(subject to change)
Maximize your EWRI Congress attendance by participating in FREE technical workshops taught by trusted subject matter experts. These technical workshops will begin as early as , and will be integrated into the concurrent technical sessions throughout the remainder of the conference. All technical workshops are Professional Development Hour (PDH) credit-eligible sessions.
Sunday, May 19 | 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
How to Build Reliability in the Results of Numerical Modeling
Instructors: Kaveh Zamani & Fabian Bombardelli
Engineering judgments in water and environmental projects are increasingly relying on computational models as an alternative to experimentation. Verification and validation (V&V) and uncertainty quantification (UQ) are set of techniques to provide quantitative insight to the reliability of computational models. This workshop is designed to give the audience a broad view and hands-on experience of V&V and UQ in the context of numerical modeling in water and environmental engineering. An in-depth introduction to the fundamentals of verification procedures in scientific-computing is the first part of the course. Techniques for validation of models based on measurements and validation experiment design are being discussed next. Then, a brief review of techniques for quantification of uncertainty due to model, numerical techniques and parameters. The workshop concludes with the emerging techniques of SQA for computational modeling such as “literate programming”, “automation of documentation”, “version control systems”, “reproducibility” etc.
Monday, May 20 | 2:00 – 5:30 p.m.
Misuse of HEC-RES for Bridge Scour Analyses & other Bridge Scour
Instructor: David T. Williams
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Hydrologic Engineering Center’s HEC-RAS software (HEC-RAS) is the primary tool used in the water resources industry for hydraulic analysis. From its popularity for regular hydraulic analysis, it has also been popular for performing bridge scour analyses. The ease of using HEC-RAS for scour analyses is seducing in that an engineer can perform a “successful” analysis but does not have a full understanding of what the program is doing when performing the scour calculations. In addition, the bridge scour algorithms in HEC-RAS are based upon Hydraulic Engineering Circular No. 18 (HEC-18, 2001) but several updates have been issued with the latest being on April 2012. Since the HEC-RAS Version 3.0.1 was issued in 2001, HEC has not updated Version 5.0.3 based upon the HEC-18 document released in 2012. This workshop will point out subtle errors that can occur and explain the updates that were not input to HEC-RAS.
Tuesday, May 21 | 8:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Emerging Applications of Computational Fluid Dynamics in Water/Wastewater Treatment Industry
Instructors: Kevin Nielsen, Xiaofeng Liu, Carrie Knatz & Jie Zhang
Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has been successful in understanding and solving engineering problems in water/wastewater treatment. In this workshop, CFD experts from the water industry will present recent advances in CFD applications to water/wastewater treatment technologies and various CFD applications in water/wastewater industry. A primer on CFD Applications in Water, Wastewater and Stormwater Treatment developed by the EWRI CFD Task Committee will be introduced and the content will be shared with attendees. An open discussion session on the challenges and possibilities of CFD applications in other areas will be followed by the presentation and introduction. Through the workshop, participants without CFD background should be able to learn a general idea of CFD applications in current water/wastewater treatment industry and participants with CFD background should have in-depth learning of where and how to apply CFD in water/wastewater treatment industry.
Tuesday, May 21 | 2:00 – 5: 30 p.m.
The EFDC_EXPLORER Modeling System: A Tool for Teaching Environmental Hydrodynamics In A Numerical Modeling Framework
Instructors: Paul Craig, P.E. & Tom Mathis
Born out of a need for a streamlined and efficient interface for the EFDC model, the EFDC_Explorer Modeling System (EEMS) combines grid generation, pre- and post-processing capabilities, and an improved computational engine into one GUI-based software package. It is designed to streamline and demystify the process of building, calibrating, validating, and QA/QC of hydrodynamic models. As the developers of EEMS, we have offered classroom training courses to introduce fundamental concepts and guide practitioners, researchers, and graduate students alike through the model development process. Our instructor-led courses also cover advanced topics such as water quality, sediment transport, and contaminate fate and transport modeling. Through this experience, we have found the combination of theoretical instruction, GUI-based software, and case study applications to be a powerful method for building an understanding of the mechanics of natural systems that is both theoretically sound and applicable in a professional and research setting.
This Workshop is focused on sharing our experience teaching environmental hydrodynamic modeling with EEMS as the tool that facilitates hands-on application. Various case studies and demonstrations will be used to illustrate the use of the software throughout the Workshop. From creating simple numerical models of laboratory-scale experiments to full-scale models of lakes, rivers, estuaries or engineered systems; EEMS provides a flexible GUI-based set of tools that make numerical modeling more accessible than ever before.
Tuesday, May 21 | 2:00 – 5:30 p.m.
Riverbank Filtration (RBF)
Instructors: Chittaranjan Ray & Matthew Reed
Riverbank filtration (RBF) is a simple, yet effective treatment technology that uses the natural soil and aquifer media to remove various pollutants from river water during induced infiltration of river water to pumping wells. In alluvial aquifers, when wells are placed sufficiently close to a river and pumped, the draw-down caused at the well induces the river water to flow towards the well screens. During soil and aquifer passage, various pollutants from river water are removed. For a bank filtration system to operate, there must be a source present (river or lake), the quality of the water must be relatively good, and there has to be a hydraulic connection between the river/lake and the aquifer (in other words in confined aquifer settings RBF is not effective). The quality of the source water and local hydrogeologic conditions are expected to influence the quality of filtrate water produced from RBF systems. We will consider the planning, design, installation, monitoring, and evaluation aspects of RBF systems with reference to specific US sites.
Wednesday, May 22 | 8:30 – 10:00 a.m.
Next-Generation Wastewater Treatment Technologies with Bioelectrochemical Systems
Instructors: Dr. Venkata Gadhamshetty & Dr. Veera Gnaneswar Gude
Bioelectrochemical Systems (BESs) use living organisms to transform organic fraction of complex wastewater and solid wastes into direct current electricity. The BES technology has a potential to emerge as an energy-efficient alternative to energy-intensive wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). Simply put, MFC-based WWTP technologies generate electric current while treating wastewater instead of spending electricity to treat wastewater. The BES concepts are already being applied in practice, especially in applications related to spaceships, surveillance vehicles, in-water sensors. The BES technologies have been advancing at a rapid pace during the past decade. The R&D efforts are underway to use BES principles for enabling wastewater reuse for secondary end-use applications and for desalinating brackish water under ambient conditions. This course will introduce fundamental principles of fuel cell theory, electrochemistry, microbiology and engineering concepts that are relevant to MFC design, development, and application. Examples include electrochemically active biofilm, extracellular electron transfer mechanisms, electrochemical evaluation tools, transport phenomena, and electrode materials. The participants will have an opportunity to assemble and operate microbial fuel cell prototypes. The participants will also have an opportunity to work on developing ideas for their own BES projects that align with their career and professional goals.
Wednesday, May 22 | 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Resource Efficient Desalination & Zero-Liquid Discharge Systems
Instructor: Dr. Veera Gnaneswar Gude
Desalination plants are often considered resource-demanding in terms of energy and other natural sources. Many advances have been made in recent years. This workshop will discuss and evaluate various options for energy-efficient desalination process configurations including thermal, membrane and hybrid desalination processes using case studies. Mass and energy balance approaches will be examined to evaluate the feasibility of some of the advanced desalination processes including energy recovery schemes. Use of zero-liquid discharge and water reuse processes will be discussed from water quality, quantity, safety, and policy and regulations aspects. Techno-economics and environmental impacts will be discussed.
Wednesday, May 22 | 4:00 – 5:30 p.m.
Stormwater Management in a One Water Sustainability Framework
Instructors: Shirley Clark, Ruth Hocker & Christopher Homer
Many cities are addressing the need to manage water sustainability and are using the framework of One Water, formerly titled Integrated Water Management, to address this need. The advantage of One Water is that the concept is straight-forward for explaining to residents how a city is addressing all of the water challenges in the city, from supplying potable water to collecting wastewater to managing stormwater. This workshop has been developed to highlight the application of One Water principles into the management of stormwater, especially in areas with multiple jurisdictions in a single watershed.
The questions to be addressed by this workshop include defining One Water and highlighting how it fits into a sustainability framework such as Envision. Case study presentations will highlight how One Water initiatives are being adopted in cities in the US and internationally. In addition, methods for presenting the idea to stakeholders will be highlighted along with lessons learned about public communication. The workshop also will illustrate what the drivers are for adopting One Water thinking into the mindset of the city and the public works personnel.
Thursday, May 23 | 8:30 – 10:00 a.m.
Introduction to the Hydrologic Modeling System (HEC-HMS)
Instructors: Matthew Fleming
The Hydrologic Modeling System (HEC-HMS) can be used for many hydrologic studies such as flood damage reduction, water availability, spillway adequacy, and flow forecasting among others. The most common features of the program for use across many types of studies will be presented. Meteorologic processes for precipitation, evapotranspiration, and snowmelt will be described. Catchment simulation with subbasin elements and channel simulation with reach elements will be covered. The reservoir element will be presented with applications to lakes, reservoirs, pump stations, and dam failure analysis. Advanced topics in erosion and sediment transport and uncertainty analysis with Monte Carlo techniques will also be included.