Almost as soon as the last University of Michigan tailgaters pull out of Pioneer High School’s parking lot at the end of football season next month, earthmoving equipment will be moving in.

That's when work will begin on installing underground tanks to help clean up storm water that eventually ends up in the Huron River.

The Office of the Washtenaw County Water Resources Commissioner, the City of Ann Arbor and the Ann Arbor school district are undertaking the project.

Large tanks will be placed under the north lawn of the school, which sits across the street from Michigan Stadium.

The construction work is slated to begin Nov. 23, which is the Monday after the Ohio State-Michigan football game. Much of the area to be torn up is rented out during the football season for tailgating and parking.

The tanks will work on cleaning up the water before sending it on into Allen Creek, which is currently underground at Pioneer and eventually into the Huron River. It’s part of an overall project to remove phosphorus from the Allen Creek watershed, Harry Sheehan, a storm water engineer with the county, told the Ann Arbor school board Wednesday night.

Once the tanks are in the ground, the area will be reseeded with grass. About 130 new trees will also be planted on the parcel.

“I’m happy they are a part of this,” school board Trustee Irene Patalan said.

The project has a total cost of $3.1 million. About 40 percent of that cost will be paid for by federal stimulus money.

In addition to the construction work, the county is also working with science teachers to use it as a teaching tool.

David Jesse covers K-12 education for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at davidjesse@annarbor.com or at 734-623-2534.