Capturing and reusing stormwater runoff can
greatly reduce the consumption of imported,
potable water, as well as the energy usage and
CO2
emissions associated with importing water.
When runoff is diverted and captured before it
flows into surface waters, it can be used onsite
either to replenish groundwater supplies through
infiltration or for graywater uses, like landscape
irrigation and toilet flushing. These techniques
are known as low-impact development (LID),
the central objective of which is to maintain
individual sites’ pre-development hydrology. LID
uses common sense and simple technology—
strategically placed beds of native plants, rain
barrels, “green roofs,” porous surfaces for
parking lots and roads, and other measures—to
retain rainfall onsite or to help rainfall soak
into the ground, rather than polluting the
nearest receiving water. In effect, LID mimics
nature’s own filtration systems. In addition to
reducing water and energy use, the result is less
water pollution from contaminated runoff, less
flooding, replenished water supplies, and often
more natural-looking, aesthetically pleasing
cityscapes.