Red Oak Rain Garden Nears Completion with Award of Grants
Associated Project(s):
Please see the attached file for a recent press release regarding the Red Oak Rain Garden and their awarded grants from the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation.
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Projects Updates for Green Infrastructure
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Status update from WEF Design Team Co-Captian
Associated Project(s):Justin Chen, from the University of Illinois joint student chapter of the Water Enviroment Federation-American Water Works, and the rest of his design team have been hard at work this school year!
Some project updates via the co-captian:
- Chose project topic: Green Infrastructure Solutions for Veterinary Medicine Facility Flooding
- Made team site visit to Vet Med, surveyed areas for potential green infrastructure applications
- Came up with preliminary ideas on solutions and locations for implementation
- Conducted research on past green infrastructure projects to establish a base understanding of the options available
Click here to find out more and how you can become involved with WEF!
Pollinator Friendly at Illinois
Associated Project(s):University Landscape Architect, Brent Lewis, provided an overview of recent efforts to make the U of I campus more pollinator friendly at the CCNet brown bag lunch this month. Topics included:
- Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program
- Living Learning Labs
- Facilities Standards / Green Infrastructure
- Bee Campus USA designation
- Solar Farm 2.0 plantings
- Landscape Master Plan
You can watch his presentation on Facebook, at https://www.facebook.com/champaigncountynetwork/videos/512740266019591/. Join the CCNet Mailing List to stay informed about Champaign County sustainability efforts and to meet local sustainability professionals, like Brent.
Attached Files:Water007 discussion and plans to integrate with Rokwire
Associated Project(s):F&S met with the Land and Water SWATeam to discuss the Water007 SeeClickFix recommendation and develop a plan for moving forward. The agreement is to work with the Rokwire team to integrate the service office portal to the Illinois App.
Attached Files:Meeting Minutes for iWG June 7, 2019 (Informal)
Associated Project(s):These are notes from 6/7/2019 iWG meeting. They have been submitted in an informal style. Several SWATeam recommendations were assessed.
Attached Files:CEE student works with Dr. Schmidt and F&S
Associated Project(s):Junren Wang, an undergraduate student in Civil and Environmental Engineering, working under the guidance of Dr. Art Schmidt, researched the impacts of existing green infrastructure on campus property and the relationship to potential cost reductions from City Stormwater Utility Fees. She provided the following update and attached files.
Dear All:
This is an update for the GI project:
ECE Permeable Pavement(U08032): All the necessary calculations have been completed. We may get 0.22% credit for this parcel.
Design Center Detention(U16015):All the necessary calculations have been completed. We may get 0.307% credit for this parcel.
FPC Detention(U17018): All the necessary calculations have been completed. We cannot get credits from this infrastructure. But we may get $250/10yr incentives.
IGB Detention: More information need for the pump as mentioned last time. But it seems that we cannot get credit from this infrastucture.
Waiting for your suggestion this Thursday!
Thanks,
Junren
Water004 GSI Standards Parking Lots recommendation - Successful
Associated Project(s):Executive Director of Facilities & Services, Mohammed Atalla, responded over email to Ximing Cai (iSEE Associate Director for Campus Sustainability) in support of the recommendation:
"Facilities & Services will proceed with incorporating Green Stormwater Infrastructure in to the Facility Standards. Brent Lewis is the point person for this effort, and he will add GSI information to each of the relevant standards. This includes but is not limited to the sections on parking lots, transportation, sustainability, and stormwater.
Thank you very much Morgan for your work to coordinate this activity with Jim and Brent."
See the iWG Assessment of Water004 GSI Standards Parking Lots here.
See SWATeam recommendation Water004 GSI Standards Parking Lots here.
Training program at Parkland
Associated Project(s):
National Green Infrastructure Certification Program
at Parkland College, Aug. 27-31
Green infrastructure (GI) has become a critical component to comprehensive stormwater management. Successful implementation of green infrastructure requires access to adequately skilled workforce available to perform the installation, inspection, and maintenance tasks.
Landscaping, city planning, public works, and stormwater managing can all benefit from the knowledge and skills to ensure that green infrastructure projects are installed and maintained properly to support long-term performance.
By underscoring your competency in these areas, certification increases your competitiveness in the job market, and provides a pathway to higher paying positions.
- The benefits of becoming certified by the NGICP include: Expansion of your skills and knowledge of building, inspecting and maintaining GI systems
- Greater awareness of GI career opportunities
- Proof of your commitment to supporting sustainable performance of GI practices
- Exposure to employers looking to hire skilled GI workers through the NGICP Certification Database
Course begins Aug. 27-31, 8 AM-5 PM. $975 fee only includes training. The $200 certification exam fee is paid directly to WEF. Exam will be administered on August 31. A link to register for the exam will be provided to those who register for the training.
Registration Deadline: August 20
Click here for more information and to register or call 217/351-2235 for more information.
The training is 35-40 hours and includes approximately 25 hours of classroom time (lecture and interactive exercises) and 10 hours of field visits to green infrastructure sites. We provide a class review at the end of the training to help participants prepare for the certification exam. Participants must be in attendance for the entire class. No make-up sessions are available.
While Parkland College provides the NGICP training, the Water Environment Federation (WEF) administers the certification exam. WEF will administer the certification exam at the training site on the last day of the class (Aug. 31). A link to register with WEF for the exam will be provided to those who register for this class on or by August 20, 2018.
If your employer will be paying for your training, please complete this 3rd Party Sponsorship Form and return to our office prior to registration: btce@parkland.edu.
Water and Stormwater SWATeam Meeting 2/6/2018
Associated Project(s):Meeting topics included potential for the team to move forward with a water audit of campus buildings, ways that nitrogen runoff could be monitored, and incentives the Parking Department would have in following through with adding green infrastructure to parking projects.
Attached Files:Water & ALUFS SWATeam Joint Meeting
Associated Project(s):Each team shared ideas of the semester and came together to propose a few joint recommendations. Suggested logistics for a water audit were mentioned, as well as nitrate runoff data from the 1990s that would be used as benchmark levels for runoff reduction. Different possible measuring techniques regarding future progress in nitrate reduction were mentioned. Ideas for greener parking lots were introduced, including replanting of trees on Lot E14.
Attached Files:Presentation to LA class
Associated Project(s):Eliana Brown with the Water Resources Center presented the attached file to a Landscape Architecture class, called "Natural Precedent in Planting" taught by Dept of Landscape Architecture's Designer in Residence Katy Kraszewska.
Attached Files:Educational materials about Green Stormwater Infrastructure
Associated Project(s):Here’s a link to Penn State Extension’s Rain to Drain Slow the Flow Youth Curriculum for stormwater: https://extension.psu.edu/downloadable/download/sample/sample_id/149/.
For general information about their youth water education programs, see: https://extension.psu.edu/youth-water-education.
RainWorks Challenge - call for participants
Associated Project(s):We are currently looking for more members for the EPA's Campus RainWorks Challenge. We will be looking into green infrastructure projects that could be implemented on campus.
"The Campus RainWorks Challenge seeks to engage with undergraduate and graduate students to foster a dialogue about responsible stormwater management and showcase the environmental, economic, and social benefits of green infrastructure practices."
We have a interdisciplinary team of faculty advisers. Our primary faculty adviser will be Professor Arthur Schmidt from Environmental Hydrology and Hydraulic Engineering.
We are also hoping to have an interdisciplinary team, so all majors are welcome, as long as you have a passion for the project.
Teams will be finalized on September 30th. If you're interested in joining or have any questions, please contact Jessica Wiegand at jmwiega2@illinois.edu or Cindy Chen at cchen161@illinois.edu.
High School students go on tour of Green Infrastructure at UIUC
Associated Project(s):Eliana Brown with the Water Resources Center and Morgan Johnston with F&S Sustainability provided a two hour tour on July 13, 2017 to six Illinois high school students through the NRES Research Apprenticeship program. Sites visited include the BIF green roof, the Ikenberry Commons permeable pavement, the First Street underground stormwater detention basin, the "square pond" (six-story deep hole near Locust and Springfield), the Boneyard Creek, and the stormwater murals in the College of Engineering.
Parkland College training program being considered
Associated Project(s):While Thor Peterson was working at Parkland College as a part-time grant-funded sustainability coordinator, he shared that "Parkland is in the scoping stage of developing a green infrastrucuture and sustainable landscape operations and maintenance certificate." He further noted, "There are a lot of questions percolating regarding a Green Infrastructure Operations and Maintenance—whether it would start as a certificate, or as a series of business training opportunities, or what."
When Thor was leaving town at the end of his appointment, he indicated that Heidi Leuszler, a Natural Sciences professor at Parkland, will be a good contact for this effort, moving forward. Thor and Professor Leuszler led a day-long workshop for Regional Planning Commission staff on green infrastructure. He said, "My hope is that the training will serve as a pilot for a more in-depth business training course that could be offered to public and private sector grounds staff charged with maintaining green infrastructure elements."
Eliana Brown, with Illinois Indiana Sea Grant, University of Illinois Extension, and Illinois Water Resources Center, is also interested in helping this program get developed. She has brought additional stakeholders into the discussions with Parkland, including Carol Hays, Exec Director of Prairie Rivers Network, and Lisa Merrifield, U of I Extension Strategic Operation Analyst.
Parking Lot F-4 potential site
Associated Project(s):Parking Department facility manager, Mike Wise, shared the following information. "I will be submitting the resurfacing project for lot F4 as a FY19 Project in June/July of 2018. Then an Architect will be selected and design begins. Bidding and Construction will follow. Ideas can start now though so that we can vet them and include a finalized Program with the project request."
Stormwater Utility Fee overview
Associated Project(s):The University pays a stormwater utility fee to both the City of Urbana and the City of Champaign. The fee is based on total impervious area that drains into city-owned storm sewers. If stormwater drains into university-owned sewers then directly discharges to a receiving stream, there is no fee assessed.
- The current rate for the City of Champaign is $5.24/3,478 sq ft.
- The current rate for the City of Urbana is $5.14/3,100 sq ft.
There are credits and incentives that the university can apply toward the stormwater utility fee. By maintaining compliance with the university’s Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination Systems (NPDES), the university receives a 5% credit from each city. Additionally, each city has their own Credit and Incentive Manual (attached) which provides an opportunity for the university to reduce their stormwater utility fee by reducing the impact of the runoff from their properties by methods such as installing sustainable storm water practices that allow stormwater to infiltrate into the ground. The manuals have specific guidelines on how to calculate the credits based on the particular stormwater practices that are employed.
Research on Stormwater
Associated Project(s):Rain gardens and barrels needed for study
We will be conducting a study regarding the ability of residential rain gardens and rain barrels to harbor mosquitoes. We are looking for households with rain gardens or rain barrels to participate in the study. The study will involve a brief survey regarding use and approximately one visit per month throughout the summer. Please email stormwater@life.illinois.edu to participate.
Catherine Elizabeth Wangen . Department of Entomology
RainWorks Challenge
Associated Project(s):Tawab Hlimi is serving as faculty advisor for the 2014 EPA Campus Rainworks Challenge. The team is composed of graduate students from Landscape Architecture, Architecture, Civil Engineering, Environmental Economics, and Ecology. They have begun a green stormwater infrastructure study for the UIUC campus and have selected the channelized extent of Boneyard Creek as site for a demonstration project.
EPA RainWorks Challenge info
Associated Project(s):http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/greeninfrastructure/crw_challenge.cfm is a potential student competition program we could consider.
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