EPA Names Winners in Campus Stormwater Challenge

Winners in the Environmental Protection Agency's first Campus RainWorks Challenge were announced April 22, following submittals from more than 200 colleges and universities. Design teams were tasked with creating innovative stormwater systems to reduce pollution and reinforce sustainability in areas like the University of Florida's Reitz Student Union (pictured).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced winners in its inaugural Campus RainWorks Challenge. The University of Florida and the Illinois Institute of Technology led a total of eight schools and universities with first-prize honors.

EPA sponsored the Campus RainWorks Challenge with the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), the Water Environment Federation (WEF), and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). Schools are challenged to create innovative green infrastructure that reduces stormwater pollution and supports sustainable communities.

Nancy Stoner, the EPA's acting assistant administrator for water, presented the award to the University of Florida team. The UF group, one of 218 competing teams, researched and designed a master plan for stormwater circulation improvements at the north lawn of the Reitz Student Union on campus.

The design improved stormwater infiltration and stabilized ecosystem conditions in Lake Alice on campus. The design includes rain gardens and bioswales, two architectural collection pools, a green wall, a green roof, and a campus garden. The students set out to create a vision of the "journey of water" in the landscape, showing the movement, processes and properties of stormwater from the lawn to the on site lake.

The team's design was unique among the entries received in seeking student input. The team displayed an informational kiosk at the University's Student Union, where team members surveyed students to identify major pedestrian routes through the Reitz Lawn, learned more about current uses, and solicited opinions on potential design elements.

Similarly, the Illinois Institute of Technology's design adds water infiltration and conservation practices to the campus's primary pedestrian thoroughfare, redefining some of the campus's underutilized green space with green infrastructure. The design features 2.6 acres of permeable pavement, three acres of new native plant communities, underground cisterns, water channels, information panels and rain gardens that double as gathering and seating areas.

The design reduces annual runoff volume to the municipal sewer system by as much as 80 percent. The underground cisterns and native plant communities also reduce the institution's dependence on potable water from Lake Michigan.

"Stormwater itself is a big pollution problem across the U.S., and it's a growing pollution problem as urbanization occurs along with population growth and development," Stoner said. "This is an opportunity to address that problem."

Design information and video presentations of the projects are available here.

First Prize Winners
Illinois Institute of Technology (Small Institution*)
The University of Florida (Large Institution*)

Second Prize Winners
The Missouri University of Science and Technology (Small Institution)
The University of Arizona (Large Institution)

Honorable Mentions
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Runner Up, Small Institution)
Kansas State University (Runner Up, Large Institution)
The University of Texas at Arlington (Creative Video)
Columbia University (Innovative Technology)

*Large institutions were defined as those receiving more than $35 million per year in federal funding for research and development, while small institutions received less than $35 million per year.