IIT’s winning green infrastructure design may become a reality as MWRD seeks to assist with construction

Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) Commissioner Patrick D. Thompson presented resolutions to the Illinois Institute for Technology (IIT) team members who won the small institution division of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (USEPA’s) Campus RainWorks Challenge design competition on Earth Day 2013.

IIT’s design integrates green infrastructure practices into the campus’ primary pedestrian thoroughfare to demonstrate water infiltration and conservation strategies while redefining some of the campus’ underutilized green spaces. The team’s design includes plans to redevelop a 1,200 foot long section of Dearborn Street on IIT’s campus with permeable sidewalks, three large water gardens with native plants, and underground cisterns to hold captured rain water for irrigation and non-potable reuse. The plan can reduce stormwater runoff from the site by 70 to 80 percent and reduce the campus’ landscape water requirements by three million gallons annually.

“The USEPA’s competition was designed to inspire the next generation of landscape architects, planners and engineers to develop innovative green infrastructure systems that reduce stormwater pollution and support sustainable communities,” said Commissioner Patrick D. Thompson. “We are excited that our local students won, and we are also happy that the MWRD was able to bring the competition to reality.”

Stormwater poses challenges to communities as large volumes pollute our nation’s streams, rivers and lakes. It also contributes to flooding, as evidenced by the historic April 18, 2013 rain event.

Student team members include: College of Architecture students Anne Brask, Bernardo Loureiro, Brandon Linder, David Abad, David Wilcox, Gwendolyn Parker, Jacob Singer, Kathryn Manwaring, Lara Rivera, Rachel Doliber, and Department of Civil, Architectural & Environmental Engineering students Xingu Zhang, Patrick Miller and Alex Brown, and School of Business student Brock Auerbach-lynn.

Faculty advisors include Dr. Paul Anderson, Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, and Mary Pat Mattson, Program of Landscape Architecture, College of Architecture.

The Campus RainWorks Challenge engages students and faculty members at colleges and universities to apply green infrastructure principles and design, encourage interdisciplinary collaboration, and increase the use of green infrastructure on campuses across the nation. Working with a faculty advisor, teams of undergraduate and graduate students, developed innovative green infrastructure designs for a site on their campus showing how managing stormwater at its source can benefit the campus community and the environment.

"We developed an ambitious project that works toward meeting a goal of 100 percent reduced run-off, while inserting a site-appropriate design that enhances every aspect of the select campus area and serves as an ongoing design and research site for future projects on campus and within the city at large," said Dr. Anderson.

Additional information about the project and competition can be found at http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/greeninfrastructure/crw_winners.cfm#Illinois.

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