2018 Campus RainWorks Challenge Results

On April 23, 2019, EPA announced the winners and honorable mentions for the seventh annual Campus RainWorks Challenge. 67 student teams from across 29 states submitted green infrastructure designs that address urban stormwater pollution and showcase the environmental, economic, and social benefits of green infrastructure. The breadth of multi-disciplinary expertise and innovation on display in these designs demonstrates that today's students are more than capable of solving the challenges of stormwater management and protecting public health and the environment in communities everywhere. Special thanks go to the Water Environment Federation, the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Society of Landscape Architects, and all of the students, faculty, and judges that participated in this year's challenge.

Congratulations to the Winning Teams!

First Place

• University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Master Plan Category
• University of Oregon, Demonstration Project Category

Second Place

• Florida International University, Master Plan Category
• University of Arizona, Demonstration Project Category

Honorable Mentions

• University of Arizona, Master Plan Category
• Utah State University, Demonstration Project Category

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First Place, Master Plan Category: University of Louisiana at Lafayette

Titled The Ripple Effect, this project’s ambition reaches beyond the borders of its own campus. Located in low-lying Southern Louisiana, the community of Lafayette often experiences extreme weather events that cause flooding and threaten infrastructure. With the support of the university’s Department of Sustainability, the team redesigned their campus to incorporate realistic, replicable green infrastructure practices that engage with the broader community to cultivate regional resiliency.

Project Narrative (pdf) | Design Board (pdf)

Student Team: Blair Begnaud, Meredith Guidry, Lauren Lambert, John Oliver (Architecture); Olivia LaHaye, Ivy Thibodeaux (Civil Engineering); Alex Trahan (Geology)

Faculty Advisor: Kari Smith (School of Architecture and Design)

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First Place, Demonstration Project Category: University of Oregon

The team’s project Good Drainage Good Vibes redesigned a local high school campus to incorporate a variety of green infrastructure practices. Extensive stakeholder engagement within the community led to a practicable design capable of not only managing stormwater runoff onsite, but providing hands-on education for students, and connecting the local community their watershed.

Project Narrative (pdf) | Design Board (pdf)

Student Team: Ellee Stapleton, Brittany Murphy, Evan Elderbrock, Tom Fiorelli (Landscape Architecture); Sam Ault, Maya Lazaro (Public Administration)

Faculty Advisors: Yekang Ko, Michael Geffel, Jeff Krueger (School of Architecture and Environment)

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Second Place, Master Plan Category: Florida International University

The EcoFlow entry integrated multiple green infrastructure practices into a master plan design that emphasizes resilience. Located in South Florida, the university’s Modesto Maidique campus is susceptible to extreme weather events that are further exacerbated by dense development and low ground elevation. Using the existing design features of the campus, the team created an interconnected system that mitigates both stormwater pollution and flooding and enhances the recreational, educational, and aesthetic value of the campus.

Project Narrative (pdf) | Design Board (pdf)

Student Team: Angela Hogan, Adriana Anda Colasacco, Ana Malagon, Vivek Verma, Sarah Solomon, Ripley Raubenolt, Salomé Montoya Henao (Civil and Environmental Engineering)

Faculty Advisors: Arturo Leon, Hector Fuentes (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering)

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Second Place, Demonstration Project Category: University of Arizona

With their project (Re)Searching for a Spot this team proposed to transform a parking lot to manage stormwater runoff onsite, reduce local flooding during Arizona’s monsoon, and create a multi-functional space that yields educational and ecological benefits. The design’s proximity to relevant research departments on campus inspired the students to incorporate monitoring installations into the design to provide both quantitative information on the environmental benefits of green infrastructure practices.

Project Narrative (pdf) | Design Board (pdf)

Student Team: Matthew Lutheran, Aaron Johnson, Zhiyuan Song (Landscape Architecture); Samantha Swartz, Jack Anderson (Science Hydrology)

Faculty Advisors: Bo Yang, Margaret Livingston (School of Landscape Architecture and Planning); Vanessa Buzzard, Laura Meredith (School of Natural Resources and the Environment); Thomas Meixner (Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences); Tanya Quist (University of Arizona Campus Arboretum)

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Honorable Mention, Master Plan Category: University of Arizona

The Socio-Hydrology design reevaluates a heavily trafficked street corridor, introducing green infrastructure practices to better utilize water as a resource in arid climates, improve safety and comfort for the campus community, create spaces for multi-disciplinary collaboration, and establish broader green infrastructure literacy across the campus.

Project Narrative (pdf) | Design Board (pdf)

Student Team: Jennifer Moscato, Jon Choi, Cody White (Landscape Architecture); Jack Anderson, Samantha Swartz (Hydrology and Atmospheric Science)

Faculty Advisors: Bo Yang, Philip Stoker, Margaret Livingston (School of Landscape Architecture and Planning); Thomas Meixner (Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences)

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Honorable Mention, Demonstration Project Category: Utah State University

Titled The New Heart, this team designed a green street corridor with the intent to recharge groundwater with treated runoff, reduce impermeable surfaces, retain design storms as required by local municipalities, eliminate the need for supplemental irrigation in an arid climate, emphasizing the value of native landscape plantings, and create a new cultural center for the campus.

Project Narrative (pdf) | Design Board (pdf)

Student Team: Dallen Webster, Briana Kistler, Avery Holyoak, Dani Delahoz (Environmental Engineering); Sarah Tooley, Josh Quigley, Nicholas LeSchofs, Kali Clarke (Landscape Architecture); Chris Brown (Bio-Regional Planning)

Faculty Advisor: Jake Powell (Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning)

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Judges

The Campus RainWorks Challenge encourages an interdisciplinary approach to stormwater management. Judges from EPA, the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) and the Water Environment Federation (WEF) generously volunteered their time to evaluate the design proposals submitted by student teams. EPA would like to thank the following individuals for serving as judges during the 2018 Campus RainWorks Challenge:

Final Judging Round

Initial Judging Round

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Cooperating Organizations

These cooperating organizations assisted EPA with judging and outreach:

To sign up for e-mail updates or ask a question about the Campus RainWorks Challenge, e-mail RainWorks@epa.gov.