Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 61.13
Liaison Elizabeth Drake
Submission Date March 6, 2020

STARS v2.2

Swarthmore College
IN-36: Stormwater Modeling

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.50 / 0.50 Aurora Winslade
Director of Sustainability
Office of Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

A brief description of the methodology/tool used to calculate the percentile local or regional rainfall events for which the institution manages runoff on-site using LID practices and green infrastructure:

Swarthmore's Environmental Sustainability Framework used two models, HydroCAD and WinnSLAMM, to conduct a stormwater management analysis to evaluate stormwater peak rate, volume, and quality management for the College's Master Plan. This analysis modeled different scenarios, with and without stormwater best management practices, to quantify the impact and inform targets for all future campus construction projects. As set out in this Framework, the College aims to manage the 98th percentile event using low-impact development and green infrastructure.

To date, numerous such practices have been implemented, including:
-In an effort to manage storm water runoff, Swarthmore has installed porous pavement, green roofs, rain gardens, infiltration beds, and underground infiltration systems that help to absorb rainwater before it runs off.
-Cisterns are used to capture storm water runoff so that it may be used for landscape irrigation.
-A biostream behind McCabe library helps to collect rainwater in a natural feature in the landscape.
-Four green roofs, totaling approximately 15,000 square feet, absorb rainwater while also providing natural habitat; a fifth green roof, a retrofit of the Lang Performing Arts Center roof, is planned.
-The College's newest building, Singer Hall, uses rainwater harvesting, storage, and usage, which reduces potable water consumption by using rainwater for water flushing of water closets.

The Environmental Sustainability Framework is available here: https://www.swarthmore.edu/sustainability/sustainable-building


Percentile of local or regional rainfall events for which the institution manages runoff on-site using LID practices and green infrastructure:
95th

Website URL where information about the stormwater modeling is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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