| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 68.18 |
| Liaison | Ezra Small |
| Submission Date | Feb. 5, 2015 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
University of Massachusetts Amherst
OP-27: Rainwater Management
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
Ezra
Small Sustainability Manager Physical Plant |
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indicates that no data was submitted for this field
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Does the institution use Low Impact Development (LID) practices as a matter of policy or standard practice to reduce rainwater/stormwater runoff volume and improve outgoing water quality for new construction, major renovation, and other projects?:
Yes
None
A brief description of the institution’s Low Impact Development (LID) practices:
The university has decided to incorporate rain gardens and vegetated swales in all new construction to reduce stormwater run off. The university has decided to implement the same technology for existing stormwater issues.
All new construction meets LEED for New Construction v3 stormwater management requirements such as Stormwater Design - Quality Control and Water Efficient Landscaping - No Potable Water Use or Irrigation.
Also to note: A team of students, faculty, and staff have initiated the Tan Brook Project, an initiative to raise awareness about the Tan Brook Watershed which runs underground across the campus and into the Campus Pond. This project has received campus wide support from administrators from Physical Plant and Facilities and Campus Planning and has become a platform for discussing future stormwater retention in centralized locations to resolve stormwater impacts of new construction projects.
None
Has the institution adopted a rainwater/stormwater management policy, plan, or strategies that mitigate the rainwater runoff impacts of ongoing campus operations through the use of green infrastructure? :
Yes
None
A brief description of the institution’s rainwater/stormwater management policy, plan, and/or strategies for ongoing campus operations:
All new construction and major renovations are LEED Silver minimum and use the UMass Green Building Guidelines for deciding which credits to pursue for each project. The current guidelines for the campus (revised in 2013 and being updated currently for LEED v4 to be released in 2015) has set medium to high priority levels for all related water credits, and can be found here: http://www.umass.edu/fp/gbGuidelines.pdf
Strategies include rain gardens, water efficient landscaping, innovative wastewater technologies like water catchment tanks for flushing, and permeable pavement.
None
A brief description of any rainwater harvesting employed by the institution:
At the $102M Integrated Science Building, a 20,000 gallon storage tank collects rain water on the roof to reduce discharge to the campus sewer system, and instead it is recycled by the chiller plant. Effluent water piped from the Amherst water treatment plant is used to supplement water lost to evaporation.
http://www.umass.edu/sustainability/green-campus/integrated-sciences-building
None
Rainwater harvested directly and stored/used by the institution, performance year:
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None
A brief description of any rainwater filtering systems employed by the institution to treat water prior to release:
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None
A brief description of any living or vegetated roofs on campus:
The new Integrated Learning Classroom (ILC) (formerly called the NACB) is the first building on campus to be built with a new vegetated roof: http://www.umass.edu/fp/NACB/.
None
A brief description of any porous (i.e. permeable) paving employed by the institution:
There are three examples of porous paving applications on campus: The Robsham Visitor Center, the Southwest Residential Area Concourse, and the Stockbridge School of Agriculture.
None
A brief description of any downspout disconnection employed by the institution:
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None
A brief description of any rain gardens on campus:
The Lot 62 Rain Garden was construction alongside the Studio Arts Building and has been very successful in slowing down rainwater.
None
A brief description of any stormwater retention and/or detention ponds employed by the institution:
Central heating plant has retention ponds as well as the Southwest Concourse at the University.
None
A brief description of any bioswales on campus (vegetated, compost or stone):
The university has vegetated stone swales. They are visible across campus and in new construction project, specifically in the Southwest Concourse project on campus.
None
A brief description of any other rainwater management technologies or strategies employed by the institution:
The Integrated Science Building (ISB) on campus has storm-water recycling that supplies the cooling tower.
None
The website URL where information about the institution’s rainwater management initiatives, plan or policy is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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