UFC 3-210-10
25 October 2004
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION TO LID AND MANUAL OVERVIEW
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DEFINITION OF LID. Low Impact Development (LID) is a stormwater
management strategy concerned with maintaining or restoring the natural hydrologic
functions of a site to achieve natural resource protection objectives and fulfill
environmental regulatory requirements. LID employs a variety of natural and built
features that reduce the rate of runoff, filter out its pollutants, and facilitate the infiltration
of water into the ground. By reducing water pollution and increasing groundwater
recharge, LID helps to improve the quality of receiving surface waters and stabilize the
flow rates of nearby streams.
LID incorporates a set of overall site design strategies as well as highly
localized, small-scale, decentralized source control techniques known as Integrated
Management Practices (IMPs). IMPs may be integrated into buildings, infrastructure, or
landscape design. Rather than collecting runoff in piped or channelized networks and
controlling the flow downstream in a large stormwater management facility, LID takes a
decentralized approach that disperses flows and manages runoff closer to where it
originates. Because LID embraces a variety of useful techniques for controlling runoff,
designs can be customized according to local regulatory and resource protection
requirements, as well as site constraints. New projects, redevelopment projects, and
capital improvement projects can all be viewed as candidates for implementation of LID.
Figure 1-1. Key LID Elements
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