Texas A&M University
OP-23: Rainwater Management

Engineering - The Texas A&M campus is approximately 5000 acres. On the east side of campus, stormwater issues were handled in the mid-90s through the use of retention ponds and vaults. At that time the University planned for projected increases in construction. Along with this, buildings built within the past ten years have included a stormwater collection system to allow the water to be used later for irrigation. Most current work for stormwater over the past several years has been on the west side of campus. This includes repair of creek banks and the addition of energy dissipaters. There is also a current requirement for structures built on this side of campus to design so as not to add to the velocity of water. This has been accomplished with the use of stormwater collection and detention ponds. Education - Texas A&M has partnered with the local city governments, county, and Texas Department of Transportation to bring a unified message about stormwater protection to the public. This has been accomplished through multiple media outlets (television, radio, newspapers, fliers, etc). The group also takes its message to local schools assisting with educating children about pollution and stormwater. Texas A&M also placed stormwater markers at each inlet to remind individuals that only stormwater is allowed down storm drains. Each marker provides the effected stream. The University also has a volunteer program in which staff and students spend a Saturday once per year cleaning a creek bank. This past year 127 volunteers removed 115 bags of trash from creek banks. Texas A&M also has an inspection program for all new construction. At least every 14 days the University inspects the sites for new construction. This takes place from ground breaking until the soil is stabilized. Service - Texas A&M has an annual Stream Clean event. We take this opportunity to continue education and to remove pollution and debris from streams affected by our stormwater. The service event is a cooperative effort between students, staff, industry partners, and professional organizations. Inspection - All outfalls are inspected twice per year. All construction sites are inspected by the University at least every 14 days. These inspections involve a complete site walk through. Construction companies are required to take corrective actions in a timely manner or risk having the site closed.

The management plan divides the campus with a goal of reducing the impact of stormwater on the local MS4s and reducing the impact on the water bodies that the water leaves through. Most new construction on major facilities take advantage of cisterns to reduce the effect of stormwater from the new development. On the east side of campus, a large detention area was created in the late 90's to accommodate growth and slow the rate at which stormwater enters the College Station MS4. Most of the stormwater on the west side of campus flows to White Creek. On that portion of campus, each new construction has to individually accommodate the increase flow of stormwater. This is generally done with some combination of cisterns, detention, and swales. There is also a planned green space in this area. The space is to serve a few functions. It will provide a park on the riparian area of the creek, provide a route to traverse the creek, repair the creek from stormwater damage, and slow the flow of water through the creek with a system of energy dissipater to reduce stormwater effects downstream.