The Ripple Effect’ wins 1st Place in the EPA’s Campus Rain Works Challenge.

A multi-disciplinary team from 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.

The team included Master of Architecture students Blair Begnaud, Meredith Guidry, Lauren Lambert, and John Oliver.  The lead faculty advisor for the team was Kari Smith, Professor of Architecture who worked with other students and faculty from across the university and the Office of Campus Sustainability.

The team believes that when faced with extensive problems and limited resources, their solutions must provide numerous benefits. They are determined to view expected population and enrollment growth as an opportunity and the impetus to adapt with green infrastructure that will make our community and region more resilient and improve our quality of life.

By using the University to demonstrate green infrastructure and low impact development projects, they will raise awareness and create a norm for the implementation of sustainable storm water management strategies throughout South Louisiana. They will improve water quality in local waterways, encourage ground water recharge, and engage our community and region to cultivate a ripple effect of resiliency.

Blair Begnaud and other architecture students helped LaCombe compile research for The Ripple Effect. Among many duties, she researched areas of campus where water tended to pool and potential ways sustainable architectural design could be integrated into campus buildings constructed long ago. Begnaud also collaborated with University offices, departments and other students who assisted the Office of Sustainability. The work has influenced her career path, as did the fact that her own house flooded in 2016. She will start a job at an architectural firm in Fayetteville, Arkansas after she earns her master’s degree in May. “Sustainability projects, including city planning, will be part of my responsibilities. It makes me both proud and confident that I studied at a University that is a national leader in storm water management.”

The EPA award brings more than a pat on the back for a job well done. For its win, the University received a $5,000 prize. “The money will be put right back into storm water-mitigation related projects, and to support research and education,” Vanicor said.

Learn more about The Ripple Effect