Design of low impact development in the urban context considering hydrological performance and life‐cycle cost

Abstract The pressures on water system are increasing in cities. Rapid urbanisation caused by booming population leads to more impervious area and less infiltration, with the consequence of larger runoff volume and higher flood risk. Launched in 2014, the low impact development (LID), an important part of Sponge City in China initiative, invests in projects that aim to restore the water cycle in the urban area. A comprehensive understanding of the performance of LID measures at watershed scale under different rainfall scenarios and life cycle costs is necessary. The objectives of this study are to assess the hydrological performance and to identify the optimal LID design by using SWMM model and life cycle cost (LCC) method. This study found that LID practices, including bioretention, grass swale, and permeable pavement, showed good performance on urban storm mitigation at watershed scale under different rainfall scenarios. Furthermore, the rates of surface runoff reduction were largely insusceptible to the change of rainfall volume and duration. Regarding the cost‐effectiveness, the priority was grass swale > bioretention > permeable pavement in the study area. The optimal LID scenario was the combination of these three types of LID. The proposed approach can help the decision‐makers to determine the preferable LID plan suitable for the local communities.