VUSP Hosts 2009 Pennsylvania Stormwater Management Symposium

On October 14-15, the Villanova Urban Stormwater Partnership (VUSP), directed by Robert G. Traver, PhD, PE, welcomed engineers, planners, water resource professionals, conservationists, and government representatives to the 2009 Pennsylvania Stormwater Management Symposium, the seventh such symposium held at Villanova. This biennial event helps advance the knowledge and understanding of sustainable stormwater management for those dealing in all aspects of planning, design, implementation, and regulatory compliance. This year’s conference, “Bailing Out Stormwater,” featured podium and poster presentations, panel discussions, a recognition program for stormwater best management practices (BMPs), tours, and a workshop for municipal representatives.

Among the experts who spoke at the symposium was Ken Murin, Chief of Waterways, Wetlands, and Stormwater Management for Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection, who delivered the keynote address on the “Future Direction of Effective Stormwater Management.” He noted that stormwater runoff is the third-leading source of impairment of Pennsylvania’s 86,000 miles of surface water. Howard Neukrug, PE, Director of the Philadelphia Water Department’s Office of Watersheds, explained the city’s “Clean Water…Green City” program. He stressed that “we need a sustainable city if we are to have a sustainable utility.”

In addition, Villanova researchers from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering highlighted their progress since the 2007 symposium:

• Visiting Assistant Professor John Komlos, PhD, discussed his work using Microtox toxicity analysis to assess the performance of BMPs on campus. Jill Pietropaolo CE ’10 contributed to this research by collecting samples and performing soil experiments.
• Assistant Professor Bridget Wadzuk, PhD, CE ’00 and graduate student Gerrad Jones presented an analysis of a predictive model of constructed stormwater wetlands performance. These findings will assist VUSP researchers as they look to reconstruct the wetlands to optimize hydraulic efficiency.
• Associate Professor Andrea Welker, PhD, PE, summarized the results of a two-year, side-by-side comparison study of porous asphalt and pervious concrete. She concluded that, in terms of water quality, both pavements were performing well.
• Dr. Traver discussed how the results of Villanova’s research on the bioinfiltration rain garden have supported sustainability in stormwater management.