The proposed EPA southwest regional stormwater center of excellence will unify the community of stormwater researchers, stormwater managers, and other practitioners and stakeholders across the…

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Water awarded $1,049,719 to the Nevada System of Higher Education (operating as the Desert Research Institute) under the Centers of Excellence for Stormwater Control Infrastructure Technologies Grant Program (CFDA 66.490) on June 1, 2025. This two-year project grant, scheduled for completion by May 31, 2027, establishes the EPA Southwest Regional Stormwater Center of Excellence to unify the regional stormwater research and management community across the Southwest. The Center brings together a core team of seven organizations to consolidate and disseminate stormwater management information and best practices.

The Center of Excellence will deliver technical assistance, training resources, and decision-support tools across five primary focus areas: (1) best management practice (BMP) and green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) design, monitoring, and assessment using low-cost Internet of Things instrumentation; (2) stormwater capture, treatment, and use assessments quantifying available urban stormwater for water supply in the region; (3) modeling-based frameworks for stormwater planning and impaired waters management under EPA's 303(d) program; (4) funding and financing guidance tools for stormwater infrastructure; and (5) regional stakeholder outreach and engagement. The collaborative effort leverages resources across partner organizations to advance stormwater management innovation and implementation throughout the Southwest region.

The proposed EPA southwest regional stormwater center of excellence will unify the community of stormwater researchers, stormwater managers, and other practitioners and stakeholders across the southwest working to innovate and implement stormwater solutions. This center will provide a forum for regional consolidation and dissemination of information through a core team of seven organizations. Working collaboratively these seven organizations will develop and share knowledge, leverage resources, and advance stormwater management in key areas, including BMP design, performance assessment and maintenance, stormwater capture and use, stormwater planning for impaired waters, funding and financing, and active outreach engagement with regional stakeholders.activities:topic 1. BMP and GSI design, monitoring and assessment. We will provide technical assistance on new, low-cost open-source hardware and software (i.e., 'internet of things' [IOT]) instrumentation for BMP monitoring. Topic 2. Stormwater capture, treatment and use. Products from this effort will report on current estimates of the amount of urban stormwater that is potentially available for water supply in the southwest, and will explore infrastructure modifications required to maximize capture. Topic 3. Stormwater planning for impaired waters. Lead development of a flexible modeling-based framework that stakeholders can apply to support three activities under the EPA 303(D) program: 1) simulate the impacts of pollution sources at watershed scales, 2) evaluate and prioritize the effectiveness of different restoration strategies, and 3) incorporate state-of-science regional simulation into the modeling framework to assess impacts and facilitate informed decision making. Topic 4. Funding and financing for stormwater. Provide training and access to open source tools as well as access to in-depth technical assistance on funding and financing for stormwater. Topic 5. Outreach and engagement. Project partners will connect with local university programs to engage students, conduct BMP workshops, and stem education programs.subrecipient:topic area 1 - regional BMP design, monitoring and assessment (planning and engineering for arid and semi-arid regions; developing and implementing monitoring plans; evaluating water quality and quantity performance; maintenance planning) topic area 2 - stormwater capture, treatment and use (hydrologic infrastructure; contaminants of emerging concern; filtration-based design for targeted contaminants) topic area 3 - stormwater planning for impaired waters (integrating restoration and protection plans; spatial analysis of potential sources; modeling and analysis tools for decision-making) topic area 4 - funding and financing (federal and state funding, local financing; funding in disadvantaged communities; developing stormwater fees; financing for maintenance programs; collaborative funding models) topic area 5 - outreach and engagement (contacting and interacting with established stakeholders, tribal councils, and rural communities) outcomes:-state of the practice (SOP) documentation reports on each of the five priority topic areas that provide information tailored to southwest regional stakeholder needs, such as 1) BMP designs, implementation, and assessment; 2) advances for removal of traditional and emerging contaminants (e.g., microplastics, hydrophilic organic contaminants) to support urban water supplies through stormwater capture and use; 3) anticipated southwest weather impacts on hydrology and bmps; 4) planning and financing pathways for implementation and maintenance of BMP infrastructure; 5) outreach and engagement. -technical assistance via workshops, training sessions, and webinars on improved technologies for water quality treatment, and for financing and funding stormwater programs. -identification of opportunities where management practices with BMP implementation would reduce stormwat