The Ohio State Institute for Sustainability has announced a new collaboration with Advanced Drainage Systems (ADS) that will support water management research, enhance student learning and make campuses more sustainable.
The company, a supplier of drainage products to the residential, commercial, agricultural and infrastructure markets, is donating two state-of-the-art stormwater management systems to the Innovation District on the West Campus along with a cash gift to install them, as well as funds to support research and teaching opportunities.The rest of the gift will promote diversity and inclusion by supporting the Engineering House learning community and will help the University improve recycling on campus.The combined value of product donations and cash gifts exceeds $1 million.
“This new collaboration with ADS will greatly improve the way Ohio State manages stormwater runoff from new developments in the Innovation District,” said Kate Bartter, executive director of the Institute for Sustainability.
Stormwater management is an important economic and environmental issue for new construction and redevelopment.Stormwater runoff in developed regions carries large amounts of pollutants to lakes, rivers, and oceans; often raises the temperature of receiving surface water bodies, negatively affecting aquatic life; and deprives groundwater recharge by absorbing rainwater into soils.
The management system holds stormwater runoff from buildings, sidewalks and other surfaces in a series of basements that trap pollutants and then slowly release the water into the city’s storm sewer.
“The ADS system will enhance ecosystem services on campus, which is one of Ohio State’s sustainability goals,” Bartter said.
The collaboration draws attention to stormwater management at a time when climate change is exacerbating the problem by greatly increasing the number and intensity of storm events.City and state regulations require new development to manage stormwater produced by storms to avoid overflows in joint sewers and other stormwater systems that spread bacteria and degrade streams.Proper stormwater management can also improve water quality, especially by trapping sediment.
ADS President and CEO Scott Barbour said the challenges posed by stormwater management are a powerful motivator for ADS.
“Our rationale is water, whether in urban or rural areas,” he said.”We are excited to help Ohio State manage stormwater runoff for its new innovation district through this donation.”
The company also plans to support research and teaching opportunities that use the larger of the two stormwater systems as a living laboratory for urban water management.This will benefit Ohio State faculty, such as Assistant Professor in the Departments of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering (FABE) and Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering, and Ryan Winston, a core faculty member of the Institute for Sustainability.
“Most people in urban areas don’t think about where their water is coming from or going because a lot of the infrastructure is hidden underground,” Winston said.”Installing the ADS system means we can create hands-on opportunities for students to learn about sustainable water management outside of the classroom.”
Winston is a faculty advisor to a capstone team of FABE students who will design a rainwater harvesting system that will extract water stored in the ADS system and use it for landscape irrigation.The student’s final report will help provide the university with an opportunity to recycle rainwater and reduce drinking water consumption.Not only does ADS sponsor the team, its Executive Vice President of Product Development will also serve as an advisor to the team.
“The use of our products for research and teaching on campus at Ohio State is one of the most exciting parts of the collaboration,” said Brian King, executive vice president of marketing, product management and sustainability at ADS.“We are especially excited to support engineering students from underrepresented groups through our gift to the Faculty of Engineering Learning Community.”
“About two-thirds of the materials used in ADS products are recyclables,” adds King.Ohio State University offers single-stream recycling on campus and has recently expanded its acceptance to Type 5 plastic (polypropylene) for yogurt containers and other packaging.As part of its gift, ADS will be the largest sponsor of the university’s Right to Recycle campaign.
“The better the recycling on campus, the more material is used for ADS products,” King said.
The collaboration was made possible by the strong commitment of the Ohio administration and planning teams to making the campus more sustainable.Water and Waste Specialists from Facilities Operations and Development, with technical support from its Design and Construction team and University Landscape Architects, led the opportunity.
For Bartter, the new relationship with ADS highlights the enormous potential for combining research, student learning and campus operations.
“Bringing together Ohio State’s core assets like this amounts to an academic trio,” she said.”It really shows how the University can contribute to the knowledge and application of our sustainability solutions. This collaboration will not only make our campuses more sustainable, but will also generate research and teaching benefits for years to come .”
Post time: Jul-25-2022