Got Nature? Blog

Urban best management practices (BMPs) and low-impact development practices are forms of green infrastructure designed to protect water quality and quantity by reducing stormwater runoff or by storing and treating stormwater before it reaches surface waters. Low-impact development practices are intended to mimic natural infiltration processes.

This publication titled Tipping Point Planner Stormwater Definitions: Urban Best Management Practices (BMPs) and Low Impact Development Practices is written by Ben Wegleitner, social science outreach associate, Daniel Walker, community planning extension specialist, Kara A Salazar, assistant program leader and extension specialist for sustainable communities, and Lydia Utley, data analyst. It discusses the benefits of several urban best management practices for protecting or improving water quality. These BMPs include: permeable pavement, rain barrels, bioretention system, grass strip (or buffer strip), grassed swale, retention ponds, wetland basin and detention basin. The following practices are used in the Long-Term Hydrologic Impact Assessment (L-THIA) model and the Tipping Point Planner. Through Tipping Point Planner, Great Lakes communities can plan sustainable futures by directly linking data to their local decision-making processes.

Resources
Tipping Point Planner Stormwater Definitions: Agricultural Best Management Practices, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center
Improving Water Quality by Protecting Sinkholes on Your Property, video, The Education Store
Improving Water Quality At Your Livestock Operation, video, The Education Store
Improving Water Quality Around Your Farm, video, The Education Store
Healthy Water, Happy Home – Lesson Plan, The Education Store

Kara A Salazar, Assistant Program Leader and Extension Specialist for Sustainable Communities
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources