GREENSCAPES LID TOOLKIT
Greenscapes encourages the use of Low Impact Development methods to effectively manage stormwater runoff in your city or town.
What is LID?
Low Impact Development, or LID, is an approach to manage stormwater runoff by mimicking the natural features of a landscape to effectively control stormwater where it falls. LID techniques capture water on-site, allowing it to filter through vegetation and absorb into the ground rather than it being lost as surface runoff.
Greenscapes LID Viewer
This Low Impact Development interactive viewer was developed by the Greenscapes North shore Coalition to highlight the importance of LID infrastructure within the Massachusetts North Shore communities. This tool allows the user to view a variety of LID projects in the region, associated costs, and funding sources. Click on map below to go to the LID Viewer to see other community projects that have been completed or in the planning stage. Add your LID projects to the viewer, additions are being accepted on an ongoing basis!
The Greenscapes LID viewer was originally funded by a 2019 MS4 Assistance Grant through the MA Department of Environmental Protection. In 2021, the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission (MVPC) received another MS4 Assistance Grant, with which the Coalition was able to update and expand the viewer. A 2023 MS4 Assistant Grant allowed Greenscapes to further improve the LID viewer by making it more user friendly. The viewer is now hosted on the MVPC’s website.
Why is LID Important?
Towns and cities in Massachusetts are required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to keep their stormwater clean and properly managed. An outline of these requirements is defined in the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) General Permit which affects more than 200 cities and towns in Massachusetts.
LID and other best management practices are critical components of a community’s ability to manage and clean stormwater in compliance with the MS4 permit. By the end of June 2023, all municipalities were required to consider how to reduce impervious surfaces on municipal properties through modifications or retrofits that will work to reduce stormwater runoff and to identify specific sites where LID may be utilized. Greenscapes aims to help member communities to implement identified LID opportunities to improve stormwater management.
Greenscapes LID Video Series
Natural Solutions for Clean and Plentiful Water
This video discusses the importance of stormwater protection and many different LID practices that can be used to keep water clean and plentiful.
Rain Garden Installation – Winter Island, Salem MA
This video documents and describes the installation of a rain garden that captures stormwater runoff from 2.5 acres of a coastal parking lot in Salem MA.
Learn more about different LID strategies and their maintenance requirements with this guide.
LID Inspection & Maintenance Videos
This video series was created by Salem Sound Coastwatch, with the assistance and expertise of Salem based filmmaker, Perry Hallinan. The creation of the Green Infrastructure Maintenance Series was funded by a 2021 Coastal Pollution Remediation Grant from the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management.
