What is a key benefit of implementing low-impact development (LID) techniques?

Implementing low-impact development (LID) techniques primarily focuses on managing stormwater in a way that mimics natural processes. One of the key benefits of using LID is the improvement in water quality. This is achieved through strategies that promote infiltration, filtration, and evaporation, which help to manage runoff from impervious surfaces in a sustainable manner.

By utilizing LID techniques, pollutants that are typically washed off surfaces during rainfall are filtered by soil and vegetation before they can enter water bodies. This treatment process significantly reduces the concentrations of harmful substances such as heavy metals, nutrients, and sediment in stormwater, resulting in cleaner water flowing into rivers, lakes, and other natural ecosystems.

The other options highlight aspects that do not align with the core objectives of LID, such as increasing impervious surfaces, which contradicts the goals of LID, and focusing solely on soil erosion, or expanding stored facilities, which often does not directly benefit water quality in the same holistic manner that LID achieves.