LID Handbook for the State of Alabama

Alabama is blessed with abundant water resources including over 77,000 miles of streams and rivers, diverse wetland ecosystems, coastal waters, reservoirs, and groundwater. These resources are critical for maintaining Alabama’s amazing plant and animal biodiversity, drinking water supplies, opportunities for ecotourism, water sources for irrigation, and transportation networks. The quality of water that flows through our communities is a reflection of our quality of life.

Interest in and awareness of the need to better manage stormwater runoff in urban and suburban landscapes has increased in recent years. Multiple studies have identified the negative impacts of poorly managed post construction stormwater on our nation’s waters. As landscapes become more urbanized, there is a corresponding increase in the amount of impervious surfaces that limit the ability of stormwater to infiltrate into the ground.

Low impact development minimizes runoff and employs natural processes such as infiltration, evapotranspiration (evaporation and transpiration from plants), and storage of stormwater at multiple fine scale locations to be as near to the source of stormwater as possible. Successful implementation of LID recreates a more natural hydrologic cycle in a developed watershed.

You can download the complete handbook from our Library of Publications.