Dominican: Making Dominican Greener

Old Water Cistern Updated, Saves over One Million Gallons of Water and At Least $18,000 in Irrigation Costs
By Angela Romano
romaange@my.dom.edu
Features Editor

November 11, 2009

Six years ago Dan Bulow, director of buildings and grounds, took on a complex, and time-consuming project that has recently made Dominican more sustainable. After much brainstorming, an old cistern that had been left dormant for several years in the old science building is now being used again to irrigate campus.

When Bulow went to the Village of River Forest years ago asking if they would allow Dominican to drill a well, so water would be saved, the answer was a resounding “yes.” The idea was put into motion, but the project was at a stand still because although drilling a well would help save water, Bulow knew the old cistern could also be a good resource.

“We knew there was an existing cistern in the basement of the original science building that used to collect rain water from the roofs of the original buildings,” Bulow said. “We could not quite figure out how to use the cistern, only knowing that we wanted to.”

After being put in touch with an irrigation contractor, the project took off. “After I showed him the cistern, he said outside the old science building was the perfect spot to drill the well because we could use the cistern as the holding tank, and it already collects rain water, which we could then use for irrigation,” Bulow said. “The two inch pipe we had already installed connecting to Parmer easily hooked up with our irrigation system on campus and thus we are now using that water to irrigate campus.”

Dominican is benefiting greatly because now instead of purchasing water from the Village of River Forest, rain and well water are being used to irrigate campus and the soccer field. Monica Prisco, an intern at Physical Plant, said, “The new irrigation system saves about four to six million gallons of water per year, which means the University saves between $18,000 and $28,000 per year.”

Not only does the cistern help with campus irrigation, it’s also a key component with the University’s air conditioning system. Bulow said, “We decided on a hot summer day the air conditioning in Parmer uses between 900 and 1,400 gallons of water to provide cooling. So, we are now feeding this water from the cistern to the cooling tower instead of buying water from River Forest.”

Dominican sophomore Samantha Acevedo just learned about the new system and is glad to see Dominican is taking steps to creating a greener campus. Acevedo said, “It’s good to know I go to a school where the environment is important. It seems so simple to create a safer, healthier environment; people just need to take the right steps.”

Bulow, along with the rest of physical plant, is already thinking ahead to the future. The clean ground water in the Centennial basement currently pumps into the sewer, but the goal is that it will pump into the cistern, so the well never has to feed the cistern.

Taking that idea one step further, with the right testing and clearance, the ground water in Centennial may be used for other purposes, such as showers or flushing toilets in the residence halls. Bulow said, “Of course we would need the water tested and certified by the State Board of Health before going that route, but it’s just an idea.”