Environmental and Water Resources Engineering
Research
Computational Environmental Hydraulics
Computational Environmental Hydraulics involves the formulation, development and application of methods used to predict the movement of surface waters, including rivers/streams, lakes/reservoirs, estuaries and other surface waters. In this program, emphasis is placed upon aspects of hydraulics impacting sediment transport and water quality.
Computational Surface Water Quality Modeling
Computational Surface Water Quality Modeling deals with the formulation, development and application of numerical models used in the simulation of water quality conditions in surface waters. Water quality modeling provides the linkage between the sources of pollution and the instream water quality of a given waterbody for use in the analysis and management of surface waters.
Sedimentation Engineering
Sedimentation Engineering is the use of operational methods and constructed works in concert with natural processes to cause an economically and environmentally sustainable sediment distribution. It considers individual projects within the context of a regional morphological system and in terms of their effects on the region.
Waterborne Transportation
Waterborne transportation engineering deals with planning, designing, and operating facilities for movement of freight and people by watercraft. Also called navigation engineering, it is directed at making the Marine Transportation System more safe, efficient, and environmentally sustainable.
Examples of our research
There is a wide variety of projects presently underway within the Water Resources and Environmental Group of Civil Engineering in the Bagley College of Engineering. For additional information about any of these projects, contact the indicated faculty member.
Port Sedimentation Solutions MSU is working to find engineering solutions to chronic port sedimentation problems on the Tenn-Tom Waterway. MDOT has funded the project with the objective of reducing or eliminating maintenance dredging of the state’s public ports. Students, led by graduate student Judy Haydel, have been collecting and analyzing data from the Tenn-Tom in order to characterize sedimentation processes, and that information will be used to formulate engineering solutions. McAnally
Big Sunflower River TMDL MSU has been funded by the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) to assist in the development of Total Maximum Daily Loads for the Big Sunflower River. Several segments of the River are presently listed as not meeting water quality standards due to organic enrichment/low dissolved oxygen and nutrients or sediments/siltation. For each listed section, the Clean Water Act requires the development of a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL). The TMDL is a pollutant specific allowable load, including both point and non-point source loadings, designed to restore and maintain the quality of those listed segments. The project is a cooperative effort by the MDEQ and MSU Departments of Civil Engineering and Plant and Soil Sciences. Martin
Big Bear Lake TMDL MSU has been funded by the Big Bear Municipal Water District, Bear Lake, CA, to provide technical assistance in developing Total Maximum Daily Loads for Big Bear Lake. The Lake is considered impaired due to excessive nutrient loads and siltation. Martin
Watershed Management For The Istanbul,Turkey MSU is working on strategies to protect the supply of water taken from the Omerli Reservoir. This reservoir supplies over sixty percent of the water used in Istanbul, Turkey, though it is over 40 km from the urban center and is from it by the 2-km wide Bosphorus. With potable water quality degrading over the past decade, The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has funded this project with the objective of analyzing the nutrient loads coming into the reservoir and defining ways of reducing this load. Other issues being addressed in this project include infrastructure assessment, water supply augmentation, and land use management. In addition, the state water authority (ISKI) has requested the research team add a review of emergency response and system protection issues to their scope of work. The research team consists of engineering researchers at Marmara University in Istanbul, a consortia of Mississippi engineering consultants (the Mississippi Engineering Group, MSEG), and the Mississippi State Department of Civil Engineering. Dr. Dennis D. Truax and graduate students at Mississippi State are currently working to use remote sensing technologies to delineate watershed, identify land use and land cover, and map the flow path followed through existing buffer zones by the nutrients into the reservoir. The water management plan developed from this study will be used by ISKI as a blue print for the other reservoirs in its water supply network, and will be forwarded to USAID for application as a design for engineered solutions in other countries. Truax
St. Louis Bay Water Quality Modeling MSU Civil Engineering and Plant and Soil Sciences departments are cooperating to develop a nutrient and dissolved oxygen model for the St. Louis Bay. The model couples watershed, estuarine flow, and water quality components to simulate the impact of land-source nutrient loadings on St. Louis Bay nutrient dynamics. The model product will assist the Mississippi Deparment of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) in developing guidelines for future water quality monitoring and management in the St. Louis Bay region. The project is funded by US Environmental Protection Agency and MDEQ. Huddleston
DEQ Dissolved Oxygen Model The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) is currently using a dissolved oxygen model for developing waste load allocations and Total Maximum Daily Loads for organic enrichment. This model was originally developed by MSU. The objective of this project, funded by the MDEQ, is to update and modernize the DO model for continued use. The project is a collaborative effort by the MDEQ and MSU Departments of Civil Engineering and Computer Science. Martin
Sediment Diagenesis Modeling MSU is working with Tetra Tech, Inc. and the U.S. Environmental Protection agency on the development of a sediment diagenesis model. A sediment diagensis model relates the loadings of organic materials to sediments, and the decay of those organic materials, to the subsequent release of nutrients and sediment oxygen demand. This diagenesis model will be incorporated in an existing surface water quality model (WASP) commonly used for the development of waste load allocations. The initial application of the coupled models will be to Mobile Bay. Martin
Harpeth River studies MSU is working with Tetra Tech, Inc. and the U.S. Environmental Protection agency on the development of Total Maximum Daily Loads for the Harpeth River, TN. The River, located outside of Nashville, is listed as impaired (does not meet water quality standards) due to organic enrichment/low dissolved oxygen and nutrients. Martin
Transportation Responses to Increased Trade Projected trade increases from Latin American have the potential to overload the region’s ports, highways, and railways. The Bagley College of Engineering and the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Experiment Station are working together to develop tools that will enable local, state, and regional authorities to plan intermodal infrastructure improvements that will handle the increased freight flow economically and with the least environmental impact. McAnally
Port Wharf Designs MSU is working with Applied Technology Management, LLC, to develop wharf designs for the port of Charleston, SC, that will provide safe mooring and unloading while minimizing siltation in the mooring areas and adjacent waters. They are using a numerical model of Charleston Harbor to examine alternative wharf orientations and locations. McAnally
Hydrologic, Hydrodynamic and Water Quality ModelingPersonnel from the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station (MAFES) and the Department of Civil Engineering at the Mississippi State University are conducting collaborative research in the computational simulation of surface water hydrodynamic and water quality processes. The research is focused upon (1) improving applied software tools through advances in numerical methods and in the mathematical models of relevant physical, chemical, and biological processes and (2) building an application team that can develop useful computational models of study areas that are significant to the State of Mississippi and the region. Particular emphasis is placed upon the simulation of hydrologic, hydrodynamic and water quality processes at the watershed and coastal estuary scale. Computational models that have been extensively validated with site-specific data can be an important complement to field monitoring programs and can significantly enhance our ability to understand the specific environmental system. The research is being supported financially by state and federal agencies, private industry, and MSU.
The utilization of models can reduce the quantity of field data required to develop an understanding of an environmental system saving both money and time. Models can be effectively used as a predictive tool to assess the impact of actions within the study area. Common uses of developed and validated computational models include (1) land management decisions, (2) evaluation of best management practices (BMPs), (3) evaluation of environmental remediation alternatives, (4) assessment of impact upon fisheries, and (5) development of waste load allocation plans. Such applications can assist agriculture, aquatic, and industrial businesses working in concert with regulatory agencies to develop cost-effective methods to meet environmental standards in a relatively short amount of time and with less cost to the public.
