Low Impact Development (LID) includes a variety of landscaping and design practices that slows water down, spreads it out and soaks it in, treating stormwater as a resource rather than a waste product. These practices improve the quality and decrease the volume, of stormwater entering our waterways.

Rain gardens are shallow, slightly depressed gardens designed to collect rain water. Rain gardens are easy to construct and can be planted with any combination of trees, shrubs, grasses or perennials, providing an attractive and very effective way to manage stormwater.

These landscaped plant beds capture and filter stormwater before it returns to our stormwater system, and eventually our rivers. When it rains, stormwater is directed into the rain garden. Plants, layers of soil and gravel filter and absorb the stormwater. The silt and other natural solids, like leaves, are collected on top of the gardens. Other pollutants (chemicals and bacteria) are filtered out and used by the soil and plants.

Learn more about residential and engineered rain gardens here.

Visit this City website to learn about backyard gardening for pollinators in Calgary.

It is possible to produce a landscape that will help cool your home in summer and tame the winter winds.

• Plant deciduous trees on the south, east and west sides of your house to provide shade in the summer and shed leaves in the winter to let sunlight in.
• Coniferous (evergreen) trees can be planted in a row to protect against high winds. The best location is the prevailing wind side of your house (usually south-west), or the side where there is the least amount of sunshine. 

When planting trees on your lot, remember to avoid:

• overhead power lines and underground utilities; and
• planting trees near the foundation of your house to reduce risk of damage to your foundation.

Visit calgary.ca/trees for information on tree maintenance, planting and protection, including which trees are most suitable for Calgary’s climate.

Rain barrels collect rainwater from a home’s downspout and provide a free source of water for your yard, reducing demands on potable water supplies.

Rainwater cisterns are a larger version of a rain barrel. The stored water can be used for watering your yard in the event of a water supply disruption, or to reduce your use of freshwater.

• Make sure that the rain barrel can safely overflow away from your home and your neighbour’s home, toward the lawn, planted areas, or a rain garden.
• Rain barrels should be emptied before winter to avoid cracking and damage to the barrel or waterspout.

Learn more about purchasing and using a rain barrel.

Collected rainwater is not potable, which means you should not drink it or use it on food crops.

Permeable pavement, also known as pervious or porous paving, is a type of hard surfacing that allows rainfall to percolate into the soil below.  Recommended options include:

• permeable interlocking concrete pavements; and
• vegetated permeable pavements, which use plastic, metal, or concrete grids for support and hold grass or other vegetation in place.

Permeable pavements reduce stormwater run-off and help prevent water from ponding on your property. They filter out pollutants, lower runoff water temperatures, improve water quality and promote evaporative cooling which reduces pavement temperatures and consequently the air temperature.