E.P.A. Awards Green Infrastructure Grants of $20,000 to Kansas State University and Mississippi State University

WASHINGTON - The E.P.A. has awarded grants of $20,000 each to Kansas State University and Mississippi State University to carry out green infrastructure demonstration and training projects.

At Kansas State, faculty and students will create "living laboratories" to conduct green infrastructure monitoring at 2 on-campus sites. Students from different disciplines will collaborate on the monitoring program. They will record and analyze data to gauge performance, then develop communication materials, including brochures and a touch screen at the museum.

Students at Mississippi State will design and construct a 1,500-square-foot rain garden to manage runoff from a nearby building. Students in art, landscape architecture, landscape contracting, and civil and environmental engineering will participate. After the plan is completed, students will maintain the rain garden and use it to conduct water quality tests. They will also install informational kiosks to educate others about green infrastructure.

"By supporting plans like these two, colleges and universities can advance new ideas for green infrastructure to protect water quality," said Ken Kopocis, EPA's deputy assistant administrator for water. "Kansas State and Mississippi State are showing a dedication to sustainable stormwater management by educating the next generation of scientists, designers and engineers about green infrastructure."

Green infrastructure uses vegetation, soils and natural processes to manage wet weather runoff, treating stormwater as a resource rather than a waste. It can enhance resiliency for communities and landscapes faced with water pollution and climate change impacts by increasing water supplies, reducing flooding, combatting urban heat island effect, and improving water quality.

This award builds on the success of EPA's Campus RainWorks Challenge, in which faculty and student teams design green infrastructure plans for their campuses. Both universities have had great success in the competition. In 2013, Kansas State was a first-place winner and Mississippi State was a second-place winner.

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