State University of New York at New Paltz
OP-23: Rainwater Management

SUNY New Paltz's Site and Landscape Master Plan calls for low impact development practices. The following related goals, strategies, and practices are included in the Executive Summary: Enhancing Environmental Stewardship By implementing this plan, the college will enhance its unique connection to its region and sense of place and become an even stronger steward of the environment. For example, indigenous plant species will visually link the campus to the surrounding woodland, help reduce the amount of maintenance required and conserve water. By reducing the amount of impervious area within the campus, less run-off will be created. Where there are large amounts of pavement, in parking lots and along the Concourse for example, visually-appealing bioswales will retain storm water on campus and recharge the local ground water. For more information, visit http://www.newpaltz.edu/construction/facilities_master_plan.pdf Low impact development practices, especially green infrastructure, have been implemented across campus in new construction, major renovation, and site improvements projects. Impervious areas, especially parking lots towards the center of campus, have been demolished and replaced with new construction projects or site improvements with less impermeable surface area. Impervious parking lots that do not incorporate green infrastructure practices have been replaced with parking lots at new locations incorporating green infrastructure practices such as the permeable pavement parking lot at Route 32 and the Lenape Hall parking lot with six bio-retention areas and a dry swale. The Excelsior Concourse site improvement project significantly reduced the amount of impervious area. The Wooster Building and Plattekill parking lots (now the New Science Building with bio-retention areas and significantly increased permeable surface area) have been replaced with the permeable pavement lot at Route 32. Half of the parking lot by the Athletics Center has been transformed into Ridgeview Hall with multiple bio-retention areas. These parking spaces have moved to the Lenape Hall parking lot with six bio-retention areas.

The following low impact development green infrastructure practices have been implemented or are currently under construction in recent new construction and major renovation, and other projects: - Green roof at Haggerty Plaza deck - Permeable pavement at the Route 32 parking lot, north side - Permeable pavement at the Route 32 parking lot, south side (under construction) - Rainwater diffuser at the Route 32 parking lot - Vegetated swale at the ponds - Riparian buffers at the ponds - Bio-retention areas at Ridgeview Hall - Bio-retention areas at the Science Hall - Bio-retention area at the Engineering Innovation Hub (under construction) - Bio-retention areas with dry swales at the Lenape Hall parking lot - 1,000 gallon rainwater cistern at LeFevre Hall and Bevier Hall for landscape irrigation - 12,500 gallon rainwater cistern at the Wooster Building for flushing toilets and urinals - Two water quality vortices at Hasbrouck Quad - One water quality vortex at the Turf Field adjacent to Lenape Hall - One water quality vortex at the Transportation Hub