Water
Cornell's Ithaca central campus is located between Fall Creek and Cascadilla Creek gorges, in the Cayuga Lake watershed . Cornell gets all of its drinking water from Fall Creek at the Cornell Water Filtration Plant .
Greenhouse Best Management Practices
With many teaching and research greenhouses on campus, Cornell's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences maintains a list of best practices to achieve environmentally optimum management of water, pesticides and nutrients in Cornell greenhouses. Continuous improvement is emphasized by the inter-disciplinary greenhouse BMP committee.
Construction Site Stormwater Management Program
Cornell is committed to effectively managing stormwater runoff from construction sites and other projects to minimize the potential for erosion and protect water quality. The University's stormwater management program is making strides keeping pace with the rapidly changing State and local requirements for stormwater management and Cornell's sustainability initiatives.
Clean-up of former waste disposal sites to prevent groundwater contamination
Before the first Earth Day in 1970, and the subsequent raising of environmental consciousness and regulations, burying waste in unlined trenches in the ground was generally accepted and standard practice. Unfortunately, Cornell University buried both research wastes and conventional trash in the ground during part of the 20th century. Cornell has taken the initiative to identify and remediate the sites where this was done. The most notable clean-up underway is at the former Radiation and Chemical Disposal Sites, located north of the Ithaca/Tompkins Airport.
Of Related Interest
Did You Know?
Cornell's College of Veterinary Medicine will be disposing of its waste through a clean "non-burn" technology. The university met with members of 17 Ithaca community groups over two years to arrive at a consensus-based decision to use this new, more expensive technology.
