On a rainy day like Thursday, students all over campus are leaping, sidestepping or sloshing through puddles that form on the sidewalks and driveways or in the middle of the quads--and wondering why there are so many.
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'It's impossible to go anywhere without stepping in a puddle and splashing muddy water on either yourself or the people around you,' junior Melissa Qazi said. 'It would mean your shoes getting soaked, your jeans getting muddy and the campus looking gross with puddles at every turn.'
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From the Blackwell Dormitory arch to the beginning of the Bryan Center walkway to Crowell and Clocktower quads, these lakes stop students in their tracks. And since the water has nowhere to go, it either remains there until it evaporates or soaks into the surrounding ground, effectively turning quadrangles into mud holes.
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'The campus has a fairly complex topography that favors accumulation and ponding of water in many spots,' explained Gabriel Katul, professor of hydrology and environmental fluid mechanics at the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences.
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Duke"s land cover, Katul said, has changed dramatically over the past 10 years. The fraction of vegetated area, which allows for better water flow, has been reduced and replaced by paved areas. This promotes more frequent overland flow, which could lead to urban flooding.
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'In the case of Crowell Quad, this is a flat, impervious spot, almost closed by surrounding buildings, with an old drainage network,' Katul said. 'The section of Science Drive opposite to the Physics Building--as you walk towards the Bryan Center--routinely floods because it is a low point that catches all the surface water from the higher elevation area around it. The drainage system at this point clogs frequently.'
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Katul said improving the drainage network by increasing the frequency and size of gutters and cleaning them more often would help.
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But Miguel Medina, a professor of civil and environmental engineering whose research is in the field of modeling water flow and quality, said Duke"s drainage network is in 'tip-top condition.'
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'It is in excellent shape,' Medina said. 'The majority of flooding does not occur because there is a problem with the drainage system, but rather because the inlets are covered with debris from the storm and from construction sites. Though water will accumulate temporarily when large storms hit, it normally takes only two hours for all of the water to flow through the system.'
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Using highly technical and sophisticated models developed by Medina, Duke has the ability to map and analyze water flow anywhere on campus. New information about the topography of Duke"s campus, the conduit conditions and general quality of water are added into the model every year. The model is used to predict the impact of new construction and what areas would benefit the most with the addition of retention ponds or drainage improvements.
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Medina does not deny, however, that there are some localized 'puddle problems' on Duke"s campus.
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'We now have to identify them, and it would be the facilities management"s job to get it out to our stormwater drainage system,' he said.
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When told of the massive puddles at the Bryan Center walkway and the Crowell/Clocktower quads, Glenn Reynolds, acting director of the Facilities Management Department, said the two spots have been addressed over the years but would be checked again.
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'With regards to specific problem areas, these have been identified and are currently being studied to determine the optimal solution factoring in current use, surface gradients and current and planned construction,' Reynolds said. 'Every storm deposits debris in different places, and it"s our job to make sure the inlets are clear to fix the problem.'
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Reynolds said drainage is not a problem that can be solved with one solution, but something that must be anticipated and fixed on a storm-by-storm basis. He also said the problem is not that facilities management does not have enough manpower to clear the inlets but clearing the drains is labor intensive.
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Land aside, the safety of Duke"s students should always come before the health of the landscape, Reynolds said. Accidents can occur on slippery steps, especially those made out of natural rock, such as slate.
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Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta said he is not aware of 'puddle-based' accidents. 'I myself have experienced occasional splash effects,' he said, 'Duke"s priority, however, will always be caring for students.'
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