The leading cause of flooding at the hill’s base is water runoff because the sloped campus is mostly made of roofing, concrete, short grass, and sparse trees that provide no barrier to the moving water. Without any obstacle, the water flows down the hill until it reaches flat land. By planting a line of deep root plants at the hill’s base, there will be less flooding because the watershed will be absorbed by surrounding plants instead of accumulating into puddles. Red maple trees, river birch trees, bald cypress trees, highbush blueberry bushes, or winterberry bushes would be excellent choices as they are all native to New Jersey, in addition to having deep absorbent roots. The optimal location for these trees and bushes would be at the base of the hill and in front of the first athletic field. This location is marked in pink on the aerial map illustrated above. This change could easily prevent flooding from rainwater runoff.

With the data I collected I concluded that a rainwater harvesting system would be most beneficial for our school. A rainwater harvesting system uses a collection of roof gutters, rain tanks, pumps, and downspouts to collect rainwater for reuse (Rainwater Harvesting Video). I propose we implement this system throughout the main building, dining hall, and field house. The water can be purified or filtered and reused in bathrooms and lab sinks by collecting rainwater from these three buildings and storing it in rain tanks. Sterilizing rainwater for human use will reduce water expenses and allow us to use less freshwater from our natural bodies of water (The Guardian). Recycling water minimizes the pollution of local freshwaters and preserves the ecosystems necessary for wildlife preservation.

Beyond water reuse, a rainwater harvesting system could help with flooding around campus. This system would allow excess water from roofs to be redirected to storage bins. Since the water will be collected, thousands of gallons of water would be redirected from the hill’s base to rain tanks. There will be less runoff to flood-prone zones by collecting and storing rainwater from large surfaces around campus.

I greatly enjoyed the capstone project experience because it gave me the resources to pursue answers to my lingering questions on sustainability. This experience, researching sustainable rainwater solutions, has led me to pursue a career in environmental engineering. I plan to use what I have learned about rainwater management in my future career. In addition, I hope the sustainability committee will use my research to improve water management at our school!

For students who are considering completing a capstone project, I greatly encourage you to do so! If you have a nagging question about anything I believe the capstone program is a great way to explore an answer. Additionally, if you have a passion for something outside the classroom this program will grant you the tools to learn about it.

For current juniors completing a capstone, I advise you to keep excellent communication with your advisor. For me, this made a great difference since through constant communication and updates I was able to get continuous feedback on my work. Secondly, if you are seeking external points of contact I recommend asking faculty. Our faculty has great, unexpected connections that could greatly improve your capstone.

When I began my capstone project, I planned to evaluate Moorestown Friend’s main building’s water quality, propose changes, and implement practical sustainable systems strictly based on LEED guidelines. Through research, I learned a professional LEED evaluation would be too expensive. For this reason, I decided to evaluate potable water quality at MFS.

After the initial coronavirus shut down in March, I was no longer approved to visit or evaluate MFS’s campus. Without access to the indoor water supply, I shifted my focus from water quality to outdoor water management and flooding because I was approved to collect data outside of the main building. I also dedicated a greater portion of my capstone to environmental awareness, since I could complete this research at home. Despite this challenging shift, I enjoyed conducting experiments and completing research that will improve our community’s sustainability.