Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 79.77
Liaison Josh Lasky
Submission Date April 4, 2023

STARS v2.2

George Washington University
OP-22: Rainwater Management

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 Mansi Talwar
Executive Director of Engineering, Utilities and Energy
Department of Safety and Facilities
"---" 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:
Institution has rainwater management policies, plans or guidelines that incorporate green infrastructure but are less comprehensive (e.g. do not cover the entire campus, cover buildings and not other types of projects, or require consideration of rather than mandate LID practices).

GW designed the Square 80 Plaza specifically to showcase various LID practices including pervious paving, biofiltration planters, rain gardens, bioswales, and storm water collection and reuse. Additionally, storm water that is captured is also utilized for a fountain feature on the plaza.

There are currently five sites on GW's Foggy Bottom Campus where storm water is retained and reused: Square 80 Plaza (33,900 gals), Law Learning Center (6,000 gals), Milken Institute School of Public Health (8,796 gals), Science and Engineering Hall (42,636 gals), and District House (5,924 gals). The maximum stormwater retention capacity is 97,256 gals.

GW currently has a total of seven green roofs located at the following buildings: Elliott School (1,596 sf), Ames Hall (2,388 sf), Law Learning Center (1,171 sf), Milken Institute School of Public Health (5,860 sf), Science and Engineering Hall (10,285 sf), 2013 H St (1,190 sf), and District House (12,548). The total green roof square footage is 33,848 sf. There is a seventh green roof at Sq. 54 Complex (20,900 sf). This is a GW owned property but is out of the STARS boundary since it is used for commercial purposes and does not contribute to GW's academic mission.

GW currently has a total of 14 LEED-certified buildings (1 Platinum, 11 Gold, and 2 Silver), and GW leans towards the use of native plants that have low irrigation requirements.

A copy of the institution’s rainwater management policy, plan, and/or guidelines:
A brief description of the institution’s rainwater management policy, plan, and/or guidelines that supports the responses above:
Four storm water goals from the GWater Plan are as follows: 1) use GW campuses as test beds for new water reclamation technologies to reduce potable water consumption; 2) capture rain water that falls on GW campuses aiming for zero run-off, 3) 10 percent absolute increase in permeable space over 10 years from an FY11 baseline, and 4) reuse all retained storm water for graywater systems, cooling towers, and irrigation by 2021.

Optional Fields 

Website URL where information about the institution’s green infrastructure and LID practices is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
GWater Plan: https://sustainability.gwu.edu/sites/sustainability.gwu.edu/files/downloads/GWater%20Plan.pdf

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.