August 2006

2006 India Conference: An International Perspective on Environmental and Water Resources

Registration is now open for An International Perspective on Environmental and Water Resources, a conference organized and sponsored by the Environmental & Water Resources Institute (EWRI) of ASCE and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur. This conference will be held in New Delhi, India, December 18-20, 2006, and will offer participants an exciting technical program presented by some of the world’s leading engineers, scientists and planners. While technical sessions will include topics on both developed and developing countries, much of the focus of this conference will be on water resources and the environment in developing countries, especially in Asia.

For additional information regarding conference topics, registration and accommodations, visit the conference website at http://www.asce.org/conferences/india06.

The 2007 Hydraulic Measurements & Experimental Methods Conference (HMEM 2007) is jointly sponsored by the Environmental and Water Resources Institute (EWRI) of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and the International Association of Hydraulic Engineering and Research (IAHR). HMEM 2007 is the third in a series of highly successful HMEM conferences; the first having been held in Buffalo, NY in 1994 and the second in Estes Park, CO in 2002.

HMEM 2007 is scheduled to be held September 10-12, 2007 in Lake Placid, NY. The conference will consist of a three day technical program (Monday - Wednesday) followed by technical field trips (Thursday), and will also include social and networking events.

All relevant topics are encouraged for discussion including new developments in measurement technologies, new analyses that improve data quality or extract increased information from existing tools, unique examples of applications of techniques, the analysis of uncertainty and optimizing the deployment of measurement technologies to minimize uncertainty. Developments of data collection networks, autonomous networks of sensors, and remotely sensed measurements are of special interest. To view a complete list of suggested topics please visit the conference website: http://content.asce.org/conferences/HMEM07.

HMEM 2007 will take place at the Crowne Plaza Resort & Golf Club in Lake Placid, New York. Conveniently situated in the heart of the world famous Olympic Village of Lake Placid and adjacent to the Olympic Center, the Crowne Plaza Resort & Golf Club spans over 1,000 acres offering 360 degree views of the majestic Adirondack mountains and lakes. The Resort is conveniently located in the center of town offering easy walking access to the quaint international shops and restaurants of Main Street. The Crowne Plaza Resort & Golf Club offers a range of amenities such as a 45 Holes of Championship Golf, 11 Tennis Courts, a Private Beach Club, 4 restaurants, indoor pool, and many other amenities to enjoy during your stay.

The deadline for submitting abstracts for this conference is October 31, 2006. Abstracts should describe the theme and content of the proposed paper and should address one or more of the conference topics listed above or noted on the conference website. Abstracts should be submitted electronically via the conference website: http://content.asce.org/conferences/HMEM07.

Steven Abt, P.E., D.WRE, Ph.D., F.ASCE of Fort Collins, CO., has been promoted to Major General, U.S. Army Reserve. MG Abt currently serves as the Director of Operations, Iraq Reconstruction Management Office, U.S. State Department in Baghdad, Iraq. Upon his return, he will assume the duties of the Deputy Chief of Engineers – Reserve, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Washington, D.C.

In his civilian role, MG Abt is a Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering at Colorado State University. He graduated from CSU in 1973 with a Bachelors of Civil Engineering and was a Distinguished Military Graduate of the Army ROTC Program. He also earned his Masters and Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from CSU. Abt is married to Dr. Phyllis Abt, Dean of Instructional Services at Front Range Community College. They have two daughters; Laura, a captain in the U.S. Air Force stationed at Vandenberg AFB, California, and Karen, a graduate student in Political Science at CSU.

All members of the ASCE Board of Direction are expected to communicate effectively with the constituents in their respective regions. The Technical Region is a worldwide, virtual region comprised of ASCE’s seven Institutes. This report is the fourth in a series of brief summaries intended to keep you informed of news from the ASCE Board of Direction. Please do not hesitate to contact me at any time with your questions and concerns. I would especially appreciate receiving any thoughts that you might have on how ASCE and its Technical Region can better serve you.

The election of the second Technical Region Director is concluding this month. Either Max Porter or Tom Rachford will be joining me on the ASCE Board of Direction in October 2006.

Every Institute should now begin focusing on the 2007 ASCE Election. For the first time, the race for ASCE President-Elect is “wide open”. Nearly every region can nominate a candidate and the Technical Region can nominate two. Candidates from the Technical Region must be voting members of ASCE and at least one Institute. Additionally, eligible candidates must have completed one full term as a Director on the ASCE Board of Direction or have served as an Institute Representative to the ASCE Board of Direction between 2000 and 2005.

John Durrant will send out further election information to all Institutes later this month. I have been told that candidates who announce early have an advantage, so please do not wait until the last moment if you believe that your Institute has a worthy and willing individual. It would be wonderful to have an Institute diehard installed within the inner sanctum of ASCE for the next three years!

During July 22 & 23, the ASCE Board of Direction conducted a wide range of discussions and reached a number of decisions that might be of interest to the members of the Technical Region. The following summary of ASCE Board actions is not intended to be all-inclusive. Additional information is or will soon be available at www.asce.org.

I am aware of two items that the ASCE Board of Direction will be asked to act upon at its October 18 & 19 meeting that should be of interest to the Technical Region.

St. Jospeh, Michigan - The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers has named Albert J. Clemmens recipient of the 2006 ASABE Award for the Advancement of Surface Irrigation. The award, which honors individuals who successfully demonstrate and publicize the effective use of surface irrigation, was presented July 12, 2006, at an ASABE luncheon at the Oregon Convention Center, in Portland, where the Society held its Annual International Meeting.

Clemmens was honored for his outstanding contributions that have advanced surface irrigation through the integration of theory, evaluation, and management.

Research leader for the Water Management and Conservation Research Group, U.S. Arid-Land Agricultural Research Center, Maricopa, Arizona, Clemmens has had more than 30 years of experience involving all aspects of water conservation through research, technology transfer and consultancies. He is currently responsible for leading a team of researchers for improved water management in arid regions involved with irrigated agriculture. Clemens’ innovative and practical approaches to theory, simulation and practice of surface irrigation methods have greatly advanced the fundamental understandings of surface irrigation systems and provided practical tools for improving their design and operation. Much of his research has focused on the use of computer technology for the design and operation of irrigation systems.

Clemens is currently serving on the Board of Directors for the American Academy of Water Resources Engineers. A 26-year member of ASABE, he is also a member of the Irrigation Association, various executive and steering committees within the Environmental and Water Resources Institute, and a founding member of EWRI.

The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers is an international educational and scientific organization dedicated to the advancement of engineering applicable to biological, agricultural, and food systems. Founded in 1907 and headquartered in St. Joseph, Michigan, ASABE comprises 9,000 members representing more than 100 countries. Further information on ASABE can be obtained by contacting the Society at (269) 429-0300 (phone) or (269) 429-3852 (fax); hq@asabe.org. Details can also be found at http://www.asabe.org.

Nominations are invited for ASCE awards presented in 2007. Do you know someone whose accomplishments deserve recognition? Your supervisor, mentor or colleague? Please nominate him or her for one of the following prestigious awards that will be presented in 2007:

Nominations for the 2007 awards cycle are now being accepted until November 1, 2006. Please visit http://www.asce.org/awards for awards criteria and to download nomination forms. Questions? Contact Jane Alspach, Senior Manager, ASCE Honors & Awards.

For ASCE, 2005 was a year of great achievement and unprecedented challenge in the face of disaster. The 2005 ASCE Annual Report is now available online. It provides a synopsis of accomplishments in support of the Society's four overarching strategic goals: developing leadership, advancing technology, advocating lifelong learning and promoting the profession, and includes the final audited 2005 financial statement.

» Read about ASCE's 2005 achievements

National Dredging Team and SIMOR Announce Conference on Sediment Management in Watersheds

The National Dredging Team and the Subcommittee on Integrated Management of Ocean Resources (SIMOR) are sponsoring a conference on Managing Sediments in the Watershed: Bringing Dredged Material and Watershed Managers Together August 29-31 in Portland, Oregon. The conference is intended to identify steps needed to include dredged material management in watershed plans and to identify steps needed to include a broader watershed perspective in dredged material management. Dredged material and sediment management that occurs outside watershed planning misses opportunities that could improve navigation, flood and storm damage reduction efforts, and environmental quality in water resource projects. Effective dredged material and sediment management requires open and early communication among federal and state dredged material regulators, watershed planners, and other interested parties in order to:

The conference will take place August 29-31, 2006 at the Doubletree Hotel in Portland, Oregon. For more information contact Molly Madden at madden.molly@epa.gov. To register please visit http://www.sedimentsinwatershed.com/index.php.

EPA has extended the public comment period for the proposed Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations rule to August 29, 2006. The proposal would revise several aspects of EPA's current regulations governing discharges from CAFOs.

Additional information about the proposed rule, and public meetings, including locations and logistics, may be found at http://www.epa.gov/npdes/afo/revisedrule.

New Tool to Enhance the Technical Sustainability of Drinking Water Utilities: Total Coliform Rule: A Handbook for Small Noncommunity Water Systems serving less than 3,300 persons: Part of the Simple Tools for Effective Performance

This new handbook will help owners and operators of small drinking water systems, technical assistance providers, and state drinking water personnel to better understand the Total Coliform Rule provisions under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). It is well known that small public noncommunity water systems labor under many constraints not faced by larger systems. Financing limits, shortages of skilled personnel and physical isolation are among the most critical problems facing small utilities. These systems, in turn, are supported by outside water professionals: engineers, scientists, regulators, technical assistance providers and others. Each entity needs continued education and training that target its particular role in the reliable provision of safe drinking water at a reasonable cost and minimal burden. EPA has developed this up-to-date reference handbook with the intent of enhancing system capacity for prolonged infrastructure sustainability.

The Office of Research and Development (ORD) and the Office of Water have published a series of papers summarizing the research conducted on waterborne disease in the last 10 years. The work includes research supported by EPA and others and is limited to gastrointestinal illness as the health effect of concern. The 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments (SWDA) mandated the Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would conduct five waterborne disease studies and develop a national estimate of waterborne disease.

The EPA, CDC and other authors produced a series of papers that reviews the state of the science, methods to make a national estimate of waterborne disease, models that estimate waterborne illness and recommendations to fill existing data gaps. These papers represent the fulfillment of our SDWA requirement. The papers also represent the most comprehensive review conducted in the last 25 years and the first publication of models and their results developed to estimate waterborne illness on a national level. The papers have been published in the July/August 2006 supplement of Journal of Water and Health. The publications and more information can be found at: http://www.epa.gov/nheerl/articles/2006/waterborne_disease.html.

Four case studies have been published highlighting the accomplishments of four tribes that have adopted EPA-approved water quality standards: the Hoopa Valley Tribe, the Sokaogon Chippewa Community, the Hualapai Tribe, and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Indian Reservation. These case studies provide background information on the tribes, describe the steps the tribes took to develop EPA-approved water quality standards, and discuss how water quality standards have benefited the tribes.

EPA has added 8 new stories to the section 319 Nonpoint Source Success Stories Web site. The Web site features projects receiving grant funds from the Clean Water Act section 319 Nonpoint Source Program that have achieved documented water quality improvements, including the achievement of water quality standards and removal from state section 303(d) lists of impaired waters. The Web site now features 8 additional new stories from Alabama, American Samoa, Connecticut, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Texas, and Vermont. The Web site was launched in August 2005, and now features a total of 32 success stories representing 23 different states, territories, and tribes. Please visit the Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/nps/success.

INDUSTRY NEWS

UNEP

Seeking Environmental Leaders

The world is changing rapidly. Prosperity has reached unprecedented levels. But so have our demands on the environment, and so has the gap between rich
and poor. Natural resources provide services that sustain our lives and are crucial for economic development and human well-being. Using natural resources sustainably is key to ensuring their availability for future generations while satisfying the needs of today.

Effective responses to these challenges demand vision, responsibility and competence.

Do You Want to Join a Global Team of Professionals Committed to Making a Difference?

UNEP is looking for dynamic, creative, forward looking, dedicated and results-oriented senior managers and environmental experts with outstanding leadership qualities, a track record of succeeding in a multi-cultural environment, the capacity to bring together and respond to governments, civil society, the private sector and other partners in creating opportunities and solutions for sustainable development.

This is happening at a moment in time when the United Nations is undergoing reform and when global environmental governance is being redefined.

A significant number of UNEP positions at all levels are currently open for application.

For employment opportunities and how to join UNEP visit www.jobs.un.org or
www.unep.org.

Got Rain?

Rain

In early spring, master gardeners joined elected leaders in the Kansas City region to spread the word about a voluntary initiative to manage stormwater naturally by building rain gardens...thousands and thousands of them.

The "10,000 Rain Gardens" campaign inspired hundreds of citizens to dig in, disconnecting downspouts from the sewer system and channeling runoff from driveways and sloping lawns into rain gardens.

More than 70,000 visitors to the website learned how to collect polluted runoff by digging a shallow basin-like garden to collect stormwater from rooftops and driveways. Rain garden plants naturally absorb and clean the runoff through the deep roots of native prairie plants.

Then, Kansas City experienced the hottest summer on record. Late July and early August heat waves had a withering effect on even the hardiest landscapes.

Luckily, as master gardeners and others found out, rain garden plants are drought-resistant.

A video crew visited a backyard rain garden in the region recently to document results of the 10,00 Rain Gardens campaign in one homeowner's yard. The crew had filmed the planting of the garden a few months earlier, and were shocked by what they saw when they returned in the heat of the summer. Lynn Hinkle's rain garden plants appeared to have been on steroids!

"We have never seen iris grow this tall and robust in such a short time," she remarked. By planting in April, then weeding and watering deeply once a month, she achieved remarkable results. A profusion of butterflies, dragon flies, and hummingbirds have made the rain garden a healthy and mosquito-free environment.

Rain gardens are designed to drain in a day, so they do not hold water on the surface like a water garden. Thus, in a heavy downpour, the garden basin will fill and the plants go to work, drawing the moisture deep into the soil. Any mosquitoes that lay eggs on top of the standing water the first day are soon thwarted in their attempt to pro-create, as the eggs are left high and dry before their normal 5-day gestation.

Native prairie plants are adapted to the conditions of the area, and their deep root systems help to stabilize them during droughts. Additionally, the root channels act as filtration systems to draw excess water down and naturally recharge the aquifer.

So even in the weeks when temperatures consistently topped 100 degrees, the rain garden plants kept growing, and growing, and growing.

With fall planting season just around the corner, Kansas City will again send out brigades of rain garden enthusiasts to encourage homeowners and businesses to plant native prairie plants in rain gardens before the first hard freeze. An effort is underway to solicit charitable donations for community gardens in the urban core.

The goal of 10,000 Rain Gardens in the region continues to draw interest from other municipalities and state governments who want to emulate Kansas City's success. On the Missouri side of the state line, Mayor Kay Barnes and Jackson County Executive Katheryn Shields will hit the airwaves in September to encourage widespread support from citizens. In Kansas, schools in Johnson County will receive a total of $75,000 in grants to install and teach stormwater management techniques using rain gardens and other water catchment systems.

As the long days of the hottest summer ever in this Midwestern city come to an end, the last plants still standing...and blooming...are in rain gardens.

Ordering Information: Visit http://www.pubs.asce.org or call 1-800-548-2723 (U.S.) / 1-703-295-6300 (Int’l.) / 1-703-295-6278 (Fax)

Operating Reservoirs in Changing Conditions contains 44 papers presented at the Operations Management 2006 Conference held in Sacramento, California, August 14-16, 2006. The book provides the most current information on water project operations and maintenance and offers insight into how forecasting and modeling are being used to optimize the benefits of water resources projects and satisfy competing needs. Topics include: Forecasting;

O & M tools; Hydropolitics; Uncertainties; Reallocation of Project Capacity and Benefits; Dealing with Conflict and Public Involvement; and Interagency Coordination of Project Operations.

Tipon: Water Engineering Masterpiece of the Inca Empire reveals the beauty and the ingenuity of this little-known jewel of the Inca Empire. Located down the Huatanay River Valley by the Inca capital of Cusco, Tipon is a 500-acre, self-contained, walled settlement that served as an estate for Inca nobility. This historic agricultural site, which has been farmed and partially irrigated for more than 450 years, is a stunning civil engineering achievement by the Inca, who were masters of irrigation and hydraulic technology. They designed buildings, waterworks, and massive structures to be visually and functionally in harmony with the natural environment. In planning a place that would integrate water, soil, agriculture, and topography, the Inca created a virtual water garden that impresses all who visit. Kenneth R. Wright takes readers on a tour of Tipon’s canals, plazas, aqueducts, and fountains—infrastructure that transformed a remote mountainside into a true engineering marvel. Along with a detailed walking guide and beautiful photographs, this book provides modern engineers and casual tourists alike with an appreciation of the Inca civilization through the great works they left behind.

The organizing committees for the upcoming conferences are currently seeking abstract submissions.

7th International Conference on HydroScience & Engineering*
September 10-13, 2006, Philadelphia, PA

Advanced Detention Routing: Improving the Operation and Effectiveness of Detention Facilities

SPREAD THE WORD

Please forward this message to your friends and colleagues who share an interest in environmental and water-related issues and would like to hear from the Environmental and Water Resources Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Encourage your friends and colleagues to JOIN EWRI and receive all the benefits of being an EWRI Member.