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Smart Growth and Water Resources
Up one levelHow and where development occurs affects the sustainability of water resources, the health of watersheds, and the value these resources provide to people and communities.
The current relationship between water and land use is a bad one. Conventional development patterns are degrading water quality, increasing flood risks, and promoting inefficient use of our valuable supplies.
When considering water and land use, the sustainability of our water supplies boils down to two basic decisions:
- Where should we grow?
- How should we grow?
Resources:
- Livable Communities and Water Fact Sheet
- Our Built and Natural Environments
- This US EPA publication summarizes the research on the relationship between the built and natual environments, as well as current understanding of the role of development patterns, urban design and transportation in improving environmental quality.
- Smart Growth for Clean Water Report
- This report, produced by the Trust for Public Land and the National Association of Local Government Environmental Professionals (NALGEP), identifies five smart growth approaches that can improve water quality: land conservation, waterfront brownfields revitalization, urban and community forestry, low impact development, and watershed management
- Choices for Growth: Quality of life and the natural environment
- A publication of Texas NEMO and others that discusses and displays the three strategies for a healthy environment: preserving open space, encouraging compact growth, and controlling urban stormwater runoff.
- Puget Sound Online: Low Impact Development
- Information on low impact development in the Seattle area.
- Green Streets: Innovative Solutions for Stormwater and Stream Crossings
- Tools for designing streets.
- Low Impact Development Center
- Organization dedicated to the advancement of low impact development technology witht he goal of maintaining or enhancing pre-development hydrology.
- USEPA Low Impact Development web page
- Links to web sites and publications that promote low impact development.
- Water and Smart Growth: The Impacts of Sprawl on Aquatic Ecosystems
- White paper on the connection between sprawl and water resources
- Start at the Source
- Design Guidance Manual for Stormwater Quality Protection.
