Low Impact Development Project
| Lead Agency | San Bernardino County Flood Control District |
| Report Year Project Started | 2006-2007 |
| Status | 80% Complete |
| Initial Project Budget | $1,100,000 |
| $441,176 | SMC Member Agencies (8) |
| $58,824 | CASQA |
| $600,000 | State Prop 40 Grant |
| External Project Partners: | California Storm Quality Association |
| Technical Lead | Marc Rodabaugh, San Bernardino County Flood Control District |
Key Words: stormwater retention, wet weather runoff, BMP effectiveness
In 2006 the SMC began the project: “LID Guidance and Training for Southern California” (LID Project). The LID Project was funded through a Proposition 40 grant provided the State Water Resources Control Board Proposition 40 funded with matching and additional monitoring funds provided by the SMC. The project developed a comprehensive approach to incorporate LID strategies and techniques into the planning and design phases of public and private sector projects. The LID Project developed a model program for organizations in California that are interested in or required to adopt LID strategies and techniques. All Proposition 40 grantfunded tasks and deliverables were completed by the end of 2010. Continuing and additional tasks will use the remaining unspent funds from the LID Project’s overall budget.
A brief summary of the completed and remaining original LID project tasks are shown in Table 4-3-1.
Table 4-3-1. Low Impact Development Completed and Remaining Project Tasks.
| LI | D Guidance and Training for Southern California |
| Completed Tasks | Define LID for Southern California |
| Compile literature review and perform gap analysis | |
| Conduct pre and post manual training | |
| Develop the LID Manual |
Table 4-3-1 (cont.). Low Impact Development Completed and Remaining Project Tasks.
| LI | D Guidance and Training for Southern California |
| Remaining Tasks | Monitor to evaluate LID BMP effectiveness |
| Feedback and update the manual based on monitoring findings |
The San Bernardino County Flood Control District coordinated with various regional and statewide efforts that involved LID training, including San Diego County, the California Water and Land Use Partnership, the California Coastal Commission, the Local Government Commission, and the Chino Basin Landscape Alliance. The collaborative regional effort was a critical networking tool that provided additional funding, technical support, and LID monitoring opportunities. Partner agencies also provided additional gap funding, which allowed continuation of the project during a state grant funding freeze time period.
The SMC project partners and California Storm Quality Association (CASQA) plan to periodically update the online LID Guidance Manual and provide training sessions. An updated monitoring program has been developed for the remaining portion of the project. Monitoring reports are expected upon completion of the data analysis and assessments.
To date, the literature review, pre-and post-manual training, and preparation of the guidance manual are complete, and field monitoring has been conducted at two sites. The guidance manual is posted on the CASQA websites. CASQA developed a LID web portal featuring the manual, and the manual was incorporated into the CASQA New and Redevelopment handbook. Additional field monitoring data are needed to adequately evaluate whether existing design and performance guidance are appropriate for development project acceptance by local jurisdictions. The LID Project was designed to conduct field monitoring for up to five years, and monitoring results were to be evaluated for use in revising the guidance manual as appropriate.
The current project focuses on conducting monitoring and/or establishing collaboration to share data for better evaluating the LID BMP effectiveness, and to review and update the LID Manual. The LID Manual updates are also intended to provide guidance on scalable monitoring methodologies (by project size and type), with recommendations for inspection methods and frequency. The Project scope is also intending to leverage the SMC Research Agenda to identify how the LID Project aligns with selected priorities and can possibly coordinate with other priority projects.
Lastly, this project will review and revise the LID effectiveness monitoring program to incorporate new information or procedures, and to initiate a feedback and updating process for the LID Manual including training materials (These tasks are included as Tasks 1, 4, 5, 6, and 7 in SMC Agreement D06-051).
4.3.1 Project Status Update
The SMC Steering Committee evaluated and approved a revised Scope of Work to better focus the effectiveness assessment tasks based on LID implementation experience and monitoring data.
The revised Scope of Work includes five main tasks:
- Form and Coordinate a Project Technical Advisory Committee;
- Research Existing Data;
- Implement initial monitoring procedures in a beta test phase;
- Summarize all monitoring data, make recommendations, and update the LID Manual;
- Ongoing Collaboration with Project Partners.
The revised Scope of Work proposes greater regional collaboration and additional data sharing from LID Project partners and their sites. Collaborative partner sites include the Riverside County Flood Control and Water Conservation District headquarters LID retrofit, previously monitored UCCE sites in Irvine, sites monitored by the Council for Watershed Health in the Los Angeles Basin, and the Orange County Public Works LID retrofit site. Collaborative partner sites are also expected to include green street projects required by municipal regional permits, other LID sites in the San Francisco Bay area, and sites currently being monitored in the San Diego region.
The Steering Committee recommended a survey of existing LID monitoring programs to evaluate where data gaps exist based on knowledge of LID performance. The results of this evaluation should help prioritize and focus new data collection based on regional implementation needs. Expected work products include a standardized monitoring approach and implementation guidance document intended to improve data comparability of future projects and help to better address identified data gaps. In addition, maintenance procedures and maintenance frequencies for LID features will be evaluated to develop optimal approaches, with intent of creating better linkage between LID effectiveness and receiving water impacts.
San Bernardino County contracted with Michael Baker International to conduct the revised LID Project Scope of Work following a competitive bidding process. The selected project team has been compiling research materials and coordinating with project partners to identify new LID sites and data sharing opportunities. A project kickoff and Technical Advisory Committee meeting has been scheduled for December 17, 2015.
4.3.2 Project Related Publications
- LID Guidance Manual available on the California Storm Quality Association website at California LID Portal
- San Bernardino County Flood Control District LID Guidance Manual and Training Program. Monitoring Technical Memorandum. October 2009.