ULL earns EPA RainWorks Challenge

DALLAS – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced April 23 the winners of its 7th annual Campus RainWorks Challenge, a national competition that engages college students in the design of on-campus green infrastructure solutions to address stormwater pollution. Winners included a team from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette for their project of cultivating community resilience through flood control and green infrastructure. Stormwater runoff is a significant source of water pollution in America. EPA’s challenge asks students and faculty across the country to apply green infrastructure design principles, foster interdisciplinary collaboration, and increase the use of green infrastructure on the nation’s college campuses. This year’s challenge invited student teams to compete in two design categories: Master Plan and Demonstration Project categories. ULL’s “Ripple Effect” project’s ambition reached beyond campus. The ULL team redesigned the campus to incorporate realistic, replicable green infrastructure practices that engage with the broader community to cultivate regional resiliency. Other winners were the University of Oregon (1st), University of Arizona (2nd), and Florida International University (2nd). First place teams will receive a $2,000 student prize to be split among team members and a $3,000 faculty prize to support green infrastructure research and education. Second place teams will receive a $1,000 student prize and a $2,000 faculty prize. (Source: EPA 04/23/19)