As part of Solid Green Day on October 27th, students and staff volunteered to replant and provide maintenance to a bioretention basin capturing runoff from Lot E-21.
Bioretention basins are engineered, landscaped depressions that receive and treat stormwater runoff. Parking lot runoff is filtered through vegetation, sand beds, and organic layers of planting soil to capture and break down pollutants before entering the drainage system. Several volunteers assisted by spreading out new sand, compost mixture, and installing several native plant species. In addition to removing pollutants such as nutrients, metals, and pathogens, bioretention basins with native vegetation provide habitat, flood control, and groundwater recharge.
A Teachable Moment
The final improvements not only brought new life to the bioretention basin but offered an educational opportunity in water quality best management practices to participants. It also serves as another demonstration site for green infrastructure on campus. This activity was led by Clemson Extension Water Resource Agent Haley Parent, with assistance from University Facilities. Our Landscape Services department donated the native plants, while sand and compost were sourced from Utility Services.
Leaving an Impression
The time and hard work put in by the volunteers amounted to a much-needed upgrade. Their concerted effort transformed the existing basin into a more effective means of preventing unwanted pollutants from entering the water system. Anyone familiar with the basin will instantly recognize the significant improvement right away.
Here is a shot of the bioretention basin prior to start of work.
And here is a photo of the basin once the volunteers had completed the task. Note the system of plants, rocks, and soil that work together to filter the stormwater.
New signs along Lake Dr. encourage owners to leash pets and dispose of waste.
Have you noticed the new signage on Lake Drive? Clemson University Facilities has installed new signage to help ensure pedestrian safety and to remind everyone to clean up after their pets.
A Resource for Work and Play
The Clemson University Wastewater Treatment Plant has always enjoyed sharing Lake Drive with the community as a scenic walking space. To keep both humans and animals safe, University Facilities asks all visitors to keep their pets on leashes while walking along the asphalt pathway. Lake Drive is the only vehicular entrance to the Wastewater Treatment Plant and has regular vehicular traffic. In addition to being a well-used service road, emergency responders rely on Lake Drive to access the plant. Your help in keeping pets leashed and ideally out of the roadway as vehicles travel to and from the plant is much appreciated.
Lake Hartwell
When left unbagged, untreated pet waste containing harmful bacteria enters stormwater runoff. This material impacts wildlife living in or near Hartwell Lake. Bacterial pollution can also harm water quality for local recreation and drinking. The best way to counter bacterial pollution is to bag all pet waste. If left behind, simply being contained prevents the spread of bacteria via runoff. Even so, Clemson University Facilities has installed signs along Lake Drive to remind everyone to bag their pet’s waste and dispose of it in the nearest trash receptacle. This keeps the path not just environmentally friendly but a pleasant for everyone to use. We’re grateful for everyone’s contribution in this—it’s a community effort to ensure the lake remains healthy and the path remains open for everyone to enjoy.
Picking up after pets helps keep harmful biological pollution from entering stormwater and ultimately Lake Hartwell.
The Soccer Operations Complex is the latest campus building to receive this award.
The Clemson Soccer Operations Complex has received two Green Globes from the Green Building Initiative, a non-profit organization that manages assessments and certifications related to environmental building practices.
Facilities awarded with this certification are recognized energy conservation, reduced water consumption, responsible use of materials, ecological stewardship, and healthy indoor environments for occupants. The Soccer Ops Complex joins a growing list of new construction and renovated buildings on Clemson’s campus that have earned two or more Globe certifications, including the:
Clemson University has spent the summer preparing a plan for on-campus learning for the coming fall semester. To this end, many changes to how students, faculty and staff interact are being made on Clemson’s campus, particularly in the classroom experience. General best practices such as face coverings and social distancing will be required while indoors. A specific strategy has been developed for academic buildings to meet the university’s expectations for safe learning within the classroom.
An ad hoc team consisting of space planners, building officials, and design professionals from various Facilities departments have been assisting Clemson University Emergency Management, Occupational & Environmental Safety, Building Security Coordinators, as well as the Provost to define how spaces are utilized with the guidelines for social distancing. As part of this, each classroom space is detailed with furniture layouts and chair placements.
Classroom floor plans have been updated to reflect social distancing practices.
This effort determines the number of students a classroom can accommodate while ensuring proper distancing.
Most Clemson courses are a hybrid of face to face instruction with online components. For larger classes to remain in-person, Facilities is helping to find additional spaces on campus that will accommodate large groups while also maintaining social distancing protocol. We have also collaborated with CCIT and academic affairs and the Provost to equip almost 700 classrooms, labs, and other spaces, with furniture, microphones and cameras installed in many classrooms.
This will allow for livestreaming of lectures for online instruction. With the goal of having the majority of classes that have face to face instruction blended with online components, Clemson is working diligently to ensure that this plan meets the medical guidelines for COVID-19 social distancing.
UPDATE: 5/20/20 10:15AM – Switching is complete. BRC power has been restored. Planned outage work is complete.
UPDATE: 5/20/20 9:50AM – Cable tested good. Switching outage for ASB and Godley-Snell will be at 10AM.
UPDATE: 5/20/20 9:10AM – Cable transition is going smoothly. Testing cable soon to prepare for switching outage on ASB and Godley-Snell.
UPDATE: 5/20/20 6:55AM – Outage for BRC will begin today at 7:00AM. The building will be without generator backup during this outage that will last approximately 3 hours. Godley-Snell and Administrative Services building will experience a one minute outage at the end of the outage work affecting BRC.
UPDATE: 5/19/20 10:00AM – BRC failed to go on generator power and remainder of outage work has been put on hold. The time for the second outage for Administrative Services and Godley-Snell will be scheduled with those building BSCs.
UPDATE: 5/19/20 7:00AM – Group 3 outage on schedule for 7:30AM today. BRC will remain on generator back up while transition work is being completed. Follow-up outage for Godley-Snell and Administrative Services Building expected at 12:00PM. BRC will be restored to utility power at this time.
UPDATE: 5/18/20 4:45PM – Group 2 power restored. Work complete for the day. Next outage for Group 3 buildings tomorrow morning at 7:30AM. Another update will be sent before outage begins.
UPDATE: 5/18/20 4:20PM – Cable termination and testing complete. 4:30 PM outage for group 2 buildings on schedule.
UPDATE: 5/18/20 3:15PM – Work is progressing slowly in preparation for the Group 2 outage. If no further issues arise, outage will still happen at 4:30PM, but there is a possibility of a delay for the start of the outage.
UPDATE: 5/18/20 12:55PM – All clear from Duke. No additional outages are anticipated for Group 1 buildings. Group 2 buildings on schedule at this time for 4:3oPM outage.
UPDATE: 5/18/20 12:40PM – Group 1 loads transferred successfully. Final testing on Duke substation protection equipment before releasing us to continue loading should be completed in 10 minutes.
UPDATE: 5/18/20 12:18PM – On schedule for Group 1 outage at 12:30PM. Group 1 will have a 1 minute power outage starting at 12:30PM.
UPDATE: 5/18/20 – 10:45AM – Power is on to new Switching Stations. Still on schedule.
UPDATE: 5/18/20 – 7:05AM – Hendrix 1st outage is complete. Building power is restored.
UPDATE: 5/18/20 – 6:50AM – Everything on track. First outage for Hendrix will proceed at 7AM this morning.
Clemson University Facilities is working to transition the campus electrical distribution feed from the old Duke Power substation that was built in 1968 to the new substation that was just constructed on the SE edge of campus. In order to transition our distribution feeders and stations over to the new source, a few brief electrical power outages are going to be needed early next week that will affect all of campus. Energization of the new substation feed will occur Monday, May 18th. Outages are expected to last less than one minute each and are being planned in a rolling fashion across three groups to affect each campus building as few times as possible. The latest information regarding this outage will appear at the top of this post.
We’re aware of the inconvenience this may cause to many working from home, particularly those who are connecting remotely to work machines operating on campus power. Desktop PCs that are shut off as a result of the outage will need to be manually turned back on.We recommend using CUapps until this is possible for you to do so.
Areas that will be affected by campus distribution outages are shown on the map below.
This visual shows the the electrical distribution area for Clemson University.
If you have anything that would be adversely affected by this outage, please contact Bret McCarley at bmccarl@clemson.edu with the details so we may plan accordingly and limit the impact to campus activities.
Rolling Outage Schedule
The first outage will occur in the Hendrix Student Center at 7:00 a.m. Monday, May 18th. Thereafter, outages are being planned in a rolling fashion across 3 groups to affect each campus building as few times as possible. Group 1 loads are currently scheduled to experience a one minute outage at 12:30 p.m. Monday, May 18th. Group 2 loads (which includes the Hendrix Student Center) are currently scheduled to experience a one minute outage at 4:30 p.m. Monday, May 18th. Group 3 loads are currently scheduled to experience a one minute outage at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, May 19th. The Biological Research Center will remain on emergency generator power until new terminations are installed on existing cable and connected to the new feed. The Admin Services Building and Godley-Snell will experience an additional outage when this cable is terminated and ready for energization (approximately 3-4 hours later).
Our interns are the unsung heroes of Clemson’s recycling effort.
The Recycling Program at Clemson University provides opportunities to volunteers to learn more about recycling and waste reduction. It partners with Clemson programs and local high schools to engage students through active learning, inspiring them to advocate for recycling and waste reduction in their own communities.
Work Study and Internships
Recycling Services has a number of work-study positions that allow Clemson students to contribute to the program through the collection and sorting of recyclable materials. Students also participate in our Gameday Recycling program, an all-hands-on-deck activity where Recycling staff promote and collect recycling during home football games. As a result of their efforts, tailgates tend to recycle more and post-game cleanup is much easier to manage.
ClemsonLIFE and Pendleton High School
The recycling program at Kite Hill provides valuable work experience to students such as Ty Parris.
Recycling Services also offers employment to students from ClemsonLIFE, a collegiate program for students with intellectual disabilities, and to students from the special needs program at Pendleton High School. This opportunity allows students to gain real life work experience that not only prepares them for their futures but also teaches them about the ins and outs of the recycling process.
Creative Inquiry
Pendleton High School teacher Lani Anderson oversees her students as they sort through collected recycling.
Creative Inquiry (CI) courses are a huge part of the Recycling Program. CI classes have extremely specific topics and are usually centered around the completion of a semester long project. The two offered through the Recycling Program are focused on biodiesel production and food waste recovery. Both courses are valuable educational opportunities that are available to any student with an interest.
Human Factors and Ergonomic Society
Students from the Human Factors and Ergonomic Society (HFES) have been able to work with the Recycling Program on many projects. These include studies on bin signage, surveys on customer satisfaction, and evaluations on ergonomic studies.
HFES has aided our program many times, including with Gameday Recycling and recycling bin signage.
Clemson’s Recycling Program is dedicated to offering educational opportunities for students. If you would like to learn more about Clemson Recycling and how you can get involved, e-mail recycle@clemson.edu or check out our Instagram page at https://www.instagram.com/curecycling/.
This post previously included construction information regarding the College of Business with lane closures along Walter T. Cox Boulevard. This project has been completed two days ahead and schedule and WTC is now open.
A few construction projects happening around campus will impact traffic as students return from the winter break. In addition, newly installed gates in front of Brackett Hall will prevent vehicles from entering the core of campus via Calhoun Drive.
Perimeter Road Near the Brooks Center
Construction is currently located near the Brooks Performing Arts Center.
The campus-wide electrical distribution upgrade continues, with Perimeter Road currently impacted by construction between Cherry Road and Brooks Center Drive. Presently the northern-most lanes along Perimeter are closed, and two-way traffic is being facilitated using the southern-most lanes between Brooks Center Drive and Cherry Rd.
Cherry Road between Bryan Circle and McMillan Road
Related underground utility construction is currently underway on Cherry Road, and with its final phase expected to end on January 8th. The project impacts the usual entrance to Bryan Circle, but a temporary detour is in place in which traffic can turn from McMillan Road onto Epsilon Zeta, accessing Bryan Circle that way.
New Gates along Calhoun Drive
To improve pedestrian safety in the core of campus, boom barriers have been installed along Calhoun Drive in front of Brackett Hall. Employee spaces along this stretch have been converted to temporary loading spaces for deliveries.
For the most up to date information regarding construction and its impact to traffic on campus, please see our Road Work Google Map.
The University Fire Department will be conducting training evolutions at Johnstone Hall A-Section on December 2, 3, & 4. The training will involve fire apparatus and several fire crews who will be flowing water in and around the building. Most of the training activity will be around the Harcombe loading dock side (Alpha Beta St.) and the upper floors of A-Section itself.
Any questions or concerns should be directed to the Fire Department at CUFD-EMS@clemson.edu or 864-656-2242.
As a member of our social media team, you’d play a key role in developing and publishing content that highlights the ways we enhance the Clemson experience for students, educators, and guests.
University Facilities is seeking a social media student worker who can assist with the development of content that promotes the ways our organization contributes to the campus.
The student’s primary responsibility would be to interview company personnel, gathering facts, quotes and interesting trivia on upcoming projects, events and collaborations we’re involved in. The information collected by the student is then used as a basis for social media postings on various platforms including Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, as well as our company blog. We’d expect the student employee to contribute to the creative process as well, creating content which upon final approval is published to the channel(s) listed above.
To succeed, a student would need to be comfortable interacting with University Facilities staff in a capacity not unlike a beat reporter. A lot of questions, a lot of note-taking, some photography and video recording to capture content. They would also need good writing skills that can communicate a story to a broad audience, sometimes in 280 characters, other times more. Familiarity with popular social media platforms is a must. Basic knowledge of the Adobe Creative Cloud Suite is expected, but extensive experience with Photoshop, Illustrator and Premiere are nice to haves.
Familiar Adobe Premiere? You could help produce informative videos like the one above.
The student would be allowed to work up to 20 hours per week, with a consistent schedule that can be adhered to being ideal. The hourly pay would range from $7.50 to $10.50, based on the level of education and experience.
Another major summer construction project has been completed: the reconstruction of the intersection of Walter T. Cox Boulevard and Calhoun Drive is now finished, with traffic flowing along WTC across all four lanes. Calhoun Drive is also fully accessible. The intersection now features a 4-inch tall traffic speed table designed to calm traffic through this pedestrian-heavy area between Sikes Hall, Douthit Hills and the soon to be completed College of Business.
Some work remains to be done with sidewalk construction and landscaping, but no further road closures are expected to be necessary.
The third phase of this project consists of landscaping and sidewalk construction.
As part of Solid Green Day on October 27th, students and staff volunteered to replant and provide maintenance to a bioretention basin capturing runoff from Lot E-21.
The final improvements not only brought new life to the bioretention basin but offered an educational opportunity in water quality best management practices to participants. It also serves as another demonstration site for green infrastructure on campus. This activity was led by Clemson Extension Water Resource Agent Haley Parent, with assistance from University Facilities. Our Landscape Services department donated the native plants, while sand and compost were sourced from Utility Services.
