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 University of GeorgiaButts-Mehre Expansion LOCATION PROJECT SERVICES PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS relocation, driveway improvements for fire truck access, underground stormwater storage and a new pump station to provide irrigation of the practice field. Sustainable Design Features Rainwater Harvesting and Reuse The project includes an underground stormwater cistern to store rainwater for reuse. Rainwater from the roof of the building expansion and from most of the roof of the existing building is captured in pipes and flows into the cistern. The cistern is a double barrel box culvert constructed of cast-in-place concrete. The culvert is 370 feet long and can hold over 200,000 gallons of rainwater at peak capacity making the Butts Mehre system the largest on campus. Rainwater stored in the culvert will be used to irrigate the grass turf practice field. The cistern can store enough rainwater for approximately 10 days of irrigation use, so reuse of the stored rainwater will significantly decrease the amount of groundwater that is pumped for irrigation of the field. During really heavy rainfalls, when the cistern fills up, stormwater is metered out of the cistern by an overflow device to prevent flooding downstream. The system also provides a high level of pollutant removal with a trash rack to capture large floating debris and a series of baffles for smaller debris. When rainwater is pumped onto the grass turf field for irrigation, very fine and dissolved pollutants are filtered out of the water by the sand base layer, and a buried drainage system returns any excess irrigation water to the cistern, storing it for reuse in the next irrigation cycle. Heat Island Effects The removal of approximately 400 square yards of asphalt pavement and the replacement of these areas with trees and landscaping will make a significant contribution to reducing the heat island effect of the project. In addition to removal of the existing asphalt pavement, all new pavement constructed adjacent to the building expansion will be porous concrete. The light color of the pavement reduces the heat generated, the open texture of the pavement allows rainwater to pass through the pavement rather than running off, and the sand and gravel underdrain system filters the rainwater to remove pollutants. As an added benefit, the clean rainwater is then stored in the cistern for reuse in irrigating the grass turf practice field. Previous Project || Next Project |
Civil Engineering and Surveying, Atlanta, Norcross, Athens, Georgia, LEED Accredited Staff, Travis Pruitt & Associates |