Aided by a state grant, Purchase College will retrofit campus surfaces to reduce stormwater runoff and improve water quality in a nearby stream that empties into the Long Island Sound.
The SUNY school received $765,000 in the state’s annual round of regional funding awards announced in December. The money will come from the state Environmental Facilities Corp.’s green infrastructure grant program.
The money supports the college”™s environmental efforts and offers a learning experience for students, according to SUNY Purchase President Thomas J. Schwarz. “This opportunity embodies the college”™s ”˜Think Wide Open”™ motto, encompassing environmental and educational benefits for the betterment of our students and community,” he said.
The college plans to retrofit parking lots and pedestrian paths, impervious surfaces that cause runoff water to form puddles, flood or flow into storm drains. Tom Kelly, senior energy manager at Purchase College, said one of the projects includes installing porous pavement, which will help runoff spread to lawns instead of storm drains. This will also alleviate “ponding” on sidewalks, he said.
Another component of the project is installing bioretention swales, which divert water away from pavement to the earth, Kelly said. Bioswales use engineered soils and vegetation to capture, treat and slowly absorb and filter surface water runoff. The system is designed to decrease the volume of water and reduce pollutants from reaching Blind Brook, which flows into the Long Island Sound, he said.
The college still must submit paperwork to the state and bid out the design and construction. After receiving state approval, college officials have two years to complete the project, which is epxected to begin this fall.
“We look forward to the environmental benefits that the grant accrues,” Kelly said. “Everyone here is happy to have the ability to give back to the college and to the environment.”
College officials said the project will also serve as a hands-on opportunity for students and faculty to learn more about the impact of stormwater solutions. Faculty from the college”™s environmental studies program will design comparative studies on water quality within and outside the project area and collect data over a three-year period. Undergraduate interns will collect the field samples and conduct laboratory analysis. The college will report preliminary results of the studies to the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
“This project has the potential to inspire the next generation of green infrastructure stewards, who will advocate for new environmentally resilient systems in many settings,” Kelly said.
