The Carrier Dome will make the most out of the Syracuse weather starting in summer 2014, when it becomes the only stadium dome in the country to partake in rainwater harvesting.

Rainwater will be used to flush public toilets and urinals during games and other events, said Bruce Wanlass, principal engineer at C&S Companies, the Syracuse-based engineering consulting firm leading the project. The $1.35 million project will be made possible through a grant from the Environmental Facilities Corporation.

Wanlass, a 1982 Syracuse University alumnus, came up with the idea during a basketball game in November 2011, when he wondered how much fresh water was being wasted in the Dome bathrooms.

“Simple idea, but exciting,” Wanlass said.

He decided to take his idea to his boss at C&S, who was receptive to the idea. C&S has worked on other rainwater harvesting projects in Syracuse, including the harvesting system for the Syracuse Hancock International Airport.

Siddhi Pradhan, a first-year graduatestudent in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, said she likes the idea of recycling the Dome’s runoff.

“It’s a great idea. Rainwater harvesting is pretty big these days in India,” said Pradhan, who is from India.

The project will harvest up to 20,000 gallons of runoff from the Dome’s roof and save it in storage tanks, according to a news release from C&S. The recycled water will save approximately 880,000 gallons of fresh water, the same amount currently coming from Onondaga County’s Municipal Water system, to use in the Dome bathrooms, Wanlass said.

The project will lessen the strain on the county’s sewage system and save SU $4,000 a year, he said.

Construction on the project is set to start in May 2014 and will be completed roughly two months later, Wanlass said. Funding for the project was approved by the state and planning has already begun.

Although the project will be completed relatively quickly, Wanlass said there are still a few obstacles engineers have to overcome.

Government codes require the rainwater to be filtered so the water is almost drinkable. The water also has to be dyed so it is not confused with fresh water. Engineers are still deciding whether the water should be dyed orange or blue for the school’s colors, or if another color should be used, Wanlass said.

Engineers are also concerned about the location of 50,000-pound water tanks under the bleachers. It is unclear whether the infrastructure will be able to hold the tanks, so reinforcements to the Dome will have to be completed before they can be safely installed, Wanlass said.

Wanlass said he hopes to make the project educational. Tours of the construction for SU students and community members could take place.

Some students, such as Stephen Connors, a freshman newspaper and online journalism major, have given their opinions on what color the water should be.

Said Connors: “The water should be orange because it makes the water that Syracuse collects become Syracuse orange.”

Published on January 28, 2013 at 12:29 am

Contact Olivia: otjohnso@syr.edu