Low-Impact Development at DC Water

All across the country, cities are facing the challenges and opportunities posed by greening our cities: sustainable land use and development, mitigation of climate effects, stormwater management, river restoration and the wise use of water. The District, like other cities, faces meeting environmental challenges with finite resources. Under the terms of a United States Environmental Protection Agency consent decree, DC Water is in the implementation phase of the Clean Rivers Project - constructing a massive tunnel system to control sewer overflows to the Anacostia River. These overflows, which annually discharge up to 2.5 billion gallons of diluted sewage to the Anacostia, will be reduced by 98 percent. The later phases of this long-term control plan include construction of similar tunnels in the Potomac and Rock Creek sewersheds.

As we embark on the next phases of the Clean Rivers Project, the time is right to consider the role and potential impact of expanded green infrastructure analysis and investment. The consent decree requires a review of Low-Impact Development (LID) technologies with a view to reducing the size of the tunnels by substituting LIDs to capture stormwater before it enters the system. The benefits of an LID-intensive plan go far beyond stormwater management - there are positive implications for job creation, air quality, greener public and private spaces, and wildlife habitat. Therefore, DC Water plans to use this requirement as an opportunity to explore pursuing widespread installation of LIDs to the fullest extent possible. However, we also face a number of challenges in implementing an intensive LID program.

We recognize the enormous benefit of LID to the District. At the same time, DC Water must balance its environmental stewardship and commitment to improved water quality with a responsible use of ratepayer funds. DC Water hosted an LID Summit March 14, 2011 at George Washington University, which was well-attended by government officials and stakeholders. Our next step is to discuss amending the Long-Term Control Plan Consent Decree to incorporate LID approaches with our federal and local regulatory agencies as a pilot while still requiring the same high level of performance. We plan to have annual follow-up meetings to the Summit, to keep all stakeholders informed of our progress. Once we have determined that the DOJ will permit us to include adaptive management strategies into our Consent Decree, we anticipate forming a stakeholder group to advise us as we move forward.

Additional Resources:

top

Environment