The great plains region's climate is characterized by significant weather variability and extreme events that create unique challenges for infrastructure and ecosystems

The University of Oklahoma received a $1.5M project grant award effective June 1, 2025, through the Environmental Protection Agency Office of Water under the Centers of Excellence for Stormwater Control Infrastructure Technologies Grant Program (CFDA 66.490). The Great Plains Stormwater Center of Excellence (GPSCOE), a consortium comprising five universities (University of Oklahoma, Pawnee Nation College, Langston University, Kansas State University, and Oklahoma State University), will conduct applied research and provide technical assistance to address stormwater management challenges specific to the Great Plains region's extreme weather variability and precipitation events.

The Center will deliver five primary products and services through May 31, 2027: forensic analysis of stormwater best management practice (BMP) longevity, efficiency, and maintenance requirements; deployment and evaluation of smart stormwater control technologies on BMPs and ponds to optimize watershed-based operations under extreme precipitation and drought conditions; a decision-support tool and geographic information system (GIS)-based protocol for identifying stormwater BMP opportunities in small, rural communities; a meta-analysis of ecosystem service valuations and innovative stormwater funding approaches; and comprehensive guidance for stormwater management during extreme weather events. Operating under the direction of a Stakeholder Advisory Group, the consortium will leverage existing technical expertise across its member institutions to provide research dissemination and regional engagement through academic, public, and private partnerships.

We propose a stormwater center of excellence to address stormwater quantity and quality management challenges in the region: the great plains stormwater center of excellence (GPSCOE). The overall objective of the GPSCOE is to advance strategies for stormwater management in the great plains to reduce impacts associated with extreme events, while also creating benefits for communities across the region. The GPSCOE will be a consortium of five universities (university of oklahoma, pawnee nation college, langston university, kansas state university, and oklahoma state university) that will work under the guidance of a stakeholder advisory group to extend research and technical assistance capabilities through a network of academic, public, and private partners to address stormwater challenges in the great plains region (FIG. 1). Our consortium members have developed portfolios with longstanding technical expertise in stormwater research, outreach, and public partnerships, which will be leveraged for GPSCOE's research, dissemination, and engagement efforts. Specifically, we propose to a) conduct forensic analysis to address knowledge gaps related to stormwater BMP longevity, efficiency, and maintenance, B) deploy smart stormwater control on stormwater bmps and ponds to investigate the feasibility of watershed-based operation of smart stormwater infrastructure to optimize flooding and stormwater quality improvements in the context of the extreme precipitation and droughts common to the great plains, C) develop a decision-support tool and GIS-based protocol to identify stormwater BMP opportunities in small, rural communities, D) conduct a meta-analysis of literature on ecosystem service valuations and innovative funding approaches, and E) develop guidance for stormwater management for extreme events within the region. In addition to investigating innovative stormwater approaches, GPSCOE will offer technical assistance through a) design, construction, operation, and maintenance guidance for innovative stormwater controls, B) design plan review, and C) BMP troubleshooting assistance that prioritizes communities that have not previously implemented innovative stormwater bmps beyond stormwater ponds. GPSCOE will disseminate information through its website, collaborations with regional institutions and project partners, regional webinar series and stormwater conference, and citizen science programming. GPSCOE has specific plans to engage smaller, rural communities across the region and create peer-to-peer municipal exchanges. As an EPA stormwater center of excellence, GPSCOE would have the resources and notoriety to advance stormwater strategies across a broad range of communities in the great plains. See attached project narrative for further details.activities:C1. Project area 1: establish and maintain a regional stormwater center of excellence in the great plains. Innovative bmps are a key component of stormwater management (fang ET AL., 2023); however, their implementation lags in the great plains (vogel ET AL., 2015). Gaps in technical understanding, such as appropriate design targets and specifications in an increasingly variable environment, contribute to this lag. Socioeconomic factors - such as lack of public awareness and financial resources - are also known barriers (vogel ET AL., 2015; QI and barclay, 2021). The following sections describe research, technical assistance, and collaborative partnerships the GPSCOE will provide to accelerate stormwater BMP adoption in the region for improved stormwater quantity and quality management. I. Conduct research on new and emerging stormwater control infrastructure technologies GPSCOE will engage in stakeholder-driven research through project partnerships with stormwater PR