Bioretention in an Urban Context

Increasingly, development projects are required to provide stormwater best management practices (BMPs) to improve water quality.' Historically, the measures used in urban projects have involved underground devices (e.g. sand filters or subterranean storage chambers) due to a lack of usable surface space. However, when land area is available (or mandated, as in the case of jurisdictions requiring open-space or parkland), surface level BMPs can be employed, such as bioretention areas. This strategy involves a soil and plant based stormwater filtering process to rid water ofpotentially toxic content. A critical component of low-impact development (LID) philosophies, liit uses green space to keep stormwater on-site, improving its quality with natural means, and minimizing runoff by maximizing infiltration.