Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 74.78
Liaison Daryl Pierson
Submission Date March 5, 2021

STARS v2.2

Portland State University
OP-22: Rainwater Management

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 1.00 / 2.00 Amanda Wolf
Program + Assessment Coordinator
Campus Sustainability Office
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Which of the following best describes the institution’s approach to rainwater management?:
Less comprehensive policies, plans or guidelines that incorporate green infrastructure

A brief description of the institution’s green infrastructure and LID practices:

Stormwater management policy from 2005
IPM plan 2016

Sustainable stormwater management principles are adopted as Portland State University’s (PSU) preferred approach for the management of stormwater. These principles have and will be demonstrated in the planning and retrofitting of current and future campus development with the intent of managing all stormwater on site within a 50-100 year time period.

Includes such initiatives as:
Eco-roofs, rainwater harvesting, bioswales, porous pavers, better irrigation practices, and more.


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:

Stormwater Management Plan:
•Decrease impervious surfaces and/or increase stormwater surfaces which allow for water reuse on the Portland State University campus, especially through methods which continue to allow urban density.
•Improve water quality, decrease water runoff peak rate, increase and improve natural habitat systems.
•Decrease resource usage including pesticides, fertilizers and irrigation water.
•Implement designs which allow for stormwater to be reused on-site.
•Decrease sediment losses through sustainable erosion control.
•Implement consistent monitoring and auditing of systems.
•Implement all levels of the Stormwater Management Plan and Integrated Pest Management Plan.
•Become a leader in the research, development and successful implementation of sustainable stormwater management in the Pacific Northwest.

Salmon Safe Technical Report:
-Multiple large-scale ecoroof and stormwater projects since the 2006 certification;
-School of business planned with three ecoroofs with native plants and stormwater planters;
-Greatly reduced irrigation water use since 2006 through drought tolerant plantings and removing irrigation from Lincoln Hall and other areas of campus;
-Completed redesign of the Walk of Heroines with stormwater treatment features

Technical Design Standards:
-Implement storm water controls during the construction phase and include storm water
management infrastructure in design of campus spaces
-Hire an environmental consultant familiar with site assessment and cleanup issues.
Pre-characterize soils and water for cost estimates; collect enough samples to
adequately define the extent of the contamination. Address costs to sample, analyze,
manage and dispose of contaminated soil, groundwater and storm water in the
contract documents. Additional costs may include worker protection and
environmental consulting.
-Large areas of exterior concrete flatwork for roads and sidewalks increase surface runoff
of rainwater into the City of Portland’s storm water drainage system and prevent natural
percolation into the subsurface. Designs of large areas of flatwork should include
collecting or routing of this runoff into flowerbeds, bioswales, and other planted areas.


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.