Restoration of Coal Mining Areas

In April, I was invited to join the mining restoration expert group, attend and present a set of recommendations at the 9th Sino-American Engineering and Technology Conference in Beijing, China. Prior to the gathering in Beijing, our group went to Anhui to have site visits and technical exchanges with local experts.

Photo to the left shows a restored subsided coal-mining area. Rest of the photos that I took can be found in my water photo album.

Retrofit Green Infrastructure to Existing Developments

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 bioretenti​on 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

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

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

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

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 restoring 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-off 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

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.