senville's report on this program during his visit to Lenexa in June 2007.
The High Point Redevelopment in Seattle, Washington received a National Award for Smart Growth Achievement in 2007. For more information on the stormwater management aspects of the project. There's also an excellent article, High Point: A Blueprint for Greening Affordable Housing in Seattle that's posted on the Terrain.org website.
The City of Burnsville, Minnesota, installed an experimental rain garden system and conducted a study comparing two residential areas, one with rain gardens and one without. The watershed retrofitted with rain gardens saw a 90% reduction in runoff volumes. For more information on this project (pdf).
The Belle Hall charrette (pdf), organized by the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League and the City of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, included town and county officials and planners, private sector engineers, and researchers.
The City of Portland, Oregon, is a national leader in green development practices and stormwater management. Their Grey to Green website includes information about green streets, swales, ecoroofs, and more.
Read Tom DiPietro's informative short article, posted elsewhere on our PlannersWeb site, about the new South Burlington, Vermont stormwater utility. The use of stormwater utilities as an approach to managing stormwater is being adopted by a growing number of communities.
Also in the Winter '09 Planning Comm'rs Journal: Taking Low Impact Development from Research to Regulations, by John Rozum, AICP, and David W. Dickson
Resources related to Rozum & Dickson's article:
The Connecticut NEMO program's website has an inventory of LID installations, a database of LID-friendly regulations, and more information of LID practices and research. From there you can also link to the National NEMO Network website and find out if your state has its very own NEMO program. Hopefully those resources will help you on your way to "wicked cool" subdivisions in your community.
The Jordan Cove Urban Watershed project is located in Waterford, Connecticut. The website highlights the project's background, and has detailed descriptions of the low impact development practices used. You'll also find interviews from some of the participants. You can find additional information at the town websites: Town of Waterford; Town of Tolland; and Town of East Haddam.
The Low Impact Development Center is a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of Low Impact Development (LID) technology, a comprehensive land planning and engineering approach with the goal of maintaining and enhancing the pre-development hydrology of urban and developing watersheds. Their site also features links to best management practices, stormwater management manuals, publications, & ordinances, and a plethora of databases, research, and resources about low impact design.
Other resources:
Chicago Green Alley Program (pdf).
Paving Our Way to Water Shortages: How Sprawl Aggravates the Effects of Drought (pdf), published by American Rivers, NRDC, and Smart Growth America.
The Low Impact Development Center Fact Sheet on Bioswales for Fairfax County (pdf).
The Pennsylvania Stormwater Management Manual (pdf) includes structural criteria and design standards.
An excellent short article on the importance of green infrastructure, written by Ed McMahon, previously published in the Planning Commissioners Journal (read excerpts from the article; the full article can be ordered & downloaded).
