DURHAM, N.H. — The University of New Hampshire has been selected to lead the Cold Climate Center of Excellence for Stormwater Infrastructure Technology (CCCESIT), one of four Centers of Excellence for Stormwater Control Infrastructure Technologies established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The center, which will be led along with a team at the University of Minnesota, received $1.5 million to be used for research, technical assistance and workforce development aimed at improving stormwater infrastructure and safeguarding water quality.

“Cold climates present a special challenge for stormwater management,” said James Houle, director of the UNH Stormwater Center. “Spring snowmelt, freeze-thaw cycles and road salt pose challenges that we in New Hampshire and Minnesota are uniquely positioned to address.”

Stormwater — runoff from rain and snowmelt that flows over impervious surfaces such as paved streets, parking lots and building rooftops and does not soak into the ground — is a significant source of water pollution and a threat to the health of waterways across the country. Managing stormwater runoff presents complex engineering and financial challenges to communities, and harsh winters compound that complexity.

Drawing on more than 40 years of combined experience at UNH and the University of Minnesota, the CCCESIT will conduct research on new and emerging stormwater control infrastructure technologies, provide technical assistance and develop a workforce that will advance a new, resilient and more effective stormwater future. The new center’s goals also include increasing the number of communities—especially small, rural, Tribal, underserved and/or disadvantaged communities—that receive information on stormwater technology and financing opportunities for infrastructure projects.

Two initial research projects will focus on improvements to biofiltration (rain garden) media to better retain pollutants and research on strategies to reduce road salt. CCCESIT’s work will also include technical assistance and education for stormwater researchers in both the public and private sectors as well as the greater community. The center will provide webinars, workshops and training.

In addition to Houle, who will co-lead the project with Andy Erickson at the University of Minnesota, CCCESIT will involve UNH associate professor of civil and environmental engineering Tom Ballestero as well as Daniel Macadam, research engineer for the UNH Stormwater Center.

The UNH Stormwater Center, founded in 2004, is a dynamic research, testing and educational facility which serves as a technical resource for water managers, planners and design engineers in New England and throughout the United States. 

The University of New Hampshire inspires innovation and transforms lives in our state, nation and world. Nearly 16,000 students from 50 states and 87 countries engage with an award-winning faculty in top-ranked programs in business, engineering, law, health and human services, liberal arts and the sciences across more than 200 programs of study. A Carnegie Classification R1 institution, UNH partners with NASA, NOAA, NSF, and NIH, and received over $210 million in competitive external funding in FY23 to further explore and define the frontiers of land, sea and space.

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https://www.unh.edu/unhtoday/sites/default/files/site_overview-parking_lot_view.jpg

Caption:  The Stormwater Center’s field site, located at the edge of a large parking lot on UNH’s Durham campus, is a state-of-the-art testing facility where innovative stormwater technologies can be evaluated in a side-by-side comparison as stormwater runs off the adjacent large parking lot.

Photos credit: John Nader