Water Research & News

Retrofit Green Infrastructure to Existing Developments

2011-11-23T17:01:00.001-05:00

Asbury Park Press published an article titled "Low-lying areas vs. flooding is a losing battle" on November 17, 2011. I was interviewed by the staff writer Michelle Gladden and was cited by her in the article. Part of the article reads: "Guo said the focus should be on the larger issue of not generating too much stormwater runoff by implementing changes to infrastructure designs. A more prudent temporary fix would be to retrofit 'green' infrastructure to properties designed prior to the more stringent 2004 guideline, he said." The full article is available from the newspaper website.

Photo to the left shows a stormwater bioretention system that was installed at the Rutgers Stadium south end expansion site. Additional photos can be found from my water photo album.

Three Gorges Dam Visited

2011-11-22T17:12:00.008-05:00

I visited Three Gorges Dam, as a part of the technical tour organized by the Cross Strait Water Resources Conference in late October.

Photo to the left shows downstream face of the Three Gorges Dam. Rest of the photos that I took can be found in my water photo album.

The Three Gorges Dam is a hydroelectric dam that spans the Yangtze River in China. It is the world’s largest power station in terms of installed capacity (20,300 MW). Besides producing electricity, the dam was designed and constructed to increase the Yangtze River's shipping capacity, and reduce the potential for floods downstream by providing flood storage space.

Four Talks Given in China on Water Environment Protection and Restoration

2011-11-19T15:55:00.008-05:00

In late October, I gave two lectures in Shanghai, one theme talk at the Cross Strait Water Resources Conference in Wuhan, and one lecture in the Water Resources Department of Guangdong Province. I reviewed U.S. experiences on water environment assessment, protection, and restoration. I also suggested the need to take further advantage of native microbs in the water environment restoration.

Photo to the left shows Shanghai on east and west sides of the Huangpu River. Rest of the photos that I took can be found in my water photo album.

Hurricane Irene: Implementation of Flood Management Plans for Existing Development Areas

2011-08-31T12:02:00.004-04:00

Hurricane Irene landed on New Jersey in the early morning of August 28, 2011, resulting in heavy rainfall over a large area, leading to the large-scale flooding. Electrical wires were downed by the strong wind, and the road flooding caused delay in access and repair. Some electrical substations were flooded as well. Hundreds of thousands of residents were out of power for several days.

Many stormwater management plans for the existing development areas are already in place, and several major flood control projects are already on the drawing boards. It is yet another reminder for action and water infrastructure investment.

Photo to the left shows flooded gas station, shop, and bridge along the Millstone River in Hillsborough, New Jersey.

Rest of the photos that I took can be found in my water photo album.

Blue-Green Alage Bloom again in Dianchi Lake and new Daring Use of Water Hyacinth

2011-08-05T21:04:00.031-04:00

I went to observe restoration efforts for Dianchi Lake in Kunming City, Yunnan Province while in China in July after giving water-environment lectures in GuangDong Province. The blue-green algae bloomed again, an every-year occurrence since 80's. I was told the lake water quality started to turn bad since the city was expanded and the raw sewage was collected and channeled into the lake. Much effort has been put into restore the lake water quality with some success. The latest effort was to introduce water hyacinth into the lake (and its tributaries) to uptake nutrients from the water. Although water hyacinth is efficient in uptaking phosphorus and nitrogen from water, it can quickly grow out of control jamming the entire water surface. It was thus cultivated in the fenced-out areas and planned to be harvested (and beneficially-used) in a timely fashion. Lets hope for the best.

Photo to the left shows that entire water surface was covered by blue-green algae with the presence of introduced water hyacinth.

Rest of the photos that I took can be found in my algae bloom photo album and my water hyacinth photo album.

Water Environment Lectures in GuangDong, China

2011-07-24T14:07:00.010-04:00

I was invited to give lectures at Sun Yat-Sun University and South China Institute of Environmental Sciences (one of the three research institutes under Ministry of Environmental Protection), both located in GuangZhou, China on July 11 and 12, respectively. The lecture was titled "Water Environment Assessment, Protection, and Restoration."

Photo to the left shows a restored urban stream in GuangZhou, Capital of GuangDong Province, that used to be a covered sewage channel. Photos of other locations that I visited in GuangDong can be found in my water photo album.

2011 EWRI World Environmental and Water Resources Congress Attended

2011-06-18T20:42:00.017-04:00

I attended the EWRI Congress from May 22 to 26 in Palm Springs, California. Our two papers were presented at the Congress and published in the proceedings. They are titled "Maintenance Interval for Stormwater Hydrodynamic Separators" and "Information for Inspection and Maintenance of Stormwater Manufactured Treatment Devices," respectively.

Photo to the left shows fan palms native to California. Additional photos that I took can be found in my water photo album.

Saint Anthony Falls

2011-05-29T21:14:00.012-04:00

I attended the International Symposium on the Future of Environmental Hydraulics on May 12 in Minneapolis, organized by the St. Anthony Falls Laboratory, University of Minnesota.

Photo to the left shows St. Anthony Falls, with downtown Minneapolis in the background. Additional photos that I took can be found in my water photo album.

Replenished Beach at Atlantic City

2011-03-30T10:20:00.002-04:00

Snow-Fed Millstone River

2011-01-28T08:39:00.003-05:00

Beautiful Fall on Raritan River (near my office)

2010-12-01T12:30:00.011-05:00

Pipe up the Leaking Oil: An Initial Success!

2010-06-04T11:10:00.008-04:00

BP announced earlier today that "oil and gas is being received onboard the Discoverer Enterprise following the successful placement of a containment cap on top of the Deepwater Horizon's failed blow-out preventer (BOP). This follows the cutting and removal of the riser pipe from the top of the BOP's lower marine riser package (LMRP)."

Congratulations to BP, U.S. Government, and everybody involved!

I hope performance of the system would be enhanced soon to minimize or eliminate the residual oil leak around the imperfectly fitted/sealed cap.

Pipe up the Leaking Oil - The New LMRP-Cap Attempt to Succeed

2010-05-30T14:38:00.013-04:00

It has been more than one month since BP (British Petroleum) and the U.S. Government started to attempt stopping the catastrophic oil leak at Gulf of Mexico. I have not paid much attention until yesterday when I heard that an estimated 20 million gallons of oil have already leaked out, and the latest attempt to "top kill" the leak failed.

In general, it is easier to channel out the flow than to plug the flow. I hope the new "flow channeling" attempt, using the Lower Marine Riser Package (LMRP) Cap Containment System, would work.

The idea (see the graph) is to connect the LMRP Cap to oil outlet of the Blowout Preventor (BOP), with the help of Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs). The oil would then be piped up to the waiting surface ship, approximately 5,000 ft above.

The cap (with the pipe on top) must be lined up with the BOP outlet, and be connected and sealed to it, all to be done inside the oil gusher under an extremely high ambient sea water pressure (above 2,000 pounds per squared inch) and dark, turbid environment. I visually estimate the gushing oil would have a flowing velocity of only about a foot per second. The relatively weak oil gushing velocity, alone, should not create a problem for the pipe lining up and connecting. The high ambient pressure would not be a huge inconvenience either as long as pressures inside and outside the cap (and the pipe) are maintained essentially the same.

The question is whether this new attempt would succeed. I think it would. Many lessons have been learned from the previous attempts, especially on formation of the gas hydrates (the ice crystals).

There is also a concern about whether the new attempt would make the matter worse if it were to fail. I do not think it would make it worse, at least not significantly. There are multiple openings (at least two large ones) along the collapsed riser pipe at this time. Cross section area of the sole opening to be cut at top of the BOP should not be much larger, if at all, than sum of the areas of multiple openings. Moreover, change in the head losses would have a minor effect, considering the oil pressure head available.

The oil leak and subsequent several failed attempts (thus far) to stop the leak, yet again, highlight the importance of disaster prevention, preparation, response, and emergency engineering measures.

Image credit: BP

Severe Drought Hit Southwest China

2010-03-27T14:15:00.021-04:00

Impacts: The dry spell has ravaged southwest China for months, affecting 61.3 million residents and 5 million hectares (12 million acres) of crops in Guizhou, Yunnan, Sichuan, Chongqing, and Guangxi. The drought has left 18 million residents and 11.7 million heads of livestock in the region with drinking water shortages and caused direct economic losses of 23.7 billion yuan (3.5 billion U.S. dollars).

Emergency responses: 30-thousand soldiers and 200-thousand reservists are busy with the relief work. They delivered 44-thousand tons (12 million U.S. gallons) of fresh water and dug nearly 1-thousand wells in the drought-plagued region; An effort is also being made to induce artificial rain; etc.

Causes: Less than a half of normal rainfall and continuous high temperature, resulting from the El Nino weather pattern in the tropical Pacific Ocean since last Summer; Karst topography in some areas where the surface water is leaked to the almost intractable subterranean drainage system; Contamination of some source waters by human activities; Lack of drought-defense engineering measures; People farming and living sparsely in remote mountainous villages making them difficult to reach during the emergency response; etc. Identifying the causes would hopefully lead to proper long-term solutions.

Photo: Rice paddy fields in the mountainous area, from news.163.com

New Jersey Flooded, Again, by March 2010 Nor'easter

2010-03-20T16:26:00.008-04:00

Five to eight inches of rain hit New Jersey causing serious flooding, again. Strong winds also uprooted trees and downed power lines. The severe flooding has again triggered debates on conquer (engineering projects) vs. retreat (home buyouts). The debates tend to go on forever, but we probably can not afford to wait much longer.

Photo: Flooding along Passaic River, from chinanews.com

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers May Reopen Flood Study for Passaic River

2009-12-01T22:16:00.019-05:00

A news article appeared in today's edition of The Record, the newspaper for northern New Jersey, titled "Corps may revisit flooding study."

I was interviewed by the reporter, Andrea Alexander, and cited by her in the article.

Some paragraphs from the article follow:

"Since 1936, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has wrestled with how to reduce flooding in the 983-square-mile Passaic River Basin — one of the most densely developed flood plains along the Eastern Seaboard. However, no comprehensive plan has ever come to fruition since a proposal was shelved in the mid-1990s for a $1.8 billion, 21-mile tunnel to divert floodwaters to Newark Bay."

"But the corps might be getting ready to tackle the question again in response to urging by members of a task force spearheaded by state Assemblyman Scott Rumana, R-Wayne, and a request from the state Department of Environmental Protection."

"Any project or series of projects that gets recommended would have to compensate for the natural characteristics of the Passaic River system. Damage from floods in the Passaic basin has been staggering over the years. The latest, in April 2007, was the worst in decades: 5,000 people evacuated and $686 million in damage."

"The basin is unique because two major rivers, the Pompton and Passaic, converge in a low-lying area that naturally does not have sufficient drainage, explained Qizhong Guo, a water resources engineer at Rutgers University."

"He compared the river system to a bathroom drain that is not large enough, so when there is too much water, it overflows. And, adding to the problem are the nearly 550 homes built in the floodwaters' immediate path. According to the DEP, there are 20,000 homes, businesses, and public buildings in areas that are susceptible to flooding in the Passaic River Basin."

"Development that takes away land that can absorb floodwaters makes the problem worse, but Guo said it's not the major factor. Historical data back him up: The worst flood to hit the area in 100 years occurred in 1903, when North Jersey was a lot less developed. The Passaic River crested at 17.5 feet, about 5.5 feet higher than during the 2007 flood."

"Any flood mitigation project would not be able to stop the type of flood seen once in a 100 years, but Rumana said something is needed that would 'take the teeth out the tiger and minimize that severe impact.' "

The article source: The Record www.northjersey.com

The map source: upload.wikimedia.org

New Green Building at Yale

2009-07-08T08:01:00.016-04:00

Kroon Hall is the new home for the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. It is a truly sustainable building: a showcase of the latest developments in green building technology. The most interesting part to me is the rainwater harvesting system and cleansing pond outside the building (photo to the left).

The Sustainable/Climate Neutral features include:

•Demolition and construction waste was recycled
•Geothermal benefit from the underground placement of the north side of the lowest level
•Solar heat gain in winter and natural lighting year round along the long unobstructed south-facing wall
•Rooftop solar panels facing south
•Solar hot water heaters
•Geothermal energy system
•Natural light and ventilation
•Natural light is augmented with artificial light to maintain a constant lighting level; the latter is also controlled by sensors that shut off automatically if no one is present
•Manually operable windows utilize natural air circulation
•Green construction materials including “thermally inactive” concrete and low-E glass and insulation, waterless urinals and low-impact paint
•Recycled, recyclable, sustainably harvested or manufactured nontoxic materials
•Sustainably harvested wood
•Exterior stone quarried within 500 miles of campus
•Rainwater harvesting system and cleansing pond

The pond pictured above is an integral portion of a rain water re-use system which is part of the Kroon Hall project. The system collects runoff from the building's roof and from portions of the grounds. Once collected, the water is held in a settling tank which allows the majority of the sediment to settle out. From there, the water is moved to a storage tank, combined with any excess water from the geothermal wells, and slowly recirculated through the surface treatment pond (shown above). The pond employs aquatic plants to further cleanse the water, while also providing an enjoyable and relaxing area for the whole community. Finally, after the water is filtered and disenfected, it can be used for toilet flushing in the building, and for landscape irrigation.

My album contains additional photos on exterior as well as interior of the building.

Info credit: Yale University website

ANNOUNCEMENT: Henry Hudson New Generation Water Competition

2009-04-30T12:36:00.015-04:00

Henry Hudson 400 Foundation invites undergraduates, including 2009 graduates, in marine and environmental studies, engineering, oceanography, urban design and planning, policy planning, public health, and any other related major to submit proposals on the topic Sustainability for Coastal Cities. See below for details.

• Topic: Sustainability for Coastal Cities
• Instructions: Submit a one-page description of an innovative solution to the challenges of Sustainability for Coastal Cities.
• For more information and application: http://www.henryhudson400.com/hh400_project.php?id=32
• Deadline May 29, 2009

Winners receive
• Cash prizes
• Internships at major companies
• All expenses paid invitation to international H209 Forum on September 9-10 at Liberty Science Center.
• Awards presented by Prince of Orange of The Netherlands, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., members of Obama’s environmental team, and top NY/NJ officials.

New Generation Competition is the centerpiece of the H209 Forum for business leaders, policy and decision makers, and environmental and planning experts. H209 Forum celebrates the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s pioneering voyage that led to the settlement of what is now New York City. For more information, visit www.henryhudson400.com

I was asked by the organizer to help publicize the competition.

Photo: New York Harbor near Jersey City, New Jersey, from Wikimedia Commons.

Sustainable Path (Soft Path) to Water Future

2009-03-28T17:25:00.007-04:00

I attended a seminar given by Dr. Peter Gleick of the Pacific Institute earlier today at Rutgers University. Dr. Gleick offered six soft paths to the water future. I took quick notes of the six paths as follow:

1) Invest in decentralized infrastructure
2) Match water quality requirements with water designated uses
3) Do not take the demand for granted (i.e., Do more with less water)
4) Expand definition of water supply
5) Price water properly
6) Expand concepts of regulation and institutions

I was a part of the team that organized the seminar.

A Very High Sewer Fee?

2009-03-19T12:45:00.022-04:00

I recently received a sewer bill from my township and my household was charged an annual fee of approximately one thousand dollars! Could it be called the "money down the drain?"

Township of Montgomery, New Jersey has just instituted a new usage-based sewer fee schedule. I applaud the township's change that would provide fairness as well as encourage water conservation.

But the expensive part of the sewer service also caught my attention. It was about twice the water fee! That is, it costs about twice as much to get rid of the wastewater as to receive the potable water.

The sewer fee is being calculated by the township as follows:

Base Fee = $200 per unit

Usage Fee = $6.88 per ccf* of water used

* 1 ccf per year = 100 cubic feet of water per year = 2.05 gallons per day

For example, if 50 gallons of water is used per person per day (in winter and spring seasons), the annual sewer fee for a household of 4 would be 871 dollars.

Mayor Louis Wilson, quoted in an article published in the February 10, 2009 edition of Montgomery News, provided two explanations for why the sewer fee is so high in the township:

(1) The township owns and operates eight small sewage treatment plants, and thus there is no economy of scale that we could get by being part of a regional sewer system.

(2) Our plants discharge into local streams and brooks rather than into a larger river, and thus they must meet a very high water quality standard for the (treatment plant) effluent.

The Mayor's explanations are reasonable.

The township population was only 23,023 based on the 2007 census estimate. That is, each treatment plant, in average, is serving a community of less than 3,000 people. Average capacity of the treatment plants is probably only about 0.2 million gallons per day (MGD), while capacity of a regional treatment plant would be from tens to hundreds MGD. According to a State of Wisconsin survey, the sewer fee for small communities (population less than 2,000) is approximately twice that for large communities (population greater than 50,000).

With an average household of $840, the sewer fee charged by Montgomery Township is actually not very high in comparison to other small communities in the US.

Nevertheless, I need to start checking how my family could consume less water. Although consuming less water would be good for the environment, I do not expect a significant sewer fee reduction since the township would need to operate and maintain the same infrastructure, and replacing the existing infrastructure would be costly.

It would also be interesting to find out how the township could reduce the treatment cost, if possible at all. To reduce the treatment cost, control of specific pollutant sources as well as use of innovative technologies could be explored. But cost of the treatment itself, e.g., chemicals, is typically a small fraction of the total O&M cost.

Credit: The image above of "Pike Brook (Sewage) Treatment Plant" was located and cropped from Virtual Earth.

My album contains additional photos of the Pike Brook Sewage Treatment Plant and its effluent receiving water.

Dye the Chicago River Green

2009-03-17T20:11:00.004-04:00

In celebration of Saint Patrick's Day, the Chicago River has been turned green for about a day for the past 40 years.

On February 14, forty (40) pounds of vegetable-based, non-toxic dye was poured into the Chicago River in downtown Chicago, turning the water green. The green color would typically last for about a day, depending on the flow conditions. By the way, the exact dye ingredients remain a secret.

I think it is a lot of fun, and it is great that residents are enjoying their river!

Photo credit: Xinhua News Agency (Hu Guangyao)

Info source: www.greenchicagoriver.com

NJ's Somerset County Flood Information System and NWS' Middle Atlantic River Forecast Center: In Action to Notify and Project Local Flooding

2008-12-12T09:47:00.044-05:00

I knew it had been raining since yesterday, but was the bridge (that I normally drove across to work) closed?

I opened my e-mail, and found a message, sent by Somerset County, New Jersey early this morning at 5:03 AM, notifying me that the bridge had been closed. Per suggestion of Mr. Carl Andreassen, the Principal Hydraulic Engineer for the County, I signed up for this
e-mail notification service about a month ago, and this is the first flood-related notification that I received.

Whenever the river level/stage rises up to seven (7) feet, the action stage, the police will be dispatched by the emergency services to close the bridge. The flood stage at this location is nine (9) ft. That is, the bridge will not actually be flooded until the water level reaches 9 ft. There is a stream gauge located close to the bridge; its measured water level is transmitted to the Somerset County Flood Information System via a satellite transmitter as well as a phone line, as a direct connection. The stream gauge is operated by the U.S. Geological Survey. See the picture for the actually measured water level, as indicated by the blue line.

The National Weather Service (NWS)'s Middle Atlantic River Forecast Center, via NWS' Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service (AHPS), go further to project what the water level might actually approach. See the picture for the predicted water level, as indicate by the dotted green line.

According to the NWS' AHPS prediction, the bridge would remain closed through the evening during my commute home. Of course, I can check the actually measured water level right before I leave my office. I can also assume the bridge would remain closed until a further e-mail notice, a bridge re-opening notice, from Somerset County.

It is nice to live in the information age!

Credit: The image above was made from the NWS's MARFC website.

My presentation contains additional info on flood forecast and warning as well as other aspects of urban flood management.

Water Main Bursts in Franklin Township, New Jersey

2008-11-30T21:11:00.012-05:00

In the late morning of November 18, 2008, a 60-inch water main broke in Franklin Township, Somerset County, New Jersey. The burst had a ripple effect on 100,000 customers in Somerset, Middlesex and Union counties, prompting officials to close schools and residents to boil water. (Both my home and office were affected.)

Complaints ranged from low water pressure to no water at all in 18 towns, said Richard Barnes, a spokesman for New Jersey American Water. As a precaution, the utility issued a boil water advisory.

The rushing water eroded the earth underneath the road, washing away part of Weston canal Road. Water gushed into the Delaware and Raritan Canal. (See the picture.)

The main is a major pipeline for transmission of water, and was first installed in 1958.

Although the cause of the break is still under investigation, this incident again highlights the urgent need for condition monitoring and rehabilitation of the nation's water infrastructure.

(Info Source: The Star-Ledger. Photo Credit: Ed Pagliarini, MyCentralJersey.Com)

Hurricane Gustav on News Orleans: A Narrow Miss

2008-09-01T14:19:00.007-04:00

Gustav has made the landfall near Cocodrie, Louisiana, 72 miles southwest of New Orleans, as a category 2 hurricane. New Orleans has avoided a direct hit, what a relief!

Map to the left shows the levee system to protect New Orleans. The levee system was breached at numerous locations during Hurricane Katrina (category 3) three years ago. The levee system has since been repaired to or beyond the pre-Katrina protection level. However, the levee system planned by the US Army Corps of Engineers to protect the city from a "100-year storm" is still being re-built or newly constructed and will not be completed by 2011.

It should be pointed out that the strength (height and speed) of a surge at a specific location depends on the approaching angle of the hurricane as well as the type and length of the channel that the initial surge would have to travel through, not just the category number. Highly sophisticated computer models are available and can be used to forecast the flood level more accurately.

I applaud the coordinated efforts by Federal, State, and local authorities to successfully inform and evacuate residents in advance. Forecasting the flood level is not yet an exact science, but it is better to be safe than sorry.

For Gustav, the surge water has now entered the city canals, and some water is splashing over the top of the Industrial Canal (the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal on the map). May the levee system in New Orleans continue to hold and the water drainage/pumping system continue to function to minimize the property damages!

(Source of Map: 2006 Report by the US Army Corps of Engineers)

The Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary

2008-08-13T21:04:00.018-04:00

My family and I visited Cape Cod and Boston last weekend. Photo to the left shows a family of four whales (two parents above water and two babies under water) hanging around our tour boat. Awesome!!!

My album contains additonal photos of the whale watching.

Fish Ladder at Lake Lenape Dam, Mays Landing, New Jersey

2008-07-15T19:13:00.011-04:00

I visited Lake Lenape Dam yesterday. It is about 20 miles west of Atlantic City.

The photo to the left shows a fish ladder that was constructed at the dam in 2006. The fish ladder provides passage for migratory fish with access to 15 miles of upstream spawning and foraging habitat. The dam is co-owned by Atlantic County and Hamilton Township.

Entrance is adjacent to the spillway discharge (on right side of the photo) at invert elevation of 1 foot below the mean sea level. The ladder exits into the lake (on left side of the photo next to the non-operating powerhouse) at invert elevation of 8.3 feet above the mean sea level. The fish ladder is 200 feet long.

A beautiful lake, a beautiful water fall (spillway discharge), a renewable source of energy, plus happy fish! What more we could ask for from a good old dam?

My album contains additional photos of the dam.

Iowa City Flood 2008

2008-06-22T21:54:00.007-04:00

Photo to the left shows the flooded Iowa River at the renowned University of Iowa hydraulics lab on June 14.

I visited the lab twice in the past. Folks there actually used a real fish to test how it would move up the fish ladder. The fish ladder is installed at many dams, and is a life passage for migratory fish such as salmon.

(Photo Credit: James Hemsley)

Update 6 (Final Update): A Great Success in "Quake Lake" Draining! Congratulations to Chinese Engineers! (唐家山堰塞湖排水获巨大成功! 热烈祝贺中国工程师们!)

2008-06-10T09:52:00.038-04:00

A deep channel has cut through the landslide dam by the "natural" current. See photo to the left for the initially cut through channel around 9:00 a.m., June 10, Beijing time, with lake water surface elevation of about 742 m and discharge rate of about 1,200 cubic meters per second. Channel inlet bottom elevation was cut down from 740 m to about 720 m (about 20 meters lower) and channel was cut wider from about 10 m to about 150 m. The lake water level was brought down from its highest at 742.96 m (8:00 p.m., June 9, Beijing time) to the present reading of 719.48 m (8:00 p.m., June 10, Beijing time). As a result, over 100 million cubic meters of the lake water was drained out of the lake. The population at risk of future downstream flooding has been reduced from 1.3 million (upon catastrophic collapse of the landslide dam) to 50,000.

Although the peak discharge rate was very high at 6,420 cubic meters per second during the course of channel cutting and lake water draining (and was rapidly increased to this peak value from 500 cub. m/s within three and half hours, from 7.56 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on June 10), the downstream area flooded by this release of water was far less than the planned 1/3 dam collapse inundation zone. Note over 200,000 people were already evacuated about 10 days ago, in preparation for the possible 1/3 dam collapse scenario. Therefore, I would define this initial draining of the "quake lake" water as a great success! The engineers' original drainage scheme including the sluice channel design worked.

Congratulations to the Chinese engineers for their great success!

P.S.: I am also glad that my projection of the unnecessary second, deeper drainage channel to "force" an additional outflow was correct (see my Update 5 posted on June 8). Construction of the second channel was stopped at 6:00 p.m., June 9 as the lake outflow through the first already-constructed channel increased to 81 cubic meters per second (cms) and was approaching the lake inflow rate of 115 cms.

Photo credit and info source: Xinhuanet

Update 5: Lake Started to Drain through Sluice Channel "Naturally" and Second being Dug to "Force" Additional Draining ("自然"道流开始了，正在开挖第二条导流槽强行增大排水量)

2008-06-08T09:45:00.024-04:00

At midnight of June 6 (Beijing time), the lake water level rose to 740 m, the highest bottom elevation of the constructed drainage/sluice channel. The outflow was anticipated to start at that moment. However, a 0.4 m high dirt block was later constructed in the channel in order for soldiers to make the channel wider, deeper, and steeper (no specific channel dimensions were given). The soldiers were dispatched back to the dam to modify the channel in the afternoon of June 6.

At 7:08 a.m., June 7 (Beijing time), the "natural" outflow started. The reported flow rates were 2 cubic meters per second at 2:15 p.m. (with current velocity of 1.5 m/s) and 10 m3/s at 6:00 p.m. (at 741.02 m lake level). On June 8, the reported flow rates were 20 m3/s at noon (at 741.82 m) and 25 m3/s at 7:15 p.m. These inflow rates were much smaller than the reported rate of inflow to the lake, more than 100 m3/s.

The landslide dam was stable, but was not getting removed. The drainage channel was not scouring significantly and not getting much wider and deeper due to the relatively small outflow rate. The outflow rate is relatively small thus far since it would take some time to build up the lake water level/head above the channel bottom to push the water through. The slow water level rise is a result of the relatively small upstream inflow rate (due to the relatively small rainfall in the upstream watershed). The outflow rate was also reduced by partial blockage of the channel by debris floating down from the lake.

While clearing out or breaking down floating debris on the lake surface, we could simply wait for the lake water to rise several more meters so that all the inflow (more than 100 m3/s) would be pushed through the channel. We could also wait for the next rain storm that would lead to a higher outflow rate. The high outflow rate (more than 100 m3/s) would scour the existing channel deeper and wider and would eventually form a relatively stable channel through the landslide dam. If we are lucky enough, there might not be much of the landslide dam left afterward. This was exactly what Chinese engineers originally planned for, I assume.

However, understandably, Chinese leaders, engineers, and especially over 200,000 residents who have been relocated to the high ground since about ten days ago (plus other over one million residents on high alert for emergency evacuation) are running out of patience.

To increase the outflow rate, it was decided yesterday to dig another, deeper channel several meters away from the existing channel. These two channels are anticipated to merge together once the dirt barrier between the two channel is washed away during a high flow.

At the end of the second channel digging, the soil/debris pile at the inlet would have to be removed by a remotely-controlled explosion. Since the inlet bottom elevation would be below the lake water level at that time, once the inlet is blast open, water will gush out from the "quake lake", in addition to that being released out from the first channel.

My four concerns for digging the second channel, in comparison to waiting for a "natural" enlargement of the first channel:

1) Engineers and soldiers are working in a highly risky environment;

2) The explosion used to open the channel inlet, though of relatively small strength, might still trigger a catastrophic collapse of the landslide dam;

3) The sudden gush of water, immediately after the explosion, might create an impact or shear force too strong for the dam to stand, leading to a catastrophic collapse;

4) The wider channel (the existing plus the new) would lead to a lower lake level (a smaller head) in front of the channel and a smaller current velocity. The smaller current velocity may not be sufficiently large to continue scour the channel(s) and to eventually remove the dam.

My best wishes to the additional efforts to release water from the landslide dam at Tangjiashan, but maybe a better option is to leave where it is and let the first channel do the entire job, "naturally!"

Therefore, I would like to suggest a halt to construction of the second channel on the dam.

我建议停止开挖第二条导流渠。原因如下：

1。现有的导流渠正冲得越宽越深，泄流量正变得越来越大，也就是说，正在平稳走向全功能发挥作用。我估计再过一至两天，水位就会涨到一定高程（最多涨到 744 米），排水流量就可以达到每秒一百多立方米，泄水量就会大于进水量，湖水位就会开始降落而越来越底。继续开挖第二条导流渠就没有必要了。

2。继续开挖第二条导流渠可能会带来溃坝的风险。进水口要炸开，爆炸本身有可能引起溃坝。炸开口后的突然大量来流也有可能引起坝趾过度冲刷而掏空，而溃坝。

3。两条渠道加起来可能会太宽，水头会太底，流速会太底，而无法达到既慢慢冲走堰塞体又不发生倾刻溃决的最理想目的。

4。工程师和战士们现在在堰塞体上操作有一定的生命危险。

Info source: Xinhuanet

Update 4: Possible Upstream Landslide to Trigger Dam Collapse (如上游滑坡会瞬间引起溃决) - Landslide Dam Removal at Tangjiashan "Quake Lake"

2008-06-03T22:53:00.013-04:00

Within the upstream "quake lake" area, a massvie mountain slope is at risk of sliding down. If the upstream landslide does occur, a huge surge will be created in the lake, leading to an instant collapse of the existing landslide dam. This was warned by Mr. Liu Ning (family name given name), the Chief Engineer of China Ministry of Water Resources.

水利部总工程师、唐家山堰塞湖抗震抢险指挥部专家组组长刘宁说：“根据多次实地考察，唐家山堰塞湖淹没的漩坪镇下方，存在一个２０００多万方的滑坡体，一旦发生滑动，会造成巨大的涌浪，瞬间引起溃决。”

Info source: Xinhuanet

Update 3: Significant Seepage Observed (大量水渗过堰塞体) - Landslide Dam Removal at Tangjiashan "Quake Lake"

2008-06-02T11:31:00.015-04:00

Rate of water seepage suddenly increased from the bottom of the landslide dam at 14:50 on June 1 (Beijing time). Fortunately, up to 17:00 on June 2, the seepage flow rate was stabilized to approximately 10 cubic meters per second. I estimated this as about 10 percent of upstream inflow rate to the "quake lake." In my opinion, this seepage rate is still quite large. I hope this would not lead to a "piping" failure of the landslide dam before the start of the natural outflow from the completed drainage /sluice channel.

At 14:00 on June 2, the lake water level was at 735.78 m. Since not much rain is in the forecast for the coming days, the natural water discharge from the lake is now expected to occur on June 5.

“1日14时50分，唐家山堰塞湖坝底一处渗漏出现流量忽然加大的情况，但到2日17时为止，流量基本稳定在10个流量左右。” 我估算这相当于进湖水流量的十分之一。我认为这渗流量太大了。但愿不会(在自然导流之前）发生堰塞体内管涌而溃堤。

“截至2日14时，唐家山堰塞湖水位高程为735.78米，比24小时前上涨1.24米。因气象部门预测近日无明显降雨，水利专家测定唐家山堰塞湖泄洪时间可能推迟到6月5号左右。”

Info source: Xinhuanet

Update 2: Final Constructed Drainage/Sluice Channel Dimensions (最后建成导流明渠尺寸) - Landslide Dam Removal at Tangjiashan "Quake Lake"

2008-05-31T22:58:00.032-04:00

By 22:00 May 31 (Beijing time), the entire channel was finalized and completely constructed (see photo to the left for a view of the channel inlet segment). The final channel dimensions are: Total length = 475 m; bottom elevation of inlet segment = 740 m, bottom width > 7 m; bottom elvation of the middel segment = 740 m, bottom width > 7 m; bottom elevation of outlet segment = 739 m, bottom width > 10 m.

The channel was further changed to make the bottom wider in the downstream segment than the upstream segment and the bottom slope milder in the upstream segment than the downstream segment.

[Other reports: 1）"Leaving a 475-meter-long channel up to 10 meters wide on the giant blockage". 2）The total channel length as 475 m, inlet elevation down to 740 m, and outlet elevation down to 738 m. 3）Inlet channel bottom elevation of 739.15 m - at the inlet edge I assume. 4) Near 4 meters wide at the narrowest location from a CCTV reporter (Bai Songyan)'s body measurements]

“经过前方６２１名和后方４００名武警官兵、水利专家连续６天昼夜奋战，截至３１日２２时，唐家山堰塞湖应急疏通工程建设任务正式完成。”

“唐家山堰塞湖抢险现场副总指挥、水利部总工程师刘宁介绍说，截至３１日２２时，共完成土石方开挖１３．５５万立方米，钢丝笼护坡４２００立方米，疏通道路１７公里，平整场地１４０４０立方米，清障树木３５０００立方米。此次抢险共投入推土机２６台，自卸车４台。”

“截至目前，开挖的泄流槽总长４７５米，进口段底高程７４０米，底宽大于７米。中间段高程７４０米，底宽大于７米。出口段高程７３９米，底宽大于１０米。”

[其它报导: 1）475 米长宽至 10 米。2）“泄洪槽总长475米，泄洪槽进口高程降至740米，出口高程降至738米。”3）泄流槽（进口）高程739.15米 - 我想是在进口边缘。4）中央电视台记者白岩松用身体测量最窄处近四米宽。]

Info source: Xinhua; Photo credit: Reuters

Update 1: Channel Dimensions Changed - Two Meter Deeper and Bottom Slope Milder (明渠改深及底坡缓了）- Landslide Dam Removal at Tangjiashan "Quake Lake"

2008-05-31T08:56:00.060-04:00

The channel inlet would be made two meters deeper, and the channel outlet one meter deeper. Over almost the same channel length, the bottom slope would be much milder at about half of what originally planned. The changed channel dimensions are: Length = 320 m, top width = 50 m, bottom width = 8 m. Depth at upstream end = 10 m, that is, the dam was excavated from the original top surface elevation of 750 m down to 740 m. Depth at downstream end = 13 m, that is, the dam was excavated from the original top surface elevation of 752 m down to 739 m. The channel is expected to be completed by noon (New York time) or midnight (Beijing time) today.

At 14:10 Beijing time, the lake water level was 734 m, still 6 m below the channel bottom. The water level rising speed was 1.5 m per day. The lake level is expected to rise up to the channel bottom in three or four days and the water would start to discharge downstream through the channel.

Change to the deeper channel was attributed to a desire for an earlier water release (because of the decreased channel bottom elevation). They were able to make this change because the construction was several days ahead of schedule. The original plan to blow open an entrance to the drainage channel using explosives was also scraped since it was no longer necessary. The change to a milder bottom slope was not explained.

Due to complex and likely unknown soil properties of the massive landslide dam, there would still be a possibility of catotrophic collapse even with a proper design and construction of the drainage channel.

All the 190,000 people expected to be affected by the 1/3 dam collapse scenario have been evacuated.

I would define success as the downstream water level rises to or below that projected for the 1/3 dam collapse scenario. I am of course hoping for a smaller water level rise downstream (thus less damages) if the water release and dam removal would indeed occur slowly.

Yesterday, I sent my best wishes and my thoughts (or reminder) on proper design and construction of the drainage channel to the China Ministry of Water Resources. This is possibly the best thing that I could do for my motherland within the distance and time constraints.

“修好(改变)后的导流明渠全长320多米，顶宽50米，底宽8米。上游深度为10米。就是从原来的750高程降低到现在的740高程。下游深度为13米，也就是从原来的752高程降低到现在的739高程。导流明渠修好后将不再实施爆破导流，而是自然溢流。"

"目前，唐家山堰塞湖的水位是734米，距离最低过流面740还有6米，目前水位增长速度是每天1.5米左右。以这种速度计算的话，三、四天后唐家山堰塞湖将开始导流。"

"按唐家山堰塞湖三分之一溃坝方案需撤离的绵阳十九万民众今天上午八点已全部转移到安全地带。”

我认为如果排水除坝过程中下游水位不超过三分之一溃坝方案线, 就是成功。当然，我希望湖水会真的慢慢下降，下游水位会上升更底而损失更小。

我已于昨天把我最良好的祝愿和对导流明渠最优设计与建造的想法(或提醒)发送给了中国水利部。由于距离及时间的限制，这也许是我能为我的祖国做的最好的事。

Info source: CCTV.com

The Most Daring Landslide Dam Removal in Human History: Proper Design and Construction of Drainage Channel is Key to Success (唐家山堰塞湖-泄洪槽设计和建造是成功关键)

2008-05-29T22:25:00.078-04:00

It just came to my full realization that the Chinese authorities are actually trying to release the water and remove the landslide debris/dam simultaneously at the Tangjiashan "quake lake." Apparently, keeping the dam in place was not an option. The dam removal and water release operation will start within several days!

A drainage/sluice channel is being dug through top of the dam, and is almost completed (see photo to the left). Once the water starts to flow in the channel, water current will scour the channel bottom and the channel sides. The channel will become wider and deeper while water level in the "quake lake" will be lower and lower. The channel bottom and sides will scour because of steep slope of the channel being dug.

If it works perfectly, a good mixture of debris/soil and water will be flowing gradually downstream, water in the lake will be draining down slowly, and the dam itself will disappear steadily. In this scenario, the flooding downstream will be minimal, although some debris/soil will deposit along the way.

However, if scour of the channel is not gradual and initial release of the water triggers a catastrophic collapse of the dam, entire volume of the lake water will rush downstream rapidly, leading to devastating downstream flooding and destruction.

Therefore, this daring engineering has to be designed and executed extremely carefully. A detailed hydrodynamic and sediment transport analysis (including computer modeling and physical modeling which Chinese engineers are fully capable of conducting) would help properly design and construct the channel. A reinforcement at downstream end of the channel and/or diversion of the released water far away from toe of the dam may also be necessary.

The best wishes to the Chinese endeavors!!!

The channel dimensions are: Channel length = 300 m, bottom width = 13 m, top width = 50 m, inlet bottom elevation = 742 m, outlet elevation = 740 m (i.e., an elevation drop of 2 m over the length of 300 m, a steep slope that will definitely result in soil scour once the water flow starts), upstream depth = 8 m, downstream = 12 m. Total volume of the debris/dam = 20,370,000 cubic meters. At 8:00 a.m. of May 29, 2008 (Beijing time), lake water level = 730.13 m (rising), water depth = 62.58 m, lake water volume = 161,000,000 cubic meters.

Three downstream evacuation plans were planned: 1/3 of the dam opened up instantly, 1/2 of the dam opened up instantly, and the entire dam opened up instantly (the catastrophic collapse). Nearly 200,000 downstream people are being evacuated based on the scenario of 1/3 dam collapse. More than one million people are on alert, and they would have to be evacuated if the total collapse, in addition to inconceivable property and natural environment damages. A lot is at stake, and it is obviously highly desirable to have a well engineered slow dam removal and water release.

The Chinese Short Version:

从媒体报道得知，唐家山堰塞湖的泄洪槽(导流槽)已基本上修完。湖水面在近日就会上升至槽（渠）底开始排水。

因为新修的渠比较陡（300 米距离内底部高程降2米），放水一开始，渠道就会冲刷。我想这是中国工程师预期的效果，既边排放湖水，边冲走堰塞土堆/坝。

我相信中国的水利专家已经为决策高层设计了最佳的渠道高程，断面，和坡度。修造最佳的渠道可以达到缓慢放水，平稳冲涮（除坝）的目的。最佳设计可以先通过水动力学与泥沙传输原理简单计算得出，然后最好再用复杂的数学模型及/或大型物理模型验证。万一这一步还没做，需马上请国内专家算，以作渠道调整。我在美国也可以帮
算，但需要土质资料。

我还想提醒中国工程师的是要用当地石块加固坝的下游底面和河床，以避免坝趾掏空而溃堤。

祝唐家山堰塞湖排水成功！

Photo credit and info source: CCTV.com

The Highest Annual Rainfall in the World: Wailua River on Kauai Island, Hawaii

2008-05-19T23:53:00.007-04:00

A photo that I took of the Wailua River on the island of Kaua'i, looking downstream toward the Pacific Ocean. The headwater area of this river receives the highest annual rainfall in the world, at 460 inches (11,700 mm).

I was in Hawaii last week attending the ASCE/EWRI Environmental and Water Resources Congress. I presented a paper and moderated a technical session on certification guidelines for stormwater manufactured treatment devices, and later presided over a committee meeting on the same topic.

While enjoying the nice weather and beautiful scenery in Hawai'i, I was saddened by the devastating news of earthquake in China.

My ablum contains additional photos of the Hauai Island.

Final Report Published: Stormwater Management Rule Implementation Process for Highway Projects

2008-03-14T22:21:00.006-04:00

"Stormwater Management Rule Implementation Process," a final report prepared by our project team, was made available for public downloading by the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) (Report Number: FHWA-NJ-2007-23).

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP)’s Stormwater Management Rules (N.J.A.C. 7:8), adopted on February 2, 2004, has created more stringent storm water management standards for land developments in the state, including roadway and other transportation projects. These Rules include requirements for groundwater recharge and both stormwater quality and quantity control. A Stormwater Best Management Practices (BMP) Manual was developed by the NJDEP to assist regulated agencies such as the NJDOT with Rule compliance. However, the BMP Manual lacks sufficient guidance to properly lead engineers to identify applicable regulations and select appropriate storm water management measures for transportation projects.

As a result, NJDOT planners, designers, and maintenance personnel need a simplified process to navigate the Stormwater Management Rules and facilitate the selection of appropriate stormwater management measures. This report documents the development of an electronic decision-making program in Microsoft Excel that provides such a process. This program also assists NJDOT personnel in determining during early project stages whether all of the requirements of the Rules can be met for a specific project or whether hardship waivers will be necessary.

Our research project team consisted of Rutgers University, Gannett Fleming, and Storm Water Management Consulting, LLC.

(My presentation contains additional info on the project.)

Rain Chains

2008-01-19T15:39:00.005-05:00

On December 10, 2007, I attended a meeting of the ASCE/EWRI Stormwater M-BMP Maintenance Subcommittee on North Carolina State University campus in Raleigh.

After the meeting, Professor Bill Hunt, the Subcommittee Chair, took us for a field trip to several rainfall/stormwater management sites on campus. One of the photos that I took (shown to the left) was on "rain chains."

"Rain chains do exactly what downspouts do, but they do it in a way that brings visual pleasure and delight. Rain swirls and flows down, creating a mesmerizing sense of motion and tranquility right outside your window." (www.HarvestH2O.com)

Baltimore Inner Harbor

2007-08-05T16:06:00.005-04:00

My family and I visited Baltimore's Inner Harbor last Friday and Saturday, one of the America's oldest seaports - and one of the world's newest travel destinations. I was very impressed by the transformation of an abandoned area of rotting warehouses and piers to a major cultural and economic area of the city. I think this is an excellent example of waterfront re-development.

However, water quality could be improved. Visibility of the water was almost zero, and floatables were occasionally visible from the water taxi that we took. In addition to control of municipal and industrial discharges, stormwater runoff from the street needs to be intercepted and treated, as it could carry a large amount of trash, debris, oil, grease, sediment, and other pollutants to the harbor. Being an "inner" harbor that has a very limited pollutant flushing capability, control of the pollutant sources is critical.

Tour of the National Aquarium was fantastic! I believe everybody would appreciate watershed and salt marsh much more after seeing the exhibit "Maryland: Mountains to the Sea.

My album contains additional photos of the Baltimore's Inner Harbor.

Dam Operations to Help with Recovery and Reconstruction Efforts at Collapsed I-35W Bridge Site

2007-08-03T07:18:00.001-04:00

It was reported that the recovery (sadly) efforts were hindered by the rapid and turbid river current at the collapsed I-35W Bridge site. I believe the rapid current was due to water falls upstream, and the turbid water was due to its high soil and organic contents that was made worse by debris from the collapsed bridge.

The Google map/image shows the I-35W Bridge, and the Upper and Lower St. Anthony Falls. You can see the rapid currents at downstream sides of both Falls. The I-35W Bridge is in rapid tail water of the Lower St. Anthony Falls.

To help the recovery efforts, water level was lowered in the Mississippi River at the bridge site, by opening up more the downstream Ford Dam (a part of the Lock and Dam No. 1 System). But this made the current at the bridge site even faster, thus tougher to anchor and stirring up even more debris. It was a tricky engineering that helped with the recovery efforts.

Maybe they could additionally change operations at the lock and dam systems associated with the St. Anthony Falls upstream, and lower the gates at the Coon Rapids Dam further upstream to hold more water.

Well-coordinated opeartions of downstream and upstream dams would also likely help a rapid and smooth reconstruction of the bridge.

What a horrible event! May the recovery and re-construction efforts go well!

PS: I lived in a rooming house close to the bridge while a graduate student at the University of Minnesota. I still remember the sound of I-35W traffic as well as the view of St. Anthony Falls!

Delaware River Ice Jam Flooding

2007-07-19T10:21:00.002-04:00

"The Delaware River Basin Interstate Flood Mitigation Task Force has completed and forwarded to the four basin state governors its action agenda for a more proactive, sustainable, and systematic approach to flood damage reduction" (DRBC Press Release, July 17, 2007).

It is interesting to read that "The task force added several recommendations due to the public comments. One was for state emergency preparedness officials to coordinate with the National Weather Service over the possibility of ice jam flooding. Prior to the three recent floods, the worst flooding in Trenton in recent decades was caused by ice jams in 1996, wile the city's worst recorded flood was due to ice jam in 1904" (The Star Ledger, July 19, 2007).

My thoughts: Ice jams are very difficult, if not impossible, to forecast at this time, and more research needs to be done on this subject. Sections of the river susceptible to ice jamming could also be investigated and engineering measures be applied. I researched on ice jam flooding while a graduate student at University of Minnesota and published several papers. I guess I could contribute a little if DRBC and other entities are to tackle the ice jam issue further.

Image Credit: Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC)

Blue-Green Algae Bloom in Dianchi Lake, The Sixth Largest Freshwater Lake in China (除滇池蓝藻, 要优先降磷)

2007-06-26T19:26:00.007-04:00

A massive algae bloom has spread out over another of China’s big lakes.

"The bloom comes after algae choked Taihu and Chaohu lakes, China’s third and fifth largest freshwater lakes respectively, in late May and early June, underscoring the state of China’s degraded water system. More than 70 percent of China’s waterways and 90 percent of its underground water are contaminated by pollution, according to the State Environmental Protection Administration" (from Gulf Times).

"The clean-up measures to date have failed to stem the pollution because they have focussed almost exclusively on (industrial) point sources around the lake periphery. They have not addressed agricultural runoff or pollution of the lake tributaries. According to a recent press report, 80 percent of domestic sewage entering the 16 rivers that flow into the Dianchi is untreated. Meanwhile, heavy use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides on farm fields lying east of the lake leads to extremely high runoff of nitrates and phosphates" (from US Embassy-Beijing Report).

My proposed engineering solution: Reduce the phosphorus input first if not enough money to reduce both phosphorus and nitrogen inputs to a very low level. The scientific justification is that the blue-green algae is prevalent in the low nitrogen-phosphorus ratio environment. Therefore, the priority now should be placed on controlling phosphorus-rich sources such as the domestic sewage.

Photo Credit: Dongfang (East) IC

Tampa Water Congress Attended

2007-05-23T15:34:00.007-04:00

I was in Tampa, Florida last week attending the ASCE/EWRI World Water Resources and Environmental Congress.

I presented three technical papers on stormwater engineering and management. The audience was awake and interested.

I also organized and presided over the (ASCE/EWRI Stormwater BMPs Certification Guidelines) Task Committee kickoff meeting. The meeting was attended by 32 committee members and interested parties. We formed six subcommittees to tackle six issues simultaneously. There are 52 committee members across the country thus far. I am fortunate to be able to work with so many professionals in the stormwater field through this new task committee.

I had a good time there. The only regret was that I was too busy to take a break and go to the beach. Maybe next time.

The photo above was taken by me from my hotel room balcony looking at Garrison Channel, one of the several channels for boat traffic in and around Port of Tampa.

My ablum contains additional photos of the navigation channels in Tampa.

My Newspaper Opinion Column Article: How We Can Combat Flooding

2007-04-30T20:41:00.001-04:00

My op-ed article was published in today's edition of the Record, the newspaper for northern New Jersey.

The first paragraph reads "WHEN WE WITNESS the devastating floods caused by recent heavy rains, it's easy to assume that New Jersey has done little to mitigate the effects of stormwater runoff. While much needs to be done to correct problems in older, heavily settled areas of the state that have been vulnerable to flooding, it is important to note that New Jersey is perhaps the most progressive state in mandating adequate stormwater management for new development."

The article continues onto addressing the need for utilization of the digital watershed model to assess the overall result of all proposed developments, rainwater harvesting and open space storage to mitigate the effects of earlier developments, and doubling efforts to secure federal funding in order to move ahead with the effective flood control projects that are already on the drawing boards.

Nor'easter of 2007: The Green Brook Flood Control Project

2007-04-22T13:08:00.008-04:00

A front page article titled "A missing line of defense vs. floods" appeared in today (Sunday)'s Star Ledger, the leading newspaper of New Jersey. The primary point of the article was that the borough of Bound Brook, located at the downstream end of the flood control project, was still flooded this time because the planned levee/floodwall, due to lack of federal funding, was only partially constructed.

In the last section of the article about consequences of the entire planned project, I was quoted as saying "You want to control the source" of the flood water when discussing necessity of the initially planned, but later scrapped, two upstream flood control detention basins.

Image Credit: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

(My presentation contains additional info on the Green Brook project as well as other measures of urban flood management.)

Nor'easter of 2007: Flooding of Millstone River at Blackwells Mills Road

2007-04-17T23:58:00.004-04:00

In the deadly nor'easter, two to nine inches of rain fell in New Jersey from April 14 to April 16, 2007, causing widespread flooding. On Monday, April 16, I tried every possible road but I was not able to reach my workplace.

I took the photo to the left on Tuesday, April 17 around 5:00 p.m., after the flood peak had already passed the night before. I was standing on the flooded River Road (Rt. 533) looking across the Millstone River. Note the river water level was still in contact with the lower bridge deck.

My album contains additional photos of the flooding.

The Duck Pond to Help Healing in the Aftermath of Virginia Tech Massacre

2007-04-17T16:51:00.001-04:00

An open water in the tree-lined area of the campus, the Duck Pond would be a quiet, private place for reflection and healing in the days and months to come.

The lake, or pond, was built near Solitude in the summer of 1937. The lake is fed by two small creeks. The Stroubles Creek was culverted into an underground tunnel when the University built the drill field. The spring at Solitude is a historic groundwater resource of the area.

The Solitude House is Virginia Tech's oldest building, and it marks the site of the Draper Meadow Settlement and massacre of 1755.

I was at Virginia Tech only once more than ten years ago, and I have almost forgot about the Drill Field and Duck Pond. The tragic event yesterday brought back my visual and emotional memories.

VT, you go well!

Photo credit: Virginia Tech University Relations

Three Papers to be Presented at World Environmental & Water Resources Congress

2007-04-16T09:01:00.006-04:00

I will present three papers at the upcoming ASCE/EWRI Congress, May 15-19, 2007, Tampa, Florida. Titles of the papers are: (1) Performance of Retrofitted Stormwater Extended Detention Wetlands, (2) Effect of Particle Size on Difference between TSS and SSC Measurements, and (3) Research to Support Certification of TSS Removal Efficiency of Stormwater Manufactured Treatment Devices. All are related to stormwater and urban watershed management.

(Click here for my presentation on TSS vs. SSC measurements.)

Top Ten Outperforming Water Stocks

2007-03-26T09:04:00.001-04:00

Last night, I scanned through the 88 water stocks listed by InvestorIdeas.com. I found the 10 water stocks that outperformed S&P 500 in the past 12 months (+10%), had the daily money exchange more than 1 million dollars, and were available from the US stock market. These 10 stocks are: 1. Robbins & Myers Inc. (RBN) (+75%); 2. Companhia de Saneamento Basico do Estado de Sao Paulo (SBS) (+74%); 3. SJW Corp. (SJW) (+50%); 4. Valmont Industries Inc. (VMI) (+38%); 5. Veolia Environnement SA (VE) (+36%); 6. Suez (SZE) (+33%); 7. Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. (TMO) (+28%); 8. Pall Corp. (PLL) (+27%); 9. Lindsay Corporation (LNN) (+23%); 10. United Utilities plc (UU) (+20%). These are NOT my recommendations for buy, hold, or sell at this time and in the future.

New Committee on Certification of Stormwater Manufactured BMPs

2007-03-25T21:30:00.005-04:00

A group of stormwater professionals proposed a task committee on developing national guidelines for certification of stormwater manufactured BMPs (Best Management Practices). I am glad it was officially approved by ASCE/EWRI last week. I was the proposing Chair. Now I have to start organizing the committee kickoff meeting, to be held in Tampa, Florida during the World Environmental and Water Resources Congress, May 15-19, 2007. We also need to invite additional professionals to join the new committee. Hey, your suggestions and/or comments are welcome here!

(Click here to enter the committee website.)

Start Water Blogging Today!

2007-03-25T21:16:00.002-04:00

I am dealing with water every day. Then, why not write down what I have been reading, thinking, and doing about water? I could share water videos and photos that I take too. Yes, let me start today.