Abstract
Low impact development (LID), an ecologically sensitive development strategy and stormwater management (SWM) method, is beginning to be implemented in more suburban and metropolitan projects. However, construction firms that work in Florida have been relatively slow to adopt LID. One significant reason being that many professionals in the development community believe LID practices raise the cost of construction compared to conventional, “pipe and pond” methods. Our objective for this study was to determine how specific capital costs differed between LID and conventional SWM methods. We surveyed a group of LID-experienced design professionals to collect cost data from projects that were designed using both a LID and conventional scheme. Data on four such projects was received and reported on. We focused on site grading and stormwater piping costs because combined they typically represent a large percentage of conventional SWM costs. Our analysis of the data showed that using LID methods consistently reduced excavation and stormwater piping needs compared to conventional practices. LID cost savings, when site grading and stormwater piping costs were totaled, ranged from $237,850 to $2,925,000. Results suggest that development practitioners should give adequate consideration to LID because it could possibly reduce overall SWM costs compared to conventional practices.
DOI
http://dx.doi.org/10.5038/2164-0866.1.2.1
Recommended Citation
Penniman, Daniel C.; Hostetler, Mark; Borisova, Tatiana; and Acomb, Glenn
(2013)
"Capital Cost Comparisons between Low Impact Development (LID) and Conventional Stormwater Management Systems in Florida,"
Suburban Sustainability: Vol. 1
:
Iss.
2
, Article 1.
http://dx.doi.org/10.5038/2164-0866.1.2.1
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/subsust/vol1/iss2/1
