US version of water-wise cities: Low impact development

Abstract

The population of the United States has continually increased and has become vastly more urbanized. The US population rose from 5.3 million people in 1800 to 76 million in 1900, to over 248 million in 2000, and in 2019 it was approximately 329 million people. Over this time period the population has also shifted from primarily rural to primarily urban. In 1800 approximately 5% of Americans lived in urban areas (defined as populations over 2500 for that time) but, due in large part to industrialization, that value increased to approximately 35% in 1900 and now, in 2019, approximately 80% of Americans live in urban areas, which is currently defined as having a population of 50,000 or more. With the increase in population and urbanization have come added stresses on the environment. These stresses include large amounts of wastewater generated from relatively small land areas, increased stormwater runoff volumes due to an increase in impervious land surfaces, and a degradation in the water quality of stormwater runoff. The water quality of stormwater runoff is degraded due to human activities such as widespread automobile use, erection of buildings, and increased fertilizer use. Automobiles generate pollution through tire wear, rusting