Westminster Presbyterian Church

Westminster Presbyterian Church in downtown Minneapolis installed a stormwater reuse system that uses recycled stormwater for flushing toilets, irrigating onsite vegetation and feeding a decorative fountain along Nicollet Mall. The MWMO and the Metropolitan Council co-funded the stormwater reuse system.

The church is more than a century old, and church leaders decided it was time to expand and improve the facility. Existing committees in the church, such as the Eco-Justice Ministry, rooted the goals of environmental stewardship into the expansion project. Partnership with the MWMO allowed the green infrastructure to go beyond development requirements and showcase innovative environmental stewardship within this highly urban environment.

Stormwater is collected from 13,255 square feet of rooftop on the historic church and stored in six large tanks (with a total capacity of 24,210 gallons) located in the subsurface parking garage. It is estimated that the system will use approximately 122,400 gallons of stormwater each year, directly offsetting potable water use at the site. Other stormwater features include native landscaping and a permeable-paver plaza with a snowmelt system.

This collaboration includes several partners in addition to the MWMO and Metropolitan Council. James Dayton Design was the architecture firm on the project. Solution Blue and AKF Group served as the mechanical-electrical-plumbing (MEP) engineer for the project, as well as manufacturers and suppliers like Water Control Corporation, who built the treatment system.

Westminster Presbyterian Church is one of the first in the city to use recycled stormwater in interior plumbing. This project is an example of the value of stormwater as a resource. It is estimated that more than 2,000 people pass the church each day. Visual displays will be created to educate passersby about the stormwater features.

See more photos of this project on Flickr.