Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Water And Journalism Panel, Heather May, Anastasia Hufham, Ben Winslow, Sheri Quinn

Spring Runoff Conference

Respondents’ sources of information on Great Salt Lake issues

The Practical And The Possible: How Research Informs Policy And Management For Land, Forest, And Water Management, Charlie Luce

Spring Runoff Conference

The practical and the possible: How research informs policy and management for land, forest, and water resources.

What Does Our Water Year Look Like?, Candice Hasenyager

Spring Runoff Conference

Drip Drip Drop: Water in Utah

In Utah, we are either in drought or preparing for the next one

We Shall Have A Seat At The Table, Yanna Liang

Spring Runoff Conference

Uniqueness of ESE 

• The only environmental BS program in the nation that has “Sustainable” in its title.
• Sustainability in water treatment, air pollution control, energy production, resource re-utilization 

The Once And Future Variability Of Colorado River Water Resources, Balaji Rajagopalan

Spring Runoff Conference

The Plot – “Millennium Drought” Since 2000 

• Current Water Crisis 

Impacts Of Changing Temperatures On The Water Budget In The Great Salt Lake Basin, Grace Affram, Jihad Othman, Reza Morovati, Saddy Pineda Castellanos, Sajad Khoshnoodmotlagh, Diana Dunn, Braedon Dority, Katherine Osorio Diaz, Cody Ratterman, Wei Zhang

Spring Runoff Conference

Temperature affects precipitation phases and the evolution of snowpack.

Canal Improvements: Balancing Piping And Automation, Trevor Nielson

Spring Runoff Conference

Factors to Consider 

- Piping 

• Size/Cost 
• Loss saved per mile 
• Longer Lifespan 
• Safety Benefits 

- Automation 

• On-going Cost 
• Cover Existing O&M Costs 
• More Skilled Staff 
• Higher Quality of Life for Field Employees 
• Safety Benefits 

Box Elder County - Countywide Water Master Plan, Quinn Dance

Spring Runoff Conference

Box Elder County Water Master Plan.

Project Background: 

Pre-Project Planning 

• Box Elder County General Plan Update 
• Steering Committee Organization 

Soil Health And Water Conservation, Tony Richards

Spring Runoff Conference

What are Healthy Soils? 

• Stable 
• Functional 
• Productive 
• Resilient 

Great Salt Lake Model Depletion, Katherine Wright

Spring Runoff Conference

When does water leasing make sense? Using New Information to Make Better Leases.

Lease, but only if it makes sense.

• Farmers have a legal right to use water on their farms for agriculture.
• Leasing might be a good economic decision for you, but not your neighbor.
• Leasing is voluntary, the purpose of this presentation is to explain the benefits of leasing and give you the information you need to decide if it is right for you. 

Utah Water Research Lab, David Tarboton

Spring Runoff Conference

The concept of a dedicated water research laboratory evolved over years, with significant contributions from Vaughn E. Hansen, Dean F. Peterson, and George D. Clyde. The UWRL represents the culmination of a long-held vision at USU to advance water research.

Legislative Updates Panel, Casey Snider, Brian Steed, Kelly Pehrson, Joel Ferry

Spring Runoff Conference

Legislative Updates Panel

Water Rights Update, Teresa Wilhelmsen

Spring Runoff Conference

State Engineer's Update:

2024-2025 Strategic Action Plan

2024 Updates by functional section:

• Adjudication
• Applications & Records
• Dam Safety & Stream Alterations
• Data Services
• Field Services
• Technical Services

Northern Utah Gaging And Measurement Infrastructure Needs And Updates, Beth Neilson

Spring Runoff Conference

We can’t manage what we don’t MEASURE. We can’t manage what we don’t UNDERSTAND.

Great Salt Lake: What’S Next?, Brian Steed

Spring Runoff Conference

Water security is key to living in the West.

Snowpack And Water Supply Outlook, Jordan Clayton

Spring Runoff Conference

>95% of the water we use in Northern Utah comes from snow. Therefore, it’s critically important to quantify how much water is stored in our snowpack.

Modelled Flooding Impacts On Lower Fish River Watershed, Sebastian Loschner

Shelby Hall Graduate Research Forum Posters

This study investigates the impacts of compound flooding in the Lower Fish River watershed, Baldwin County, Alabama, with a focus on the potential effects of sea level rise due to climate change. Coastal flooding, particularly in smaller watersheds, is a growing concern as it results from the interaction of multiple factors, including rainfall, tidal changes, and extreme weather events. Compound flooding, which involves multiple flood drivers, is expected to worsen with climate change, as increased precipitation and rising sea levels create heightened flood risks. However, existing research on compound flooding predominantly focuses on large-scale watersheds, leaving a knowledge gap in …

Groundwater Pumping Impacts On Stream Depletion In Humboldt County, Ca: Integrating Analytical Models And Field Data, Andy Hans Heise

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

This study addresses the significant concern of stream depletion from groundwater pumping in Humboldt County, CA. The objective of this study is to develop an analytical model for estimating stream depletion and integrating field data into model parameters.

The methodology involved conducting a field study near three operating wells by a stream, installing stream gages upstream and downstream of the wells, and recording pumping rates and schedules for two of the wells. The third well’s pumping data was synthetically generated, for privacy concerns of the well owner. The StreamDepletR package was used for estimating depletion rates in a stream in …

Evaluation Of Practical Methods To Determine If A Karst Creek Is Gaining Or Losing: Case Study Of Leith Creek, Elizabeth Jones

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Karst landscapes are abundant in Missouri, with features such as caves, springs, and sinkholes that form through the dissolution of limestone. Leith Creek is a small stream in Polk County, Missouri fed by two springs and the shallow unconfined Springfield Plateau aquifer, a highly karstified aquifer which is made up of limestone and minor interbedded shale-mudstone units. To determine if Leith Creek is gaining or losing, stream flow, water chemistry and temperature sensors were monitored. Stream flow results required multiple visits to take measurements while temperature sensors required two visits, one to install the dataloggers and another to remove the …

Integrated Valuation Of The Ecological, Social And Economic Benefits Provided By A Multifunctional Nature-Based Solution, Laura Costadone, Shan Zhang

ODU Articles

Nature-based Solutions (NbS) offer multifunctional approaches to address climate change and environmental challenges, providing a sustainable alternative to traditional gray infrastructure. Despite their promise, widespread adoption remains limited, in part due to an incomplete understanding of their full costs and benefits relative to conventional infrastructure. Traditional benefit–cost analyses often overlook non-monetized benefits and the interconnected ecosystem services provided by NbS. This study introduces a methodological approach to quantify both the physical and monetary value of ecosystem services and co-benefits delivered by an NbS project. We applied an integrated valuation framework to a case study in Virginia Beach, VA, USA, where …

Applying Transfer Learning For Street-Scale Nuisance Flood Forecasting In Coastal-Urban Cities, Binata Roy, Jonathan L. Goodall, Diana Mcspadden, Chetan Kumar, Steven Goldenberg, Yidi Wang, Malachi Schram

VMASC Publications

An important challenge with Machine Learning (ML) is its transferability; i.e., whether a ML model trained on one set of data can be applied to a second set of data without requiring full re-training of the model. Transfer Learning (TL) addresses this challenge by transferring knowledge learned in the source domain (the data it was trained on) to the target domain (a second set of data that is statistically different but related, which the model was not trained on). This study investigates the use of TL for street-scale nuisance flood forecasting by exploring whether a ML model trained for one …

Biochar For Soil Amendment: Applications, Benefits, And Environmental Impacts, Ujjwal Pokharel, Gururaj Neelgund, Ram L. Ray, Venkatesh Balan, Sandeep Kumar

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

The excessive use of chemical fertilizers results in environmental issues, including loss of soil fertility, eutrophication, increased soil acidity, alterations in soil characteristics, and disrupted plant–microbe symbiosis. Here, we synthesize recent studies available from up to 2025, focusing on engineered biochar and its application in addressing issues of soil nutrient imbalance, soil pollution from inorganic and organic pollutants, soil acidification, salinity, and greenhouse gas emissions from fields. Application of engineered biochar enhanced the removal of Cr (VI), Cd²⁺, Ni²⁺, Zn²⁺, Hg²⁺, and Eu³⁺ by 85%, 73%, 57.2%, 12.7%, 99.3%, and 99.2%, …

Evaporation Basins For Salinity Management, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Natural resources factsheets

An evaporation basin is an engineered earth structure designed to safely store and evaporate saline water discharged from drainage or pumping, while protecting high-value agricultural land, natural assets or built infrastructure.

DPIRD recommends that evaporation basins should form part of an integrated water and salinity management program. Information on this page is a guide only.

It is recommended that landholders seek expert advice plus engineering design and related support from qualified contractors.

Roaded Catchments In Wa, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Natural resources factsheets

Roaded catchments are earthwork structures designed to increase the amount of run-off from the catchment above a receiving farm dam.

Roaded catchments are lined with clay and compacted to make a smooth surface that reduces infiltration and increases run-off. Roaded catchments should discharge into a silt trap and then into a dam (excavated earth tank). This combined structure should be fenced to exclude livestock.

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development recommends that roaded catchments are part of an integrated water and salinity management program.

The information in this page is only a guide – seek expert advice before …

Managing Subsurface Water In Wa, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Natural resources factsheets

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) recommends that subsurface water management is part of an integrated water and salinity program. An integrated program can help to lower water tables and alleviate problems with waterlogging, rising salinity, and infrastructure damage.

Seismic Resilience Of Timber Homes, Melia R. Costa

College of Engineering Summer Undergraduate Research Program

The vast majority of residential buildings in California are wood-frame structures. A home is typically a very large investment for families, and damage to the home can be detrimental to a family’s economic success. Thus, reducing the economic impacts of an earthquake on residential timber housing is crucial. A full scale, two-story section of a residential timber house is in construction in the Parson’s Geotechnical and Earthquake Engineering Laboratory on the Cal Poly campus in San Luis Obispo, California. Once built it will be put through earthquake simulation tests on a shake table with various magnitudes of seismic activity. Next, …

Investigation Of Temperature, Solution Strength, And Applied Stress Effects On Cation Exchange Processes In Different Geosynthetic Clay Liner Products, Kendra Fuller

Master's Theses

An extensive laboratory test program was conducted to analyze and compare the cation exchange processes in three different varieties of sodium bentonite (Na-B) geosynthetic clay liners (GCLs) over increased conditioning durations up to 32 days and investigate the effects of temperature, solution strength, and applied stress. The goal of this test program was to establish whether the variables of temperature, solution strength, and applied stress improved or degraded the engineering properties of GCLs in laboratory testing and municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill applications. The GCLs were conditioned in liquids of increasing ionic strength, using deionized water and 2, 50, and …

Chemical And Physical Properties Of Fine Fractions From A Village Proximate To A Uranium Mine: Insights About Soil Health, Mary P. Haley

Nanoscience and Microsystems ETDs

Thousands of abandoned uranium mines (AUM) in Native American tribal lands have not been fully remediated, leaving uranium mine wastes exposed and accessible for potential erosion and transport by wind. Analyzing the metal and organic content of the fine-grained fractions in soils could uncover the impact of mine legacy on the soil health in communities that live in proximity to AUM. This study investigates the physical and chemical properties of the fine-grained fraction (μm) of soils to quantify the effect of heavy metal-bearing particulates on the soil health in the village of Paguate and within the Jackpile-Paguate AUM located on …

Investigating The Effects Of Suspended Algal Content, Dissolved Oxygen, And Temperature On A High-Frequency Acoustic Attenuation System In A Controlled Laboratory Environment, Noah Watson

Honors Theses

The Single Frequency Acoustic Attenuation System (SFAAS) has been developed at the National Center for Physical Acoustics (NCPA). This system uses acoustic methods to monitor fine suspended sediment concentration in streams. Site-specific calibrations are necessary for this system, and previous research has indicated that algal concentration or dissolved oxygen concentration of water may affect collected data. Temperature, dissolved oxygen concentration, and fluorescence, used as a proxy for algal concentration, were monitored during this system’s use, and calibrations were derived to account for the effect of each of these variables on acoustic measurements. It has been shown that temperature has a …

The Use Of Repurposed Whole Textiles To Modify The Mechanical And Hydrogeological Properties Of Green Roof Media And Granular Soils, Angelis Almanzar-Chevalie, Yehya Elfgeeh, Calvin O. Walters Jr.

Publications and Research

This study investigates using repurposed whole textiles to modify the mechanical and hydrogeological properties of lightweight Green Roof media and granular pavement soils.

Green Roof Media Green roofs aim to bring the advantages of suburban agriculture to urban environments while improving energy efficiency and enhancing stormwater management in public, commercial, and residential buildings. Previous studies by City Tech undergraduate research assistants demonstrated significant modification in hydrogeological properties when incorporating textile fabric up to 3% textile by weight (%Tex) at an aspect ratio of 1:1. The effects of mixing repurposed whole textile fiber with Green Roof media is evaluated with regards …