The University of Nevada, Reno is concerned about its water consumption. To assist in planning initiatives and growth at the University, graduate student Jess Henning in developing a stormwater model for the campus. This model will predict event flows and evaluate different growth scenarios for their effect on stormwater runoff.
Read more: www.unr.edu/features/08-09/henning
Joe Crowley Student Union:
Improving Water Quality by Managing Storm Water Runoff
Water washing over the land, whether from rain or lawn irrigation, picks up an array of contaminants. On campus, these contaminants include oil and sediment from cars, parking lots, and roadways, trash and debris, and nutrients and other materials from lawns and landscaping. This runoff finds its way into our waterways, either directly or through storm drain collection systems. Scientific evidence shows that although huge strides have been made in cleaning up major point sources, our water resources are still threatened by the effects of polluted runoff.
Solutions to storm water pollution problems focus on maintaining the pre-development hydrology of the site using a technique called Low Impact Development (LID).
This approach was used to install a small demonstration project at the entrance to the Joe Crowley Student Union. The circular entry area was constructed of pavers placed on a sand bed. Water will soak into the sand bed and slowly percolate into the underlying soil, rather than running off.
The project allowed the elimination of storm drain lines and three drop inlets. The plaza area was raised so it does not collect storm water drainage, which would otherwise have been sent directly into the storm drain system. The pavers increase water retention and potential ground water recharge on-site when compared with a traditional asphalt surface.
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