Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 71.70
Liaison Marianne Martin
Submission Date Sept. 22, 2014
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.0

University of Colorado Boulder
OP-27: Rainwater Management

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 Jonathan Akins
Campus Civil Engineer
Facilities Management
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

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

A brief description of the institution’s Low Impact Development (LID) practices:

CU continuously is looking for opportunities to improve the stormwater quality on the campus. Every construction project on the campus is reviewed to both minimize stormwater runoff as well as incorporating water quality control features into the project. As a result the University has incorporated numerous storm water BMPs into campus projects ranging from porous pavements to infiltration trenches. As a result almost all of our capital construction projects on the campus have achieved LEED sustainable site credits 6.1 and 6.2.


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

A brief description of the institution’s rainwater/stormwater management policy, plan, and/or strategies for ongoing campus operations:

UCB Building and Construction Standards - Drainage Structures and Piping: http://www.colorado.edu/facilitiesmanagement/pdc/construction/standards/documents/u02722.pdf

Floodwater mapping: http://www.colorado.edu/masterplan/plan/Exhibits/ExII-C-2CMP20110602.pdf

University of Colorado Boulder 2011 Master Plan - Section V: Land and Facilities Plan/ 35, 43-44, 50-51, 96-98, 104
http://www.colorado.edu/masterplan/plan/documents/SectionV_000.pdf


A brief description of any rainwater harvesting employed by the institution:

N/A


Rainwater harvested directly and stored/used by the institution, performance year:
0 Gallons

A brief description of any rainwater filtering systems employed by the institution to treat water prior to release:

N/A


A brief description of any living or vegetated roofs on campus:

N/A


A brief description of any porous (i.e. permeable) paving employed by the institution:

CU has a total of 7 different plazas or parking lots that have porous pavement systems. The systems are designed based on specific site conditions to maximize water quality and retention/infiltration of the runoff. The goal of such systems is to infiltrate as much water into the subsurface as we can and to achieve a higher water quality in our storm water runoff. The areas that CU has porous pavement systems are: Norlin Library Sundial Plaza, Parking Lot 274, Center for Community West Plaza, Center for Community East Plaza, Ketchem Bike Storage, IBS Parking Lot, and Fiske Planetarium Plaza. In addition there are 5 other areas that are designed and scheduled for construction.


A brief description of any downspout disconnection employed by the institution:

N/A


A brief description of any rain gardens on campus:

N/A


A brief description of any stormwater retention and/or detention ponds employed by the institution:

CU has a total of 10 retention ponds on the campus, where most of these ponds function also as our raw water irrigation ponds. With the Colorado water laws, CU had to give up some our water rights in order to obtain a storage right for the water. Most of these ponds are located on the outfalls of our storm sewer systems which provide both water quality and water attenuation of storm events before the storm water runoff goes into Boulder Creek.


A brief description of any bioswales on campus (vegetated, compost or stone):

The University has numerous vegetated swales on the campus which are designed by our civil engineers in accordance with UDFCD requirements. These swales are located anywhere from inside parking medians to our quads.


A brief description of any other rainwater management technologies or strategies employed by the institution:

Other technologies include: constructed wetland channels, constructed wetlands, infiltration pipes, detention ponds, and soil augmentations.


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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