Climate change is altering weather patterns, leading to more frequent and intense rainfall events that place increasing strain on community stormwater systems. In 2022, the Sustainability Institute (SI) at Ohio State announced a new collaboration with Advanced Drainage Systems (ADS), a provider of water management solutions for stormwater and onsite septic wastewater systems, to study the impacts of urban stormwater management, engage student engineers, and promote campus collection of recycled plastic, a material used in ADS pipe. Now at the three-year mark, the collaboration has included $1.6 million in ADS financial and in-kind contributions to the university.
Campus as a Living Lab
The relationship started with a gift of two ADS stormwater management systems and the funding to install them to manage runoff around the Energy Advancement and Innovation Center at Carmenton. The opportunity to study the performance of the ADS systems to manage and clean stormwater against a traditional retention pond located at the site was not lost on Ryan Winston, SI core faculty member and Associate Professor in the Departments of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering and Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering.
“It’s not often you can study two approaches to stormwater management side-by-side at the same site with the same weather conditions,” says Winston. “The experimental design at Carmenton is an ideal living laboratory that provides hands-on opportunities for research, extension, and outdoor classroom learning.” Since the systems were installed, ADS has funded Winston and his students to collect and analyze data on runoff reduction and pollutant removal.
Expanding on this initial project, Winston and two graduate students worked with ADS to install the company’s new biofiltration units at three parking lots across the Columbus campus. Parking lots are significant contributors of contaminants, but biofiltration can capture and retain pollutants such as sediment, nutrients, heavy metals, and hydrocarbons, all while supporting green infrastructure objectives. Sometimes biofiltration is enhanced by adding plants, which contribute to nutrient uptake and degradation of pollutants by microbes in the root zone, while also beautifying areas.
The project caught the attention of the university’s Facilities Operations and Development (FOD) unit and Ohio State partner CampusParc, both of which helped make it possible. The biofiltration units were donated by ADS and installation was paid for by grants from the Ohio State Sustainability Fund, ADS, and CampusParc.
Strengthening the Circular Economy
As one of the largest plastic recycling companies in North America, ADS uses a significant amount of recycled plastic in its stormwater products and has a business interest in recycling programs. With funding from the company, FOD’s zero waste team analyzed waste streams from 15 campus buildings and surveyed student awareness of proper recycling and disposal practices. The findings prompted the installation of 100 signs at the top of recycling and waste bins to encourage correct recycling behavior. Recently, ADS provided another grant to fund 400 more signs for bins in buildings at the Fisher College of Business and College of Engineering.
“ADS values its partnership with large organizations like Ohio State who are willing to work to increase the amount of recycling collected,” says Brian King, Executive Vice President for Marketing, Product Management and Sustainability at the company. “We use over half a billion pounds of recycled plastic in our products each year and want to eventually reach a billion pounds. This material is taken out of the waste stream and used to make new products that have a long useful life.”
Student Engagement
Underlying the collaboration with Ohio State has been an interest by ADS to engage students, especially from engineering majors. Among other things, the company has sponsored multiple capstone projects in the Department of Food, Agricultural, and Biological Engineering (FABE). This year, ADS is working with FABE students on a project to study “floating wetlands” using engineered rafts designed with native wetland plants to improve water quality in stormwater ponds.
In addition to providing guest lecturers for classes, ADS also supports student career learning by providing internships to Ohio State students in a range of areas including materials science, product development, and sustainability.
“Interning with ADS helped me make my decision to work for them after graduation,” says Brad Wiemers, a project engineer at the company who interned during his senior year. “One of the biggest things I got from the internship was a chance to experience the culture at ADS. It was a great fit for me.”
ADS places an emphasis on diversity and inclusion in its workforce recruitment efforts. For the last few years, it has supported the university’s Office of Community Access, Retention and Empowerment at the College of Engineering, including hosting Ohio State students at the company’s materials lab to see first-hand how its products are developed with recycled materials. ADS has also participated in the university-wide Office of Diversity and Inclusion’s career fair and is a corporate sponsor of the Ohio State chapter of the Society of Women Engineers.
On the Horizon
Looking ahead, both sides plan to find ways for Ohio State researchers and students to take advantage of the ADS Engineering and Technology Center, which opened in October. The center has state-of-the-art equipment to develop, test, and analyze stormwater management systems, some of which is not available at the university. “The potential for student learning and even pursuing research grants as a result of having access to this facility is tremendously exciting,” says Winston.
ADS is also interested in attracting business-minded engineering majors for its manufacturing management trainee program. Through the program, new employees are assigned to different manufacturing plants for periods of six to nine months. After two years of experience, program participants are put in charge of a plant full-time. ADS is interested in Ohio State programs that blend engineering studies with business courses such as finance and accounting, logistics, and organizational behavior to help round out the skill sets of potential trainees.
In 2025, the company will also work with graduate students in the Geography Department to estimate the amount of stormwater that has been managed by ADS products installed across the country to date. The students will not only take a retrospective look based on historical rainfall data but will develop projections for future stormwater management using climate change models for each region. ADS plans to use the information as part of how it reports on its climate change efforts.
“The collaboration with ADS so far has touched so many aspects of what Ohio State has to offer in terms of sustainability,” says Kate Bartter, SI Executive Director. “We’re looking forward to building on what we’ve accomplished and generating the knowledge needed to help communities cope with managing stormwater challenges caused by climate change.”
Story by Christine Andreeva, SI Student Communications Assistant.
Story image used under license from Lost_in_the_Midwest, stock.adobe.com.