| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 69.67 |
| Liaison | Julie Newman |
| Submission Date | Sept. 30, 2021 |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
OP-22: Rainwater Management
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 2.00 |
MIT
Office of Sustainability Director Office of Sustainability |
Which of the following best describes the institution’s approach to rainwater management?:
A brief description of the institution’s green infrastructure and LID practices:
MIT recently completed a phase-one Sustainable Stormwater and Landscape Ecology Plan to collect a baseline of campus challenges, opportunities, and best practices. MIT follows City of Cambridge policies for green infrastructure and low impact development (LID) and has developed its own MIT-specific Sustainable Sites checklist that it uses on its projects. Additionally, the Institute has developed resiliency standards that integrate flood modeling to evaluate flooding and leverage green infrastructure and LID strategies as a first step in addressing flooding in combination with other stormwater infrastructure strategies. Additionally, the Institute has developed and implemented 21 stormwater best management practices (BMPs) since the early 2000's. Five additional BMPs are currently in development. Guided by these BMPs, campus projects employ a variety of techniques including: detention systems, rainwater harvesting, bioretention, landscape filters, subsurface infiltration, and manufactured treatment units. Between 2017 and 2020, designs were completed and/or construction was initiated on these major construction and renovation projects that include rainwater management, green infrastructure, and LID site strategies: Music Building; Schwarzman College of Computing; MIT Police Station; and Metropolitan Warehouse, Building 55.
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:
MIT customized and formally adopted the Sustainable Sites Checklist as part of the MIT Design Standards and developed its own resiliency standards that integrate building site and district flood modeling as the data-driven basis for informing green infrastructure and low impact development strategies. These standards also include specific design criteria and metrics that are implemented in the design of our capital projects. MIT is currently working to update and expand its BMPs and sustainable design standards to enhance climate resiliency while also providing guidance to design teams regarding green infrastructure and low impact development strategies.
Website URL where information about the institution’s green infrastructure and LID practices is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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.