Evan Thomas News

ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ part of landmark legislation for green water quality infrastructure

Anonymous — Tue, 04 Jun 2024 15:48:54 +0000

ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ part of landmark legislation for green water quality infrastructure Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 06/04/2024 - 09:48

Governor Jared Polis has signed into law the new ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Senate Bill SB24-037, titled "Study Green Infrastructure for Water Quality Management." Sponsored by Senators Cleave Simpson and Jeff Bridges, along with Representatives Mike Lynch and Karen McCormick, this significant legislation aims to enhance water quality and environmental sustainability in ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ. This landmark bill is supported by a NASA-funded Congressional earmark provided by ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Congressman Joe Neguse.

The bill directs the team at the University of ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder Mortenson Center in Global Engineering & Resilience and ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ State University's Energy Institute to work directly with the ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Department of Public Health and Environment to identify new pathways to restore rivers and watersheds in ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ, improve water quality, and reduce emissions associated with water and wastewater treatment.

Over the next two years, this team will develop up to three pilot projects in collaboration with communities and utilities to demonstrate the use of green infrastructure and green financing mechanisms. This work will include actively restoring watersheds using public and private sector investment, including the purchase of carbon credits based on avoided electricity demand from water treatment.

Evan Thomas, Director of the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering & Resilience at ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder said, “It has been a rewarding experience to propose this idea and work with Senator Simpson and other elected representatives and state officials in ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ to bring it to life, and we're looking forward to what this could mean for ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ's water and air.”

Dr. Thomas, who is also an environmental engineering professor at ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder will additionally lead a $950,000 congressionally mandated, NASA-funded research project to monitor water quality and understand the impact of ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ on the Yampa and Cache la Poudre rivers in ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ. “ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ half of America’s rivers don’t meet the Clean Water Act standards and that’s also true in ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ,” Thomas said. “We have many rivers that are on what is called the 303(d) list, meaning that they’re impaired and they don’t meet the Clean Water Act,” said Thomas.

Thomas and his team have already been utilizing sensors to monitor these rivers. With the new funding, these sensors will continue to collect data for at least another year. The objective is to identify contamination sources and develop effective, nature-based solutions. Unlike traditional point-in-time sampling methods, the robust and durable sensors provide cost-effective, continuous measurements.

“The idea is that we can develop technologies that help communities and help the state better manage watersheds so that we can restore watersheds, we can restore land cost-effectively and in a way that benefits more people,” Thomas said.

Photo: Director/Professor Evan Thomas, Governor Jared Polis & Senator Cleave Simpson at the Senate bill signing in Alamosa, ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ.

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ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder leading effort to improve water quality in Rockies’ rivers

Anonymous — Thu, 04 Apr 2024 21:50:45 +0000

ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder leading effort to improve water quality in Rockies’ rivers Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 04/04/2024 - 15:50

Jeff Zehnder

Video: How the Mortenson Center at ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder is Improving Water Security

Kat Demaree and Jason Quinn installing an in-situ water quality tool with multiple sensors providing near-continuous measurements of turbidity, chlorophyl-a, conductivity, and fluorescing dissolved organic matter (fDOM) along the Yampa River near Steamboat Springs.

Using machine learning for better water quality

University of ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder and ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ State University researchers are teaming up to improve river water quality in the Rockies.

A team led by Environmental Engineering Professor Evan Thomas has received a $650,000 Convergence Accelerator grant from the National Science Foundation, to measure and mitigate pollution in the Cache la Poudre and Yampa Rivers in ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ through new sensor technology, monitoring, and a voluntary carbon credits trading system with industry.

The Convergence Accelerator grant complements other Thomas-led initiatives also working to improve water quality. The work has also been funded by the Moore Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation. Thomas was influential in scoping the $160 million dollar NSF funded ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ-Wyoming Regional Innovation Engine, and recently received a United States Congressional earmark directed-grant from NASA also targeted at the Yampa and Poudre rivers.

Thomas has been working with ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ State Senators Cleave Simpson and Jeff Bridges, and the ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Department of Public Health and Environment to advance legislation that could accelerate watershed restoration in ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ by pairing wastewater utility water quality obligations under the Clean Water Act with restorative programs.

A central component of these projects is the use of ongoing, instream water quality measurements that will allow the team the ability to trace back negative changes, said Thomas, who also serves as director of the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering and Resilience.

“Typically, this work is done with point-in-time measurements when someone goes out and manually takes a sample, which is very expensive and infrequent. These new sensors we have are robust and durable and will allow us to do things continuously,” Thomas said.

The sensor data, enabled by a partnership with Fort Collins based sensor company In-Situ, will be fed into a machine learning system to develop predictive models that can track pollution and determine sources.

“Machine learning and AI aren’t new, but we’re applying these techniques in a place they haven’t been applied before – managing watersheds and enabling climate finance to pay for ongoing performance,” Thomas said.

Fernando Rosario-Ortiz, a professor of environmental engineering at ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder and co-investigator on the project, said the grant builds on a wealth of earlier research.

"I am excited about taking all we have learned about ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ and water quality and focusing now on how we can proactively work with communities to limit these impacts and the stresses they have on water infrastructure," Rosario-Ortiz said.

Being able to track back pollution sources has been a long-sought goal of environmental

Evan Thomas

researchers. While it is simple to monitor pollution coming from fixed-point sources, like the outlet of a wastewater treatment plant, it is much harder to analyze diffuse sources, like runoff from industrial agriculture, mining, or forestry operations.

“It has been a technology barrier, and regulators have been reluctant to approve water quality projects that are hard to measure,” Thomas said. “We hope to change this. We’re working with landowners, stakeholders, and cities to make positive changes for restorative agriculture, irrigation, and wildfire management.”

In addition to water researchers at ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder and CSU, the team has built a network of outside partners, including the cities of Steamboat Springs and Fort Collins, Friends of the Yampa, and Coalition for the Poudre River Watershed, as well as Virridy Inc., a ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder spinout company that develops global water security programs.

A second key part of the project is a voluntary carbon market that aims to build industry investment in green infrastructure to improve water quality. Although the project is just getting underway, Mortenson Construction has already purchased $2 million in credits through it. Thomas said this market could generate as many as 1.6 billion carbon credits per year.

Thomas has been involved in large scale drinking water treatment carbon credit programs in Africa over the last 15 years, reaching over 5 million people with improved water security. This represents the first major effort in the United States.

“This is a way for industry and companies to demonstrate to shareholders and customers they’re committed to climate impact,” Thomas said. “It takes local water problems and brings them into the global market, creating business opportunities.”

In addition to Thomas and Rosario-Ortiz, the team at ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder includes Kat Demaree, environmental engineer and doctoral student. At ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ State University, the effort is being led by Matt Ross, an assistant professor of ecosystem science and sustainability, and Jason Quinn, a professor of mechanical engineering. Also involved in the project is Krister Andersson, a sustainable development professor at Notre Dame who previously was a ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder faculty member.

Using machine learning for better water quality. University of ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder and ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ State University researchers are teaming up to improve river water quality in the...

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ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder water quality expertise goes international in Armenia

Anonymous — Mon, 07 Aug 2023 15:03:30 +0000

ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder water quality expertise goes international in Armenia Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 08/07/2023 - 09:03

Jeff Zehnder

Above: Carlo Salvinelli and Kat Demaree reviewing equipment with a representative from Armenia.
Header Photo: The ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder Team and Armenian representatives on the shore of Lake Sevan.

Program Goals/Objectives

The five-year USAID “Armenia Improved Water Management for Sustainable Economic Growth” Program is implemented by "Deloitte Consulting" jointly with the the Urban Foundation for Sustainable Development, the University of ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder and REC Caucasus.

The Program seeks to transform Armenia’s approach to water management to improve the equity of access to water while maintaining environmental flow and water quality for the protection of freshwater resources.

It involves the development and dissemination of improved approaches and tools to support sustainable and secure water management; advancing improved water governance; and spreading best practices and innovative approaches in water conservation and use.

The Program’s technical activities encompass the following objectives:

Apply advanced technologies and tools to support sustainable and secure water management
Improve water governance
Promote and scale best practices and innovative approaches in water conservation and use to increase equitable access to water resources
Prepare for regional cooperation with neighboring countries
Improve access to water

University of ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder researchers are advancing water resource management in the South Caucasus through a partnership with Deloitte Consulting.

The professional services firm is implementing a US Agency for International Development Armenia activity titled Armenia Improved Water Management for Sustainable Economic Growth program and is tapping ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder’s environmental engineering technical expertise to improve river, lake, and groundwater management in the former Soviet Bloc country.

Deloitte has a longstanding relationship with ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder that includes the joint Climate Innovation Collaboratory, founded last year. On the Armenia activity, Deloitte issued to ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder researchers a five-year, $641,000 subcontract.

“We’re making recommendations on technology and methods that can improve Armenia’s water resources,” said Evan Thomas, an associate professor, director of the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering & Resilience and the principal investigator on the contract.

At Deloitte, their Chief of Party Armen Varosyan said the overall project represents a major opportunity for Armenia.

“We are excited for the potential to bring innovative international technology solutions to Armenia’s water sector,” Varosyan said.

Much of Armenia’s current water infrastructure dates back to its time as part of the Soviet Union. Thomas and a team of ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder researchers recently returned from a 10-day trip to the country, where they met stakeholders and visited key sites, including Lake Sevan, the largest body of water in Armenia.

“It’s a gorgeous country. It’s not dissimilar from ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ, with mountainous areas and a lot of agriculture,” said Kat Demaree, a project manager and ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder environmental engineering PhD student who was part of the delegation.

Outflow from Lake Sevan is a key source of hydroelectric power and water for agriculture in the country, and was one focus of the visit.

“The lake water level has declined significantly because of overuse,” Demaree said. “Historically there’s not a ton of monitoring of water sources there. They want to better understand how much water they have, where it’s going, who is using it, and how it’s being used.”

Those are important questions familiar to water resource managers all over the world. Demaree said emerging technology makes finding the answers much easier than before.

“They have similar issues that we do here in ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ – overpumping, overuse. We have software now to help people make decisions and look into the impact of building new infrastructure, new reservoirs, new diversions. We can model the effects of regulations. In Armenia we did a training on Riverware, a modeling program developed at ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder,” she said.

In addition to leveraging engineering expertise, the team is also hoping to boost engineering education in Armenia. They met with faculty at multiple universities there to discuss potential collaborations.

“We want to help build classroom modules and credits specific to the needs of students there, things like water management in agriculture,” Demaree said.

The ultimate goal is to expand the country’s homegrown population of engineers.

As the program progresses, the team will be working to develop relationships with experts in the country, map out official recommendations, and implement infrastructure pilot projects.

“There are a lot of different technology options and solutions, and everything has advantages and disadvantages,” Thomas said. “We’re really working to build partnerships, to build those connections in Armenia to offer the right solutions that will work for them.

Additional ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder faculty researchers involved in the project include Karl Linden,Amy Javernick-Will, and Carlo Salvinelli, all from the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering.

University of ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder researchers are advancing water resource management in the South Caucasus through a partnership with Deloitte Consulting. The professional services firm is is tapping ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder’s environmental engineering technical expertise to improve river, lake, and groundwater management in the...

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ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder spinout company celebrates carbon-credit investment by Mortenson Co.

Anonymous — Thu, 01 Jun 2023 21:15:17 +0000

ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder spinout company celebrates carbon-credit investment by Mortenson Co. Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 06/01/2023 - 15:15

Mortenson Center director leads Virridy, which is working to connect the global carbon credit market to regulated water treatment obligations

M. A. Mortenson Companies, Inc. invests $2M in Virridy for Africa and United States Freshwater Carbon Projects involving partners University of ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder, Moore Foundation, Autodesk Foundation

This week, M. A. Mortenson Companies, Inc. signed a carbon credit pre-purchase agreement with Virridy Carbon LLC to enable project capital investment in programs in Rwanda, Kenya, and the United States. The deal will ensure the emissions avoidance of at least 50,000 tonnes CO2 equivalent, generated by either Virridy’s water security projects in eastern Africa or ‘watershed carbon’ river restoration projects in the United States. The Mortenson Center in Global Engineering and Resilience at the University of ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder is also engaged in developing elements of these projects with support from the Autodesk Foundation.

Three people gathered around and installing a water filter that is blue and plasticIn Rwanda Virridy deploys water treatment systems in schools, avoiding the demand for forest fuels to boil contaminated drinking water. This program will reach over 600,000 students by 2025 and is expected to avoid over 200,000 tonnes of carbon emissions by 2030. The Virridy leadership team innovated and demonstrated the first-ever carbon credit for drinking water treatment programs globally, starting in Rwanda in 2007.

In the United States, Virridy is innovating how to connect the global carbon credit market to regulated water treatment obligations. The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation is funding Virridy to develop a methodology earning carbon credits through installing green infrastructure, like riparian shade and improved agricultural practices, and thereby avoiding the construction and operation of gray infrastructure for water treatment.

American water treatment and transport accounts for over 4% of national electricity demand, a figure that is projected to rise dramatically as advanced treatment technologies are adopted in coming decades to comply with regulations and guard against risks of catastrophic wildfire and other pressures. Avoiding upgrades where possible by generating quantifiable watershed health improvements not only will reduce carbon emissions by avoiding energy use, but also create a host of co-benefits in as regional resiliency, biodiversity, employment, public health and recreation.

Globally, billions face water insecurity and water quality challenges. Water is an under-invested sector facing increasing pressure from climate change. Meanwhile, carbon credit markets provide incentives for nature-based climate solutions, but lack project diversity and quality.

Three people gathered around a piece of water equipment in Rwanda outdoorsAt this intersection, Virridy brings "Freshwater Decarbonization With Data Science." We use our proprietary technology and water and carbon markets expertise to restore watersheds and improve water quality, catalyzed and partially funded by generating and selling high quality carbon credits. Our team has developed large-scale drinking water programs in Rwanda and Kenya reaching over four million people; large-scale watershed restoration programs in the United States motivated by the Clean Water Act; and have patented and published our technology solutions linking in-situ sensor data with remote sensing and data science to deliver high quality spatial and temporal water resource predictions as the digital monitoring, reporting and verification audit trail for high quality freshwater decarbonization credits.

M. A. Mortenson Companies Inc. is the parent company of Mortenson Construction (“Mortenson”). Mortenson is a U.S.-based, top-25 developer, builder and engineering services provider serving the commercial, institutional, and energy sectors. Mortenson’s expanding portfolio of integrated services helps its customers move their strategies forward, ensuring their investments result in high-performing assets. The result is a turnkey partner, fully invested in the business success of its customers.

The Mortenson Center in Global Engineering and Resilience at the University of ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder combines education, research, and partnerships to positively impact vulnerable people and their environment by improving development tools, policy and practice. Their vision is a world where everyone has safe water, sanitation, energy, food, shelter, and infrastructure.

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Valuing water to survive climate change

Anonymous — Wed, 17 May 2023 15:32:44 +0000

Valuing water to survive climate change Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 05/17/2023 - 09:32

Evan Thomas discusses climate change and its impact on water in a new TEDx talk.

Thomas is the Endowed Chair and Director of the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering and Resilience at the University of ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder and a professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering and the Environmental Engineering program. He is also the founder and CEO of Virridy.

He is an expert on water and air testing and treatment, particularly in developing communities.

Water insecurity is increasing globally as one of the first perceivable effects of climate change. While water management is typically a local challenge, climate finance mechanisms offer the potential to switch climate-damaging capital toward climate reparative water infrastructure and create a sustainable, performance-based funding stream to incentivize safe water services globally.

This talk was given at a TEDx Boulder event held in April.

[video:https://youtu.be/98mrlq0Zfmk]

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Capitalism caused climate change. Can capitalism also solve it?

Anonymous — Wed, 29 Mar 2023 21:15:31 +0000

Capitalism caused climate change. Can capitalism also solve it? Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 03/29/2023 - 15:15

Around the world, dry areas have become drier and wet places have become wetter, with both drought and flooding reducing the amount of safe drinking water in those areas.

Studies from Oxfam and others have pointed to emissions inequality—wealthy countries by far emit the most greenhouse gases. Those emissions cause destructive weather patterns, with the greatest impact to water quality in the poorest parts of the world.

“But what people may not realize is that the capitalism that caused these water issues can be used to solve them,” says Evan Thomas, a professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering and director of the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering & Resilience.

Thomas will discuss ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder’s work to bring climate finance solutions to water quality challenges in the American West and East Africa at TedXŷ��ڱ��Ƶ on April 7 in Macky Auditorium.

Used for decades to control greenhouse gas emissions, carbon credits incentivize companies to reduce their emissions by selling the excess credits they earn through emitting less carbon. Corporations that commit to net-zero emissions reduce what they can, then buy the remaining credits from projects that reduce it elsewhere in the world, thus reducing worldwide emissions and fulfilling desires of their investors and customers.

But water management is a local challenge, Thomas says. Using less water in ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ won’t help residents in Africa affected by drought.

Thomas’ idea is to take carbon credits and bring them into the water world, using them to incentify water conservation. His team was the first in the world to earn carbon credits for drinking water treatment. Today, his company, Virridy Inc., is scaling water treatment programs in Kenya, Rwanda and the United States, financed with carbon credits.

The company partnered with governments in Rwanda and Kenya to provide water filters to households, thus reducing the need for residents to burn wood to boil and sterilize water. The reduced demand for fuelwood was calculated and transferred to carbon credits, which the company sold to emitting companies. The money generated was used to purchase more water filters.The program has reached more than 5 million people in Rwanda and Kenya.

Thomas says that carbon credits could also be used in the United States to incentivize water conservation. Construction of water treatment plants involve concrete, steel and energy, and once in use, the plants produce a lot of emissions. He says the carbon credits could be earned through green practices such as reducing fertilizer and manure runoff upstream, reducing the need to build more water plants.

Today about 4 billion people globally face water insecurity at least one day a year, which means they don’t have enough water. And another billion people don’t have safe, clean drinking water. The UN predicts that by 2030, another 700 million people will be displaced because of water insecurity.

“In seven more years, about 5 billion people will face water insecurity,” Thomas says. “Yet most of the time there is plenty of water. We don’t preserve and protect it and value it so that it’s there when we need it most.

“We can’t count on water being where we need it. We don’t pay for what it’s really worth. We act like it’s free until it’s not there anymore.”

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ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder researchers develop highly accurate sensor for E. coli risk detection

Anonymous — Fri, 12 Aug 2022 18:34:47 +0000

ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder researchers develop highly accurate sensor for E. coli risk detection Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 08/12/2022 - 12:34

Researchers at ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder have developed and validated a new sensor for E. coli risk detection that features an impressive 83% accuracy rate when detecting contamination in surface waters.

The findings were recently published in Water Research and could improve detection of a variety of contaminants quickly and effectively in water systems around the globe and in America.

Emily Bedell (PhDEnvEngr’22) is the lead author on the paper from the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering. She said about two billion people worldwide use a drinking water source that has some level of fecal matter in it and can cause health issues ranging from diarrhea to stunted growth – especially in young children.

“ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ 60% of all diarrheal deaths are related to water quality, globally,” she said. “This is a real problem, but current methods for finding poop in drinking water are expensive, have high barriers to entry like extensive training requirements or can take about 24 hours to provide results. We have invented a sensor combined with a machine learning model that uses fluorescence to show fecal contamination spikes in real-time.”

Both the sensor and machine learning model combination have been approved for a patent by the U.S. Patent Office.

Bedell said fluorescence works by shining a UV LED light source on a water sample and measuring the amount of light that is absorbed and re-emitted at a higher wavelength. That information can quickly show potential contamination, but it is sensitive to many environmental and physical factors such as sample temperature, which cause noise in the data and make it difficult to interpret.

“We use machine learning techniques to cut through that noise to better detect anomalies,” Bedell said.

Fast and accurate assessment of water quality is a growing need – not only in low-income countries, but in situations like the Flint, Michigan water crisis where citizens were exposed to dangerous levels of lead from poor government policies.

Professor Evan Thomas, director of the Mortenson Center, is a co-author on the paper. He said climate change is also a factor in this discussion as more frequent power outages may impact treatment facility operations and severe weather could contaminate critical water sources.

“We are going to need more data on water quality, and we need it to be widely available,” he said. “Taking measurements once a day will not be enough to ensure we are receiving water that doesn’t have either biological or chemical contaminants that can harm us in both the short and long term.”

Bedell is now employed as an engineer for Virridy in Boulder and is working on advancing the technology further. Ideally it will function in partnership with a larger home treatment system for those utilizing a private well – where water quality is not regulated by the EPA – for their drinking water.

“That sensor will be a miniaturized version of the design built in this paper and will be installed on a house’s main water line coming from the well,” she said. “The sensor’s data will be sent through the user’s WiFi to an online database where the machine learning model will be applied to predict risk level and send the information to a mobile app that will alert the user if contamination is detected.”

Bedell said she has always been interested in the intersections of engineering, the environment and social equity and this research project really brought those aspects together during her time with the Mortenson Center.

“Water quality research hits on all those points in so many ways. With more data we can explicitly point out how and when communities are being harmed through environmental injustices so that the policies and practices put in place that caused the harm can be addressed,” she said.

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PhD candidate using satellites and machine learning to combat drought in Africa

Anonymous — Thu, 28 Jul 2022 16:18:34 +0000

PhD candidate using satellites and machine learning to combat drought in Africa Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 07/28/2022 - 10:18

Katie Fankhauser, a PhD candidate in environmental engineering, is the lead author of a paper in Science of The Total Environment that identifies impacts of high groundwater use in response to drought in the Horn of Africa through satellite data, remote-sensors and machine learning analysis tools.

We asked her about the research, her time at ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder and where the work goes from here.

Question: How did you get to ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder? What drew you to the university?
Answer: I previously worked in large-scale water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) and sustainable energy programs in East Africa with Associate Professor Thomas. My research towards a PhD in Environmental Engineering – and this project in particular – presented an opportunity to re-engage in this region of Africa with an approach toward improved water insecurity and livelihood resilience founded on data and evidence-based decision making.

Q: How would you describe this project and research?
A: Drought is one of the most persistent, expansive, and damaging of natural disasters. It is also increasing in prevalence and severity. And when coupled with weak policies and management, it can lead to regional water and food insecurity, disease, and conflict for billions of people globally.

Groundwater is an important resource of water for people, livestock, and agriculture during drought in the Horn of Africa. In this work, areas of high groundwater demand in drought-prone Kenya were identified, and the conditions forecasted prior to the dry season. For this project we used hydrologic and land surface conditions – derived from satellites and mechanistic models – combined with advanced statistics and machine learning to better describe a population’s reliance on groundwater during drought.

The maps we developed are very accurate and are now available for stakeholders including the Kenya National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) and the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET). These maps represent the first operational spatially-explicit sub-seasonal to seasonal estimates of groundwater use and demand in the literature.

Q: What are some of the applications of this work?
A: One of the primary reasons we want to research this dynamic is that knowledge of historical and forecasted groundwater use will improve decision-making and resource allocation for a range of early warning and early action applications.

The arid and semi-arid lands of Kenya have faced regular drought since at least 2016 with below average rainfall placing 18 million people at risk. The use of groundwater is an effective drought mitigation strategy and operational boreholes may reduce exposure and vulnerability to drought for affected populations. Yet, during the 2016-2017 drought, 55% of the pumps needed to access groundwater were non-functional in Kenya. The ability to direct limited resources to repair, maintain, or site the most critically needed boreholes based on projected use will enable responsible stewardship of water resources and community resilience to drought. Furthermore, observing and predicting trends in groundwater use could be an important indicator of a developing drought itself.

It is all part of the Drought Resilience Impact Platform (DRIP) – an integrated systems-based approach to reducing drought impacts and improving water quality and soil health that is being researched and explored on campus right now.

Q: Where will the research go from here?
A: At the beginning of July, near the start of the dry season in Kenya, we introduced the groundwater data products and service to stakeholders at several meetings and workshops. They have begun to integrate the information into their workflows and planning such as drought risk bulletins. Their feedback will inform iterative design of the models and data visualization.

With the dataset, we also plan to improve trend and anomaly detection of groundwater use and demand.

Q: What was is it like working with Associate Professor Evan Thomas and others in the Mortenson Center?
A: The Mortenson Center in Global Engineering is a diverse and welcoming group of people that have supported my research and personal growth while challenging me to think more critically about the impact of my work and the responsibility I have to promote anti-racism, decolonization of aid, localization and equity. This community has made my time at ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder meaningful and continues to motivate me to be a better researcher, professional and friend.

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Newly published paper revolutionizes global engineering curriculum

Anonymous — Mon, 28 Mar 2022 16:45:22 +0000

Newly published paper revolutionizes global engineering curriculum Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 03/28/2022 - 10:45

A new publication headed by the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering seeks to create better alignment among academic programs and sector needs when it comes to training engineers in global development.

The publication comes after the center hosted over 100 participants from universities, donors, government agencies and industry partners for a virtual workshop series as part of a National Science Foundation grant to advance engineering education. Together, that group established a comprehensive global engineering body of knowledge which was recently published in Development Engineering.

ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder authors on the report come from the Mortenson Center, the Environmental Engineering Program, and the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering.

Mortenson Center Managing Director Laura MacDonald is the first author on the report. She said it is intended to support and provide consistency to graduate programs across the country as they prepare and educate the next generation of global engineers.

“What we present in the paper ensures that global engineers have the technical skills they need to succeed, but also the transversal and interdisciplinary skills that are required to work across sectors, with the ultimate goal being global poverty reduction,” she said. “We worked with a broad set of stakeholders, and the resulting paper reflects the breadth and depth of expertise we drew from to create the body of knowledge.”

MacDonald added that the biggest takeaway from the report is that a traditional engineering education is necessary, but not sufficient, for equipping engineers to work effectively in a context that is heavily influenced by historical, economic, and geopolitical factors.

“The role of engineers must evolve and account for structural and systemic barriers to global development and equity. Engineering education must change to support this evolution,” she said.

Associate Professor Evan Thomas is the second author on the publication and the director of the Mortenson Center. He said this type of collaborative effort builds on the center’s history of leadership in the field and as an inter-institution and interdisciplinary hub for groundbreaking research and foundational work.

“The Mortenson Center is uniquely positioned to facilitate this work because of our long history in global engineering graduate education and our ability to incorporate new approaches and perspectives,” he said. “Our faculty and staff are practitioners with personal experience. That fact ensures our results are both practical and applicable outside of academia.”

MacDonald said the team of contributors is already circulating the report for feedback and plans to have another event soon to continue engaging with workshop participants and their networks on these topics. She added that, while the emphasis of this research was on international development, the Mortenson Center is increasingly focused on the need for similar efforts domestically to address inequitable access to basic services and to work toward climate resilience in the United States, especially in underserved communities.

“We’re seeing more students entering our program who want to engage in domestic work and improve the livelihoods of people in the United States. I anticipate that the global engineering curriculum we’ve developed will increasingly be applied in domestic contexts,” she said.

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Evan Thomas News

ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ part of landmark legislation for green water quality infrastructure

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ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ Boulder leading effort to improve water quality in Rockies’ rivers

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ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ Boulder water quality expertise goes international in Armenia

Program Goals/Objectives

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ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ Boulder spinout company celebrates carbon-credit investment by Mortenson Co.

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Valuing water to survive climate change

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Capitalism caused climate change. Can capitalism also solve it?

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ŷ���ڱ���Ƶ Boulder researchers develop highly accurate sensor for E. coli risk detection

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PhD candidate using satellites and machine learning to combat drought in Africa

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Newly published paper revolutionizes global engineering curriculum

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ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ part of landmark legislation for green water quality infrastructure

ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder leading effort to improve water quality in Rockies’ rivers

ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder water quality expertise goes international in Armenia

ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder spinout company celebrates carbon-credit investment by Mortenson Co.

ŷ��ڱ��Ƶ Boulder researchers develop highly accurate sensor for E. coli risk detection