Description

group of adults in a parking lot, watching a speaker/demonstration on a sunny day

The construction of the new Comer Geochemistry Building required the relocation of an existing 85 car parking lot. The original stormwater management plan necessitated the construction of a new detention basin and 500-feet of drainpipe excavated through rock and the existing main campus thoroughfare. A porous-asphalt infiltration design-alternative eliminated the drainpipe and detention basin, resulting in a zero net cost, 25% reduction in runoff, and 100% water quality treatment.

Site Location

Site name: Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University
Address: 61 Route 9W, Palisades, NY 10964
County: Rockland
Watershed: Hudson River
Land use of site: University/Research; parking lot
Can this site be visited? Limited Access
Location on site: 500’ NE of Campus Entrance

close up of water being poured from a bucket onto porous asphalt during a demonstration

Practice Details

Intent of design: 85 Car Replacement Parking Lot
Size of structure/capacity: 32,470 sf parking lot
Size of drainage area: 13.65 acres
Plants or materials used: Indigenous trees & shrubs for landscaping
Maintenance: Salt only for deicing (no sand), routine snow plowing
Maintained by: Building & Grounds Department

Design/Installation Information

Design: Cahill Associates, Westchester, PA, (610) 696-4150
Installation: Torcon, Inc., Red Bank, NJ, (732) 704-9800
Date of installation: July 2006
Zoning change or special permit required: NYSDEC SPEDES Phase II Permit
Project cost: Approximately $500,000
Form of payment: Undisclosed

For Additional Site Information:

Contact: Patrick O’Reilly, P.E. Assistant Director for Facilities & Engineering, LDEO
Email: oreilly@ldeo.columbia.edu
Phone: (845) 365-8843