The water resources curriculum in UT's Civil Engineering Department is part of the Environmental and Water Resources Engineering (EWRE) program, which has been ranked by U.S. News and World Report as one of the top 3 graduate environmental engineering programs in the country. While enrolled in the EWRE program, my research advisor was Dr. David Maidment. The enthusiasm that Dr. Maidment demonstrates for his fields of study is quite contagious and, as a result, his weekly "GIS in Water Resources" research group meetings regularly evolve into stimulating discussions regarding implementation of methods, integration of ideas, or utilization of data sets. Strong professional and personal bonds exist between the members in this team of graduate students, researchers, and faculty, and I feel honored to have been a part of it .
Dr. Maidment teaches a GIS in Water Resources class each Spring. As part of this class, each of the assignments is made available to the students via Internet. The research discussed in my report has been synthesized into a Nonpoint Source Pollution exercise for the class. Those with access to Arc/Info 7.0 and ArcView 2.0 (or later versions) will be able to get a "hands on" feel for the process by performing the assignment. Go ahead!! It's fun, and really shows the power of Geographic Information Systems in performing environmental assessments.
Prior to entering the Master's program at UT, I worked for 10 years as an electronics engineer at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Newport, Rhode Island, where I made many yankee friends. I earned my Bachelor's Degree in Engineering Physics from the University of Maine at Orono in 1982, and I go to see the Black Bears play whenever I get the chance (which isn't much here in Texas). I am currently employed as a water quality modeler in the Water Planning and Assessment Division of the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC) here in Austin, TX. I plan to continue using GIS applications in the pollutant Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) assessments of watersheds throughout the state. This will require a GIS interface with the QUAL-TX instream water quality FORTRAN model.
I hope that this report provides you with valuable information regarding the pollution assessment capabilities of GIS. Please feel free to provide input, either to me at the above e-mail address or to Dr. Maidment at maidment@crwr.utexas.edu.
A GIS Assessment of Nonpoint Source Pollution in the San Antonio - Nueces Coastal Basin
Other Documents:
Return to GIS Hydrology Research home page