Rainwater tanks on the AGH UST campus. Safety buffer for infrastructure and benefit for greenery

30 rainwater tanks were elegantly integrated into the surrounding buildings and green areas. 20 of them can receive 5,000 cubic decimetres of water, and the remaining 10 have a volume of 2,500 cubic decimetres. Therefore, if we assumed that all of our tanks had been filled to the brim, the total volume of accumulated rainwater would be about 125,000 litres. 

It is worth mentioning that the reason to install this extra protection originated from last year’s local floodings in some of the basements across the campus. Furthermore, the reason these floods had occurred was that the city of Krakow has a combined rainwater and sanitary sewage system. As a result, heavy rains, during which the campus’ facilities receive a several-month’s quantity of water, cause the sewage system to overload, which, in turn, makes the water to flow out in the lowest-lying places, that is, the basements. We have struggled with flooding three times – last year and in 2014. 

Therefore, the main reason for the distribution of tanks across the campus is to protect buildings, equipment, and rooms from flooding. Storing rainwater in 30 tanks significantly slows its flow to the sewage system. This, in turn, can protect the system from overloading and sudden overflow. Estimates say that during the most intense rainfalls of last year, the sewers had to receive more than 500 cubic metres in just one hour. Such quantities of water significantly overrun the throughput of the sewage system. It is worth adding that this year, thanks to the rainwater tanks, and other measures, we managed to protect our infrastructure from flooding as a result of heavy rainfall. 

In terms of responsible management, savings also play an important role. The rainwater accumulated in the tanks is later reused to water the greenery, decorative flowerbeds, and other green patches on the campus.