Reflection on Water

My section of the S.T.A.R.S assignment was OP 21-22 Water Use and Rain Water Management. This tool has taught me that there is many more aspects to water use and rain water management then I first expected. Also rainwater management and water are directly tied to the grounds management of the campus. Information such as total area of the campus, the footprint area of all the buildings on campus, and all the residents and workers on campus are necessary to calculate water use by more specific categories such as water use per resident and empolyee.

Rain water management was the other aspect of my assignment. By completing the S.T.A.R.S tool, I learned about the requirements of a good rainwater management program. I learned that the University of New England has a class devoted solely to rain water management. We also have many projects that focus this topic such as storm drain stenciling, simple catch basins and pipe level spreaders and swales to channel, slow and filter stormwater, check dams to slow runoff, buffers for filtration, drip edge filters, rain garden infiltration beds, bioretention beds, permeable pavers, permeable pavement, subterranean detention systems, and subterranean filtration systems. With all these tools in place, I am confident in our rain water management.

One ah-ha moment

One ah-ha moment that I had while doing this assignment was how much water we use. It is one of those things that you really don’t think about but looking back on it it makes sense why university uses so much water. Water is a vital part of our survival and I feel as if we take it for granted more often then not.