| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 47.51 |
| Liaison | Mike Evans |
| Submission Date | Feb. 2, 2016 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Williams College
OP-27: Rainwater Management
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
Jason
Moran Senior Project Manager Facilities |
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?:
A brief description of the institution’s Low Impact Development (LID) practices:
Williams' does not have general Low Impact Development practices but instead makes a separate assessment of what makes sense for every project. A few examples of current LID practices in use are:
-Catch basins that remove 80% of total suspended solids (TSS) from storm drains. They are cleaned once every 2 years.
-36" diameter perforated pipes below the surface of Paresky Lawn, allowing water to slowly drain into surrounding earth rather than running off over impervious surfaces
-Stormwater drains are monitered to catch more serious, non-solid contaminants from flowing into the local water source
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? :
A brief description of the institution’s rainwater/stormwater management policy, plan, and/or strategies for ongoing campus operations:
All new projects involve an evaluation of stormwater management that must be concluded before the project starts. We have to make sure that post-development flows are equal or less than pre-development flows in both volume and velocity. The college uses a range of different retention and detention structures.
A brief description of any rainwater harvesting employed by the institution:
None
Rainwater harvested directly and stored/used by the institution, performance year:
A brief description of any rainwater filtering systems employed by the institution to treat water prior to release:
Deep Sump Catch Basins are employed throughout the campus—this is a staple of Williams’ construction. Retention and Detention systems also filter the water. Finally, we also use a number of Stormcepter devices that help to remove trash and sediment from the water.
A brief description of any living or vegetated roofs on campus:
There are living roofs on top of Hollander and Shapiro Hall
A brief description of any porous (i.e. permeable) paving employed by the institution:
We have not recently used permeable paving. The soil in Williamstown is not conducive to permeable paving.
A brief description of any downspout disconnection employed by the institution:
The college has a limited number buildings that employ downspout disconnection. However, most buildings' gutters lead directly into underground water storage structures, as the buildings are fairly old. In new buildings, downspout disconnection is always considered.
A brief description of any rain gardens on campus:
We have a number of rain gardens on campus—there is one in front of the Schapiro academic building and another at the library shelving facility.
A brief description of any stormwater retention and/or detention ponds employed by the institution:
The campus has a mixture of retention and detention structures, most of them buried beneath grass surfaces. In total, the college uses 8 retention and detention structures, including one pond located to the south of Schapiro Hall in the landscape area and another depression towards the end of the landscape area that acts as a pond.
A brief description of any bioswales on campus (vegetated, compost or stone):
Upper and lower Cole field have grass swales
A brief description of any other rainwater management technologies or strategies employed by the institution:
-Catch basins that remove 80% of total suspended solids (TSS) from strom drains. They are pumped once every 2 years.
-36" diameter perforated pipes below the surface of Paresky Lawm, allowing water to slowly drain into surrounding earth rather than running off over impervious surfaces
-Stormwater drains are monitered to catch more serious, non-solid contaminants from flowing into the local water source
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:
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.