Encouraging low-impact-development stormwater-management practices / Assabet River Watershed sub-basin case study

Regulatory codes and ordinances create a framework that guide stormwater management decision processes. These regulations are designed to protect the health and safety of the public and to preserve the natural integrity of the environment. Using a case-study approach in Acton, Massachusetts, a two-part examination is performed. The first is a comprehensive review of Acton's developmental code and ordinances. The second part of the study is a site redevelopment design using LID technologies for site-level stormwater management. To facilitate the regulatory review, a code and ordinance worksheet (COW) developed by The Center for Watershed Protection (CWP) was used to evaluate Acton's regulations against the CWP's twenty-two model development principles. Acton's score was then compared to previously completed worksheets from eighteen other eastern seaboard communities. The Discovery Museums, a children's museum in Acton, was chosen for the site redevelopment. The museum expressed a desire to remove an existing parking area and reconfigure another lot to absorb the displaced spaces. The EPA's Low-Impact Development Design Strategies manual was used to guide the museum site planning and design development. The design evaluation included comprehensive hydrologic and water quality analyses to determine pre- and post- development performance. The results of the regulatory review demonstrate that Acton's existing developmental codes and ordinances do not presently encourage LID practices and have only a 62% agreement with the CWP model development principles. The museum site redevelopment design proves that site-level stormwater management technologies can be incorporated into the site landscape and be used to return the site's hydrologic volume, rate, and water quality to a pre-developed condition.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2005

Author dc:creator

• Brown, James E. (James Edward), 1969-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Peter Shanahan.

• Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/31121

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/31121