EPA opens water management competition

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has opened a competition for college student teams to develop innovative approaches to storm water management. Registration has opened for student teams from colleges and universities across the country to enter the Campus RainWorks Challenge, an EPA release reported Wednesday. The EPA said it is encouraging the use of green infrastructure as a solution to help manage storm water runoff, and in the competition student teams, working with a faculty adviser, will submit design plans for a proposed green infrastructure project for their campus. Green Infrastructure uses vegetation, soils, and natural processes to manage storm water runoff at its source and provide other community benefits and is increasingly being used to supplement or substitute for single-purpose "gray" infrastructure investments such as pipes and ponds, the EPA said. Registration for the Campus RainWorks Challenge is open through October 5, with design plans to be submitted by December 14. Winning entries selected by the EPA, to be announced in April 2013, will earn a cash prize of $1,500 to $2,500, as well as $8,000 to $11,000 in funds for the faculty advisers to conduct research on green infrastructure, the EPA said.