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Team 4

Team Members

Faculty Advisor

Jordan Buslewicz
Abril Martinez-Arraya
Megan Judge
Max Moore

Timothy Vadas

Sponsor

Other

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Plainfield Central Middle School Stormwater Management Plan and Outreach

Environmental Engineering Team 4 has been tasked with designing a stormwater management plan for Plainfield Central Middle School which currently has no water quality controls and minimal stormwater management. The lack of management has led to puddling problems in the back of the school and overall leaving the outdoor area in poor condition. This has been a safety concern for the students especially in the winter months when excess runoff turns into ice. Team 4 evaluated different Best Management Practices (BMPs) such as swales, detention ponds, infiltration trenches, rain gardens and permeable pavement as possible solutions to handle water quality and flow. From a site assessment and slope measurements, it was concluded that the best combination of BMPs for the site would be a rain garden, permeable pavement and a detention pond. These are the most functional and economical options for the school. The second half of this project included an outreach portion where the team planned and led engineering activities a few times a month for the middle school students which were called “Engineering Fridays”. The goal of the outreach component was to introduce the topic of engineering to the students and collaborate with them to design a stormwater BMP. Some of the activities included conducting elevation measurements with professional equipment, site assessments, and designing a rain garden. Team 4 inspired a new generation of engineers and was able to show them the type of work environmental engineers do on a daily basis.