Low-Carbon Layout Optimization and Scheme Comparison of LID Facilities in Arid Regions Based on NSGA-III

In arid regions, rainfall is scarce, summer-concentrated, and prone to extreme events, while evaporation exceeds precipitation, creating fragile ecosystems that need scientific stormwater management for flood resilience. Sponge cities, through the implementation of green infrastructure, can alleviate urban flooding, improve rainwater utilization, and enhance the urban ecological environment. Under the “dual carbon” target, sponge city construction has gained new developmental significance. It must not only ensure core functions and minimize construction costs but also fully leverage its carbon reduction potential, thereby serving as a crucial pathway for promoting urban green and low-carbon development. Therefore, this study focused on Xining, a typical arid city in Northwest China, and couples the Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm-III (NSGA-III) with the Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) to construct a multi-objective optimization model for Low Impact Development (LID) facilities. The layout optimization design of LID facilities is conducted from three dimensions: life cycle cost (LCC), rainwater utilization rate (K), and carbon emission intensity (CI). Hydrological simulations and scheme optimizations were performed under different design rainfall events. Subsequently, the entropy-weighted TOPSIS method was utilized to evaluate and compare these optimized schemes. It is shown by the results that: (1) The optimized LID schemes achieved a K of 76.2–80.43%, an LCC of 2.413–3.019 billion yuan, and a CI of −2.8 to 0.19 kg/m²; (2) Compared with the no-LID scenario, the optimized scheme significantly enhanced hydrological regulation, flood mitigation, and pollutant removal. Under different rainfall return periods, the annual runoff control rate increased from 64.97% to 80.66–82.23%, with total runoff reduction rates reaching 46.41–49.26% and peak flow reductions of 45–47.62%. Under the rainfall event with a 10-year return period, the total number of waterlogging nodes decreased from 108 to 82, and the number of nodes with a ponding duration exceeding 1 h was reduced by 62.5%. The removal efficiency of total suspended solids (TSS) under the optimized scheme remained stable above 60%. The optimized scheme is highly adaptable to the rainwater management needs of arid areas by prioritizing “infiltration and retention”. Vegetative swales emerge as the primary facility due to their low cost and high carbon sink capacity. This study provides a feasible pathway and decision-making support for the low-carbon layout of LID facilities in arid regions.