Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Utah’S Water Network Panel, Brad Mortensen, Kelly Pehrson, Nate Daugs, Brad Parry, Lindsie Smith, Camille Touton, Megan Nelson

Spring Runoff Conference

A panel on Utah's water network at the 2026 Spring Runoff Conference.

2026 Northern Utah Water Champion Award, Spring Runoff Conference

Spring Runoff Conference

Recognizes individuals who have demonstrated sustained, meaningful contributions to the stewardship, management, governance, or understanding of water in Northern Utah.

Utah State University’S Water Legacy, Brad Mortensen

Spring Runoff Conference

Utah State University's President, Brad Mortensen, presents at the 2026 Spring Runoff Conference.

Drone Based Operational Cloud Seeding, Jared Smith

Spring Runoff Conference

Cloud Seeding: Next Generation Operations and Validation

What is Winter Cloud Seeding? 

• The act of introducing favorable dust particles into a cloud to promote ice crystal nucleation 
• Requires naturally occurring clouds and cold temperatures 
• Aimed at enhancing winter snowpack

Great Salt Lake Basin Integrated Plan – Longterm Actions, Jake M. Serago

Spring Runoff Conference

GSL’s water level is in long-term decline. Water users face shortages and challenges. Increased temperatures, greater precipitation extremes and population changes are stressing water supplies in the basin. 84% of Utah residents think the Government is accountable for resolving issues facing GSL.

Agricultural Water Leasing Opportunities & Updates, Hannah Freeze

Spring Runoff Conference

The framework for this leasing program is based on depletion savings from conservation practices not surplus or tailwater

Pheasant Forever Loan Program, Will Benkelman

Spring Runoff Conference

Bear River Watershed Community Conservation Program

Our Mission: Pheasants Forever (PF) and Quail Forever’s (QF) mission is to conserve pheasants, quail, and other wildlife through habitat improvements, public access, education, and conservation advocacy.

Logan River Watershed Draft Environmental Impact Statement, Zan Murray

Spring Runoff Conference

Agenda:

Program Overview: PL-566 & NEPA

Project Need and Purpose

Project Alternatives

Preferred Alternative Costs and Benefits

NEPA Timeline/Current Schedule

Questions

Cache Water District Conservation Program, Autumn Matthews

Spring Runoff Conference

Conservation and Education Programs.

Conservation Goals:

Increase community awareness through outreach, workshops, and community programs that support water conservation.

Expand and improve programs that encourage water savings and more efficient water use across the community.

Help residents save money by promoting water efficiency and reducing unnecessary water use.

Water Supply Update, Jordan Clayton

Spring Runoff Conference

Snowpack and Water Supply Conditions.

>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.

Legislative Summary Panel, Brian Steed, Scott Sandall, Jill Koford, Joel Ferry

Spring Runoff Conference

Legislative updates provided at the Spring Runoff Conference 2026.

Water In 2026, Spencer Cox

Spring Runoff Conference

Presentation by Utah Governor Cox.

Hold Paramount The Health, Safety, And Welfare Of The Public And The Planet, Daniel B. Oerther

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Multifunctional Green Wall Systems For Greywater Treatment And Hygrothermal Regulation In Egypt, Laila Ossama Mohamed Elhusseiny Abdelsalam

Theses and Dissertations

Increasing environmental concerns regarding climate change and the intensifying challenge of water scarcity in Egypt necessitate the development of innovative, sustainable, and resource-efficient strategies for wastewater reuse. In the built environment, greywater constitutes a significant, relatively low-contaminant wastewater stream that, if treated to comply with Egyptian Codes and relevant international standards, can be safely reused for non-potable applications such as irrigation, landscaping, and building services. This research investigates the efficacy of an integrated green wall panel system, installed on building façades, for decentralized greywater treatment under Egypt’s climatic and environmental conditions, while simultaneously enhancing hygrothermal performance to reduce building energy …

When Words Flow Like Water: How The Enbridge Line 3 Pipeline Environmental Impact Statement Failed To Prevent Hydrogeologic Harm In Minnesota, Carly Gutzmann

Journal of Earth and Life Science

For the aquifers of Minnesota, the environmental impact statement (EIS) was a promise of protection that never left the page. An environmental impact statement is meant to be an aid in the decision making process in order to ensure that projects consider potential environmental harms that may occur. However, they are often used instead as another regulatory box to check, rather than as active considerations when planning. As such, a project plan can be flawed from the start—if project developers only consider environmental impacts after they have already put considerable time, effort, and funding into their project as-is, they may …

Triangulating Primary Sources, Professional Judgement, And Llm-Generated Summaries: Educating Nurses In An Ai-First World, Sarah Oerther, Daniel B. Oerther

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

A Transdisciplinary Approach To Advancing Water Security And Public Health: The “Nurse + Engineer” Model For Achieving Sustainability In Wash Systems Using Community-Based Participatory Research, Daniel B. Oerther, Sarah Oerther

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Human health is linked to the health of the environment, a concept referred to as planetary health. As environmental challenges become increasingly complex, single-disciplinary approaches are insufficient to achieve sustainable solutions. This article presents a transdisciplinary framework, termed the "Nurse + Engineer" model, as a novel methodology for addressing complex problems at the nexus of environmental engineering and public health. The model integrates the technical design and systems-level thinking of environmental engineering with the community-based, patient-centered care of nursing. This work details the key lessons learned from the retrospective application of this framework to a series of multi-year, community-based participatory …

Environmental Engineers Develop Solutions To Problems Of Planetary Health: The Legacy Of Professor P. Aarne Vesilind, Daniel B. Oerther

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The principal ethical obligation of the engineering profession, to "hold paramount the health, safety, and welfare of the public," has been challenged for decades. Professor P. Aarne Vesilind identified two primary deficiencies: an anthropocentric bias that values nature only instrumentally and the use of non-mandatory, aspirational language for environmental protection, which resulted in the exclusion of enforceable environmental canons. This paper argues that two recent developments provide a comprehensive response to Vesilind's recommendations for engineering ethics. First, the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics has redefined environmental engineering as "developing solutions to problems of planetary health." Second, Oerther proposed a …

Element-Based Predictive Modeling Of Hydrothermal Liquefaction Bioproducts Derived From Corn Stover, Isamu Umeda, Meicen Liu, Yi Zheng, Jiefu Wang, Zhiwu Wang, Sandeep Kumar

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

The hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) process offers an energetic advantage over pyrolysis because it does not require prior drying of the biomass feedstock. However, there are significant challenges in simultaneously estimating both the yields and characteristics of products from the HTL of biomass with theoretical support. This study developed a unique element-based kinetic model to predict the yields, higher heating values, and fuel characteristics of solid residue and heavy bio-oil, based on the temperature, residence time, solid loading, and elemental composition (C, H, N, and O) of corn stover. Furthermore, the model predicted the weights of dissolved carbon and nitrogen in …

Analyzing A Benchtop Model Of Combined Heat Power To An Industrial Scale, Chase Steven Carlton, Ashley Leach, Andrew Martin-Biggs, Tessa Wilker

UNH URC Open (2026 and after)

Analyzing a Benchtop Model of Combined Heat Power to an Industrial Scale

Assessing Dissolved Organic Matter Sources And Dynamics In Urban Stormwater: Implications For Greenhouse Gases, Harper W. Schmalz

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Stormwater management ponds (SWMPs) are important aspects of land-use planning and increasingly recognized as active sites of biogeochemical processing that influence carbon cycling; however, little research has investigated the controls on dissolved organic and dissolved inorganic carbon (DOC and DIC) within these systems. This thesis examined the processing and transformations of dissolved carbon between three compartments to support the development of a greenhouse gas (GHG) box-model for urban stormwater ponds, including SWMP sediment, surface water, and vegetation. The objective of this thesis was to assess the biogeochemical processes that govern the rate and transformation of DOC and DIC between these …

Evaluating Stormwater & Carbon Benefits Of Urban Street Trees, Anthony J. Rodriguez Diaz

Theses

Urban areas experience a multitude of environmental challenges, including flooding and air pollution. In response to these pressures, urban forests have emerged as an essential nature-based strategy to enhance resilience and reduce climate-related risks. The implementation and expansion of urban street trees further contribute to this effort by mitigating stormwater runoff and reducing atmospheric carbon emissions.

Fortunately, advances in environmental modeling have made it increasingly possible to quantify these ecosystem services using specialized software. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service's i-Tree suite exemplifies this progress. The software provides a comprehensive set of tools designed to quantify environmental …

Advancing Sustainable Co2 Mitigation: Experimental And Computational Analysis Of Thermal Carbon Chitosan Sorbent For Automotive Exhaust Capture, Dalia A. Ali Dr., Amir Ahmed Elgamal Eng., Rania Rushdy Moussa Dr.

Chemical Engineering

This study investigated the efficiency of thermal carbon chitosan (TCCS) sorbent for CO2 capture from vehicle exhaust emissions within a designed adsorption system. TCCS was synthesized and meticulously characterized using a series of analytical techniques, including Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area analysis, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Ther- mogravimetric Analysis (TGA), Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDX), and Differential Scanning Calo- rimetry (DSC). The TCCS adsorbent showed high thermal stability and a heating value (HHV) of 23.5 MJ/kg. Adsorption isotherm study demonstrated that the maximum capacity of CO2 adsorption is 0.084 kg.CO2/kg. TCCS, as well …

Developing A Waste-To-Energy Assessment Framework Integrating Engineering And Policy Dimensions Using A Triple Bottom Line Approach, Izech Brian O. Edwin, King Harold A. Recto

Electronics, Computer, and Communications Engineering Faculty Publications

The management of municipal solid waste (MSW) in swiftly urbanizing Philippine cities has emerged as a critical concern in both energy and governance. Dependence on landfills is approaching critical thresholds as disposal sites near saturation, transportation costs escalate, and host communities increasingly resist garbage transfers. In response, this study proposes a comprehensive Waste-to-Energy (WtE) assessment framework that integrates engineering evaluation with policy and stakeholder analysis to support sustainable decision- making.

Using Baguio City as a case study, the framework applies a Triple Bottom Line (TBL) approach to evaluate three waste management scenarios: (1) current landfill-dominated practices, (2) engineered landfill with …

Data-Driven Evaluation Of Sustainable Waste-To-Energy Pathways For Intelligent Urban Systems, Izech Brian O. Edwin, King Harold A. Recto

Electronics, Computer, and Communications Engineering Faculty Publications

The handling of municipal solid waste (MSW) in swiftly urbanizing Philippine cities poses intricate energy and governance challenges. In Baguio City, reliance on landfills has reached critical levels due to diminishing capacity, rising transport costs, and opposition to trash transfers by nearby LGUs. Although shaped by unique topographical and governance constraints, Baguio’s situation reflects issues faced by other rapidly growing Philippine cities; therefore, analyzing it offers insights for national MSW decision-making. This study applies a triple bottom line (TBL) framework to assess three management scenarios: (1) Status Quo, where all MSW is landfilled with no energy recovery; (2) Landfill with …

Engineering Risk And Indigenous Resilience Toward Intelligent Decision Support For Mining In Ancestral Lands, Izech Brian O. Edwin, King Harold A. Recto

Electronics, Computer, and Communications Engineering Faculty Publications

Mining within ancestral territories reveals an ongoing conflict between technical viability and Indigenous consent. This collaborative study, conducted by an engineering scholar and a policy researcher of Indigenous heritage in Benguet among the Ibaloi and Kankanaey peoples, investigates how risk transparency and policy alignment can bridge existing divides, while formulating principles applicable to other Indigenous mining contexts. The study provides an initial evaluation of the feasibility of a proposed large-scale mining operation within a risk-informed, data-driven governance framework. Three elements of engineering risk were assessed utilizing literature-derived and proxy parameters: (1) Land degradation is indicated by a Soil Productivity Index …

Modeling Flood Risks For Small-Scale Coastal Watershed Across Shared Socioeconomic Pathway Scenarios, Sebastian Loschner

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

Coastal flooding, driven by the mixture of natural processes and human activities such as precipitation, waves, sea level rise, and urbanization, remains a growing concern. While recent flood-risk studies use IPCC's Shared Socioeconomic Pathways with climate projections to assess future flood exposure, smaller coastal watersheds, < 120,000 acres, remain insufficiently studied. Projected sea level rise is expected to intensify these impacts in smaller systems, potentially causing more severe flooding than reported for larger watersheds. To address this gap, this study used the SRH-2D model integrated with Aquaveo's Surface-water Modeling System to simulate flooding in the lower Fish River basin, Alabama. A coastal watershed sensitive to both riverine and tidal influences. Simulations tested different sea levels based on SSP scenarios corresponding to low, moderate, and high emissions for the years 2050 and 2100. Results indicate that the midcentury scenarios remained even in inundation extent and volume, between 9.9-10.4% compared to the 2020 baseline, the latter scenarios had a wider range in results of between 25.9-50.3% compared to the same baseline. Across scenarios, the most vulnerable and inundated areas of the smaller coastal watershed were the narrow points where upstream flow convene with downstream backwater. These findings highlight the need for futuristic location-specific flood mitigation strategies.

Locations Of Outfalls In The Indian River Lagoon And Lake Worth Lagoon, Florida, Kelly M. Kibler, Melinda J. Donnelly, Vincent Encomio, Madison Giuntoli, Manisha Thenuwara, Brice Bennett, Laura Andrade Barron, Mariam Sonbol, Wynter Raine Seppala, Namritha Ramakrishnan, Jennifer Jordan Báez, Beth Orlando, Irene Arpayoglou, Melissa Meisenburg

Indian River Lagoon Shorelines

The spatial dataset: UCF_Outfalls_IRL_LWL.shp was created under grants from the Indian River Lagoon National Estuaries Program and Florida Sea Grant. These projects cumulatively led to creation of a living shoreline restoration prioritization model and hydrodynamic habitat suitability models for 1,550 km (963 miles) of estuarine shorelines in Indian River Lagoon (IRL) and Lake Worth Lagoon (LWL).

The dataset presented here includes the location of outfalls identified throughout the study region and general characteristics of the shoreline where they were identified.

Seagrass Persistence In The Indian River Lagoon And Lake Worth Lagoon, Florida, Kelly Kibler, Melinda Donnelly, Vincent Encomio, Madison Giuntoli, Manisha Thenuwara, Brice Bennett, Laura Andrade Barron, Mariam Sonbol, Wynter Raine Seppala, Namritha Ramakrishnan, Jennifer Jordan Báez, Beth Orlando, Irene Arpayoglou, Melissa Meisenburg

Indian River Lagoon Shorelines

The spatial dataset: UCF_seagrasspersistence_IRL_LWL.shp was created with support from the Indian River Lagoon National Estuaries Program and Florida Sea Grant. These projects cumulatively led to creation of a living shoreline restoration prioritization model and hydrodynamic habitat suitability models for 1,550 km (963 miles) of estuarine shorelines in Indian River Lagoon (IRL) and Lake Worth Lagoon (LWL). The dataset presented herein represents persistence of seagrass throughout waters of the IRL and LWL.

Living Shoreline Prioritization And Hydrodynamic Habitat Suitability Models For Restoration In The Indian River Lagoon And Lake Worth Lagoon, Florida, Kelly M. Kibler, Melinda J. Donnelly, Vincent Encomio, Madison Giuntoli, Manisha Thenuwara, Brice Bennett, Laura Andrade Barron, Mariam Sonbol, Wynter Raine Seppala, Namritha Ramakrishnan, Jennifer Jordan Báez, Beth Orlando, Irene Arpayoglou, Melissa Meisenburg

Indian River Lagoon Shorelines

The spatial dataset: UCF_shorelinemodel_IRL_LWL.shp, was created with support from the Indian River Lagoon National Estuaries Program and Florida Sea Grant. These projects cumulatively led to creation of a living shoreline restoration prioritization model and hydrodynamic habitat suitability models for 1,550 km (963 miles) of estuarine shorelines in Indian River Lagoon and Lake Worth Lagoon.

The dataset presented herein includes:

1. shoreline data from >15,000 transects collected in the field,
2. shoreline wave climate data created through hydrodynamic modeling and frequency analysis of historic data,
3. categorization of potential risk for shoreline boat wake impact,
4. persistence of seagrass within 210 m of the shoreline, …