News

Come to the twelfth annual Palouse Basin Water Summit from 4:30 to 8:00 pm on Wednesday, October 5, at the Schweitzer Event Center in Pullman, WA.

The 2016 Summit – our annual community dialogue about our local water resources – will feature the internationally acclaimed environmentalist Maude Barlow and her recent book, “Blue Future: Protecting Water for People and the Planet Forever“ – a powerful, penetrating, and timely look at the looming global water crisis, and what we can do to prevent it. “The coming grab for the planet’s dwindling resources is the defining issue of our time. Water is not a resource put here for our convenience, pleasure and profit but the source of all life. It is urgent that we clarify the values and principles needed to protect the planet’s fresh water,” notes Barlow.

Be challenged by great presentations from local water experts, area youth and our annual State of the Basin report. The event is free and open to all community-minded Palouse area residents. Additionally, we will draw names for some fabulous prizes, including a low-flow toilet and a $1,000 wisescaping^R yard makeover!

http://www.palousewatersummit.org/

The Columbia River Long Term Water Supply and Demand Forecast project team is preparing an updated long-term water supply and demand forecast for the Washington Department of Ecology, Office of Columbia River and would like your feedback. The Forecast team includes researchers from Washington State University, University of Utah, Aspect Consulting, and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. This forecast, updated for the Washington Legislature every five years, provides a generalized, system-wide assessment of how future environmental and economic conditions are likely to change water supply and demand by 2035.

The team will host a series of FREE public workshops June 21^st – June 23^rd in Tri-Cities, Wenatchee and Spokane.  The purpose of these workshops is to share preliminary results from the 2016 Water Supply and Demand Forecast, provide an opportunity for public feedback and interaction, and gather input on possible improvements for the 2021 Forecast.

What to Expect:
• Presentations from researchers introducing the methodologies used and preliminary results found
• Q&A sessions with the researchers
• Open house, with time to explore results further and provide comments on the draft results

Workshop Details:

RSVP not required but appreciated for planning purposes: email your name, contact information, and date/location you plan to attend to brooke.saari@wsu.edu or call 509-663-8181 ext. 265.  Those who RSVP will also receive links to the draft and final reports when available.

The draft report and directions for submitting public comments will be available at http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wr/cwp/2016Forecast.html. Public comments will be accepted from June 20 – July 20^th.

Seminar by Dr. Fabian A. Bombardelli

Date: Mon., April 25, 2016
Place: PACCAR 202
Time: 10:10 a.m.—11:00 a.m.

EXPLAINING THE INTRICACIES OF SEDIMENT TRANSPORT AT DIFFERENT SCALES WITH COMPUTATIONAL AND THEORETICAL APPROACHES
Examples of multi-phase flows are diverse: dust storms, sediment transport in rivers and estuaries, bubble plumes, and many other natural and man-made applications. To study sediment transport, the field is transitioning from old regressions of last 70 years, to mechanistic models, which combine deterministic and stochastic approaches. For reasons which are unclear, and despite the leadership of civil engineers in the field of sediment transport, the theory of two-phase flows has been developed elsewhere. These models address the interaction of carrier and disperse phases.
Still, it is not clear what to use for a given level of concentration, and for the objective of a given study. Furthermore, the action of turbulence needs to be quantified carefully depending on the problem at hand, and phenomena such as sediment entrainment need to be accounted for.
In this presentation, I describe a novel framework to analyze sediment transport, which clearly puts forward a pathway for the analysis of a host of problems. We present the application of this framework to solve the problem of sediment in suspension. For the case of transport of sediment as bed-load, we present a Lagrangian model which tracks each particle individually and addresses the Non-Fickian behavior of the particles; followed by a new computational algorithm for the Basset force. Finally, we describe theoretical and numerical approaches to deal with two-phase flows. The presentation concludes with an analysis of future work and the challenges to overcome

Examples of multi-phase flows are diverse: dust storms, sediment transport in rivers and estuaries, bubble plumes, and many other natural and man-made applications. To study sediment transport, the field is transitioning from old regressions of last 70 years, to mechanistic models, which combine deterministic and stochastic approaches. For reasons which are unclear, and despite the leadership of civil engineers in the field of sediment transport, the theory of two-phase flows has been developed elsewhere. These models address the interaction of carrier and disperse phases.
Still, it is not clear what to use for a given level of concentration, and for the objective of a given study. Furthermore, the action of turbulence needs to be quantified carefully depending on the problem at hand, and phenomena such as sediment entrainment need to be accounted for.
In this presentation, I describe a novel framework to analyze sediment transport, which clearly puts forward a pathway for the analysis of a host of problems. We present the application of this framework to solve the problem of sediment in suspension. For the case of transport of sediment as bed-load, we present a Lagrangian model which tracks each particle individually and addresses the Non-Fickian behavior of the particles; followed by a new computational algorithm for the Basset force. Finally, we describe theoretical and numerical approaches to deal with two-phase

A seminar by Dr. Eric Edwards
Friday, April 22 at 3:10pm in UI Hubert room 27

ABSTRACT
We present a lobby model to explain the adoption and persistence of seemingly costly environmental  policies relative to the likely benefits generated. The arguments of the model are illustrated by water  trade restrictions for mining firms in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. The area is one of the driest  in the world but also the world’s top copper producer. Due to regulation of access to local water in  the region, firms have begun using desalinated water at a cost of up to $19,542 per m3/day while agricultural  water trades at median price of $343 per m3/day. We explore how governmental maintenance of environmental  and indigenous water supplies through restrictions on water trades causes these large price differentials.  We provide a simple framework that explains how this type of policy can be supported under reasonable  assumptions about lobbying. Interest group lobbying, limited information to unorganized general citizens  about policy costs and benefits, and their associated distribution can lead to strong regulation, even  when the protected environmental areas and agricultural populations are small and isolated. Differencein-  difference modeling of sector prices indicates that after an abrupt increase in regulatory denials,  prices diverged in a manner consistent with the lobbying model. Using market price and desalination  cost data, policy costs are estimated at $6.15 billion dollars or approximately $350 per citizen, which  may or may not equate to perceived general benefits.

More Info

ANAND JAYAKARAN, PH.D., PE
Associate Professor and LID Specialist

The talk will focus on the transformation of hydrologic processes associated with land use change, and how engineering using ecosystem-centric principles could lead to the better management of surface runoff in urbanizing watersheds. Ani will outline some of his work and those done by colleagues at three spatial scales, as well as relating past efforts to current work that promote the use of Low Impact Development techniques in the state of Washington.

Date: Monday, November 2, 2015
Place: Sloan 175
Time: 4:10 p.m.—5:00 p.m.

For more information

Thursday, November 5th, University of Idaho is hosting a panel discussion consisting of:

(1) David Doeringsfeld, the Lewiston Port Manager
(2) Linwood Laughy, a local Citizen activist, author and historian
(3) John McKern, a Retired U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Fish and Wildlife Biologist
(4) Patrick Wilson, a Professor of Natural Resources at the University of Idaho
(5) Todd Myers, the Environmental Director of The Washington Policy Center
(6) Rebecca Miles, the Executive Director of the Nez Perce Tribe

The discussion will be moderated by Professor of Law & Coordinator of the Natural Resources and Environmental Law Program, Barbara Cosens.

When: Thursday November 5, 2015 at the
Where: University of Idaho College of Law, Courtroom
Meet and greet with refreshments: from 5 to 5:30 p.m.
Panel discussion: from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m.
more info

“A hybrid multiscale framework for subsurface flow and reactive transport simulations”

Dr. Tim Scheibe, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Date: Monday, October 12, 2015
Place: Sloan 175
Time: 4:10 p.m.—5:00 p.m.
 Flyer