EPA applauds UL for storm water management efforts

Photo: Increasing the number of bioswales on the University of Louisiana at Lafayette campus is one objective outlined in its green infrastructure plan. The shallow troughs hold plants and other vegetation. They act as sieves to remove silt and contaminants from rainwater. Credit: Rachel Keyes/University of Louisiana at Lafayette

The University of Louisiana at Lafayette made a splash with its storm water management plan.

Its plan – entitled The Ripple Effect: Community Cultivated, Regionally Replicated – won the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2018 Campus RainWorks Challenge in the Master Plan category. Forty-nine colleges and universities participated in the competition.

The plan outlines campus “green infrastructure” initiatives. The term refers to processes designed to decrease, slow and filter water that flows into drainage systems from buildings, streets and sidewalks.

Green infrastructure combats flooding and pollution. It has been a growing consideration for designers and developers in recent years, thanks to changing construction regulations geared toward sustainable building practices, said Gretchen LaCombe Vanicor, director of UL Lafayette’s Office of Sustainability.

The office released The Ripple Effect plan late last year. Methods being implemented or planned by the University include creating bioswales, installing rainwater collection systems and using permeable […]

Full article: EPA applauds UL for storm water management efforts