Chesterton, IN-Lake Erie Land Company's Coffee Creek Center was featured in the September/October 2000 issue of Metropolitan Home magazine for its sustainable design principles and water treatment systems.
The article highlighted Coffee Creek Center's on-site constructed wetlands that are used to treat wastewater instead of the conventional off-site treatment plants. These wetlands are the nation's largest, with a treatment capacity of at least 30,000 gallons per day. The article also featured Coffee Creek's storm water management. Instead of direct flow into the creek, the water goes into the ground as quickly as possible allowing the natural ability of plants and soil to infiltrate and filter run-off. The article also noted that Coffee Creek has been designed to minimize impervious surfaces that do not allow water infiltration. The other treatment for storm water at Coffee Creek is the use of perforated pipes called level spreaders. As storm water leaks out, it is channeled into shallow ditches, or swales and slowly sinks into the ground where the natural infiltration process can occur. Coffee Creek is slated for up to 2,000 residential units and over 3 million square feet of commercial, office and retail space. For more information, please visit www.coffeecreekcenter.com.