Raleigh is moving forward on water quality! City Council has approved a Low Impact Development work plan that will impact the entire city of Raleigh. Low Impact Development (LID) is a development framework that aims to improve water quality by reducing pollution that coming from stormwater runoff. Because much of Raleigh was developed before stormwater controls were created, many of our streams and lakes are degraded. An LID plan would mitigate these issues.
7 Items recommended in Raleigh’s work plan:
1. Review current ordinances and policies as they pertain to using LID, describe potential code revisions
2. Develop LID templates for streets that development could use as models
3. Develop a tool for evaluating LID cost-effectiveness – describe in terms of environmental, social and environmental impacts
4. Prepare fact sheets and construction checklists for LID
5. Prepare framework for managing LID maintenance and upkeep
6. Identify opportunities for LID retrofits on previously developed properties and city properties
7. Evaluate opportunity for using incentives to encourage LID with public and private developers
Overall this is a great step forward for Wake County to improve water quality starting with our largest municipality. Hopefully this leads to real improvement countywide!
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