University of Central Florida
OP-23: Rainwater Management

UCF's campus houses 726 acres of natural land, of which 552 acres are wetland habitat under conservation. These wetland areas work as kidneys for the stormwater runoff that enters them, filtering out pollutants and sediment as the water slowly flows through them and off campus into the Little Econlockhatchee River. In addition to these natural systems, the University manages 2 natural lakes/ponds and 12 man-made stormwater ponds that directly catch rainwater runoff from the impervious surfaces that cover the urban portions of campus that allow sediment and pollution to settle into the stormwater depressions before it flows out of them and into the natural systems. These stormwater ponds are monitored and treated for invasive plant species and algal blooms monthly to ensure their effectiveness. Three buildings on campus have green roof vegetation installed on top of them to reduce rainwater runoff and cool the buildings. These rooftop gardens are left to grow and flourish naturally and are not managed as landscape. There is also a rain garden installation in the Libra housing community on campus which allows rainwater to flow over a bed of pebbles with vegetation planted around it, slowing the flow of water and catching sediment, before it ends up in the campus stormwater system.

UCF, an area with a municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4), manages it’s stormwater in compliance with the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) put in place by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) through the Clean Water Act and managed in Florida by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). This permit contains limits on discharge, monitoring and reporting requirements, and other provisions to ensure that local water quality is not negatively affected by the University’s actions. The campus has an extensive underground stormwater infrastructure system that carries water off of sidewalks and roads into our stormwater ponds. The inlets for this infrastructure are inspected every other year to ensure that they have not become clogged with sediment or plant material. In areas where construction is taking place, contractors are held to a strict set of best management practices (BMP’s) and sites are inspected on a regular basis to certify that they are following those BMP’s. If the contractors are out of compliance, they are notified to repair any compromised BMP’s and are ordered to stop work if these are not tended to in a timely manner.