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The water cycle is intimately connected to the functions of natural
systems and human society. The primary foci of UNH Water Resources
Engineering research in the water cycle are to: quantify terrestrial
pathways (flow), describe natural ecology (quality), identify the
magnitude of interferences (changes from the natural state), and
propose/design remedial measures to return disturbed systems to
their natural state. These projects are as wide-ranging and diverse
as is the multitude of environmental settings including: mountains,
desert, tundra, and coasts. The location for most of our research
is in New Hampshire and New England, but has also included efforts
in Alaska, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Belize, and Colombia. The following
are topical areas of our research with specific examples for each.
I. ) Surface Water Hydrology Understanding the dynamics of flow
in surface water systems (rivers, canals, streams, lakes, ponds,
wetlands, marshes, arroyos, etc.). This includes the field measurement
of flow and water levels, the relationships between these two variables,
the statistical variability at each setting, and then development
of the levels of risk. Examples include base flow needs for instream
flow, drought susceptibility, and flood levels.
Salt Marsh Hydrology and Effects of Constructed Drainage Features
As communities encroached on wetlands and marshes in coastal regions,
the roads, paths, and railways cutoff or restricted hydraulic access
to the ocean. Often the small culverts installed under the transportation
routes would allow salt marshes to drain to the ocean, but severely
inhibit the return flow of salt water back to the marsh. This then
dramatically changed the salt marsh plant communities by allowing
freshwater species to invade the margins, and ultimately change
the entire marsh ecosystem. Numerous coastal structures (from bridges
to culverts) have been studied and modeled in order to assess their
effect on natural systems. Then we designed replacement structures
that could yield improved performance. The most recent example
is the new Scammel Bridge over the Bellamy River in Dover, NH.
{visuals from Scammel, Bass Beach, Exeter
Industrial Park, Johnson/Bunker Creek studies}
 Optimization
of Flood Control Strategies As populations increase and continue
to encroach on riverine systems, the potential for losses (property
and life) due to floods only increases. This is particularly true
downstream of dams and lakes in which the public believes that they
are afforded increased flood protection. Many older dams and reservoirs,
originally constructed for water supply purposes, are now faced
with increased expectations (for example recreation, low flow control,
and flood control). This means that the operation and regulation
of these facilities becomes more important and unfortunately more
difficult. To study these issues, we delineate: the watershed runoff
characteristics (often with GIS and computer runoff models), the
reservoir storage characteristics, the outlet hydraulic characteristics,
and the expectations of users. These are all then optimized (also
with computer models) to try to maximize all benefits and minimize
losses. The results are often a suite of solutions, since not all
losses and benefits can be put in monetary terms (for example loss
of life, loss of habitat, etc.). {visuals
from Ossipee and Winnipesaukee studies}
II.) Ground Water Hydrology About half of the water used regionally
is derived from ground water sources. Most human-related surface
activities (paving, farming, lawn care, etc.) tend to impair ground
water quality. Therefore it is incumbent that we understand our
ground water resources in order to properly manage our valuable
ground water supplies (current and future).
Water Supply Development Where do you drill a well? How much
will the well yield? Where does the water from the well come from?
What area around the well should I protect? These are but some
of the questions we want answered when we develop ground water supplies.
In addition to wells, novel other approaches (underground dams,
artificial recharge, etc.) are also being explored. {visuals
from Spruce Hole, Pembroke, Cearı}
Hydrology of Bog-Aquifer Systems Wetlands and peat bogs are surface
water environments that are normally interconnected to ground water
systems. Some wetlands recharge ground water, others allow ground
water to flow through, and yet others derive most of their critical
water needs from ground water. In addition to the simple movement
of water to and from ground water, there are also important biogeochemical
exchanges that occur. Our studies are directed at quantifying and
understanding these relationships. {visuals
from Spruce Hole and Riverside Farms}
Regional Ground Water Flow Just as river systems can stretch
for miles, ground water flow paths can also traverse great distances.
The location of recharge and discharge, and the flowpath between,
effect: how we plan water supplies, ground water quality, and the
movement of contaminants. Our studies have looked at monitoring
water levels, samping wells and steams, dating ground water, describing
the flow paths, computer simulations, and measuring water quality.
{visuals from Eielson AFB, Spruce Hole,
Fort Wainwright, San Andrœs}
Ground Water Contributions to Coastal and Estuarine Systems Ground
water discharge to surface water systems plays an important role
in defining the ecosystem. The ground water discharge itself provides
habitat, but in addition supplies valuable nutrients to the coastal
systems. In cases of ground water contamination, the contaminants
will seep to the marshes at the ground water discharge locations.
Our studies use on ground measurements coupled with aerial infrared
videography in order to delineate and define these types of ground
water discharge. {visuals from Great Bay
study·link to CICEET}
SDWs
III.) Hydraulics and Sediment Transport
In-Channel Disposal of Dredged Sediments Navigation channels
often suffer from the natural deposition of sediments. In order
to maintain the navigation, these channels need to be periodically
dredged. The disposal of the dredged sediments has become a serious
environmental issue since often the sediments are contaminated.
Disposing of the sediments in the same channel, but at a different
location, has become an attractive alternative because it sidesteps
some of these issues. Or studies have made detailed field measurements
of the hydraulics and the sediment transport and then employed computer
models to answer many. ÕWhat if?" scenarios. {visuals
from Piscataqua River study}
Reliability of Bed Load Samplers Bed load samplers are device
that are deployed in channels and catch the sediment that flows
by. The data from these samplers are then used to quantify sediment
transport in channels as well as to assist in calibrating computer
models of sediment transport. However questions still exist about
the reliability of the samplers themselves as well as predictive
equations for bed load transport. One of our studies uses measurements
from a Helley-Smith bed load sampler and compares its measurements
to predictions from a commonly used bed load equation. {visuals
from Rio Grande, Colorado River, Powder River, and Agua Fria}
Hydraulic Model Study of the Dead River -
IV.) Pollutants and Contaminants in Natural Systems
In Situ Remediation of Petroleum-Contaminated Salt Marshes In
the fall of 1996, the Julie N, a petroleum tanker, broke its mooring
while it was offloading oil. This resulted in thousands of gallons
of oil being spilled into the Portland, ME estuary. Oil spills
such as these are normally contained as fast as possible. Oil that
washes up on shore is also collected. However a significant amount
of oil from oil spills is never recovered. This oil that reaches
wetlands and salt marshes is toxic to most aquatic species (plant
and animal). One and one-half years after the Julie N spill, a
significant amount of oil remained in the upper sediments of the
Fore River Estuary. Removing the sediment would destroy the vegetation,
and therefore was not an option. This research aims to enhance
the natural breakdown of the oil into non-toxic byproducts. Various
test plots were created and are being compared to control plots.
{visuals from Fore River study·links to
NEK and CICEET}
Bioremediation of Petroleum-Contaminated Antarctic Soil The history
of exploration and science on the Antarctic continent is filled
with the valiant efforts of many. However a reality left behind
a numerous instances of contamination and waste. Electricity and
heat are generated by burning oil. Over the decades, there have
been many instances of oil spills in Antarctica. At the US station
at McMurdo Sound, spilled oil and the soil that was contaminated
by it are excavated and stockpiled at the landfill. There is tons
of this material. By international treaty, all wastes on the continent
must be remediated onsite or disposed of off-continent within three
years of their creation. Our work studied how native microorganisms
could be used to reduce the oil into non-toxic byproducts. Antarctic
soil was imported to our labs and experiments were conducted in
refrigerators in order to mimic the Antarctic climate. It soon
became clear that temperature moderation (maintaining stable temperatures
in the range of 2-10 oC) was important. A novel approach
to heating was then researched: using radio frequency antennae
to generate a uniform energy (temperature) field. {visuals
from NSF Antarctic study}
Stormwater Runoff and Stormwater Control In the early 1980s
the US EPA studied 26 stormwater runoff sites across the country.
The results clearly showed that stormwater runoff contains a variety
of pollutants. Based on this study, various stormwater control
measures have been proposed and implemented. In the 15 years later,
we noticed that in the summer in New Hampshire, often the water
quality in stormwater facilities was very poor when it was not raining.
We outfitted 9 stormwater control systems to study their watersheds
and the runoff entering and leaving each. {visuals
from seacoast stormwater project·links to CICEET}
Gasoline in Ground Water -
Larry-your NPS work with Chris Evans
V.) Solid Waste
Landfill Leachate Recirculation A major problem in operating
landfills is leachate management. Modern landfills are built to
collect and remove the fluid (leachate) that collects at the impermeable
base of the landfill. The leachate originates as precipitation,
or fluids disposed of in the landfill, or as a byproduct of the
decomposition of the solid waste. Some landfills treat the leachate
onsite, others truck the leachate to waste water treatment plants.
Leachate treatment is a major cost in operating a landfill, and
leachate generation continues long after the landfill is out of
operation. By minimizing the amount of leachate that needs to be
treated, landfill operational costs can be cut. One way to do this
is by recirculating some or all of the leachate back onto the solid
waste. This maintains a higher moisture content in the waste and
therefore enhances the degradation of the waste. Leachate recirculation
was employed at the Mount Washington Valley landfill for three years.
The landfill was then monitored to look for the expected results.
This monitoring included: leachate volumes, sold waste temperature,
offgassing rates, offgas concentrations, and solid waste compaction.
{visuals from Conway landfill}
Modeling of Leachate Generation in Landfills Infiltration through
a landfill subscribes to the physical laws governing soil infiltration.
This project used field measurements of landfill characteristics
to assist in the development and calibration of a computer model
to predict the leachate volumes from precipitation. The utility
of the model is in the initial phases of landfill design {visual
from Castro thesis and Franklin Ashfill}
Land Application of Sludge The residual solids from the treatment
of domestic waste water at municipal waste water treatment plants
(sludge) is very high in nutrients and therefore is viewed as a
potential fertilizer and/or soil amendment. At the same time though,
there are many other chemicals in the sludge (heavy metals, dioxin,
organics, etc.) that has prohibited its usage. Under research permits,
we have various locations where the sludge has been land applied
and crops grown. These sites include cornfields and gravel pits.
We also have a field facility with test columns where we can measure
the hydrologic budget and chemical mass balance. {visuals
Boscawen, New Hampton, Kingman Farm}
Composting Six years ago we created a four-acre facility to study
composting. These were cooperative studies with other UNH Departments.
Our role was to look at the fugitive emissions from yard and farm
waste composting (leaching to ground water and offgassing to the
atmosphere. The compost facility is in continual use for long term
studies. {visuals Kingman Farm}
Coastal Engineering
Modeling
Regional Aquifer Systems
Movement of Contaminants Through Soils
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