Pitt’s Green Stormwater Projects Get a Moment to Shine
Sourced from University of Pittsburgh University Times
Sustainability and facilities officials recently got to show off the University’s green stormwater infrastructure to a group of mostly non-Pitt-affiliated design and landscaping professionals, and some of what they highlighted might be a surprise to even longtime members of the Pitt community.
The tour started with the historic lawn between the Cathedral of Learning and Heinz Chapel, where once you could find “ducks on the lawn in puddles,” said Andy Moran, Pitt’s senior manager of grounds.
Western Pennsylvania’s common clay-like dirt didn’t allow for water to filter into the soil below, he said. The area, which is heavily used by students, would often be unfit for any activity, except maybe mud wrestling.
In 2015, the University decided to correct the problem, even though the price to do it right caused some “sticker shock,” said Rob Leibow, director of capital project management.
A large pipe system was installed below the surface that would funnel the water into a rain garden situated between the Varsity Walk and Forbes Avenue, downhill from Heinz Chapel. A top layer of soil and sand, like that found on a golf course, filters into gravel and then into the pipes, said Sean Donnelly of Gateway Engineers, a Pittsburgh-based civil engineering firm that worked on the project.
Now, there are no restrictions on what activities can take place on the lawn — from rugby to volleyball to events in tents. It needs to be reseeded each summer, but not completely rehauled every year.
The rain garden can store up to 1,300 cubic feet of water, or nearly 10,000 gallons, said Dan McDowell of the landscape architecture firm LaQuatra Bonci. In the unlikely event of overflow, there is a berm that flows into grates, down to pipes that empty into the lower lawn.
Pitt also recycles some of the stormwater for use in its chiller plants.
From the Living Architecture Monitor
