Watershed is top of USU research
A recently completed three-year study led by a Utah State University professor successfully developed an innovative and adaptable approach to improve water management. This approach incorporates scientific research to resolve environmental problems, public participation and economic incentives to encourage individuals‚ action.
David K. Stevens, a professor of environmental engineering at Utah State, led the project. The Inland Northwest Research Alliance (INRA), a coalition of eight Northwestern research universities, including Utah State, funded the effort.
Through research conducted on the Big Lost River in south-central Idaho, a team of eight researchers developed a watershed management approach and illustrated a plan of implementation. The study presents an effective approach that can be adapted to other watersheds.
The project, titled “Development of an Integrated Watershed Information Management Tool for Long-term Facilities Stewardship at the INEEL,” was undertaken to fill the gap in information for integrated watersheds. Stevens sought to create a tool for integrated watershed management in which surface and ground water substantially interact with one another.
Watersheds are known as land areas with water either above or below ground that flow into other waterways. Watershed problems relate to the quantity and quality of water, as well as its cost and value. Watershed management strives to resolve these problems in an effort to protect and improve these regions.
Members of Stevens‚ research team includes Ahmed Said, Utah State doctoral student; Robert Breckinridge, Gerald Sehlke, Marilyn Manguba, Chris Staley, Luke White and Randy Lee, all from the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL).
INRA is a non-profit scientific and educational organization consisting of eight Northwestern research universities: Boise State University, Idaho State University, Montana State University, Utah State University, the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the University of Idaho, the University of Montana and Washington State University.
The total research and development budget for these universities in FY 2001 was approximately $530 million, which would rank INRA members collectively as the seventh largest institution of higher education in the country in terms of research funding. INRA was formed to facilitate the leveraging of new research and national partnerships between the member institutions and the private sector, federal agencies and federal laboratories.
INRA is a partner with Idaho‚s Bechtel BWXT, Inc. ^ the management and operations contractor for the INEEL. Bechtel also runs the INEEL for the U.S. Department of Energy. INRA‚s roles in this contract include the support of collaborative basic and applied research programs between its member universities and the INEEL staff. It does this by funding several diverse multi-year research projects in the mission areas of the laboratory, including environmental management, energy sciences and national security.
For more information on INRA-affiliated research, contact Amy Matthews at (208) 524-4800 or visit www.inel.gov/INRA/