You and fellow students from Jerry
Schnoor's Sustainable Systems course built the UI Press rain garden, the first
rain garden on campus. And you also built a berm that has kept water out of our
basement. Tell us how you did this.
As
part of the UI Press rain garden design, we had to remove some existing soil to
make sure the rain garden was able to correctly collect and infiltrate water. We
thought it would be a good idea to try to use the excess soil to prevent water
from entering the basement. Amy Bouska, an urban conservationist with the Iowa
Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, recommended that we construct a
berm that would divert rainwater runoff into the grass instead of letting it
run along the side of the building where it eventually found its way into the
basement. This turned out to be a simple and efficient solution that allowed us
to use our existing resources to solve a water management issue.
You’re studying environmental engineering
and science. The old-fashioned image of engineers—men in hard-hats standing
around large construction sites with clipboards in hand, imposing order upon
the natural world—seems to have vanished. How are today’s engineers integrating
the natural and the built environments?
The
field of engineering has certainly evolved over the years. As an environmental engineer,
my job is to utilize science and engineering principles to develop solutions to
environmental problems. A great example of integrating the natural and built
environments is low impact development or LID. The purpose of LID is to work
with nature to manage stormwater runoff by employing techniques such as
preserving and recreating natural landscape features and decreasing impervious
areas to create appealing and functional site drainage that treats stormwater
as a resource rather than a waste product. Rain gardens, bioretention
facilities, green roofs, rain barrels, and permeable pavements all help reduce
the impact of built areas and promote the natural movement of water within an
ecosystem.
You’ve been involved with Engineers
for a Sustainable World. Tell us about this organization’s projects.
The University of Iowa chapter of Engineers for a Sustainable World is a
student group that focuses on using technical projects, education, and
collaborative action to affect local sustainability challenges. The projects we
work on reflect the interests and passions brought forth by the students. Some
of our recent projects include Campus and Community Rain Gardens, a Habitat for Humanity
Net-Zero Energy Home, a Solar-Powered Funnel Cake/Smoothie Cart, the Quaker Oats Wind
Energy Assessment, and Sustainability Road Show Demonstrations.
Jeremy Bril, University of Iowa Environmental Engineering Graduate Student
