Downstream Economic Benefits of Conservation Development

Abstract

This paper evaluates the downstream hydrologic and economic impacts of development strategies that promote greater on-site storage of storm water. This paper applies a methodology to a specific case study that emphasizes flood risk reduction and drainage infrastructure. The estimates are at a first level of approximation. We use widely accepted simulation models and available data to compare alternative development scenarios for the 0.01 annual probability storm event. For a watershed in a rapidly developing area near Chicago, Ill., reduced downstream flooding with the employment of conservation design practices generates from