Washington Canal Park

The design includes innovative systems that will minimize energy consumption and maximize stormwater re-use. The design includes a green roof, rain gardens to filter and direct the runoff to large underground storage tanks that, together with stormwater runoff collected from adjacent buildings, will fulfill the majority of the park’s interactive fountain, ice rink, and irrigation demands. Since the stormwater generated by the site (and a majority of the surrounding buildings) will not leave the site, the stormwater pollutant load leaving the site will be zero. The stormwater reuse system will hold and treat at least the first 3.2 inches of rainfall to meet current Anacostia Waterfront Initiative (AWI) stormwater management regulations.  

Additional sustainable design features also include: street tree pits that function as rain gardens to filter street runoff; geothermal wells for heating and cooling the main pavilion; and heat recovery systems linking the waste heat of the skating rink to the pavilion.