Stormwater on the University of Kansas Main Campus

Abstract

Beginning with a discussion of the combined acreage of the all the impervious surfaces on the main campus of the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, together with the average annual precipitation there, the HSG soil categorization of this campus, and the contours of its land, this question is asked: using stormwater best management practices, how much of the stormwater runoff can be detained or retained and cleaned before this runoff enters the stormwater drain systems of the University and the City? Considering only the two largest categories of impervious surfaces, buildings and parking lots, the study finds that more than half of the University's 216 million gallons of annual stormwater runoff can be detained or retained and cleaned by the strategic utilization of stormwater best management practices including green roofs and bioretention cells.