PERMEABLE PARKING: A GREEN APPROACH TO MANAGING WATER RUNOFF AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ST. FRANCIS
Impact/Purpose:
The technical challenge our P-3 team faces is to determine the potential for water conservation through the use of holding tanks/cisterns and gray water recycling. Our design involves building a small test parking lot of permeable pavement with an integrated water collection system. The pavement will allow about 70-80% of the annual rainfall to percolate through to the ground underneath; most to replenish the aquifer, and some to enter an integrated collection system. We will test the collected rain water for contaminants and reusability for irrigation purposes. The challenge and proposed design relate to sustainability through the reduction of demand on municipal storm drains and potential re-use of the rain water for irrigation of green spaces (people); replenishment of the ground aquifer (planet) and economic viability of reducing the use of treated and pumped municipal water by replacing it with conserved water on site (prosperity).
Description:
The main goals of the proposed project are to serve the students of the University and local residents (people) through good environmental practices, to further establish a “Green Campus” (planet), and to meet the challenges for water conservation posed by the rapid economic growth of the Will County community (prosperity). USF has initiated the program to reduce the amount of water runoff into the municipal storm drain systems that flow into our local rivers and streams, and to collect and reuse the runoff throughout campus.
Permeable pavement allows rainwater to percolate through the paving and into the ground before it runs off. Depending on the design, paving material, soil type, and rainfall, permeable paving can allow as much as 70% to 80% of the annual rainfall to infiltrate. The paving system will thus reduce the amount of rainfall introduced into the city drainage systems, affecting not only the University but also the Joliet community (planet). The remaining storm water that is collected and held underneath the paved areas can provide a potential source of water that will reduce the load on the municipal water supply and infrastructures (prosperity). Once a determination is made as to whether or not the water is sufficiently clean, USF plans to install a collection system of drainpipes and a small holding tank for water samples that can be tested for contaminants in order to assess the quality of the water and reuse it for beautification purposes (people).
Continual balancing of economic growth, environmental awareness and commitment will ensure a continued quality of life for generations to come. Water conservation of the type of the type proposed will significantly reduce the burden on municipal storm drains and water supply systems, lessen the local demand and dependency on the aquifer, and diminish the need for retention ponds. As part of a comprehensive effort for USF to become more environmentally friendly, it will reduce the load that the campus places on municipal water supply and drainage systems while, at the same time, enable hot weather irrigation and landscape beautification. Our long-term plan will directly serve our neighborhood and the greater Will County community (people). It will address local environmental issues of water conservation (planet), and find environmentally responsible ways to meet commercial needs (prosperity).
Design and construction of the parking lot is currently underway by outside contractors with input from our group. Unfortunately, due to budgetary delays (on the part of both the EPA and USF) as well as the extreme winter weather conditions in our area, the project is about three months behind schedule. Nevertheless, our project team has been able to collect a reasonable amount of chemical data on rainwater and snowfall from strategically placed collection units located in parking lot B on campus.
We are analyzing water quality for typical runoff contaminants (Table 1). These include but are not limited to various ions and metals shown in the table of sample contaminants. The testing methods include titration, chromatography, mass spectrometry, spectrophotometry, electrochemical, gravimetric tests to find the level of contamination in the water.
Record Details:
Record Type:PROJECT(
ABSTRACT
)
Start Date:08/15/2008
Completion Date:08/14/2009
Record ID:
201234
Keywords:
WATER MANAGEMENT, WATER RECLAMATION, URBAN WATER PLANNING, STORM WATER MANAGEMENT, WATER QUALITY, WATER QUANTITY, STORM WATER TESTING, STORM WATER RUNOFF, CHEMICAL TESTING,
Related Organizations:
Role
:OWNER
Organization Name
:UNIVERSITY OF ST. FRANCIS
Mailing Address
:500 Wilcox Street
Citation
:Joliet
State
:IL
Zip Code
:60435
Project Information:
Approach
:Our P-3 team will collect and measure rainfall amounts and test it to determine the extent of chemical and biological contaminants. The levels of contaminants of this runoff will determine if it can be used for hot weather irrigation and landscape beautification. The P-3 project will be used as an educational tool in several natural science courses as well as in business and honors courses with students conducting significant original research. We will expand the USF Greening of Campus website (http://www.stfrancis.edu/green 
) to include all phases of the P-3 project. Senior students on the project will present findings at Senior Symposiums. Student project leaders will provide presentations at the Associated Colleges of the Chicago Area annual conference; the annual Greening of Campus Conference in Muncie, IN in 2009, and at the Midwest Business Administration Association in spring 2009 on the relationship of environmental stewardship, economic growth, and increased infrastructure.
Cost
:$10,000.00
Research Component
:Pollution Prevention/Sustainable Development
Approach
:Our P-3 team will collect and measure rainfall amounts and test it to determine the extent of chemical and biological contaminants. The levels of contaminants of this runoff will determine if it can be used for hot weather irrigation and landscape beautification. The P-3 project will be used as an educational tool in several natural science courses as well as in business and honors courses with students conducting significant original research. We will expand the USF Greening of Campus website (http://www.stfrancis.edu/green ) to include all phases of the P-3 project. Senior students on the project will present findings at Senior Symposiums. Student project leaders will provide presentations at the Associated Colleges of the Chicago Area annual conference; the annual Greening of Campus Conference in Muncie, IN in 2009, and at the Midwest Business Administration Association in spring 2009 on the relationship of environmental stewardship, economic growth, and increased infrastructure.
Cost
:$10,000.00
Research Component
:P3 Challenge Area - Water
Approach
:Our P-3 team will collect and measure rainfall amounts and test it to determine the extent of chemical and biological contaminants. The levels of contaminants of this runoff will determine if it can be used for hot weather irrigation and landscape beautification. The P-3 project will be used as an educational tool in several natural science courses as well as in business and honors courses with students conducting significant original research. We will expand the USF Greening of Campus website (http://www.stfrancis.edu/green ) to include all phases of the P-3 project. Senior students on the project will present findings at Senior Symposiums. Student project leaders will provide presentations at the Associated Colleges of the Chicago Area annual conference; the annual Greening of Campus Conference in Muncie, IN in 2009, and at the Midwest Business Administration Association in spring 2009 on the relationship of environmental stewardship, economic growth, and increased infrastructure.
Cost
:$10,000.00
Research Component
:P3 Challenge Area - Energy
Approach
:Our P-3 team will collect and measure rainfall amounts and test it to determine the extent of chemical and biological contaminants. The levels of contaminants of this runoff will determine if it can be used for hot weather irrigation and landscape beautification. The P-3 project will be used as an educational tool in several natural science courses as well as in business and honors courses with students conducting significant original research. We will expand the USF Greening of Campus website (http://www.stfrancis.edu/green ) to include all phases of the P-3 project. Senior students on the project will present findings at Senior Symposiums. Student project leaders will provide presentations at the Associated Colleges of the Chicago Area annual conference; the annual Greening of Campus Conference in Muncie, IN in 2009, and at the Midwest Business Administration Association in spring 2009 on the relationship of environmental stewardship, economic growth, and increased infrastructure.
Cost
:$10,000.00
Research Component
:P3 Challenge Area - Built Environment
Project IDs:
ID Code
:SU833940
Project type
:EPA Grant