Minimal Impact Design Standards (MIDS) represent the next generation of stormwater management in Minnesota. The emphasis today is on keeping the raindrop where it falls in order to minimize stormwater runoff and pollution and preserve natural resources. Low Impact Development (LID) is an approach to stormwater management that mimics a site’s natural hydrology as the landscape is developed and preserves and protects environmentally-sensitive site features such as riparian buffers, wetlands, steep slopes, valuable (mature) trees, floodplains, woodlands and highly permeable soils. The MIDS project offers guidelines, recommendations, and tools that will help implement LID more uniformly across Minnesota's landscape and it provides guidance to effectively implement the concepts and practices that LID promotes and encourages. MIDS contains four main elements to meet these needs:
The MIDS project began in 2009 when the Minnesota Legislature directed the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to develop MIDS deliverables through Minnesota Statute 115.03, subdivision 5c, paragraph c. This statute reads:
"The agency shall develop performance standards, design standards, or other tools to enable and promote the implementation of low impact development and other storm water management techniques. For the purposes of this section, "low impact development" means an approach to storm water management that mimics a site's natural hydrology as the landscape is developed. Using the low impact development approach, storm water is managed on site and the rate and volume of predevelopment storm water reaching receiving waters is unchanged. The calculation of predevelopment hydrology is based on native soil and vegetation".
Upon passage of the legislation, the MPCA collected input from developers, municipal planners, public works departments, and others to prioritize the most important structural and nonstructural best management practices needed for stormwater management. The stakeholder meetings were held In October of 2009, in Brainerd, Duluth, Rochester and Plymouth. In January 2010, the MPCA formed a workgroup (called the MIDS workgroup) under the auspices of the Minnesota Stormwater Steering Committee to guide the MPCA in the development of the MIDS products. This diverse group of stakeholders met monthly for three years and was co-chaired by Jay Riggs of the Washington Conservation District (2010-2013), Mark Doneux of the Capitol Region Watershed District (2010-2011) and Jim Hafner of the City of Blaine (2012-2013). The work group included:
The MIDS project centers on promoting LID as an approach to mimic a site's natural hydrology. The primary goal is to have developments achieve a post-development runoff rate and volume equivalent to a site's natural hydrology, where the natural hydrology of the site is based on native soils and vegetation. The stakeholder group identified other goals for MIDS, including, but not limited to:
MIDS was specifically developed for designers, engineers, planners, contractors, elected officials, stormwater managers, landscape architects, public works staff, landscape industry, land use regulators and others involved in new development and redevelopment projects that potentially generate stormwater runoff. The concepts behind MIDS can essentially be used by all Minnesotans-we can all do our part in minimizing stormwater runoff and pollution. MIDS methodologies provide tools for individuals to quantify reductions in post-development runoff and pollutant loading from a wide variety of LID practices.
Adapting and using LID approaches offers multiple benefits including minimizing and reducing the amount of pollution reaching our lakes, rivers and streams and helps to recharge groundwater resources. MIDS establishes unified LID standards, approaches and credits so we can consistently apply these principals across Minnesota communities. MIDS helps communities measure progress toward water and natural resource protection and restoration goals. MIDS will also be used as the highest standard for meeting the stormwater practice for Minnesota Green Step Cities.
Specific examples of how the MIDS package can be used, including the MIDS calculator, include the following.
A Community Assistance Package (CAP) has been developed to provide ordinances and tools that help integrate LID principles, including the MIDS performance goals and calculator, into a package that can be used by local units of government. These tools can be used by communities to help them achieve MIDS performance goals for stormwater volume. The CAP includes instructions about how to use the checklists, and various training materials and approaches used during implementation in several test or pilot communities.
The MIDS calculator is a tool designed to quantify reductions in post-development runoff and pollutant loading using a variety of LID practices. This graphic user interactive tool allows individuals to enter a project’s site conditions and determine the amount of stormwater volume retention needed and the pollution loading (sediment and phosphorus). The calculator then provides a method to enter their stormwater practices of choice and determine (calculate) the amount of stormwater volume and pollution reduction (credit) they can achieve. Currently, the calculator includes LID practices for green roofs, bioretention basins, infiltration basins, permeable pavement, infiltration trench/tree box, swales, filter strips and sand filters. Other practices will be added in the future. The calculator includes convenient links to specific design specifications for LID practices that are found within the Minnesota Stormwater Manual.
MIDS Fact Sheet: File:MIDS fact sheet.pdf
This document provides rationale for selecting the above definitions and alternative definitions: File:MIDS definitions.docx
This page was last edited on 6 February 2023, at 14:44.