2023 Campus RainWorks Challenge Results
On September 18, 2024, EPA announced the winners and honorable mention for the 11th annual Campus RainWorks Challenge, a national competition that engages college students in the design of green infrastructure solutions to address stormwater pollution either on their campus or with a neighboring k-12 school. This year 13 teams from 10 states and 12 academic institutions competed with green infrastructure designs that not only treated and managed stormwater, but also addressed a range of other campus goals from flood protection to improving pedestrian and bicycle connectivity, showcased the environmental, health, economic, and social benefits of green infrastructure. 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. The entries for the winning teams are listed on this page. Additionally, University of Oregon team presents their winning design and members discuss their experiences with participating in the Challenge. You can watch that webinar here.
Congratulations to the Winning Teams!
First Place
- University of Oregon
Second Place
- Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Honorable Mention
- University of California, Berkeley
First Place: University of Oregon
The team’s entry, titled “Rainy Days, Nature’s Way: Embracing Stormwater and Play at the Village School” integrated stormwater management and nature play into at a K-8 school through a co-design process with students and other state and local partners. The design featured green infrastructure practices included rain gardens, bioswales, a “dry creek” infiltration trench and permeable material defining play areas, and a school yard forest. The team effectively employed stormwater modeling tools, and the design a design adhered to local stormwater codes and policies.
Project Narrative (pdf) | Design Board (pdf)
Student Team: Giffin Glastonbury, Katherine Harrison, Katherine Rola, Keith Stanley, Yeongseo Yu
Faculty and Staff Advisors: Yekang Ko
Second Place: Hobart and William Smith Colleges
In their entry titled “Creating a Sustainable, Walkable Community for Odell’s Village and the HWS Campus,” this team emphasized using green infrastructure practices to reduce stormwater flow into Odell’s Pond and prevent localized flooding of the Odell’s Village while improving the pedestrian experience. The team used the campus’s long-term master plan to meet other goals such as utilizing space on campus more efficiently; restoring native plant communities; and providing more outdoor recreation and education opportunities while also addressing stormwater permitting requirement, ADA compliance, and maintenance and implementation funding.
Project Narrative (pdf) | Design Board (pdf)
Student Team: Madeleine Buck, Owen Hotaling, Erin Howe, Tarang Malhotra, Jackson Mischler
Faculty and Staff Advisors: Beth Kinne, Max Piersol, Chris Button
Honorable Mention: University of California, Berkeley
Project Narrative (pdf) | Design Board (pdf)
Student Team: Florencia Sepulveda, Jiangyi Du, Gustavo Coronilla, Shayda Rashidi, Kanani D'Angelo, Danica Jean Bowers, Madeira Simone BooydeGraaff, Shrabya Timsina, Chenyi Wang, Grace Diebel, Alex Robert Jordan, Jack Joseph Van Thyn
Faculty Advisors: G. Mathias Kondolf
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), the Water Environment Federation (WEF) , the Green Infrastructure Federal Collaborative (GIFC), a nonprofit organization, and a past Campus RainWorks winner 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:
Nazmi Ahmed, GIFC, General Services Administration
Larry Cammarata, ASLA, Certified Consultants, Ltd.
Bryce Carnehl, ASLA, Hunter Industries
Luis Cifuentes, WEF, Komline-Sanderson Group
Kathryn Curtis, GIFC, Federal Emergency Management Agency
Bradley Dean, GIFC, Council on Environmental Quality
Sean Dennihy-Bailey, GIFC, Department of Housing and Urban Development
Robyn DeYoung, EPA, Office of Wastewater Management
Adrienne Donaghue, EPA, Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds
Hans X. Figueroa Sweet, WEF, CSA Architects and Engineers
Patrick Gilvary, EPA, Region 5
Rachel Gold, EPA, Office of Wastewater Management
Robert Goo, EPA, Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds
Brandon Hartz, GIFC, General Services Administration
Heather Huddle, EPA, Office of Wastewater Management
Michael Igo, ASLA, Aqueous Consultants, LLC
Cara Jung, WEF, TKDA
Torey Kouril, EPA, Region 5
Rebecca Kowalski, EPA, Region 5
Haley Lewis, EPA, Region 10
Anna McCorvey, 11th Street Bridge Park
Robert (Bob) Page, WEF, HNTB Corporation
Suzanna Perea, EPA, Region 6
Danielle Pieranunzi, SITES, Green Business Certification Inc.
Alexis Rourk, EPA, Office of Community Revitalization
Arya Simon, EPA, Office of Wastewater Management
Charles (Charlie) Stillwell, GIFC, U.S. Geological Survey
Meagan Storm, ASLA, DLR Group
Steven D. Trinkaus, ASCE, Trinkaus Engineering, LLC
Aaron Tyschkowski, EPA, Office of Wastewater Management
Mrinalini Verma, CRW Winner, OJB (Philadelphia)
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.