CICEET Awards $466,000 to Advance Low Impact Development Stormwater Practices

January 21, 2009

DURHAM, N.H. -- The Cooperative Institute for Coastal and Estuarine Environmental Technology has awarded $466,000 to develop new tools to advance low impact development (LID) stormwater practices in coastal areas as part of its Environmental Technology Demonstration and Development Program. Escalating development along the coast has exacerbated the need for effective ways to manage the quantity of stormwater runoff and its impact on water quality. LID techniques, such as rain gardens and permeable pavements, are potentially powerful tools to address this need. However, several barriers limit their use, including misperceptions about the effectiveness of LID stormwater systems, an inability to articulate the economic benefits of their use, and regulations that encourage traditional structural approaches to stormwater management, such as detention ponds. CICEET is sponsoring two projects to foster implementation of LID stormwater practices in coastal areas by using science and technology to address these and other barriers.

—In Maryland: The Center for Watershed Protection is adapting the Watershed Treatment Model— which tracks pollutant sources and the effectiveness of various watershed treatment options—to the geography of the Atlantic and Gulf coastal plains. They also are developing case studies of communities that have successfully implemented LID practices. Investigators will work with local communities to refine these tools, evaluate current regulations and zoning, and identify barriers and opportunities to change. The research team will use existing networks developed by the Center and NEMO (Nonpoint Education for Municipal Officials) to collaborate with communities and disseminate the tools to the 15 states that encompass these coastal plains.

—In New Hampshire: Researchers from the CICEET-sponsored University of New Hampshire Stormwater Center are developing a national training to address coastal municipal decision makers’ need for a clear articulation of the economic, public and environmental health incentives for adopting LID stormwater management methods. The training will focus on the relationship between LID stormwater methods and watershed health, community resiliency related to the impacts of land use change on urban hydrology, and LID’s ability to reduce climate change induced stress on public infrastructure. The curriculum will be developed in close collaboration with the target audience for the training.

The Cooperative Institute for Coastal and Estuarine Environmental Technology (CICEET) is a partnership of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the University of New Hampshire. CICEET works with NOAA’s National Estuarine Research Reserve System to develop tools for clean water and healthy coastal environments nationwide. You can learn more about CICEET’s-sposnored tools on Project Explorer, our online, searchable database.