Campus Stormwater Assessment Score Four: Students, Schools, Streams, and The Bay Campus Stormwater Assessment Rebecca Wolf and Nguyen Le Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin

Objectives: Record the patterns of stormwater runoff on your campus. Identify problems, such as erosion, bare lawn, trash sources, areas when stormwater pools or floods. List 2 or 3 possible locations for a Student Stormwater Action Project.

Materials for Each Team Map of the school (from the computer or drawn). Paper to sketch on Directions and the map key Pencils or colored pens Clip board or hard writing surface Container of water Camera (optional)

Ways to Observe Stormwater Runoff Paths Watch the stormwater while it’s raining. Look for flattened grassy areas and puddles. Observe the gutters along roads and parking lots. Look for the slope of an area.

Find and Note the Locations of Stormwater Downspouts Also mark where the water from the spout goes.

Bare Lawn Could Mean Erosion Note areas on your map where: The lawn is bare Dirt has washed away Dirt has collected. Can you see where the dirt goes when it rains?

Mark Stormwater Drain Locations Put arrows on map showing stormwater flow to drains. Note the sand that has collected near the storm drain on this picture. This sand likely came from the eroded area on the previous picture, which sloped toward this driveway and drain.

Example of Slope toward Stream And Stormwater Outlet If there is a stream near your campus, investigate the are that slopes towards it. You also might notice a large storm water pipe (outlet) flowing into it. If the students investigate, they could learn the sources of the stormwater in the outlet. What these photo don’t show are the eroded stream banks and stream bottom where stormwater enters this stream.

Note Trash and Its Sources At times trash can come from open dumpsters. More often it comes from students. If students look closely at the litter, they can identify the likely sources of candy wraps, soda and water bottles, etc.

Example of Area with Runoff & Opportunity Problem: The front lawn of this school slopes to a road-side drainage ditch, which leads to the stream across the road. Most lawns such as this, which are frequently mowed and covered with short-rooted turf grass, absorb and use much less rain water than trees, gardens, or wetlands. There are many ways students could reduce the stormwater runoff and improve the beauty of their campus on this front lawn – large trees; groups of trees and bushes; a conservation landscape; a rain garden. How could stormwater runoff be reduced here?

Another Opportunity For An Action Project Problem: Stormwater runoff flows towards the wet baseball field and the stream (on the other side of the woods). Opportunity: This is a natural gathering place. Trees could add shade and reduce stormwater runoff.

Compile Your Observations and Suggestions From your observations, pick several possible places on your campus where a Student Stormwater Action Project could reduce stormwater pollution.