Those involved say rain gardens and pervious concrete are greatly helping the effect that the campus has on the local environment. The university is required through the UW System to use management programs such as these to lessen the effect they have on the surrounding community’s water.

The rain garden is located near the new parking lot by Ullsvik Hall on Main street. Rain gardens use vegetation and special soil to capture and absorb suspended solids such as sand, salt, grease and garbage before they drain into the water shed. Water that is not absorbed by the soil drains into a pipe that filters out harmful pollutants and is transported to Rountree Branch Creek.

The pervious concrete in the parking lot between the new engineering building and Southwest Hall is also helping reduce pollution. Water is absorbed by the concrete or the thick layer of gravel that lies beneath it. Water that is not absorbed is filtered before being transported to the creek.

The 2000 Census showed that Platteville had a population fewer than ten thousand, so the city is not required to take such measures yet. By the completion of next year’s census, it is believed that they will exceed the requirement of a population over the ten thousand mark, and will have to start implementing measures like the university is.

“The university has hired AECOM, a Madison consulting company to do analysis of the campus’ output of total suspended solids,” Pete Nemmetz, assistant facilities director for UW-P, said. Also, a group of senior Civil Engineering students are working on a project that focuses on a specific area of campus, and coming up with a method to decrease runoff to the creek by creating computer models of the pollutants.

Michael Penn, civil engineering professor, said that if pollutants are left on the surface, they will be carried by the storm water to the creek if they remain untreated. The rain garden and pervious concrete will allow water to soak into the ground, and the soil will provide treatment and absorb the water and decompose any suspended solids.

Penn also said that these systems have an effect to lessen the pollutants that make it to the community’s water. They also lowers the Rountree Branch Creek level. The more water these systems manage to soak up, the amount of water going to the creek is lowered. This in turn will lower the down stream flood potential and possible erosion of the creek.

“If there is anything that students can do to help with lowering the pollution of campus water, it is picking up garbage lying on the ground,” Nemmetz said.

Nemmetz is hopeful that the surrounding community will practice similar systems and see a positive effect on the environment, branching from the campus’ example.

“Every step that we take is an incremental step towards the solution,” Penn said. “It is not the final step by any means, but a step in the right direction.”

For more information about the rainwater management systems on campus, contact Pete Nemmetz at 342-1155 or nemmetz@uwplatt.edu.