Washington State Low Impact Development Training

We worked with the Washington State Department of Ecology to develop curriculum and lead a Statewide Low Impact Development (LID) Training Program. The project involved the development of 17 individual training modules on different topics related to LID. We organized the trainings by proficiency (Introductory, Intermediate, and Advanced), subject matter, audience, and region (western and eastern Washington). Topics included the design, performance, and maintenance of bioretention, permeable pavement, compost-amended soils, vegetated roofs, rainwater collection systems, newly planted and retained trees, and dispersion techniques. We also addressed site assessment, planning, and layout with an emphasis on soil and subsurface hydrologic analysis and innovative site analysis for complex sites. Finally, we explored the more advanced capabilities of WWHM and MGSFlood to better describe water movement through bioretention, routing water through connected facilities and other aspects of distributed LID systems. Over the 3 year duration of the project we held 125 trainings attended by over 2,800 students.