| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 65.17 |
| Liaison | Taylor Smith |
| Submission Date | July 26, 2022 |
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
OP-22: Rainwater Management
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
"---"
indicates that no data was submitted for this field
Which of the following best describes the institution’s approach to rainwater management?:
Comprehensive policies, plans or guidelines that require LID practices for all new projects
A brief description of the institution’s green infrastructure and LID practices:
UMBC recognizes the importance of a holistic approach to campus development and sustainability will reinforce the existing natural systems of the campus including our approach to the treatment of stormwater management. The approach is to protect, enhance, and create functional landscapes that demonstrate and celebrate the way water serves as a resource. These landscapes also provide important habitat, microclimate, and aesthetic benefits that will be consistent with their specific locations on campus. Through a combination of forest preservation, stream rehabilitation, landscape conversions, and progressive water management solutions, like the creation of wetlands, the campus moves closer to a level of ecological balance. Each redevelopment and new development of quadrangles, courtyards, plazas, and walkways will target opportunities to incorporate working landscapes that enhance ecology and water management. Proposed ecological transformations to improve campus stormwater management and open space include:
-Extension of an existing stream bed into a new 10-acre wetland, enhancing stormwater treatment, habitat, and ecological function of the south of the campus within an existing low-lying stream buffer
- Improvements to the Central Green to improve the integration of stormwater management into existing outdoor spaces to control erosion, improve drainage, and enhance functionality
-Transformation of existing mowed grass areas, especially on steep slopes, into working native landscapes, to support pollinators and improve local water quality
-Growth of forest conservation areas that will preserve existing wooded areas and protect our stream valleys
At UMBC, stormwater is well managed to control flooding, reduce erosion, and improve water quality. UMBC has installed over 90 best management practices (BMPs) across campus. BMPs are structural, vegetative, or managerial practices used to treat, prevent, or reduce water pollution. Some of the BMPs are highly visible, like the several green roofs on campus; whereas, other BMPs are designed invisibly blend in like permeable pavement.
-Extension of an existing stream bed into a new 10-acre wetland, enhancing stormwater treatment, habitat, and ecological function of the south of the campus within an existing low-lying stream buffer
- Improvements to the Central Green to improve the integration of stormwater management into existing outdoor spaces to control erosion, improve drainage, and enhance functionality
-Transformation of existing mowed grass areas, especially on steep slopes, into working native landscapes, to support pollinators and improve local water quality
-Growth of forest conservation areas that will preserve existing wooded areas and protect our stream valleys
At UMBC, stormwater is well managed to control flooding, reduce erosion, and improve water quality. UMBC has installed over 90 best management practices (BMPs) across campus. BMPs are structural, vegetative, or managerial practices used to treat, prevent, or reduce water pollution. Some of the BMPs are highly visible, like the several green roofs on campus; whereas, other BMPs are designed invisibly blend in like permeable pavement.
A copy of the institution’s rainwater management policy, plan, and/or guidelines:
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A brief description of the institution’s rainwater management policy, plan, and/or guidelines that supports the responses above:
Stormwater Management - Institutional Management Plan
A recently completed hydrologic study provides UMBC with a holistic strategy for managing rainfall run-off originating from campus as well
as from upland sources in Catonsville. Best management practices and site improvements that maximize environmental benefit and can be
effectively integrated into future campus development were recommended.
Submitted to the Maryland Department of the Environment as an Institutional Management Plan, the study includes specific projects that
have the potential to drastically improve how UMBC manages stormwater. Specific opportunities for stormwater management improvements
include:
• Installing green roofs on existing and new buildings to treat rainfall that falls on these buildings
• Creating a new wetland area to the west of the UMBC Stadium in a depression created by the confluence of several streams
• Creating working landscapes within existing and planned campus open spaces in ways that lend beauty, provide water management, and create environments for pollinators
A recently completed hydrologic study provides UMBC with a holistic strategy for managing rainfall run-off originating from campus as well
as from upland sources in Catonsville. Best management practices and site improvements that maximize environmental benefit and can be
effectively integrated into future campus development were recommended.
Submitted to the Maryland Department of the Environment as an Institutional Management Plan, the study includes specific projects that
have the potential to drastically improve how UMBC manages stormwater. Specific opportunities for stormwater management improvements
include:
• Installing green roofs on existing and new buildings to treat rainfall that falls on these buildings
• Creating a new wetland area to the west of the UMBC Stadium in a depression created by the confluence of several streams
• Creating working landscapes within existing and planned campus open spaces in ways that lend beauty, provide water management, and create environments for pollinators
Optional Fields
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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