Comprehensive effect evaluation of LID facilities implemented in sponge campuses: A case study

[Display omitted] •Designed a sponge campus in eastern China based on LID techniques.•Evaluated hydrological performance of the designed sponge campus using SWMM.•Modelling results indicate notable rainfall reduction performance of sponge campus.•Sponge campus design and implementation could help in achieving the SDGs.•Sponge campus conserved 1,348 kW·h of electricity annually. A sponge campus is a campus implemented with Low Impact Development (LID) facilities aimed to improve its urban resilience and stability against the effects of climate change by enhancing storm water management. In this study, a secondary school campus was designed and transformed into sponge campus by installing LID facilities, and we found it of high runoff control effect and energy conservation potential. Using the Storm Water Management Model (SWMM), this study assessed the performance of the LID facilities under different rainfall intensities with recurrence periods of 1, 5, 10, and 20 years. The SWMM modelling revealed that the peak flow was reduced 59.1%, 54.5%, 47.9% and 46.8%, respectively, while the total inflow was reduced 33.9%, 28.0%, 25.4% and 24.6%, respectively. The sponge campus achieved a total suspended solids (TSS) removal of 75%. Specifically, this sponge campus accounted for 9.2% of the plot area while contributed 15.1% water storage capacity to the neighbouring region (recurrence period 1a). Furthermore, the implementation of LID facilities on the school campus could help conserve 17,524 kW·h of electricity annually. Overall, this study provides useful insights and guidance for the construction of sponge campuses.