Stormwater Harvesting Grant for Utility Plant #4

Abstract This project leverages the proximity of two water-related assets on the UK campus, an LFUCG stormwater conduit and UK’s Central Utility Plant. Every day, the Utility Plant consumes thousands of gallons of domestic water while equal or greater amounts of stormwater flow through the conduit to Wolf Run Creek. The installation of a water diversion system linking the plant to the conduit will provide three tangible benefits to the LFUCG and UK. The first is improved quality of stormwater. The system will have a filtering unit that will remove debris and sediment from the stormwater after it is diverted from the stormwater conduit. This is a direct reduction of pollutants entering Wolf Run Creek. The system will also result in reduced quantity of stormwater entering Wolf Run Creek. The project has the potential to divert as much as 29,000,000 gallons of water each year from the stormwater system. Lastly, each gallon of diverted stormwater results in one less gallon of domestic water consumed by the cooling towers. The project is estimated to cost $271,000. The University will provide $54,200 of cost share (20%). The design and construction will be competitively bid per the University procurement processes. The reliability and efficiency of the system will be carefully integrated into the design and construction by experienced UK engineers and project managers. The result will be a resilient system diverting millions of gallons of stormwater every year. The project will also have strong educational value and may be integrated with several courses and programs in the College of Engineering. UK Facilities Management staff will receive trainings relative to the benefits and function of the system. UK will partner with local watershed non-profits to provide educational workshop to the public that highlight the benefits of the system. Finally, UK will work with the Cooperative Extension service and other entities to conduct outreach with other organizations and companies that may be able to benefit from similar installations.