This document discusses strategies for Miami University to implement best management practices (BMPs) to improve stormwater management and earn LEED credits. It analyzes using vegetation buffers, rain gardens, green roofs, and rainwater cisterns. Recommendations include focusing BMPs in the South Patterson watershed and partnering with the Oxford community. Monitoring water quality at outfalls is suggested to show improvements and support credit applications.

1. LEED SS Credit 6.2 Stormwater Design- Quality Control
Russell Auwae, Jamie Brocker, Carolyn Finnochi, and Dianna Zimmerman
Abstract
Freshwater is a finite resource. Impervious surfaces like sidewalks and paved
roads block the infiltration of storm water into the ground. Without capturing and/or
treating, stormwater runoff pollutants are carried to nearby waterbodies harming the
environment, and a waste of a precious resource. Miami University has the potential to
capture and treat stormwater runoff before it enters nearby waterbodies by implementing
several best management practices (BMPs), which include: rain gardens, cisterns,
vegetation buffers, bioswales, and green roofs. Implementing these BMPs will improve
the quality of stormwater runoff and earn Miami the LEED SS Credit 6.2: Stormwater
Design- Quality Control. However, it is not known where on campus these BMPs should
be implemented. Placement of these BMPs depends on soil type, slope, and land
availability. Thus, our objective was to provide Miami a map of where BMP favorable
areas exist using soil, slope, and landscape maps.
Introduction
Storm drains and rain gutters do not go to wastewater treatment plants but instead
flow into streams and other natural features without treatment. Storm water easily carries
hazardous pollutants into the water surrounding Miami University. These pollutants
include fertilizers, oil, grease, and other chemicals from cars and motor vehicles, bacteria
and pesticides from pet waste and leaking septic tanks, and more. Fish and other aquatic
life are affected by the pollution as excess nutrients create an inadequate supply of
oxygen and chemicals such as antifreeze from cars are extremely toxic and can be life
threatening. In addition, impervious ground cover does not allow enough storm water to
flow back into the ground to recharge the water table. The water that does make it back
to the ground is also highly contaminated with pollutants.
In order to earn LEED SS Credit 6.2, Miami needs to promote infiltration of the
runoff before it reaches the stormwater drains and promote treatment of the runoff using
best management practices. More specifically, 90% of the average rainfall must be
captured or treated by the implemented BMPs. Furthermore, these BMPs must be able to
remove 80% of the average total suspended solids. Thus, our goals and objectives for
Miami University include:
*Increase infiltration and groundwater recharge.
*Conserve, reuse and recycle stormwater.
*Improve the stormwaters quality.
*Map where BMP favorable areas exist.
Best Management Practices (BMPs)
There are several BMPs for reducing the amount of constituents in stormwater
runoff, which includes: vegetation buffers, green roofs, rain gardens, and rainwater

2. harvesting cisterns. Our goal is to implement those BMPs that are cost-efficient and able
to incorporate into new infrastructure on Miami University Campus.
Rainwater Harvesting Cisterns
Rainwater harvesting cisterns are catchment systems that store roof runoff for
irrigation use (psp.wa.gov, 2005; water.epa.gov, 2012). This approach decreases the
amount of runoff and the need for filtration of runoff. Several universities have
implemented these catchment systems, which include: Democritus University of Thrace
(Gikas and Tsihrintzis, 2012), Fu Jen Catholic University, National Yang Ming
University, National Taiwan University, Shih Hsin University, Chinese Culture
University, Jinwin University of Science and Technology, National Chenchi University
(Chiu, 2012), and Emory University (Lynch and Diestch, 2010).
The cost of rainwater harvesting system depends on the location, installation, and
the amount of potential rainwater being collected. For example, the installation cost for a
building around 300 square meters is about $2,000-$30,000 (rainharvest.com, 2013;
rainwaterharvesting.org, 2013) . A system serving a large industrial facility may cost
around $100,000 to engineer and construct. For Miami University, since we have a large
campus, it is impossible to install the system for all the buildings. Therefore, it is import
for Miami to determine which buildings need this system the most and where collection
of potential rainwater is highest. Currently, Miami is implementing this at the new
Armstrong Center.
Rain Gardens
Rain gardens are areas with specific soil and vegetation types that allow for
infiltration and retention of stormwater runoff (psp.wa.gov, 2005; water.epa.gov, 2013).
They are particularly useful along sidewalks, in parking lots, and open spaces. This
approach decreases the amount of pollutants in runoff, allows natural remediation by soil
and plants, and percolates to recharge groundwater. Several universities have
implemented rain gardens on campus, which include: Villanova University (Jenkins et al.
2010), Lawrence Technological University (Carpenter and Hallam, 2010), and the
University of Delaware (Grehl and Kauffman, 2007).
Installation of a raingarden consists of knowing the surrounding soil type, slope,
as well as which plants to grow and the economical design to complement the area
(malvern.org, 2013).The cost of a rain garden usually ranges from $15-$25 per square
foot (appliedeco.com, 2013). This price includes installation, plants, design, and growth
media.
Vegetation Buffers
Vegetation buffers are strips of vegetation that are typically installed before water
inlets that allow for natural remediation of runoff by plants and soil (psp.wa.gov, 2005;
water.epa.gov, 2013). Their function is similar to that of the rain garden, but usually
requires less maintenance and is not high on aesthetics. This method is used highly used

3. in fields of natural resource management and agriculture for its simplicity and
effectiveness (Dosskey, 2001; Yuan et al. 2009; Richardson et al. 2012).
The land for vegetation buffer must be available. If the cost of the land being
developed is high, then buffer will have a high cost. Also, the vegetation buffer needs to
be maintained every half year or every year (cfpub.epa.gov, 2013; files.dnr.state.mn.us,
2013). If the buffer area is very large, maintenance might be very costly.
Green Roofs
Green roofs are green spaces established on rooftops of buildings to capture and
filter rainwater, and are also aesthetically pleasing (psp.wa.gov, 2005; water.epa.gov,
2013). One example of its efficient use is at Portland State University (Spolek, 2008).
The university is able to reduce costs associated with cooling the building and irrigation,
and it provides an outdoor laboratory for students to study vegetation.
On average, the cost of a green roof is around $15-$20 per square foot; this does
not include the maintenance fee for each year (lid-stormwater.net, 2013). Furthermore,
installing green roofs requires replacing the original ceiling to a waterproofing ceiling
which is costly (en.wikipedia.org, 2013). Currently, Miami is incorporating green roofs
on the newly developed portion of Western Campus.
Implementation of BMPs
Implementing any one of these BMPs on this campus will also help earn LEED
SS Credits 5.1: Habitat Preservation/Restoration, 5.2: Open Space, 6.1: Stormwater
Design- Quantity Control, and WE Credit 1: Water-efficient Landscaping. These BMPs
prevent soil erosion, water pollution, and flooding events. In addition, BMP benefits
include: reduced landscape maintenance, potential bird and butterfly habitat, campus
beautification, living laboratory and sustainability demonstration, and most importantly,
conserves energy and money. Landscape maintenance can be reduced by installing low
maintenance plants, yet are still favorable for bird and butterflies. Maintenance can be
further reduced by having student and/or community involvement, which helps serve as a
public demonstration and outreach tool for communicating and teaching sustainability.
Lastly, energy and money would be conserved due to the reduction in needing to capture
and treat stormwater, and reduce the purchasing of water for landscaping.
Site Characteristics
Pervious Percentage Area
Setting a benchmark of 80%, Miami should seek to improve the pervious
percentage areas of the following watersheds: South Patterson, Campus Avenue, North
University Avenue, Chestnut Avenue, North Patterson, North Four Mile Creek, Varsity
Athletic Area, and Millet (Table 1). These watersheds currently have pervious percentage
areas ranging from 25- 73%. South Patterson Watershed is currently experiencing most

4. of the development on the Miami Campus; therefore, implementation of these BMPs
should be focused on this watershed (Fig. 1, 2).
Table 1: Impervious and pervious percentage area for Miami University (KKG, 2011).
Figure 1: Campus area divided up in watersheds (KKG, 2011).

5. Figure 2: Land cover of campus area (KKG, 2011).
Soil Type and Slope
Soil type is quite uniform across campus consisting of B/C soils (Fig. 3), which is
predominantly glacial till (Table 2). Plants that favor soils that consist of mostly silt and
clay should be considered during installation of these BMPs. The campus area is
relatively flat (Fig. 4). There are no foreseeable restrictions to BMP construction due to
soil type and slope.

6. Figure 3: Soil type of campus area.
Table 2: Soil boring report with description of soil characteristics at different depths (KKG, 2011).

7. Figure 4: Slope of campus area (KKG, 2011).
Currently, Miami University has 229.1 acres of impervious surface and generates
approximately 10 million cubic feet of runoff. In order to fulfill LEED Credit 6.2, about 9
million cubic feet of runoff would need to be captured. The suggested BMPs will help
Miami University capture the required 90% of runoff.
Recommendations
Since majority of the area of North University and Campus Avenue Watersheds is
residential area, a partnership between needs to be established between planners and
developers for Miami and the Oxford community toward sustainable development and
implementation of BMPs (Fig. 5). Areas that are mostly urban, that Miami owns, should
implement green roofs, porous concrete, and rain gardens (Fig. 5). South Patterson
Watershed has plenty of open space to implement all the BMPs mentioned previously.

8. Special attention should be given to the area surrounding the creek (Fig. 5). This area
experiences soil erosion during every rain event. Vegetation buffers and rain gardens
should surround this area to reduce the velocity of rainwater entering the creek.
Figure 5: Examples of potential placement of BMPs around campus.

9. Miami currently has no water quality monitoring system. This makes determining
whether Miami’s water quality is improving or not an impossible task. Rainfall
measurements can be taken by installing rainwater gauges around campus. These
measurements will help determine how much rainfall Miami’s Campus receives. In
addition, automated water sample collecting pumps should be installed at all the outfall
points indicated (Fig. 6). By collecting water samples at these outfall points, Miami will
be able to determine whether it has improved the quality of stormwater runoff, which
would provide analytical evidence and support for LEED SS Credit 6.2. Funding for
equipment, placement, and lab analyses can be found through the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA, 2013) and National Science Foundation (NSF, 2013). This
campus-wide water monitoring system would make a great research project for Miami
faculty and students to get involved in.
Future Initiatives
Miami University planners and developers need to commit to the following:
 All new development on campus will consider stormwater BMPs
 Increase the number of rain gardens and pervious surfaces to allow water
infiltration and groundwater recharge
Figure 6: Route of stormwater pipes and locations of outfall (KKG, 2011).

10. Conclusion
All of the suggested BMPs have similar functions, and so, implementation of any
of the BMPs would be a positive step forward for Miami University towards a green and
environmentally conscious campus. It is in Miami’s best interest to implement these
BMPs and become known as a “green” campus in order to stay competitive with other
universities. These BMPs prevent soil erosion, water pollution, and flooding events. In
addition, BMP benefits include: reduced landscape maintenance, potential bird and
butterfly habitat, campus beautification, living laboratory and sustainability
demonstration, and most importantly, conserves energy and money. Landscape
maintenance can be reduced by installing low maintenance plants, yet are still favorable
for bird and butterflies. Maintenance can be further reduced by having student and/or
community involvement, which helps serve as a public demonstration and outreach tool
for communicating and teaching sustainability. Lastly, energy and money would be
conserved due to the reduction in needing to capture and treat stormwater, and reduce the
purchasing of water for landscaping.
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