Overall Rating Silver
Overall Score 49.59
Liaison Lily Strehlow
Submission Date Feb. 2, 2024

STARS v2.2

University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
OP-22: Rainwater Management

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.50 / 2.00 Lily Strehlow
Sustainability Specialist
Risk Management, Safety, and Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Which of the following best describes the institution’s approach to rainwater management?:
No written policies, plans or guidelines, but green infrastructure and LID practices are used

A brief description of the institution’s green infrastructure and LID practices:
As part of the UWEC Environmental Initiatives and Integrated Pest Management programs on campus, Planning and the Grounds department work together on designing rain gardens, bioswales and bio-basins as landscaping features used to slow, collect, infiltrate, and filter storm water at different locations across campus. These systems include reducing storm water runoff and improving storm water quality. Incorporated where possible, these systems help manage rainwater across campus. The campus also included a Green Roof as an environmental initiative option for our renovated student center as well as implementing no mow areas to help encourage rainwater filtration.

UWEC also has a Landscape Master Plan that helps ensure best management practices are used as guidelines for maintenance and installation or renovations of campus areas. One of the goals highlighted in the Landscape Master Plan includes fostering environmental stewardship through design, construction and maintenance practices that optimize our current staffing/ resources

A copy of the institution’s rainwater management policy, plan, and/or guidelines:
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A brief description of the institution’s rainwater management policy, plan, and/or guidelines that supports the responses above:
The differences between the systems that are used on UWEC's campus are subtle and the terms often are used interchangeably to describe designs that achieve the end goal of reducing storm water runoff and improving storm water quality. Rain gardens use loamy soil and is depressed in the landscape (Water Street, Bollinger Fields). Bioswales are composed of a vegetative layer, sandy soil layer (engineered soil), a coarser soil layer, and a stone bottom layer (Garfield, Nursing, The Suites, Davies Center west and the Welcome Center). Bio-basins are an engineered solution consisting of concrete sides with cutouts to direct water to an engineered soil base (Centennial South)..

Davies green roof is an extensive green roof which means the depth of soil is 3-5 inches. It is vegetated with succulents, sedums, and prairie plant species, does not require DH- 02/25/22 irrigation and is low maintenance requiring only occasional weeding of volunteer weeds. Overflow is released through scuppers to the gardens surrounding the building below.

Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about the institution’s green infrastructure and LID practices is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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