Residential Low Impact Development Practices: Literature Review and Multicriteria Decision Analysis Framework for Detached Houses

Abstract

Low Impact Development (LID) is a sustainable stormwater management approach that aims to control runoff close to its source, mimicking the natural hydrological processes such as infiltration and storage. It is being adopted by many cities, where its implementation is rapidly evolving. The LID practices are small-scale measures; therefore, they need to be widely implemented to impact significantly. The selection of LIDs depends on the land use and characteristics of the area of interest. This study focuses on residential LIDs. First, a systematic and bibliometric literature review is conducted on the residential LIDs articles published up to the year 2020; a total of 94 papers were found in the Web of Science. This review resulted that LID implementation in residential areas still needs to be investigated. To assist the City, engineers, and policy-makers in implementing the suitable LIDs for detached houses, a multi-criteria decision analysis framework incorporating a hydrological model is developed in this study. The commonly used LIDs were identified, which are rain gardens, permeable pavement, rain barrels, soakaways. Seven criteria were selected – runoff depth reduction rate, peak runoff reduction rate, installation cost, maintenance cost, retrofit cost, life cycle, and aesthetical view. For the properties of the single-detached house and LIDs, the standards of Credit Valley Conservation (CVC) and Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) were followed. The proposed decision-making framework also was applied to a case study. This framework is still in the preliminary stage, thus holds the potential to convert into a tool that will be handy enough for the homeowners and consume less time.