Purdue University

Purdue University is one of the largest universities in the nation. Its West Lafayette campus covers nearly 2,500 acres with more than 160 major buildings including academic and residential complexes.

Meliora led a project team in the development and implementation of a regenerative water management plan in which green infrastructure techniques will manage runoff at its source when construction and funding opportunities arise. This represented an important change in the university’s previous “end-of-pipe stormwater management system” policy towards a long-term, sustainable approach to the campus’ water resources that will restore the natural water balance.

Critical components of the plan include a focus on rainwater as a resource, the importance of small storms and groundwater recharge, and enhancing the campus landscape. Using spatial analysis, field investigations, and site constraints, we identified and mapped opportunity areas for stormwater management. Recommendations ranged from small-distributed measures such as rain gardens at buildings and porous pavement paths to large regional measures, such as infiltration beds below athletic fields.

The first phase of the project provided stormwater management for much of the existing upper campus, and included bioswales, rain gardens, and water quality inlets. The university’s athletic complex is located immediately upstream of the main campus, and presented a unique opportunity to incorporate stormwater features that would reduce campus flooding, improve water quality, and promote campus greening. This project is a first major initiative under Purdue’s commitment to sustainability and water.