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When the heavy rain falls on the Plains, much of the runoff from the Auburn campus finds
its way to Parkerson Mill Creek, and ultimately hundreds of miles away into the Gulf of Mexico.
As campuses and other urban entities look for ways to better manage stormwater runoff,
a team here at Auburn is using a centuries-old approach to capture rainwater, and use it
in a more sensitive and environmentally sustainable way.
This 1000 gallon cistern was built outside of Dudley Hall to collect the rains that fall
on top of the shop building. As the cistern fills—and overflows—the water is dispersed
to an adjacent rain-garden, where flowering plants soak it in.
The project was funded by the Auburn Facilities Management Division and brought together the
expertise of the College of Architecture, Design and Construction and Office of Sustainability.
"Auburn's made a real commitment to sustainability in the way we operate, and we recognize that
the way we manage storm water is key to that for all kinds of reasons, and so this little
prototype project will help us demonstrate the viability of this approach. As we demonstrate
that, we're going to do more and more of this on campus and it's going to give us the opportunity
to really manage storm water in an enlightened way."
Associate professor of landscape architecture Charlene LeBleu guided development of the
project.
"The rain garden was designed and the plants were selected by the landscape architecture
students. The landscape services division of facilities built the rain garden. Building
science students assisted with the conveyant system and getting the water to the rain garden.
Also we have a whole series of facilities bidding projects that work with redoing the
roof and getting the water to the cistern. So it was very much a collaborative project.
This one is set up to work with our landscape services division that they can actually turn
on the pump and feed a water sprinkler to water any of these grounds that are 1,000
ft. away. "
"We always enjoy getting new projects you know, most of our daily operations are just
maintenance and anytime we can get to help on a project, especially one that's unique
like this, myself and all the guys involved enjoy getting to, kind of change of pace."
"We look at this project as a prototype because we really would like to replicate it, and
there are already other low impact development approaches to storm water management on campus.
But, this is a first-run really to go from roof top to cistern to rain garden. So it's
been a very successful project and we are delighted in what it's showing and what it
presents for the future."