Low Impact Development : Gulf Coast

06/24/2020

We're so pleased to announce the WINNERS of the 2020 Gulf Coast LID Student Challenge!! Our next generation of big thinkers and doers 😀

Enoch Oguntuase
Amelia Power
Annika Smith
Eric Wilz

W A Y T O G O ! ! ! !


Gulf Coast Community Design Studio

06/02/2020

We're pleased to present the LID Gulf Coast Digital Story Map-- an educational tool highlighting nearly 50 low impact development and green infrastructure projects relevant to the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Please SHARE with your colleagues!

It is our desire that this digital story map expand over time as a learning tool, inspiring practice and policy around Low Impact Development for the Mississippi Gulf Coast that protects our natural resources, beautifies our Cities, and provides meaningful connections between community and environment-- for all of our residents and visitors.

Published by the Gulf Coast Community Design Studio, with funding by MDEQ

An educational tool to prompt continued dialogue around Low Impact Development for the Mississippi Gulf Coast

05/06/2020

The STUDENT CHALLENGE is here !!! DEADLINE TO WIN -- MAY 15 @ MIDNIGHT !!!

We're offering a virtual lesson for Middle and High School Students in Low Impact Development. Check it out and SHARE with your students and their friends via FB or IG !!!

http://www.gulfcoastcommunityexchange.org/content/sites/hancock/resource_library/LID_Digital_Classroom_2020_final_1.pdf

$25 Gift Cards will be awarded to each of 3 winning entries. Available to High School and Middle School Students on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Gulf Coast Community Design Studio

MDEQ

04/29/2020

WATCH FOR IT!
LID Virtual Classroom & CONTEST for M-H School Students
Coming MAY 4 ... 😀.

03/30/2020

CASE STUDY:
LID in public spaces at the PROPERTY SCALE:

The historic library in the Broadmoor Community of New Orleans underwent renovations and an addition, prompting improvements to the landscape to mitigate flooding utilizing LID stormwater management principles. The front of the building features a learning wetland garden which filters and cleans water coming from the roof of the building. An outdoor “reading room” features a wood deck around existing trees.

The value of preserving trees to mitigate stormwater is in their capacity to stabilize soils and promote infiltration / absorption of rainwater. Trees improve both air and water quality by lowering temperatures in the urban setting, and by pulling carbon dioxide from the air which is then stored in the soil.

The water from all roof surfaces is directed to a series of detention basins and rain gardens. This project is a demonstration of the potential for municipal spaces in New Orleans to help remedy localized flooding and reduce pressure on the aging infrastructure of the City.

LID Tools: Rain garden, permeable paving, bioswales

LID Design by Spackman Mossop Michaels, 2012

03/16/2020

LID and Conservation: Sandhill Crane Wildlife Refuge

Conservation land is extremely important to Low Impact Development due to the many ecosystem services it provides such as flood protection, soil stabilization, wildlife protection, and human recreation. Conservation preserves native trees, vegetation and soils, and maintains natural drainage areas.

There's never been a better time to get out and experience the fresh air and sunshine in some of our nearby natural areas.

CONSERVATION LANDS FEATURE OF THE WEEK: The Sandhill Crane Wildlife Refuge Trail in Gautier, MS is a great place to go for a brisk or leisurely walk in nature through a pine savannah landscape.

03/12/2020

EPA: Green Infrastructure in Parks, June 2017.
This is a great resource for municipalities explaining the WHY of low impact development in public parks, and highlights the path the partnerships, community engagement, and funding to make it happen.

https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-05/documents/gi_parksplaybook_2017-05-01_508.pdf

03/10/2020

CASE STUDY
LID at the COMMERCIAL OR CAMPUS BUILDING SCALE

The University of Florida's Southwest Recreation Center put Low Impact Development on Display, celebrating rainwater as it drains from the rooftop through scuppers and around public art in a series of runnels and bioswales.

Brown & Cullen provided civil engineering design services that included pedestrian sidewalk improvements, utility improvements, parking and roadway improvements, and a unique, aesthetically pleasing, Low-Impact Development stormwater management system. The project achieved LEED Gold Certification.

The project reduces pollutant loads in rainwater as well as downstream damage from runoff, safely moving, controlling, and containing rainwater for reuse. Reclaimed rainwater for this project is used in for irrigation and toilet flushing, with excess recharging groundwater.

FOR MORE INFO: http://jbprogroup.com/projects/recreation/uf-southwest-recreation-center-addition

03/09/2020

CASE STUDY
LID at the STREET SCALE

'Green Streets Portland' includes many streetscapes to manage stormwater along a transportation corridor.

This green street project combined the use of a stormwater curb extension and street stormwater planters. Approximately 4,500 sf of runoff is first captured within the stormwater curb extension where it can be infiltrated into the ground. Any overflow is routed via a trench drain through an ADA ramp and into a series of two street stormwater planters.

Design: City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Serives and Bureau of Transportation; Landscape Architect Kevin Robert Perry, ASLA

03/06/2020

CASE STUDY
LID at the PARKING LOT RETROFIT SCALE

The City of Bellingham, Washington, has implemented pilot projects to study the impact and effectiveness of rain gardens to manage stormwater runoff in parking lots. This one is a 550sf section in a heavily used parking area at Bloedel Gardens in Donovan Park. The rain garden is situated near an existing catch basin, treating runoff from about 80 parking spaces and two parking lanes, that formerly deposited to Lake Watcom.

A chart of cost savings is included along with construction drawings to understand the depth and types of soil for this project.

Read the full case study including other Bellingham pilot projects here:https://www.cob.org/documents/pw/environment/rain-garden-cob.pdf

03/05/2020

The Role of OVERFLOW in Stormwater Planning.

The images shown here help us understand how Low Impact Development is designed to handle a specific storm size (i.e., 25-year; 50-year, etc.), and how overflow structures work to direct excess runoff into existing municipal systems in more severe storm events.

Integrating low impact development tools with conventional systems in this way takes an enormous burden off aging municipal systems, while beautifying our urban environment.

03/02/2020

CASE STUDY
LID at the STREET SCALE

Gaines Street is the oldest paved street in Tallahassee, Florida, and now connects two major university campuses to the downtown, a historic warehouse district, and the airport as a vital transportation corridor.

The 1.5 mile, four-lane roadway was revitalized incorporating Low Impact Development tools such as permeable paving at cross walks, curb cuts directing stormwater runoff to infiltration planters in medians and along the roadside, and bioswales.

The objective of the revitalization project was to create a sense of place while rebuilding the roadway with new infrastructure that would address chronic flooding and providing an aesthetically pleasing and safe bike / pedestrian friendly corridor.

The public sector investment in the project has resulted in significant private sector investment and development along the corridor and surrounding areas.