Water: Green Infrastructure
Campus RainWorks Challenge
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About the Challenge
The U.S. EPA’s Office of Water is pleased to announce the Campus RainWorks Challenge for undergraduate and graduate students. Student teams are invited to create an innovative green infrastructure design for a site on their campus showing how managing stormwater at its source can benefit the campus community and the environment. Winning teams will earn a cash prize, as well as research funds for their faculty advisor to conduct research on green infrastructure.
Green infrastructure uses vegetation, soils, and natural processes to manage stormwater and create healthier urban environments. While single-purpose “gray” stormwater infrastructure (e.g. catch basins, pipes, and ponds) is largely designed to move urban stormwater away from the built environment, green infrastructure uses vegetation and soil to manage rainwater where it falls. By weaving natural processes into the built environment, green infrastructure can provide not only
stormwater management, but also heat island mitigation, air quality management, community amenities, and much more.
Download the competition brief (PDF) (11 pp, 422K, About PDF) for a complete description of the design challenge and instructions on how to compete. To ask a question about the competition, please email Tamara Mittman at RainWorks@epa.gov.
Calendar
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Registration Opens |
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Registration Closes |
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Entries Due |
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Winners Announced |
Prizes
EPA will award a total of $46,000 to first and second place winners from each of two groups of entries: entries from large institutions and entries from small institutions*.
Winning teams will earn a cash prize, as well as research funds for their faculty advisor to conduct research on the potential of green infrastructure to sustainably manage stormwater. Prizes for each group of entries (large institutions and small institutions) will be distributed as follows:
Winning teams will earn a cash prize, as well as research funds for their faculty advisor to conduct research on the potential of green infrastructure to sustainably manage stormwater. Prizes for each group of entries (large institutions and small institutions) will be distributed as follows:
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Student Team |
Green Infrastructure Research |
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1st Prize, Large Institution |
$2,500 |
$11,000 |
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1st Prize, Small Institution |
$2,500 |
$11,000 |
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2nd Prize, Large Institution |
$1,500 |
$8,000 |
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2nd Prize, Small Institution |
$1,500 |
$8,000 |
* Large institutions will be defined as those receiving more than $35 million per year in federal funding for research and development, while small institutions will be defined as those receiving less than $35 million per year, as listed in the National Science Foundation's publication Federal Science and Engineering Support to Universities, Colleges, and Nonprofit Institutions 
(See Table 12, column 2). Institutions that are not listed will be defined as small.
(See Table 12, column 2). Institutions that are not listed will be defined as small.Cooperating Organizations
EPA is cooperating with the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), the Water Environment Federation (WEF), and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) in conducting the Campus RainWorks Challenge. These organizations are assisting EPA with judging and outreach.
To sign up for e-mail updates or ask a question about the Campus RainWorks Challenge, please e-mail RainWorks@epa.gov (RainWorks@epa.gov).