Valley Forge Park Field House

Chicago, IL

Project Details
Valley Forge Park Field House Rainwater Harvesting Project For Toilet Flushing

Project

Valley Forge Park Field House Rainwater Harvesting Project For Toilet Flushing

The Chicago Public Building Commission, in coordination with the Chicago Park District, wanted its newest Field House in the Garfield Ridge area to serve as an example of sustainable building practices. There was interest in retaining and reusing the rainwater and stormwater from the property rather than send it to Chicago’s combined sewer and stormwater system. Wahaso was invited to help design an efficient system to flush toilets in building with harvested water.

Challenge

The PBC wanted to earn LEED Certification for the building which meant that careful planning was needed to manage total municipal water use and demonstrate innovation in the property’s storm water design.

wahaso-commercial-water-harvesting-water-supply-sustainability-risk-index-in-2050

Water Supply Sustainability Index (2050)

Project Details

LOCATION

Chicago, IL

CLIENT

City of Chicago, Illinois

DESIGN & SPECIALTY

Plumbing Engineer, Civil Engineer, Commercial Contractors, Commercial Architect

BUILDING TYPE

Municipal

SYSTEM TYPE

Rooftop Rainwater to Flush Toilets

COMMISSIONING DATE

November, 2010

Rainwater Systems

Project Gallery

Valley Forge Park Field House Rainwater Harvesting Project For Toilet Flushing
Solution

Working closely with architects Booth Hansen of Chicago, the Wahaso team designed and built a rainwater harvesting system that will flush toilets in the building more than 90% of the time. The system captures rainwater from the 10,200 square foot roof into a 4,200-gallon underground Atlantis D-Raintank system.

Water from the cistern is pumped to a processing room and day tank where it is filtered, chlorinated and pressurized to flush all the toilets in the building. The smart control system automatically reverts to the municipal supply when the cistern is empty, or a problem is detected with the processing system.

Results

The 10,244-square-foot Fieldhouse design includes a large half court gymnasium, fitness and club rooms, locker rooms, pantry, gym storage, reception and an administrative office. The rainwater harvesting system should save 65-70,000 gallons of municipal water annually, while detaining stormwater from entering the city’s combined sewer system during rain events. During his viewing of the system at the building’s ribbon-cutting on December 4, 2010, Mayor Daley confirmed his commitment to sustainable water practices – and to his continued support of harvesting systems in all Chicago public buildings. The Valley Forge Park Field House has been LEED Certified with a Gold rating.