College Football

College football games are big-time events in big-time college towns as students, alumni, and fans descend upon campus for a day of spirited festivities.  Flow monitoring data from Tallahassee, Florida — home to Florida State University (FSU) — are shown below and provide a glimpse into the world of college football.

This data was obtained during a portion of the 2005 football season at a monitoring location downstream from the Florida State University campus.  The FSU football schedule and the outcome of each regular season game are provided below for reference.

Flow rates at this location show a dramatic increase on three occassions which happen to correspond to three home football games at Doak Campbell Stadium.  The flow rates observed during these three games are compared to average dry day flows on the composite hydrographs shown below.

All three games began in the early afternoon, and as expected, sewer flows began to increase a few hours prior to kickoff.  During the Maryland and North Carolina State games, two distinct flow increases were observed that coincide with halftime and the end of the game.  Note, however, that the same pattern was not observed during the Wake Forest game.  A review of the final score reveals that Wake Forest was routed 41-24 by FSU.  The flow monitoring data reveal that fans began to depart the stadium early in the game.  The final scores from the other two games were much closer — resulting in on win and one loss for FSU.

Flow directly associated with the stadium are determined by subtracting each game day flow from the average weekend flow.  The Maryland and North Carolina State games generated an additional 304,000 gallons of flow.  With a stadium capacity 82,300, this results in a sewer use rate of 3.7 gallons/day/seat — comparable to the 4 gallons/day/seat sewer use estimates used for other stadium development projects.

References:

• Purinton, J. Editor (2005).  Florida State Seminoles 2006 Orange Bowl Media Guide, Florida State University, Department of Intercollegiate Athletics; Tallahassee, FL.
• Christopher A. Joseph & Associates (2003).  Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Renovation Project Draft Environmental Impact Report; Los Angeles, CA.

Acknowledgement:

Special thanks are extended to the City of Tallahassee for contributing this flow monitoring data and authorizing its use for this purpose.