A major water reclamation pond on Duke University's West Campus will save the city of Durham's drinking water supply approximately 100 million gallons of potable water a year. Construction on the $9 million project is scheduled to begin in 2013-spring, once state and federal agency permits are received, and will take about a year to complete. Duke will pump the reclaimed water to one of the chilled water plants for cooling and dehumidifying campus and medical buildings. The 12-acre site earmarked for the pond is now thickly wooded with a shallow streambed. The 6-acre pond pond is located at GPS:36.00353,-78.94932 between Erwin Road and Circuit Drive near Towerview Road. Once operational, the pond will collect rainwater and runoff from 22 percent of the main campus area. At standing capacity, the pond will hold about 23 million gallons of water at an 8- to 12-foot depth.
Amenities will include a pavilion, bridge, boardwalk, walking paths and amphitheater with lawn seating. Project managers have been consulting with the Duke University Wetland Center to select native plants that thrive at varying pond depths under dry and wet conditions.
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