UNC honored by national Sierra Club

The national Sierra Club honored UNC for its innovative stormwater techniques in a publication released today.

Selected excerpts from a press release issued by Bernadette Pelissier of the Orange/Chatham Group of the Sierra Club:

“As we grow it is often our water that suffers most,” said the Sierra Club's Executive Director Carl Pope. “Few people realize that the largest source of water pollution today comes from stormwater and sewer overflows- both of which can be exacerbated by new development. Our hope is that Americans will look at UNC-Chapel Hill and demand better clean water practices as their own communities grow and develop."
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UNC-Chapel Hill is an example of using green construction to minimize the environmental footprint of growth. The approximately 6 million square feet of new buildings will not add to stormwater runoff. One effort by UNC involves using porous pavement in the replacement of traditional parking lots with impermeable surface. The most enterprising improvement is the installation of a giant 70,000 gallon underground cistern beneath the Carmichael athletic field. Rainwater is collected from nearby roofs, stored in the cisterns, and later used for irrigation purposes. This not only prevents stormwater runoff but forestalls the use of potable water for irrigation purposes.
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The Orange Chatham Sierra Club is delighted with UNC's stormwater management projects and hopes to see such projects implemented during the development of the Carolina North research campus.
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BTW, I have moved to the staff of the North Carolina Sierra Club and am no longer directing local political endorsements anymore. So complain to someone else!