Campus LID Project Background
Project Overview
In 2015, Sacramento State’s Office of Water Programs (OWP) and Facilities Management teamed with the City of Sacramento to install new stormwater management devices on campus. The devices, or low impact development best management practices (LID BMPs), reduce stormwater impacts to the American and Sacramento Rivers. Stormwater runoff from urban development is one of the leading contributors to water quality degradation.
LID is the sustainability term for managing stormwater; it involves treating runoff close to its source, incorporating existing infrastructure to optimize feasibility, and enhancing pollutant load reduction through stormwater infiltration, retention, and treatment. The types of LID BMPs installed include bioretention planters, rain gardens, and compost amended bioswales all of which remove pollutants from runoff through various treatment mechanisms such as sedimentation, filtration, infiltration, and adsorption. Additional LID BMPs used for the project included roof drain disconnects, porous pavement, and other infiltration enhancements such as raised inlets and curb cuts. The LID BMPs treat runoff from two major parking lots, roof drains from one of the oldest campus buildings, sections of Jed Smith and College Town Drives, and various impervious walkways in the center of campus.
Project Benefits
In addition to removing pollutants, the LID BMPs reduce volumes of runoff that are discharged into the American River. This prevents erosion and replenishes groundwater supplies used for campus irrigation. In addition to removing pollutants and recharging groundwater supplies, the project provides energy savings; capturing the runoff reduces the need to pump campus runoff over the levee into the American River.
Funding and Collaboration
This project was funded by the State Water Resources Control Board’s Proposition 84 Stormwater Grant Program and in-kind contributions from the City of Sacramento Department of Utilities, Sacramento State’s OWP and Facilities Management, Cunningham Engineering Corporation, Urban Rain Design, County of Sacramento, and Dry Creek Conservancy. The project will serve as a demonstration project to showcase the City and County’s LID standards developed as part of the Sacramento Stormwater Quality Partnership’s recently released Stormwater Quality Design Manual.
Sacramento State’s Office of Water Programs (OWP) and Facilities Management serve as the university’s project leads. Use the links on the right side of this page to access more information about the project such as planning and design, construction, and monitoring. Check out Campus LID events at: https://www.owp.csus.edu/upcoming-events/.
