EPA New England Topics
EPA New England Low Impact Development (LID)
Rain Gardens
LID is an approach to land development (or re-development) that works with nature to manage stormwater as close to its source as possible. By preserving and recreating natural landscape features, LID minimizes effective imperviousness, creating functional and appealing site drainage that treats stormwater as a resource rather than a waste product. Bioretention facilities, rain gardens, vegetated rooftops, rain barrels, and permeable pavements are some of the LID practices used to adhere to these principles.
By implementing LID principles and practices, water can be managed in a way that reduces the impact of built areas and promotes the natural movement of water within an ecosystem or watershed. Applied on a broad scale, LID can maintain or restore a watershed's hydrologic and ecological functions.
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EPA New England
Incorporating LID into Municipal Stormwater Programs (PDF) (11 pp, 317K)
Describes the benefits of LID, various types of LID practices, the importance of good land use planning and the steps municipalities and/or developers could take to implement LID.
Managing Stormwater with LID Practices: Addressing Barriers to LID (PDF) (7 pp, 439K)
Addresses potential concerns and barriers regarding LID techniques compared to conventional stormwater management practices.
Funding Stormwater Programs (PDF) (6 pp, 309K)
Includes information on various stormwater funding mechanisms, types of stormwater utilities and how to create a stormwater utility.
Restoring Impaired Waters: TMDLs and Municipal Stormwater Programs (PDF) (5 pp, 288K)
Describes how municipal stormwater managers can help implement TMDLs for impaired waters and improve water quality by implementing stormwater management programs required by MS4 permits. It also describes how development and land-use changes affect stormwater and water quality and how our regional rainfall pattern can affect the choice and sizing of stormwater best management practices (BMPs). New tools and references are offered to help MS4s implement stormwater source TMDLs by using BMPs, including low impact development (LID) practices.
Stormwater TMDL Implementation Support Manual - March, 2006 (PDF) (77 pp, 3.2MB)
Information and resources for communities on prioritizing stormwater mitigation projects, identifying mitigation sites and LID techniques and strategies, stormwater best management practices, and obtaining funding. Support to those implementing TMDLs in identifying and taking actions to reduce, and ultimately fix the impairments in water bodies.
Residential Green Building Guide: A Web Source Book for New England (PDF) (80 pp, 546K)
Find information and resources on landscaping and stormwater management, including LID practices.
EPA New England GreenScapes
Find a wide range of links for homeowners, large-scale landscapers, and commercial and government land managers on cost-effective and environmentally friendly solutions, including LID techniques for landscaping. Includes fact sheets, tools such as cost calculators, and informational brochures.
From Grey to Green: Sustainable Practices for Redeveloping a Vacant Shopping Center, January 2010 (PDF) (30 pp, 24.7MB)
Find information about how an abandoned shopping center can be redeveloped using low impact development practices for stormwater management as well as green building practices. A site in Manchester, CT is used to demonstrate how to 'green' a 'greyfield.'
National EPA
Low Impact Development (LID)
Extensive resources from EPA and non-EPA sources.
General
This page provides links to non-EPA web sites that provide additonal information about Low Impact Development (LID) and other related resources. You will leave the EPA.gov domain and enter another page with more information. EPA cannot attest to the accuracy of information on that non-EPA page. Providing links to a non-EPA Web site is not an endorsement of the other site or the information it contains by EPA or any of its employees. Also, be aware that the privacy protection provided on the EPA.gov domain (see Privacy and Security Notice) may not be available at the external link. 
- LID Tools & Resources
- Best Management Practices
- Model Bylaws & Ordinances
- Funding
- Case Studies & Success Stories
LID Tools & Resources
Regional
Northeast States and Caribbean Islands Regional Water Center
A partnership of the USDA the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) and land grant colleges and universities with a goal of improving water quality management through educational knowledge and extension programming that emerges from a research base.
State
Connecticut
University of Connecticut, College of Agriculture & Natural Resources, Center for Land Use Education & Research (CLEAR)
CLEAR conducts remote sensing research, develops landscape analysis tools and training, and conducts outreach programs towards the goal of providing information, education and assistance to land use decision makers in support of balancing growth and natural resource protection.Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, The 2004 Connecticut Stormwater Quality Manual
Focussing on site planning, source control, and stormwater treatment practices, the manual provides guidance on the measures necessary to protect the waters of the State of Connecticut from the adverse impacts of post-construction stormwater runoff. This manual is intended for use as a planning tool and design guidance document by the regulated and regulatory communities involved in stormwater quality management.
Maine
LID Guidance Manual for Maine Communities: Approaches for implementation of Low Impact Development practices at the local level, State Planning Office, 2007
The manual is a guide for municipalities that review development of subdivisions and small commercial projects and issue building permits, to help municipalities implement LID practices on small, locally permitted development projects.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EOEEA) Smart Growth/Smart Energy Toolkit
Low Impact Development concepts, model bylaws, case studies, presentations, brochures, and links.Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management-Coastal Smart Growth Program
Low Impact Development Site Design guidance. See The Practice of Low Impact Development (PDF) (7 pp, 1.9MB) and case studies of LID initiatives in Massachusetts cities and towns.The Massachusetts LID Toolkit, Metropolitan Area Planning Council
Includes fact sheets on Low Impact Site Design, roadways and parking areas, permeable paving, bioretention, vegetated swales, filter strips, infiltration trenches and dry wells, cisterns and rain barrels, and green roofs.Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program, Low Impact Development
Provides model LID regulations, posters, power point shows, and technical assistance materials.University of Massachusetts Amherst Extension Center for Agriculture Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation Program
Educational programs and materials that enable people to make informed decisions and take actions to preserve or enhance the quality, productivity and sustainability of natural resources and natural systems.University of Massachusetts Amherst Extension Citizen Planner Training Collaborative
Provides local planning and zoning officials with tools to make effective decisions regarding their community's current and future land use.
New Hampshire
University of New Hampshire
University of New Hampshire Stormwater Center (UNHSC)
The Center serves as a technical resource for stormwater practitioners by studying a range of issues for specific stormwater management strategies including design, water quality and quantity, cost, maintenance, and operations. The field research facility serves as a site for testing stormwater treatment processes, for technology demonstrations and workshops.Natural Resources Outreach Coalition (NROC)
A multi-organizational initiative offerring coordinated assistance to communities wishing to protect their natural resources while accomodating growth.Don't miss.. Protecting Water Resources and Managing Stormwater (PDF) (52 pp, 2.8MB)
A community guide focused on what communities can do to protect water resources and manage stormwater runoff. Published by the University of New Hampshire, 2009.Homeowners Guide to Stormwater Management (PDF) (66 pp, 15.3MB)
Guide provides fact sheets with step-by-step instructions to install do-it-yourself stormwater treatment practices, such as dry wells and rain gardens, to help protect nearby streams and ponds from stormwater pollution, and help reduce flooding, create wildlife habitat, recharge groundwater, and conserve water resources.Managing Storm Water as a Valuable Resource, New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (DES), Sept., 2001 (PDF) (33 pp, 856K)
Rhode Island
Rhode Island Stormwater Design and Installation Standards Manual, Final Draft April 2010 (PDF) (209 pp, 5.1MB)
A manual prepared to assist property owners, developers, engineers, consultants, contractors, municipal staff and others in planning, designing and implementing effective stormwater best management practices for the development and redevelopment of properties in Rhode Island.Rhode Island Stormwater Solutions
Provides educational materials and information on workshops and events that Rhode Island municipalities and other MS4s can use as they work to meet their Phase II requirements.
Vermont
Lake Chaplain Sea Grant Program
Program to identify and address critical ecological and economic issues affecting the Lake Champlain basin and its resources and to share that information. We empower communities, businesses, and other stakeholders to make informed decisions regarding the management, conservation, utilization, and rehabilitation of their aquatic resources for long-term environmental health and economic growthRedesigning the American Neighborhood (RAN), University of Vermont
A collaborative project bringing scientists, engineers, developers, homeowners, and regulators together to consider the challenging problem of stormwater management in developing watersheds, RAN evaluated the environmental, social and economic costs and benefits associated with various options for stormwater control, and, while doing so, developed an interactive process to help communities better reduce the impacts of stormwater runoff.
NEMO (Non-Point Education for Municipal Officials) programs
Provides information, tools/resources, education and assistance to local land use boards and commissions on how to accommodate growth while protecting natural resources and community character.
Connecticut NEMO (Non-Point Education for Municipal Officials), University of Connecticut Cooperative Extension
Includes Center for Land Use Education and Research (CLEAR).Maine NEMO
Operates under the auspices of the Partnership for Environment Technology Education (PETE).Maine Resources Guide to Land Use Planning (PDF) (60 pp, 3.2MB)
New Hampshire-University of New Hampshire Stormwater Center (UNHSC)-NEMO
UNHSC-NEMO Innovative Stormwater Management Inventory
Provides a searchable inventory is designed to highlight innovative BMP strategies, such as Low Impact Development (LID) designs, implemented throughout New England.Rhode Island NEMO, University of Rhode Island Cooperative Extension
Best Management Practices
University of New Hampshire Stormwater Center, University of New Hampshire
The Center serves as technical resource for stormwater practitioners by studying a range of issues for specific stormwater management strategies including design, water quality and quantity, cost, maintenance, and operations. The field research facility serves as a site for testing stormwater treatment processes, for technology demonstrations and workshops. Includes: UNHSC-NEMO
Innovative Stormwater Treatment Technologies Best Management Practices Manual, May, 2002, New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (DES)
Provides innovative stormwater treatment technology information for developed areas within New Hampshire, with detailed product information including function, installation, operation and maintenance, and relative cost, this manual also offers decision-making criteria to help in determining the most efficient Best Management Practice (BMP) system for specific site conditions.
Innovative Stormwater Technologies Clearinghouse
The Massachusetts Stormwater Technology Evaluation Project (MASTEP) has created this web site to host a source of verified technical information on stormwater Best Management Practices (BMPs) to provide information on innovative technologies to BMP users.
Urban Small Sites Best Management Practice Manual
Includes detailed information on 40 BMPs that are aimed at managing stormwater pollution for small urban sites in a cold-climate setting.
Best Management Practices Fact sheets, Charles River Watershed Association
Topics include: Permeable Pavement (PDF) (2 pp, 531K), Permeable Pavers (PDF) (2 pp, 518K), Stormwater Planters (PDF) (2 pp, 1.1MB), Vegetated Swales (PDF) (2 pp, 1MB), Stormwater Wet Ponds (PDF) (2 pp, 1.3MB), Green Roofs (PDF) (2 pp, 623K), Rain Gardens (PDF) (2 pp, 829K), Constructed Stormwater Wetlands (PDF) (6 pp, 3.1MB), Stormwater Tree Pits (PDF) (2 pp, 984K), and Gravel Wetlands (PDF) (2 pp, 1MB).
Model Bylaws & Ordinances
Connecticut
Connecticut NEMO (Non-Point Education for Municipal Officials), University of Connecticut Cooperative Extension
Includes: Center for Land Use Education and Research (CLEAR) - and Connecticut LID Town Regulation Inventory
Maine
LID Guidance Manual for Maine Communities: Approaches for implementation of Low Impact Development practices at the local level, State Planning Office, 2007 (PDF) (74 pp, 2.1MB)
Maine Resources Guide to Land Use Planning (PDF) (60 pp, 3.19MB)
Massachusetts
LID Bylaws, Smart Growth/Smart Energy Tool Kit, Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EOEEA)
Find a model bylaw and regulations.An Introduction to Local Stormwater Bylaws and Low Impact Development, The Massachusetts LID Toolkit, Metropolitan Area Planning Council
Numerous communities in the Commonwealth have recently developed stormwater bylaws that incorporate LID. Find a model stormwater/LID bylaw and a description of the key elements of a stormwater bylaw, recognizing that any such bylaw should be tailored to local conditions.Adopting a Stormwater Bylaw, Charles River Watershed Association
Find a range of guidance for drafting Local Bylaws, including models and examples
New Hampshire
Rhode Island
'The Rhode Island Conservation Development Manual: A Ten Step Process for the Planning and Design of Creative Development Projects' (June 2003), Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (PDF) (96 pp, 2.6MB)
Companion brochure Rhode Island Conservation Development Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, Sustainable Watersheds Office.Urban Environmental Design Manual, Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management Sustainable Watersheds Office Publications (PDF) (99 pp, 3.5MB)
Guidance for local officials, community groups, residents, and the development community to address the challenge of redeveloping urban sites while protecting, preserving, and restoring Rhode Island's environment. Find case studies of urban infill and redevelopment utilizing LID strategies.
Vermont
Model Ordinances and Policies, Resource Library, Vermont League of Cities and Towns
Low Impact Development (LID) Stormwater Management Model Bylaw
Funding
Funding Stormwater Programs Fact Sheet, April, 2009, U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, New England (PDF) (6 pp, 309K)
Includes information on various stormwater funding mechanisms, types of stormwater utilities and how to create a stormwater utility.
New England Environmental Finance Center
A U.S. EPA and University of Southern Maine A cooperative project of the Muskie School to research, publish and extend creative approaches to environmental protection and management. Provides a Directory of Watershed Resources, a searchable database of funding sources.
Case Studies & Success Stories
Regional
University of New Hampshire Stormwater Center - NEMO Innovative Stormwater Management Inventory
Provides a searchable inventory is designed to highlight innovative BMP strategies, such as Low Impact Development (LID) designs, implemented throughout New England.
Connecticut
Jordon Cove Watershed Project
This Section 319 National Monitoring Program Project began in 1995 in Waterford, Connecticut (along the coast of Long Island Sound) to evaluate the water quantity and quality benefits of using pollution prevention Best Management Practices (BMPs) in a residential subdivision.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs (EOEA) Smart Growth/Smart Energy Tool Kit
Interactive case study map and wide range of studies.How to Fund Stormwater Management Programs-Stormwater Utilities, Charles River Watershed Association
Includes Stormwater Utility Information packet and case studies demonstrating stormwater financing mechanisms in South Burlington, Vermont, Reading, Massachusetts, and Newton, Massachusetts.Ipswich River Restoration-EPA Targeted Watershed Grant (Silver Lake, MA)
The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) received a $1.04 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Targeted Watershed program to demonstrate an integrated approach, including LID strategies, to addressing the problems facing the Ipswich River.
New Hampshire
University of New Hampshire Stormwater Center - NEMO Innovative Stormwater Management Inventory
Provides a searchable inventory is designed to highlight innovative BMP strategies, such as Low Impact Development (LID) designs, implemented throughout New England.
Rhode Island
Rhode Island Stormwater Low Impact Development (LID) Inventory
Shows LID sites from the inventory by clicking on the interactive map or selecting sites based on LID treatment practice. In the future, you'll be able to find companies that design and install these LID practices.
Beyond New England
Sustainable Landscaping, American Society of Landscape Architects
View a range of case studies including the use of LID techniques.