EPA Kicks Off Fifth Annual Campus RainWorks Challenge
College students compete to design green infrastructure for their campus
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) just launched its fifth annual Campus RainWorks Challenge, a competition for college and university students to design innovative solutions for our nation’s water infrastructure. Using their campuses as labs, teams develop green infrastructure systems to reduce stormwater pollution and build resilience to climate change. Since 2012, more than 420 student teams have participated in the challenge.
“Stormwater is one of the nation’s most significant water challenges, with increasing amounts of runoff polluting our nation’s streams, rivers and lakes,” said Joel Beauvais, Deputy Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Water. “Through the Campus RainWorks Challenge, EPA invites our country’s future planners, designers, and engineers to apply their classroom learning and help us solve stormwater management problems through innovative green infrastructure design and technology.”
Teams may register for the 2016 Challenge from September 1st to September 30th. The 2016 Challenge winners will be announced in spring 2017. Each first-place team will earn a student prize of $2,000 and a faculty prize of $3,000 to support green infrastructure research or training. Second-place teams will win $1,000 for student teams and $2,000 for faculty research.
Green infrastructure decreases pollution to local waterways by treating stormwater where it falls and keeping more polluted runoff out of sewer systems. Green infrastructure features include green roofs, permeable materials, green streets, rain gardens and rain harvesting systems. Communities are increasingly using green infrastructure to supplement their “gray” infrastructure such as pipes, filters and ponds.
Green infrastructure can create vibrant communities by increasing economic activity, neighborhood revitalization, job creation and open space. It also strengthens a community’s resiliency to the impacts of climate change by reducing the burden on local water infrastructure, managing local flooding, reducing urban heat islands and lowering energy demands.
We would love to see some of the schools in the Lower Raritan Watershed enter this competition!
More information is available at www.epa.gov/campusrainworks
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The LRWP September 20 general meeting will be in the CDM Smith Edison offices where CDM Smith will provide a live overview of the NYC GreenHUB tool.
CDM Smith is working with the NYC DEP Office of Green Infrastructure to develop a Project Tracking and Asset Management System capable of compiling, mapping and reporting data from thousands of GI installations throughout their service life. This integrated system, named NYC GreenHUB, presents a user-friendly, multi-function interface that enables comprehensive data management and access control. NYC GreenHUB is a web-based system that automates the procedures used by OGI to collect, review, manage and report information. DEP utilizes its asset maintenance feature to manage and monitor maintenance activities such as repairs, replacement, pruning and replanting. The system provides geospatial visualization of GI assets with easy access to data throughout the asset lifecycle – from asset initiation, siting, design, and construction through operations and maintenance.
AGENDA
9:30 am Welcome and introductions, Heather Fenyk (LRWP)
9:35 am Green Infrastructure (GI) in the New Jersey context, Kandyce Perry (JerseyWaterWorks GI sub-committee)
9:40 am Introduction of speakers, Maria Watt (CDM Smith)
9:45 am Overview of Green Infrastructure, Maria Watt (CDM Smith)
9:50 AM What is Asset Management and NYC GreenHUB Live Demo, Jayson Brennen (CDM Smith)
10:10 Philadelphia Green City Clean Water, William Cesanek (CDM Smith)
10:25 am Camden Asset Management, Andrew Kricun (Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority)
10:35 am Benefits of Asset Management, David Zimmer (New Jersey Environmental Infrastructure Trust)
10:45 am Q & A, Group Discussion
11:00 am Next steps for JerseyWaterWorks and the LRWP
The CDM Smith presentation is an outgrowth of the LRWP’s work with the JerseyWaterWorks Green Infrastructure sub-committee.
CDM SMith is located at: 110 Fieldcrest Avenue, #8, 6th Floor| Edison, NJ 08837
RSVPs requested: hfenyk@lowerraritanwatershed.org
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From: www.nj.com “Community Bulletin”
The Somerset County Regional Center Partnership, utilizing a grant from the New Jersey Water Supply Authority (NJWSA), has announced that the 2016 Raritan River Rain Barrel Rebate Program for homeowners in Bridgewater, Raritan, and Somerville is accepting applications for the sixth year of the program.
The Rebate Program in intended to encourage residents to purchase and install rain barrels by offering rebates up to $200. Rebates are available in the amount of $50 for rain barrels that hold 40 to 70 gallons and $100 for those that hold more than 70 gallons. Rebates are available for multiple rain barrels that meet all criteria.
Residential homeowners within the Peters Brook Watershed who purchased and installed rain barrels after July 1, 2011 remain eligible for a rebate providing documentation is available. Residents outside the Watershed but within the boundaries of the three municipalities must have purchased the rain barrel after January 1, 2014. Sufficient documentation including proof of purchase and installation is required.
Rain barrels provide homeowners with financial and ecological advantages by conserving water, easing stream erosion by reducing the volume of runoff entering to streams and rivers during storms, and reducing pollutants accumulated from impervious surfaces, particularly roofs. In established urban areas like the Regional Center, rainwater runoff from hard surfaces flows directly into streams, depositing these pollutants.
Rain barrels must have a closed design or screen top; have a system to direct excess water away from the home’s foundation; have a spigot not higher that 3″ from the bottom of the barrel; and must be made of a sturdy material and installed on a solid level base. Homeowners must pledge to maintain the rain barrel for at least two years to be eligible for the rebate.
“A rain barrel is a simple and effective way of practicing environmental responsibility,” commented Troy Fischer, Chair of the Somerset County Regional Center Partnership. “Homeowners in the Regional Center communities have a unique opportunity to recoup their investment twice, once through the rebate and multiple times through re-use of rain water.”
Rebates will be awarded on a first come, first served basis, and funding is limited. Detailed information can be found on the Regional Center Partnership’s website at www.regionalcenterpartnership.org, by calling 908-730-0270 x223 or sending an email to rainbarrel@raritanbasin.org.
The Somerset County Park Commission is supporting the 2016 Rebate Program by including information on the web site, www.somersetcountyparks.org, and in kiosks and at special events throughout the County park system.
