Photo Credits: EPA
Hooray! Tuesday, the 21st, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded a substantial grant of $4 million to four colleges in the Philadelphia area to study Green City, Clean Waters. Temple University, Swathmore College, Villanova University and the University of Pennsylvania each received $1 million. Plus, the University of New Hampshire received $993,000 to assess various green infrastructure projects and aspects of the plan, quantify performance and to conduct surveys in a 40,000 acre combined sewage area.
The colleges plan to use the grant money towards diverse areas of research. For example, Temple plans to analyze many green projects on its Philadelphia campus and will investigate socio-economic issues, including the impact of real estate values as a result of green infrastructure. Villanova will evaluate the performance of completed green infrastructure projects in order to develop and design next-generation versions. Penn researchers will look into how to motivate residents and businesses to invest in green infrastructure projects. Investments in these projects will go a long way to developing innovation solutions to stormwater management, wet weather pollution, and building more resilient, safer water systems for all.
