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Community News / Initiatives

Project Updates ARB Information From the President Initiatives Events

The Initiatives page provides updates on initiatives being considered or underway through action of the Board of Trustees.

Amphitheater and ALU Study Group Information

Storm Water Management at Chautauqua
October, 17 2011

Under the requirements of the US Clean Water Act Chautauqua Lake has been listed by New York State as impaired waters. Nutrients are the principal cause of the impairment. Storm water delivers nutrients into the lake either as phosphorus or as nitrogen contained within the chemistry of the storm water or as attachments to sediment that flows along with the storm water. Therefore, either retaining the storm water on the land or filtering it is needed to remove the nutrients and sediment. The Institution’s Drainage Management Plan involves taking just such actions.

In the past actions involved either creating a pond or installing underground containment systems to catch storm water. The water was then slowly released instead of being allowed to rush to the lake. Slowing down the water caused the sediments to drop out and allowed nutrients to be absorbed by plants and land along the course of travel. Next, lake saver units were installed as storm sewers were reconstructed. The units slowed down the flow in pipes and channeled the water in a circular fashion such that the sediments were spun out and deposited in an accessible portion of the unit which could then later be cleaned-out by maintenance staff. Currently, siphoning pipes are being added inside street catch basins in order to allow the water to flow while at the same time settling sediment out of the flow.

The benefits of these singular actions were proven by Jamestown Community College’s Summer Undergraduate Research Institute water quality monitoring analysis. The first wetland created by the Institution evidenced a fifty per cent decrease in turbidity of the water flowing through the wetland coupled with a significant reduction in nutrient content. Other monitoring samples evidenced a seventy-one per cent reduction in phosphorus flowing through the wetland.

The Institution decided two years ago that a more comprehensive approach was needed. An engineering firm was retained to develop a Storm Sewer Plan. A Drainage Management Plan instead resulted when the engineers looked beyond the local piping needs and took into consideration the needs of Chautauqua Lake. A main goal of the plan is to deal with storm water on site thus not discharging it into Chautauqua Lake. Water that cannot be retained where it falls will be directed to newly constructed and managed ponds, wetlands and rain gardens. Only overflows from extra large storm events will discharge to the lake. The wetlands and rain gardens will remove sediment and nutrients from the storm water.

A cost review of the plan’s recommendations evidenced that proceeding in this direction would be less costly than would be the situation if storm water treatment plants had to be constructed to remove the sediments and nutrients. The Institution competitively applied for and has been successful in receiving two grants that will allow actions to proceed more quickly than would otherwise be possible. A Green Infrastructure Planning Grant was awarded by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation and a Green Innovations Grant Program award was received from the NYS Environmental Facilities Corporation.

The Institution is very serious about working to address Chautauqua Lake’s challenges. In 2010 the Institution Board of Trustees adopted a Strategic Plan which in part committed the Institution to respond to our environmental responsibilities and provide exemplary leadership through the development and implementation of specific action plans in the areas of storm water management, support of the Chautauqua Lake Management Plan, tree preservation and replacement and preservation and maintenance of landscaped open space. The Institution is thus pleased to take this lead in the area of storm water management and welcomes interaction and participation with other lakeside communities in addressing this important topic. The Institution recognizes that the solution will require everyone’s participation and stands ready to collaborate with the greater community to address Chautauqua Lake’s needs.

Douglas E. Conroe
Director of Operations
Chautauqua Institution

DRAINAGE MANAGEMENT PLAN
(Updated: February 16, 2011)

Chautauqua Institution will be implementing the first steps of a comprehensive Drainage Management Plan that addresses stormwater flow throughout the grounds and works to improve the overall health and vitality of Chautauqua Lake.

Last fall, Institution staff was presented with the report conducted by Foit-Albert Associates, an architecture and engineering firm based in Buffalo, N.Y., with a history of designing environmentally proactive stormwater management systems on the grounds. The firm reviewed the existing storm sewer system at Chautauqua and used topographical data and actual rainfall data to calculate and map the flow of stormwater and performance of storm sewers.

Foit-Albert reviewed state and federal environmental policies as well as local priorities. Specifically, the NYS Draft Chautauqua Lake TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Load) document that will affect storm water discharge nutrient management requirements and the recently prepared Chautauqua County Chautauqua Lake Management Plan were considered.

Chautauqua Lake is currently listed as “nutrient and sediment impaired waters” by New York state. The deteriorating health of the lake is also evident by nuisance weed growth and algal blooms, which forced the closing of some Institution beaches last summer.

In presenting its findings, Foit-Albert declared that Chautauqua Institution has a unique standing in regard to the management of stormwater that few other entities possess. The Institution controls 100 percent of the stormwater runoff from its land without having to manage water problems presented by others.

The health of Chautauqua Lake is the primary driver of Drainage Plan goals. All stormwater that is not absorbed into the soil is discharged in one manner or another into Chautauqua Lake. Significant action is required to remove the amount of phosphorous and nitrogen entering the lake.

The report states that while nutrients can be removed through the construction of a water treatment plant and additional storm sewers, these actions would be very expensive. Rather, the Drainage Management Plan calls for the introduction of proven green management actions—newly constructed wetlands and rain gardens—that retain storm water where it lands instead of piping it away to the lake.

The Drainage Management Plan divides Institution property into 13 separate and distinct drainage areas, what are called “mini watersheds.” Improvements for each area were identified and prioritized.

A critical component of the Drainage Management Plan is educating property owners and the general public on the various measures taken by the Institution. Land surveying work and the construction of a rain garden in the area of Peck Avenue will begin this spring, the first steps in a multi-year process.

“This plan will set Chautauqua Institution apart as a pacesetter in the region and as a demonstration community for best management practices,” said Director of Operations Doug Conroe. “Implementation of this plan will be the first comprehensive action taken by a lakeside community for Chautauqua Lake.”