Stormwater Management/Best Management Practices

For the most part, people take for granted the measures we as civil engineers take to ensure a that rain shower or downpour, or even melting snow doesn't affect daily public life. And, for a long time, storm water management design was pretty simple - design a detention pond, make sure what goes out is less than what goes in, etc. (I'm leaving a few important steps out, but bear with me...).  Communities were planned AROUND storm water management facilities.  Developers knew this, and engineers accepted it.  But since I graduated from VT in 2004 and started my trek into the land development industry, much of the theory around storm water management has changed.  In my 2½ years as a self-proclaimed professional, county requirements in and around Northern Virginia (the same is true outside of VA, especially Maryland, but I've got no experience with other states and can't speak for their requirements) have placed a heavy focus on Low Impact Development, or LID.  The idea driving LID is to provide storm water management and best management practices (SWM/BMP) in a facility or series of facilities that results in less adverse environmental impact and can be incorporated with the site development.  The theory behind LID is great, and I think in it we are seeing the present and future of SWM/BMP.  However, one glaring problem remains - lack of experience with these measures.  This is not only true from an engineering design standpoint, but for contractors and county reviewers as well.  The very first subdivision I designed was to include two bio-retention filters on site - no detention pond - per the client's request.  My initial reaction was, "what the hell is that?"  Since my schoolwork included (limited) pond design training, this was unknown territory for me.  Not many people in the immediate area were well trained (or trained at all) in LID design, so it took research on my part to get to a comfort level where I felt confident enough to design an efficient, working facility.  Virtually every site I've worked on since then has included at least one LID facility.

My point is this:  maybe this is covered in coursework nowadays, maybe not.  If not, ask a professor, or a professional in the industry, or the internet (like this blog, for example) how you can learn more about the concept and the numerous design options available for LID facilities.  The better educated engineers are coming out of school, the better this industry serves the public need.

Anthony