The role of quantitative pollution ecology in water resource management: some examples from the Florida, Coastal Louisiana and Puerto Rico

11/28/11

David Tomasko, Ph.D.

Senior Scientist & Manager, Watershed Assessment and Sciences Program 

Atkins North America,

Tampa, FL

The successful management of water resources is essential task for communities dependent upon clean water and a healthy environment.  Balancing the needs for providing flood protection, water supply, and environmental features requires proficiency in the fields of hydrology, biology and general ecology.  Three examples will be reviewed that illustrate the value of fully integrating these fields to address specific water quality concerns.  In South Florida, the appearance of a large algal bloom in 2005 was investigated to determine the most likely cause(s).  In Louisiana, the restoration of its severely impacted and rapidly disappearing coastal wetlands is dependent upon the implementation of large-scale freshwater diversions into prior floodplains. In Puerto Rico, the reestablishment of an historical tidal connection between San Juan Bay and the San José Lagoon is a long-desired project for communities in the vicinity of the Martín Peña Canal. In all three examples, close coordination between the fields of engineering and environmental science was essential.

Dr. Tomasko is a Senior Scientist and the Manager of the Watershed Assessment and Sciences Program for Atkins North America, in Tampa.  David was previously the Manager of the Environmental Section of the Southwest Florida Water Management District, and before that a Senior Scientist with the Water Management District’s Surface Water Improvement and Management Program.  

David led efforts to develop the scientific basis for a technology-based pollutant load reduction goal for Sarasota Bay, as well as the resource-based pollutant load reduction goal for Charlotte Harbor.  In addition, David has developed or refined pollutant load reduction strategies for portions of the Miami River, the Winter Haven Chain of Lakes, Lakes Hancock and Jessup, and the Wekiva River.  David’s current work involves the estimation of water quality and natural system responses to ongoing or planned restoration projects in Florida, Virginia, Louisiana, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands.

Wastewater infrastructure: onsite technologies & their management

11/21/11

A. Robert Rubin

Professor Emeritus

Biological & Agricultural Engineering

North Carolina State University

In a global perspective, wastewater reuse is a fledgling supply, but an important emerging source of supply. Only a very small portion of water is planned reuse – all water is returned to the water cycle and ultimately reused, but planned reuse is small. Legislation like California Title 22, the North Carolina 2U standards, EU standards and standards like those proposed as NSF 350 are helping raise the bar for reuse. A decentralized system allows recycle and reuse as close to potential users as possible and this reduces the energy required in a system. That can mean significant savings because the energy demands associated with moving water are quite significant. A distributed or decentralized approach reduces the disruption necessary to supply water, and can mine water from a collection system and use it through small, appropriately sized systems. The greatest challenge for us working with reuse is to create a vision where we cultivate building owners, operators, managers, and officials with an idea of how the future infrastructure of reuse can look. 

A. Robert Rubin is a Professor Emeritus and Extension Specialist, Biological and Agricultural Engineering North Carolina State University. He is water professional with expertise in drinking water, wastewater, storm water, and bio-solid management issues. He has authored several publications on water and waste management and has worked with the US EPA and state agencies on the development of rules, regulations, policies and guidelines for onsite/decentralized systems and land application of bio-solids. He has conducted an active demonstration and evaluation program addressing onsite-decentralized wastewater; land application systems, solid waste management and water supply management. From 1999 through 2005, Dr. Rubin served as a Visiting Scientist at the USEPA in Washington, DC. In June of 2003, Dr. Rubin was presented the "Bronze Medal for Commendable Service" by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

rubin@ncsu.edu

Measuring Sustainability and Resilience of Urban Infrastructure

Adrienne T. Cooper

Florida A&M University, Biological and Agricultural Systems Engineering

adrienne.cooper@famu.edu

Sustainable infrastructure development has thus far been focused on conformance to a set of rules or guidelines. For example, LEED and BREEAM set national standards for Green Building Certification in the U.S. and UK respectively, and the Energy Star Rating System (US) has been developed for appliances and products. However, these must be used in conjunction with other indicators to evaluate sustainability. Principles of sustainability have been developed to address socio-ecological elements using a thermodynamic basis to identify the influence of society on nature and material exchange. Principles of green engineering have also been established that provide a guide for development. However, none of these principles are clearly applicable to infrastructure, and achievement of the principles is not readily measurable. The use of sustainability indices provides for measurable outcomes.
A sustainable design necessarily includes the ability of the system to recover from perturbations, whether they are natural, anthropogenic or technogenic. This system resiliency has traditionally been viewed as separate from sustainability, but more recently they have come to be recognized as two sides of the same coin. The interdependence of urban infrastructural elements adds an additional layer of complexity to be considered in evaluation and design.

We discuss the use of EMERGY methodology for the development of indices of resilience, with an eye toward a combined index dealing with both sustainability and resilience of water and wastewater infrastructure systems. We have provided a preliminary definition of a resiliency index that indicates the total time of a system to recover (TTR), a function of both the physical and the social aspects of the system as well as the EMERGY output (transformity). The physical and social recovery of the system are captured in a physical recovery index (PRI) and a social recovery index (SRI).

Adrienne T. Cooper, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Biological and Agricultural Systems Engineering at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU). She received her PhD. in Environmental Engineering in 1998 from the University of Florida. Working with Drs. Yogi Goswami and Tom Crisman, her research examined, "Solar Photochemical Treatment of Potable Water: Disinfection and Detoxification.” Her Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering was from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN. She is a the principal investigator in the Sustainable Systems Engineering Research Lab, a member of FAMU's Center for Water and Air Quality and the BioEnergy Group to Develop Renewable and Sustainable Sources of Energy. Some of her current research looks at implications of engineered nanoparticles in the natural food supply, sustainable biodiesel fuel production from algae, and the measurement of sustainability. As an active member in the American Chemical Society, she fosters new and innovative research applications that focus on processes for improving the sustainability of water resources, including those pertaining to providing safe drinking water and treatment of wastewater. She teaches Introduction to Computing, Natural Resource Conservation Engineer, Heat and Mass Transfer in Biological and Food Engineering, Food and Bioprocess Engineering, Environmental Modifications and Control, and Biochemical Engineering. Dr. Cooper is a recipient of the NSF CAREER Award for her research in photocatalysis for water treatment and remediation and is a registered professional engineer in the state of South Carolina.

Overcoming the Challenges in the Commercial Development of Algae

November 7th in Marshall Center Room 3705

George Philippidis, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Biofuel Engineering

Director, Alternative Energy Research Center

USF Polytechnic

4100 S. Frontage Road, Suite 102

Lakeland, FL 33815

(863) 904-9961 · gphilippidis@poly.usf.edu

Algae promise to revolutionize the production of alternative transportation fuels, but the technology faces formidable challenges on its way to commercialization.  Water management is one of the major issues as algae need to be cultivated in huge ponds and harvested for further processing.  As water represents an increasingly scarce resource, engineers need to identify ways to minimize water usage and handling for both cost and environmental reasons.  Consistent lipid productivity is another critical cost factor as it determines the potential yield of alternative fuels and needs to be maximized.  Moreover, carbon dioxide needs to be secured from real-world industrial operations in a cost-effective way.  The presenter will discuss scale-up issues and his joint ventures with technology developers in the private sector and with venture capital firms and other investors.

Biography

George Philippidis, Ph.D. is the director of the Alternative Energy Research Center and associate professor of biofuel engineering at USF Polytechnic. He comes to USF from Florida International University, where he served as energy director of the Applied Research Center, co-director of the Global Energy Security Forum, and research associate professor in the College of Engineering and Computing. Prior to that he held management positions at a subsidiary of Thermo Fisher Corporation and at the National Renewable Energy Lab. He has 18 years of experience in leading strategic business units in biofuels, energy, and biotechnology. His expertise includes biofuels (sugarcane and cellulosic ethanol and biodiesel), renewable energy (solar, wind, biomass, and ocean power generation), energy security, and integration of alternatives into the oil & gas, coal, and nuclear infrastructure. He holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota and an executive MBA from the University of Denver. Dr. Philippidis can be contacted at gphilippidis@poly.usf.edu.