Green Infrastructure at Ferguson Township Municipal Building

Ferguson Township has made a conscious effort to be more environmentally friendly through a variety of measures - from solar panels powering the new Public Works Building, to pervious pavement, and grow zones - the Township has made strides in focusing on energy conservation and protecting the environment.

David Modricker, Public Works Director, presented a myriad of these actions taken by the township at the Board of Supervisors meeting on June 7, 2022. Mr. Modricker stated,

"The (green) initiative at the Township Building started as a byproduct of the new Public Works Building, and the basis of design that was adopted by the elected officials. With their support, we constructed a number of BMPs (Best Management Practices) and GSI (Green Stormwater Infrastructure) on site."

Ferguson Township's newly constructed Public Works Building #6 is LEED Gold certified, which is the second highest rating according to LEED, an organization with a mission to rate buildings to ensure, "healthy, efficient, carbon and cost-saving green buildings." The Public Works Building is equipped with an 108 kW solar panel array on the roof, with 240 solar modules on the roof, and each one is measured at 450 watts. This push towards creating a new environmentally friendly Public Works Building led to further efforts at the township to apply the highest standards in green energy and environmental conservation to the full campus.

In order to meet Ferguson Township's stormwater requirements, numerous projects were completed to guarantee full compliance. Bioswales were constructed along Research Drive, and turf grass was replaced with a native detentionary mix in these areas. Bioswales are defined by the EPA as, "vegetated, mulched or xeriscaped channels that provide treatment and retention as they move stormwater from one place to another.” These systems slow the flow of runoff water while making it cleaner and safer for the environment. The sites of the bioswales at the township are designated as "Grow Zones", which are assigned areas that will not be mowed regularly to help provide natural and diverse habitat areas that bring environmental, educational and cost reduction benefits to the public. 

Further efforts made to fully satisfy stormwater requirements include a rain garden, pervious pavement, reforestation, fuel capture, and installing a hydrodynamic stormwater separator. Reducing impervious areas allows for more water to reach soil and less stormwater runoff to the surrounding areas. Forming a fuel capture to prevent the township's gasoline and other fuel supplies from reaching the ground and stormwater is also crucial to restrict pollutants and harmful chemicals from reaching the soil and ecosystem.

Next time you drive by the Ferguson Township Municipal Building, feel free to stop by and check out all the progress made on these envrionmentally conscious efforts enacted by the township! 

David Modricker's full PowerPoint presentation can be found at the link below, and to watch his full presentation, see the link to the beginning of the presentation via C-NET.