Colorado College
OP-27: Rainwater Management

The College complies with City Stormwater management plan requirements. Every physical campus building or landscape improvement project must meet City requirements in order to qualify for a permit. Our Colorado College Facility Design Guidelines Manual, October 2014 addresses storm water management for new construction and renovations in the section, “Colorado College Facility Life-Cycle Design Guidelines for Sustainability” under Site Work on page 46: https://www.coloradocollege.edu/offices/facilities/plan-design-ops-maint/design-construction-guidelines/

Colorado College's Sustainable Operations and Maintenance Guidelines Manual, November 2015 addresses stormwater management Bio-Swales/Rain Gardens on page 11 stating that, "Rain gardens are shallow depressions that can hold and soak up water runoff from roof tops, driveways, patios and other impervious surfaces. Rain gardens have deep, compost amended, high infiltration rate soils and are landscaped with native or adapted plants. By holding and naturally infiltrating runoff, rain gardens filter oil and grease from driveways, pesticides and fertilizers from lawns as well as other pollutants before they reach the storm drain and eventually streams, wetlands, lake and other marine waters. Directions: Mulch as much as needed to prevent erosion and weeds, regularly inspect and keep water runoff inlets and outlets well protected with rock and clear of debris, and water as needed until native or adapted plants are well established."

It is illegal to capture rainwater in the state of Colorado.

A green roof is designed for the Honnen Ice Arena locker rooms roof to be installed in 2016.

The parking lot on the east side of the Edith Gaylord Cornerstone Arts Center is designed with a porous concrete paving surface that returns all of the rainwater and snowmelt that falls on it to the water table. There is no storm water runoff from this lot because it lets all the precipitation flow through, even in a 100-year storm event. This is the first application of this material in Colorado Springs.

CC's largest bio-swale/ rain garden on campus was constructed along Cache La Poudre street to collect and detain all of the rain run-off in 2015. The new 2014 renovation and landscape gardens around the Outdoor Education Center collect all of the rainwater runoff in bio-swale/rain gardens.

At 232 and 228 W. San Miguel, there was a storm water quality pond required for the purpose of collecting storm water surges before allowing the water to run into a storm water drainage pipe to Monument creek. The water retention pond for 232 & 228 W San Miguel is currently being enlarged to collect storm water run-off for an additional 2.27 acres associated with the construction of the new 11,000 square foot Creekside Library Services Building in 2016. There is a similar storm water collection system north of McGregor where water runs through a grass swale before exiting into the storm water pipe to Monument Creek. The Packard Hall courtyard landscape area is a rainwater collection area which collects rainwater from the roofs and concrete aprons.

There is a rock bottom collection trench or swale leading into a rock bottom pond collection area, with a raised overflow gate which allows the collected and filtered storm water to eventually run into a drain pipe. At the large Northeast Parking Lot at the corner of Uintah and Nevada, the parking lot pavement drains to a rock bottom trench or swale area in the perimeter landscape on the west side of the parking lot where the intention is to allow the water to seep into the landscape area rather than run off into the storm water collection system. There are also several French drains around campus for collecting rain water and allowing it to seep into the soil.The largest French drain system is in the entire landscape area on the north side of Palmer Hall where the roof water runs into French drains rather than being transported into the storm water collection system. There is another large French drain on the north side of Cossitt Hall which collects water from the east side of the Cossitt Hall stone retaining wall.