The Red Oak Rain Garden soaks up rainwater, enhances the campus and community aesthetic and educational experience, and promotes well-being for everyone who visits. 

Constructed in 2006 by Prof. Tony Endress and his NRES 420 class, a garden renovation is building on this original effort. The new planting palette installed Fall 2019 has earned recognition from several conservation organizations. 

Rain gardens take advantage of rainfall and runoff and, therefore, reduce the need for watering. These gardens are also a helpful design in areas that are prone to flooding. The gardens are designed to withstand the chemicals and nutrients that are often present in rainwater. They reduce runoff since they allow stormwater to soak into the ground, instead of slowing into storm drains and cause erosion, water pollution, flooding, and diminished groundwater. Rain gardens are attractive and may support birds and butterflies.

Construction of tile-drainage wetlands is a strategy the University would use to reduce carbon emissions. GHG emissions aren’t the only environmental contaminants on the South Farms. Extensive tile drainage on 3,609 acres of farmland delivers more than 100 metric tons of nitrate-N to the Embarras River and ultimately to the Gulf of Mexico, where it contributes to gulf hypoxia.

Unlike traditional pavement, porous asphalt allows some of the stormwater to flow through the pavement and into the soil below which offers benefits in flood control, water quality treatment, and extends pavement life since the base is well drained. Traditional pavements cause increased volumes of stormwater runoff. Effective porous asphalt removes the pollutants from stormwater. Although porous asphalt is more expensive, the total project cost is similar to traditional asphalt pavement since stormwater infrastructure (i.e. curbs, gutters, and storm drains) is not required.

The iCAP 2020 objective 4.2.3 is to "Double the number of on-campus green infrastructure installations from 24 to 48 by FY24." The responsible campus unit for championing this objective is F&S.

The purpose of rainwater management is to reduce runoff and the pollution it creates by taking measures to prevent flooding and improving water quality. The University has a Rainwater Management Program (2025) in place to carry this out. It focuses on how green infrastructure can be optimized to be both functional and aesthetically pleasing. This plan analyzes current rainwater drainage patterns and infrastructure, and offers potential solutions on a campus-wide scale. 

The Business Instructional Facility (BIF) was designed for future use of greywater, which is raw (untreated) water. Although the building is fed from the potable water supply, there is separate piping for the urinals and water closets in the building.

The 2015 iCAP, chapter 5, objective 5, is "Through an open solicitation process, implement at least four pilot projects to showcase the potential of water and/or stormwater reuse by FY20, with the objective of implementing a broader program by FY25." The first pilot project was initiated during the engineering design of the upcoming Seibel Center for Design.  The AE for the project worked with campus code compliance staff to specify the water capture and reuse system and to draft a requ

The UI plumbing fixtures are being upgraded to low-flow fixtures.  This includes fixtures such as low-flow urinals that use only one-pint of water, dual flush toilets that allow users to select whether a large amount or a smaller amount of water is needed for flushing, and automatic faucets with aerators, that reduce the flow volume of faucets and also shut off automatically when not in use.  The Facility Standards for plumbing require

The University has an existing Raw Water System. The goal of this 2010 iCAP project is to connect the Raw Water System to a raw water source by 2020. This is another way to utilize non-potable water sources.