Green infrastructure (GI) and low impact development (LID) are two terms that often arise during discussions about water harvesting, especially with the EPA’s focus on using these techniques to help combat non-point source pollution. Non-point source pollution is water pollution that comes from diffuse sources, such as stormwater runoff in urban areas. The agency defines green infrastructure as a stormwater management technique that “uses vegetation and soil to manage rainwater where it falls. By weaving natural processes into the built environment, green infrastructure provides not only stormwater management, but also flood mitigation, air quality management, and much more.” LID is defined as “an approach to land development (or re-development) that works with nature to manage stormwater as close to its source as possible. LID employs principles such as preserving and recreating natural landscape features, minimizing effective imperviousness to create functional and appealing site drainage that treat stormwater as a resource rather than a waste product.” As these two definitions show, GI and LID have a lot in common, and in fact, the terms are often used interchangeably. In some ways, GI and LID can be thought of as largescale passive water harvesting.
Keywords: green infrastructure, low impact development, bioretention, green roofs, permeable pavement, rain barrels, cisterns, soil amendment, tree box filters