| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 78.59 |
| Liaison | Beverley Ayeni |
| Submission Date | March 1, 2024 |
University of Toronto Mississauga
OP-22: Rainwater Management
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 2.00 |
Minali
Giani Sustainability Intern Facilities Management and Planning |
Which of the following best describes the institution’s approach to rainwater management?:
A brief description of the institution’s green infrastructure and LID practices:
UTM has been using green infrastructure and low impact development to manage rainwater for many years. A total of 8 UTM buildings have green roofs (Recreation, Athletics, & Wellness Centre; Innovation Complex; Deerfield Hall; Maanjiwe Nendamowinan; Communication, Culture, & Technology Building; Hazel McCallion Academic Learning Centre; Instructional Building; and Health Sciences Complex). Whenever large new buildings are constructed, one or more green roofs are always part of the design.
The campus also has rainwater reuse systems on several buildings. The Instructional Building's rainwater reuse system uses collected water for irrigation of the building's green roof. Deerfield Hall, the Health Sciences Complex, and Maanjiwe Nendamowinan all use reused rainwater both for irrigation and flushing toilets.
The UTM campus has also used permeable pavement in some areas outside the Maanjiwe Nendamowinan building. In addition, the UTM campus has a large stormwater management pond. The pond is designed to collect all the campus stormwater and allow contaminants to naturally filter out before the water moves to the Credit River. The area around the pond is planted with native species of trees, shrubs, and wildflowers, and provides habitat for birds, mammals, and insects. The pond is frequently used by undergraduate students for water quality monitoring projects.
Additionally, UTM works closely with Credit Valley Conservation (CVC), the local watershed conservation authority, who conducted a Sustainable Landscape Management plan this past year. The report outlined many recommendations UTM can take to increase biodiversity, remove invasive species, and further improve stormwater management practices, for example, installing more rain gardens on campus.
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:
UTM’s Campus Masterplan (2021) section 5.1 - Campus Ecology includes 11 guidelines which speak to how UTM’s diverse and varied ecology contributes to the campus’ unique character. Campus ecology performs numerous functions that benefit natural heritage systems and the quality and resiliency of the campus environment, from the attenuation of stormwater to the cleanliness of campus air.
For example, one of the guidelines states: Opportunities to enhance the campus’ ecological function should be pursued. This may include: native species plantings, invasive species removal, increases in canopy cover, pollinator gardens, permeable paving, green roofs, bioswales, rain gardens, and/or green infrastructure.
The plan also integrates rainwater management into its landscape guidelines:
• Landscape design should contribute to on-site stormwater management and low-impact development. This may include, for example, the integration of bioswales, rain gardens, retention ponds, rainwater collection tanks, and green roofs.
• Landscaping should be designed with consideration for future climate scenarios including increased precipitation events and related stormwater impacts
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.