WRPM Student Nicole Re Awarded Top Paper

Congratulations to WRPM student Nicole Re! Nicole’s paper, Introducing a Sponge City Infrastructure Model in the DC Metropolitan Area, received the Top Paper Award from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments Chesapeake Bay and Water Resources Policy Committee!

Excerpt from Nicole’s paper: "The concept of a Sponge City originated in China in the early 2000’s. The goal of this urban construction model is to help improve the flood resilience of cities by soaking up and redistributing water directly at its source, just like a sponge. This in turn has a positive effect on water quality, drainage, and water treatment infrastructure. As global warming is increasing, natural disasters are becoming more extreme so it is important to mitigate flooding as it will continue to become more severe all over the world, disrupting accessibility to usable water. China’s increase in population and urbanization has resulted in more impervious surfaces known as gray infrastructure that leads to less natural absorption of water. Parallels can be drawn between China’s need for a Sponge City and the DC area’s need for implementation of more green infrastructure. A Sponge City model will directly address the Metropolitan Washington Region’s water resilience and sustainability needs." Continue reading HERE.

The Chesapeake Bay and Water Resources Policy Committee holds an Annual Paper Competition to get student perspectives on emerging best practices and policies to address real-world sustainability and water resources issues. Students are asked to develop a one-page stand-alone guidance document of actions local elected officials could implement on a particular topic, plus an accompanying paper that provides rationale for the recommendations and research methodology. Read more about the competition HERE.