Sustainable Stormwater Design in the Midwest

The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit program was provided by the Clean Water Act to regulate water discharge, and improve water quality. The program has recently required municipalities to pursue stormwater programs that protect water quality and reduce the discharge of pollutants from new and re-developed areas. Thus, the need for research on Best Management Practices (BMPs) and low impact designs are timely and essential, especially in the Midwest where unique climates and vegetation lead to difficulties with design. Through a semester long project, a team of students has developed an alternative to an existing stormwater treatment system. A site was chosen on the Kansas State University campus that exhibits tremendous potential for a stormwater biosystem. A large impervious area used for parking and traffic flow drains to a single inlet and is piped directly to a nearby creek, carrying with it pollutants and sediment from paved surfaces. Through consideration of the pollution sources, land area, area hydrology, climate and soil, and economic and maintenance requirements, the group designed a bioswale with hopes to alleviate creek degradation and to provide a reference for the City of Manhattan and the Midwest.