Low Impact Development Policy Implementation: Achieving Volume Reduction Targets in the Nose Creek Watershed
Date
2013-07-10
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Urban development has cumulative negative impacts on hydrological processes and overall watershed health. Traditional stormwater management methods combined with extensive impervious surfaces create high volumes and velocities of runoff. This can have the effect of preventing groundwater recharge, increasing erosion and collecting and concentrating non-point source pollution. The term Low Impact Development (LID) covers a wide array of methods implemented to reduce flow volumes, filter sediments, increase infiltration and base flow, control erosion and protect riparian areas. LID has been implemented in the Nose Creek Watershed through an approved Watershed Water Management Plan which enforces incremental volume reduction targets. The purpose of this thesis is to measure the financial implications of such targets relative to performance criteria.
The method consists of creating typical site criteria that can be run through a modelled scenario for each stage of volume reduction targets and establish estimated costs. The savings associated with LID are also established for each of the reduction targets. The first set of scenarios focus on land intensive bio-swales which have a relatively low cost of construction. A second set of scenarios focuses on underground infiltration chambers which have a relatively high cost of construction however preserve developable building area.
The results show that LID implementation has a significant cost implication on industrial development, the Stage 4 reduction target cannot be achieved without revised right of way standards, and that cost intensive underground chambers are significantly less expensive than surface intensive bio-swales when balanced against the value of recovered developable building area. Additional consideration is given to the cost of not implementing LID volume reduction targets, local conditions and runoff reduction, ownership, land use planning, and the distribution of LID costs. Future LID policy implementation is considered in light of the scenario results.
Description
Keywords
Urban and Regional Planning
Citation
Maitland, C. (2013). Low Impact Development Policy Implementation: Achieving Volume Reduction Targets in the Nose Creek Watershed (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/26797