University of Minnesota Collects Storm Water to Cool Campus Buildings

The University of Minnesota announced plans to build a system to collect storm water to cool buildings around the campus. Once completed, the system will store, filter, chill and evaporate storm water to cool two campus buildings through air conditioning.

According to The Minnesota Daily, the system will be built near Pioneer Hall and the new Health Sciences Education Center. The system will be able to collect and use more than 3.5 million gal of storm water when it is completed.

The project marks the university’s second storm water collection system. An additional system was installed last year at Athlete’s Village. The structure includes a large underground storage facility below the football practice field that stores more than 350,000 gal of storm water. During the system’s first summer, it was able to provide most of the water used in the cooling system for Athlete’s Village.

“This is cutting edge for the state of Minnesota,” said Cathy Abene, head civil engineer for the project. “We are the first place in Minnesota to have something on this scale.”

The system was developed in response to Minneapolis’ requirements for protecting water bodies from storm water runoff pollution, reported The Minnesota Daily. Moving forward, the university is considering incorporating the storm water systems for buildings being built or renovated around campus.

“It makes sense to include this as part of larger renewal projects,” said Scott McCord, head mechanical engineer for the project. “It is difficult to keep it cost effective without a larger project. We need to be good stewards of University funding.”