Enhancing a rainfall-runoff model to assess the impacts of BMPs and LID practices on storm runoff

Yaoze Liu; Laurent M Ahiablame; Vincent F Bralts; Bernard A Engel

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2014.09.005

Enhancing a rainfall-runoff model to assess the impacts of BMPs and LID practices on storm runoff

J Environ Manage. 2015 Jan 1:147:12-23. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2014.09.005. Epub 2014 Sep 27.

Authors

Yaoze Liu¹, Laurent M Ahiablame¹, Vincent F Bralts¹, Bernard A Engel²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Purdue University, 225 South University Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2093, USA.
² Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Purdue University, 225 South University Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2093, USA. Electronic address: engelb@purdue.edu.

PMID: 25261748
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2014.09.005

Abstract

Best management practices (BMPs) and low impact development (LID) practices are increasingly being used as stormwater management techniques to reduce the impacts of urban development on hydrology and water quality. To assist planners and decision-makers at various stages of development projects (planning, implementation, and evaluation), user-friendly tools are needed to assess the effectiveness of BMPs and LID practices. This study describes a simple tool, the Long-Term Hydrologic Impact Assessment-LID (L-THIA-LID), which is enhanced with additional BMPs and LID practices, improved approaches to estimate hydrology and water quality, and representation of practices in series (meaning combined implementation). The tool was used to evaluate the performance of BMPs and LID practices individually and in series with 30 years of daily rainfall data in four types of idealized land use units and watersheds (low density residential, high density residential, industrial, and commercial). Simulation results were compared with the results of other published studies. The simulated results showed that reductions in runoff volume and pollutant loads after implementing BMPs and LID practices, both individually and in series, were comparable with the observed impacts of these practices. The L-THIA-LID 2.0 model is capable of assisting decision makers in evaluating environmental impacts of BMPs and LID practices, thereby improving the effectiveness of stormwater management decisions.

Keywords: Best management practices; Low impact development practices; Modeling; Runoff; Urban areas.

MeSH terms

Computer Simulation
Conservation of Natural Resources*
Environment*
Hydrology
Models, Theoretical*
Rain*
Water Movements
Water Quality*