
Bioswales capture a storm’s first flush, which contains most of the pollutants from paved surfaces.
It doesn’t rain very often in the desert, but when it does, we often lose the opportunity to capture an increasingly important resource: water. Stormwater provides a free source of irrigation water for landscapes and reduces the burden on city storm drainage systems. Where low impact development (LID) practices are used, naturally occurring storms can help conserve water use and reduce flooding hazards in urban areas. By capturing stormwater and using it close to its source, LID can enhance communities and reduce the impacts of development on downstream communities, streams and rivers.
LID was originally developed to reduce flows to combined sewers in coastal cities, and improve water quality at outfalls into natural water bodies. It is a landscape architecture design approach that can provide low tech, user friendly ways to apply water resource conservation at a local level. LID is now being adapted for use in arid areas of the Southwest where infrequent and unpredictable storms can wreak havoc in urban areas.
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