January 12, 2006

Land development in many Michigan communities is creating water quality problems in our lakes and streams, with recent studies showing that watersheds in rapidly developing areas including Detroit, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Lansing, and Traverse City, are most at risk.

Development generally causes increased stormwater runoff, which occurs when precipitation from rain or snowmelt flows over the ground. Impervious surfaces like parking lots, driveways, streets, and sidewalks prevent stormwater from naturally soaking into the ground. Stormwater can pick up debris, chemicals, dirt, and other pollutants and flow into a storm sewer system or directly into a lake, stream, wetland, or coastal water.

The good news is that communities can take steps to lessen the impact of new development by encouraging low impact development (LID). LID practices are built upon the premise that stormwater can be controlled close to the source to keep pollutants out of the stormwater stream. This is accomplished by protecting native vegetation, reducing the amount of hard surfaces and compaction of soil, treating stormwater runoff close to where it starts, and slowing the flow of stormwater runoff so that it is closer to conditions found prior to the site being developed.

Common LID practices include: rain gardens; rooftop gardens (green roofs); sidewalk storage; vegetated swales, buffers, and strips; tree preservation; roof leader disconnection; rain barrels and cisterns; permeable pavers; soil amendments; impervious surface reduction and disconnection; pollution prevention; and good housekeeping.

Some communities are receiving grant funding to implement LID practices. In west Michigan alone, grant projects include a green roof installed at the city of Battle Creek Police Station, and approximately 20 rain gardens that have been or will be installed in the west Michigan area within the next two years. These projects and others like them result from a combination of grant moneys from the Department of Environmental Quality, and local match from the surrounding communities.

DEQ, along with the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments, is also pursuing grant funding to provide local land-use decision makers with the tools necessary to implement LID in Michigan. This would be achieved by developing a LID manual and brochures, and then using them to facilitate implementation through networking and workshops. This work has the potential to come to fruition within the next year.

Other communities are adopting LID strategies on their own with technical assistance from the DEQ. Communities in urbanized areas are committing to actions that will lessen the likelihood of contaminated stormwater runoff and that encourage new development to utilize LID.

Private citizens are even able to do their part by directing runoff from their gutters to rain barrels or rain gardens as opposed to directing it to a storm sewer.

Low impact development can certainly go a long way towards protecting the integrity of Michigan’s lakes and streams and improve the aesthetics of the local community. For anyone interested in LID and what all of us can do, contact a local DEQ office, or visit the DEQ Web site at http://www.michigan.gov/deq.

Editor’s note: DEQ news releases are available on the department’s Internet home page at www.michigan.gov/deq.

Protecting Michigan’s Environment, Ensuring Michigan’s Future”

Revised January 12, 2006 by Pat Watson