Building capacity in low-impact drainage management through research collaboration

Abstract

Municipalities often play the principal role in the management of urban stormwater runoff. Dominant approaches involve routing urban stormwater runoff directly to streams, which has negative impacts on waterway health. Alternative management approaches, such as low-impact drainage management, have the potential to protect or restore urban streams, but remain rarely used. The Yarra Ranges Council (YRC), a municipality in Melbourne, Australia, collaborated with a team of researchers to construct stormwater-harvesting schemes, infiltration systems, and other measures (e.g., low-flow filters for water-quality treatment), as part of a catchmentscale experiment on low-impact drainage management. W..