| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 81.96 |
| Liaison | Lindsey Lyons |
| Submission Date | March 1, 2024 |
Dickinson College
OP-22: Rainwater Management
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
Kenneth
Shultes AVP for Sustainability Sustainability |
"---"
indicates that no data was submitted for this field
Which of the following best describes the institution’s approach to rainwater management?:
Comprehensive policies, plans or guidelines that require LID practices for all new projects
A brief description of the institution’s green infrastructure and LID practices:
Dickinson’s Campus Master Plan and Landscape Design Guidelines have extensive sections on managing stormwater. See attached. General strategies include:
• Identify small-scale projects that have the potential to capture and divert existing runoff into landscape features designed for storage, conveyance and reuse. These retrofit opportunities can be made economically viable in conjunction with new buildings, building improvements or site improvement projects.
• Integrate stormwater Best Management Practices (BMPs) like tree trenches, rain gardens, green roofs, cisterns, retention ponds, curb bump-outs, bio-filtration swales, and pervious pavement into site and building design. These landscape features can be designed to discreetly fit within the urban landscape or integrated into planting areas.
The campuswide landscape design guidelines also include a strategy to convert lawn areas in parts of the campus into ecological landscapes using native plantings. This will help to reduce storm run-off from these areas and provide screening, ecological, aesthetic, and other intangible benefits to the campus.
Dickinson is also working with the Borough of Carlisle (BOC) on stormwater management initiatives on campus and in town, and we have already implemented a curb-extension bio-swale and retention project in alliance with BOC.
Dickinson’s commitment to achieving LEED certification for large renovations or new construction projects includes an assurance to improve water quality and implement best practices pertaining to stormwater management. Our two most recent projects, the Kline Fitness Center and the High Street Residence Hall, are perfect examples this, with bio-swales, native plantings and underground stormwater detention basins included in both projects.
The college’s 80-acre organic farm is also committed to stormwater best management practices. Farm staff are working with the dairy farm to whom we lease another 97 adjacent acres to improve water runoff on their land. Our plan to install a bio-digestor to generate electricity from cow manure and college food waste will have a very positive impact on stormwater impacts related to the dairy farm. The farm also captures rainwater in a pond and irrigates the fields with it, using a solar-powered pump in the process.
• Identify small-scale projects that have the potential to capture and divert existing runoff into landscape features designed for storage, conveyance and reuse. These retrofit opportunities can be made economically viable in conjunction with new buildings, building improvements or site improvement projects.
• Integrate stormwater Best Management Practices (BMPs) like tree trenches, rain gardens, green roofs, cisterns, retention ponds, curb bump-outs, bio-filtration swales, and pervious pavement into site and building design. These landscape features can be designed to discreetly fit within the urban landscape or integrated into planting areas.
The campuswide landscape design guidelines also include a strategy to convert lawn areas in parts of the campus into ecological landscapes using native plantings. This will help to reduce storm run-off from these areas and provide screening, ecological, aesthetic, and other intangible benefits to the campus.
Dickinson is also working with the Borough of Carlisle (BOC) on stormwater management initiatives on campus and in town, and we have already implemented a curb-extension bio-swale and retention project in alliance with BOC.
Dickinson’s commitment to achieving LEED certification for large renovations or new construction projects includes an assurance to improve water quality and implement best practices pertaining to stormwater management. Our two most recent projects, the Kline Fitness Center and the High Street Residence Hall, are perfect examples this, with bio-swales, native plantings and underground stormwater detention basins included in both projects.
The college’s 80-acre organic farm is also committed to stormwater best management practices. Farm staff are working with the dairy farm to whom we lease another 97 adjacent acres to improve water runoff on their land. Our plan to install a bio-digestor to generate electricity from cow manure and college food waste will have a very positive impact on stormwater impacts related to the dairy farm. The farm also captures rainwater in a pond and irrigates the fields with it, using a solar-powered pump in the process.
A copy of the institution’s rainwater management policy, plan, and/or guidelines:
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A brief description of the institution’s rainwater management policy, plan, and/or guidelines that supports the responses above:
Stormwater management practices were written into the Campus Master Plan published in 2010. These were further developed in the Landscape Design Guidelines created in 2014. Stormwater management remains a priority for the college, and these plans are still active today.
Optional Fields
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
The purpose of the Landscape Management Guidelines, Landscape Management Plan and Campus Master Plans are to provide Dickinson College a flexible yet unifying framework for the design and management of the landscape, including rainwater management.
This guidance aims to balance several goals from the various stakeholders:
• Honor the character-defining features of the historic Dickinson College Campus,
• Unify the aesthetic of the Campus through material choices, and
• Reflect the values of the college through design and management, including the college’s commitment to sustainability.
This guidance aims to balance several goals from the various stakeholders:
• Honor the character-defining features of the historic Dickinson College Campus,
• Unify the aesthetic of the Campus through material choices, and
• Reflect the values of the college through design and management, including the college’s commitment to sustainability.
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.