THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY AND CENTRE COUNTY VISITOR CENTER STORMWATER MANAGEMENT
The Pennsylvania State University and Centre County Visitors and Convention Bureau
State College, Pennsylvania
The new Visitor Center for the The Pennsylvania State University and the Centre County Visitors and Convention Bureau has been designed as a "sustainable" building. In keeping with the concepts of sustainability, Cahill Associates designed a stormwater system for the new Visitor Center that serves as a demonstration site for a variety of vegetative and infiltration BMP's.

BMP's include:
Porous bituminous pavement in the parking areas, underlain by a stone-filled
storage/recharge bed.
A shallow infiltration trench that receives roof runoff.
A sub-surface infiltration bed that receives runoff from an existing building and parking lot.
New sidewalks constructed of porous concrete.
Bioretention basins - small depressions carefully planted to improve water quality.

The system has been designed to capture and infiltrate the net increase in the volume of runoff for all storms of a two-year frequency or less. These BMP's were successfully built despite the limitations of a shallow soil mantle under lain by carbonate geology.
Site Photographs

Schematic stormwater management design for the Visitors Center in State College.

Bioretention basin at the Visitors Center.

Porous concrete sidewalk with subsurface infiltration bed, adjacent to a bioretention bed.