Mission

The mission of the Constructed Wetlands & Water Quality team is to monitor and improve local water quality. The team, established in 1998, won the Spring 1999 AMD Design Award for its remarkable design of the Purdue Constructed Wetlands.

Past Projects

While the team continues to maintain, monitor, and improve the wetlands, it has also assumed other projects as well. Prior projects include monitoring the water quality in Marshall Ditch, to provide landscape solutions to the Colony Pines Homeowners Association in order to reduce erosion with natural vegetation, and work with Soil and Water Conservation department of Tippecanoe County on marking storm drains around the campus area.

Current Projects

Currently, the team is addressing two separate projects.

The first project team is the wetlands team, working with industry advisor Furman Smith.  This team has been divided into two subgroups: the flume team and the weir box team.  This team as a whole is designing a maintenance for the wetlands so the area is respectable shape to use as an educational center.  The flume team is addressing the issue of measuring the height of the water traveling through the flumes.  The weir box team is looking at this issue, but in the weir boxes at the front of the wetlands.

The second project team is the Storm Drain Marking Team. This team is working under the supervision of SWCD Advisor, Don Emmert to continue marking the storm drains on campus by the end of the Fall 2008 semester. Through this project, the team hopes to educate the public as to the environmental repercussions of the common misuse of storm sewers.   Other activities the team is involved in are adopting a part of the Wabash River, determining effective ways to educate the community on water quality, and cleanup events along the Wabash River.