SBEP, Sarasota County Team Up to Promote Low Impact Development

Sarasota Bay Estuary Program is involved with the effort promoted by Sarasota County to employ Low Impact Development (LID) strategies. LID is a stormwater management approach that uses a suite of hydrolic controls that replicates the natural hydrolic flow of the developed landscape. Unlike conventional systems, which typically control and treat runoff using a single stormwater pond at the lowest point on a property, LID systems promote treatment at or near the source of stormwater runoff. This is done through more creative efforts focused on retention, detention, infiltration, treatment, and reuse of water runoff.

This intervention reduces the amount of stormwater and it also enhances the quality of the water being discharged. Examples include the use of cisterns, detention basins, green roofs, rain gardens, planter vaults, and permeable pavement. A digital copy of the LID Manual is posted on the county website.