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INSTRUCTORS: 
Richita Birawat, MSc, CFM
Guna Uddagiri, MSc, CFM
Fahad Pervaiz, P.E., Ph.D, CFM, Env-SP
Runal Shrivastava, MSc, EIT, CFM, LEED GA
Zhaorui Wang, MSc
Abby Winrich
Jamie Schussler, Ph.D
Francesco Dell’Aira
Claudio Meier
Saman Ebrahimi
Mahdis Khorram
Saurav Kumar

Course Length: 1.5 hours

Purpose and Background

This course will only award PDHs for completion.

Technical presentations from the 2024 World Environmental & Water Resources Congress:

Unlocking the Power of 2D Watershed Modeling with Rain-on-Mesh in HEC RAS (15 minutes)

This presentation explores the advanced capabilities of applying rainfall directly onto a 2D mesh within HEC RAS to enhance watershed modeling accuracy. It details how this approach subdivides watersheds into smaller computational cells, allowing for a more precise spatial and temporal distribution of rainfall, thereby improving overland flow simulation and floodplain interaction. The presentation further explains the methods for calculating losses, such as infiltration and evaporation, to avoid overestimating runoff and flood peaks. Finally, it highlights the transition from traditional 1D modeling to 2D models, emphasizing the significant improvements in flood hazard analysis and infrastructure interaction representation.

Relative Effects of Urban Stormwater and Reservoir Management on Floods Over the U.S. (15 minutes)

This presentation examines the distinct impacts of urban stormwater management and reservoir operations on flood mitigation. It involves numerical experiments comparing baseline scenarios with different water management strategies, demonstrating the effectiveness of stormwater management in highly urbanized, small drainage areas by reducing mean annual flood levels. The analysis highlights how stormwater management significantly lowers peak flows during common storm events in urbanized regions, while reservoirs manage flood control effectively by storing and releasing water during peak runoff periods. Scatter plot analyses from USGS stations across diverse regions are used to illustrate these effects, providing a comprehensive understanding of how different management strategies influence flood behaviors nationally and at the watershed scale.

Modeling Through the Murky Water: Investigating Reoccurring Turbidity Impairments in Oklahoma (2002-2022) (20 minutes)

This presentation discusses the application of watershed modeling to analyze recurring turbidity issues across the state. It includes an examination of spatial patterns and the selection of 408 water bodies impaired from 2000 to 2022, with a focus on those frequently delisted and relisted. Models were designed using OK HAWQS, an online version of the SWAT model, incorporating elevation data to define watersheds and investigate the impacts of best management practices on turbidity impairments. The findings aim to improve understanding and management of water quality impairments by evaluating temporal and spatial trends in turbidity.

A New Hydrological Connectivity-based Index for Peak-flow Prediction in Ungauged Urban Basins (15 minutes)

This presentation introduces a methodological framework to derive new connectivity-based descriptors for basins. This includes a novel urbanization metric, the hydrological connectivity-based index, which outperforms the traditional total impervious area (TIA) metric in predicting flood quantiles. The methodology involves defining slope, flow direction, and weighting factors based on land cover for each cell in a basin, which are then used to calculate a normalized connectivity index. This new index was tested on case studies to demonstrate its effectiveness in providing more accurate flood predictions compared to TIA.

Assimilating Remotely Sensed Temperature Data in a Physically Based Model to Determine Salinity in the Vadose Zone of a Pecan Orchard (20 minutes)

This presentation discusses a method to estimate salinity using remotely sensed thermal data and crop modeling. The model incorporates canopy temperature data obtained from aerial observations and uses classification algorithms for crop and ground differentiation. Emissivity correction is applied to thermal datasets, and the Seabop model is used to estimate evapotranspiration (ET) for each pixel. The approach aims to improve field-scale salinity management by integrating remotely sensed data with a physically based model.

Learning outcomes and session benefits

Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

• Explain how applying rainfall directly onto a 2D mesh within HEC RAS improves the accuracy of watershed modeling by enhancing spatial and temporal distribution of rainfall.
• Discuss the use of watershed modeling to analyze and manage recurring turbidity issues in Oklahoma by examining spatial patterns and temporal trends.
• Describe the development and application of a new hydrological connectivity-based index for more accurate flood predictions in ungauged urban basins, comparing it to the traditional total impervious area metric.
• Summarize the method of using remotely sensed thermal data and crop modeling to estimate salinity in the vadose zone of a pecan orchard, highlighting the integration of canopy temperature data and the Seabop model for evapotranspiration estimation.

Assessment of Learning Outcomes

Learning outcomes are assessed and achieved through passing a 10 multiple choice question post-test with at least a 70%.

Who Should Attend?

• Water resource engineers
• Consulting engineers
• Hydrogeologists
• Utility engineers
• Public Agency Engineers
• Utility Directors

How to Earn your PDHs and Receive Your Certificate of Completion

This course is worth 1.5 PDH. To receive your certificate of completion, you will need to complete a short on-line post-test and receive a passing score of 70% or higher within 365 days of the course.