Water Resources Engineering

by David R. Maidment
• The challenges
– floods, droughts, poor water quality
• What we are doing about them
– engineering structures, better planning,
management
• What we study
– Academic Program at UT
 Flooding
Manawatu, New Zealand, Feb 17, 2004

http://www.ourregion.co.nz/home.php
Bridges that Work

http://www.ourregion.co.nz/home.php
Bridges that don’t work
Small bridge on a country road is washed away

http://www.ourregion.co.nz/home.php
 http://www.tsarp.com/

Most costly urban flood disaster in the history of the United States
Major Highways during Tropical
I-10 West
Storm Allison
I-45 South

http://www.chron.com/content/chronicle/special/01/flood/
Kayaking on US 59, Houston
(Tropical Storm Allison)

http://www.chron.com/content/chronicle/special/01/flood/
Residential Flooding in Tropical
Storm Allison

http://www.chron.com/content/chronicle/special/01/flood/
 The Human Cost

Saving the wedding photos Cleaning out the car

http://www.chron.com/content/chronicle/special/01/flood/
 5-day rain total
(Tropical Storm Allison)

City of Houston
Harris County
12-hour rain total
(Tropical Storm Allison)
Extreme Rainfall Statistics
(Tropical Storm Allison)
73,000 houses and apartment
buildings flooded
 Watersheds

Stream gaging
station

Watershed = area that drains to

a particular river or stream network
 Floodplain maps
(White Oak Bayou, Houston)
 What can we do about floods?
• Engineering structures
– Dams and detention ponds to hold back flood
waters
– Increase capacity of streams to carry floods
• Better flood planning
– Create floodplain maps to define at-risk areas
– Restrict building foundations are at least 1 foot
above 100-year flood elevation
– Develop flood forecasting and warning systems
 Regional Storm Water
Modeling Program and Master
Plan for San Antonio
City of
San Antonio
San Antonio Regional Watershed Modeling System
Geospatial Data:
“Bring the models City, County
together” SARA, other

Rainfall Data: Modeling Calibration Data:

Rain gages Flows
Nexrad System Water Quality

Floodplain Capital Water quality

Management Improvement planning
Integrated Planning Flood
Regional Water Forecasting
Resources planning
Nexrad Map to Flood Map in
Arc 9 Model Builder FLO
ODP
Flood map LAIN
as output MAP
Model for
flood flow
HMS

Model
for flood
Nexrad rainfall map as input depth
3D Terrain Modeling
Floodplain Mapping: 3-D View
Water Supply and Droughts

http://agnews.tamu.edu/drought/pics.html
http://agnews.tamu.edu/graphics/drought98/TXrainAprJun98BG.html
Streamflow
Conditions

http://tx.waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/rt
 What can we do about droughts
and water supply issues?
• Water resource development
– Reservoirs and well fields to supply water

• Better water resources planning

– Senate Bill 1 (1997 Legislature) established 14
water planning regions in Texas
– Water Availability Modeling
– Drought forecasting (El Nino – Southern
Oscillation)
 Improvements from Senate Bill 1:
Water Modeling and Planning
• Before Senate Bill 1, Water Availability Modeling
water planning was (TNRCC)
done state-wide by
TWDB
• SB1 established 14
water planning
regional groups, who
are now responsible
for planning water
supply in their area
 Improvements from Senate Bill 1:
Water Availability Modeling

Brazos Trinity Sulphur

8000 water right Colorado

locations

23 main river
basins

Rio Grande
City of Austin
Nueces
Inform every permit holder of the
degree of reliability of their withdrawal
during drought conditions (TCEQ)
 FOR RESE
CRWR Mission ER

AR
T
CEN

CH
for Senate Bill 1

IN

S
CE
AT R

W
E R RE S O U
• CRWR (UT Austin) aids in the response to
Senate Bill 1 by providing to TCEQ
watershed parameters defined from
geospatial data for each water right location
• These data are input by TCEQ contractors
to a Water Rights Assessment Package
(developed at TAMU) which determines the
% chance that the water will actually be
available at that location
• TCEQ sends the owner of the water right a
letter specifying the availability of water
Water Rights in the Sulphur Basin
Water right location
Stream gage location

Drainage areas delineated from

Digital Elevation Models are
used to estimate flow at water
right locations based on flow at
stream gage locations
Water Quality
Background of Clean Water Act
• 1972 Clean Water Act prohibits any
discharge of pollutants without NPDES
permit - (fishable and swimmable)
• 1987 Clean Water Act amended to require
NPDES permits for stormwater discharges
• Permits require implementation of Best
Management Practices (BMPs) to reduce
pollutant discharges to “Maximum Extent
Practicable”
Location of Impaired Waters
 Austin Area Impaired Water
Segments

• Bull Creek – Impaired macrobenthic community

• Onion Creek – Depressed dissolved oxygen
• Slaughter Creek – Impaired macrobenthic community
• Waller Creek – Impaired macrobenthic community
• Eanes Creek – Bacteria
• Gilleland Creek – Bacteria
• Taylor Slough – Bacteria
• Spicewood Creek - Bacteria
 What can we do about water
quality?
• Water quality enhancement structures
– Sand filters, wet ponds
– Screening inlets to storm sewers

• Total maximum daily load (TMDL)

– Comes from Clean Water Act
– Pollution load that a water body can accept and
still maintain its beneficial uses (aquatic life
support, recreation, water supply)
 Requirements for Structural Best
Management Practices (BMP’s)
• City of Austin – Required since 1981,
mainly sand filters
• TCEQ – Requires removal of 80% of
sediment in stormwater for Edwards
Aquifer
• LCRA – Requires 70-75% removal of
sediment, phosphorus, and oil & grease
for Highland Lakes
TxDOT Sand Filter
Central Park Wet Pond (Austin)
Extended Detention Basin
 Nueces Bay Zinc in Oyster
Tissue TMDL Project

81
B ay U1
Nueces

Imane Mrini 3,000

Corpus Christi

Meters

Center for Research in Water Resources

The University of Texas at Austin
 Zinc loads to Nueces Bay
Atmospheric deposition
NPS watershed loadings Wat = 18.67 kg/d
Q = flow of water Qwsh = 1.83 m3/s
W = load of zinc Wwsh = 3.69 kg/d

Lake Corpus Christi load Outflow

QNR = 2.47 m3/s Nueces Bay
Total zinc in water-Inner Harbor
WNR = 4.27 kg/d

70.0

60.0

50.0 Permitted discharges

Mean = 37µg/L
Qpd = 16.55 m3/s
Conc (µg/L)

40.0

Wpd = 0.71 kg/d

30.0
CP&L plant
20.0
WCP&L = 52.75 kg/d
10.0

0.0
12/1/80 8/28/83 5/24/86 2/17/89 11/14/9 8/10/94 5/6/97 1/31/00
1
Date
Inner Harbor
13430 13429 13432 13439
Average Conc. (1982-2001) = 37µg/L
 Physicochemical Reactions
sunlight
Atmospheric Deposition

Photochemical
Inorganic Reactions
Reactions

Flux Organic/Biological Flux

Reactions

Sediment-Water Exchange
 Bioconcentration of Zinc

Total Zinc in water

( ~ 47 mg/L)
0.047 ppm
Ratio = 2127 Ratio = 23,400

Zinc in sediment Zinc in Oyster tissue

( ~ 100 mg/kg) (~ 1100 mg/kg)
100 ppm 1100 ppm
Ratio = 11
 Academic Program at UT
• Required courses
– CE 319F Elementary Fluid Mechanics
– CE 356 Hydraulics
• Electives
– CE 358 Ocean Engineering
– CE 370K Water Chemistry
– CE 374K Hydrology
– CE 365K Hydraulic Design (Level II)
CE Faculty in Water Resources
• Randall Charbeneau (groundwater, hydraulic
design
• Ben Hodges (hydraulics, hydrodynamics)
• Lynn Katz (water chemistry)
• Spyros Kinnas (fluid mechanics, ocean
engineering)
• Daene McKinney (water resources planning)
• David Maidment (hydrology, geographic
information systems)