UNews - river systems

Water researchers to collaborate with Fulbright Canada Visiting Research Chair

robert.cooney — Thu, 03 Oct 2013 17:25:36 +0000

Brooks will be giving his initial talk to the U of L audience on Thursday, Dec. 5 from 3 to 4 p.m. in WE1001, presenting Understanding Risks of Fish on Prozac, Bugs on Drugs and other Harbingers of an Urbanizing Water Cycle

Dr. Bryan Brooks, a professor of environmental science and biomedical studies at Baylor ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's College of Arts & Sciences (Waco, Texas) will be getting his feet wet in more ways than one as he begins a research term with colleagues at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s Alberta Water and Environmental Science Building (AWESB).

As the recently-appointed Fulbright Canada Visiting Research Chair, Brooks will arrive at the U of L in January 2014 to work on projects of common importance to communities on both sides of the Canada-US border.

Dr. Bryan Brooks will arrive on campus in January 2014 but has already begun collaborative work with U of L researchers.

Though they are more than 3,000 km apart, there are many parallels between the semi-arid environment of southern Alberta and the areas of Texas that Brooks studies. Urban intrusion on watersheds, climate change and other environmental stressors affect both regions.

“My goal is to develop a more complete understanding of water quality in the watersheds of semi-arid regions in Alberta that are undergoing urbanization," says Brooks. "I am looking forward to working with, and learning from, the researchers at the AWESB to build on my team’s ongoing work in semi-arid regions of Texas and other parts of the U.S., so we can advance sustainable water resource management efforts together."

Brooks is recognized as an international expert on contaminants and water quality issues in urban regions. His research team focuses efforts on water quality and water reuse, comparative toxicology and pharmacology, sustainable molecular design/green chemistry, developing approaches to define contaminant risks and the ecology and toxicology of harmful algae blooms.

A transplanted Californian, Brooks has taught at Baylor since 2002 and has served as director of the university’s environmental health science program since 2008. He is the author of more than 100 book chapters and journal articles and has been recognized by Baylor’s chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, one of the nation’s leading collegiate honor societies, for his exceptional student mentoring.

“Having Bryan on campus will be a great benefit to a number of different research teams at the U of L,” says Dr. Joe Rasmussen, a Canada Research Chair in Aquatic Ecosystems and the Director of WISE. “I know Bryan both personally and as a researcher, and we are extremely lucky to have him working with us. He’s got a great ability to connect with students, members of the community and colleagues from different disciplines. His enthusiasm for teaching and learning is contagious, and I am really looking forward to hearing his perspective on our common areas of research.”

Rasmussen and other WISE researchers, including geographers, biological scientists, physicists, water-quality and toxicology specialists, GIS imaging experts and glacier researchers among others, are analyzing water resources, water quantity and quality. They then overlap related social science investigations, such as water policy and economics.

Their studies often investigate water resources and river systems of western North America, including the Saskatchewan River Basin and adjacent watersheds. The investigations consider fundamental aspects of water science, as well as applied science and management directed towards the simultaneous goals of environmental health and socioeconomic prosperity.

WISE is one of 12 Centres and Institutes at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge. Growth of research centres and institutes in strategic areas, and the continued development of existing centres and institutes, is a key feature of the Strategic Research Plan of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

Centres and Institutes Director, David Hill, says Brooks’s appointment to the WISE group will further expand its reach in each of the research and broader external communities.

“Bryan has a number of innovative research efforts to his credit, and we are very pleased he will be on campus for a sustained period of time to work with our researchers in the WISE Centre," says Hill. "Adding Bryan to the WISE group underscores the value of the Centre and Institute concept, which is to bring different people and levels of expertise together to work on a common theme, in this case, water. They are already working on projects that have a bigger impact because they are working together. Bryan’s research and his networks will be a valuable addition to that process.”

Recipients of Fulbright awards are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields. Fulbright Canada, a joint, bi-national, treaty-based organization was created to encourage mutual understanding between Canada and the United States of America through academic and cultural exchange. Fulbright Canada is supported by the Canadian government through the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada; by the United States government through the Department of State; and by a diverse group of corporate sponsors, charitable trusts and university partners. It is governed by an independent board of directors and operates out of Ottawa.

Factoring the ‘people equation’ into future flood hazard planning key to helping communities recover

trevor.kenney — Thu, 15 Aug 2013 21:25:05 +0000

- community input necessary to help with future flood reduction strategies
- flood hazard mapping needs to be updated as communities and river systems change
- majority of flood hazard studies are now up to two decades old

A ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge geography researcher is suggesting that flood mitigation and future planning processes involve people in the communities most affected – to help cities and towns look ahead and reduce some of the challenges faced across the province by recent flooding.

Dr. Tom Johnston, who studies human dimensions of natural hazards, said that as much as the recently-announced flood mitigation plan and other measures, such as an expert panel on flood issues, are important and timely steps forward, the processes by which people and the environment engage is what concerns him as flood reduction planning begins.

"With many thousands of people displaced over a short period of time, entire communities affected by flooding and the dramatic change that has brought to how people live, work and interact with each other, the critical element to planning for the future is community engagement."

Johnston says that structural responses – constructing flood-control dams, or physically changing or dredging parts of a river to better manage water flow -- need to be matched with non-structural or policy-based responses, such as incorporating the latest and best available flood hazard information into community and land-use planning, and even prohibiting development in high-risk places.

"It is extremely important that in addition to scientists and engineers that we have community involvement in any land-use planning process, not only to ensure that the challenge of flooding is minimized, but also to have the community members be aware of, and fully involved in, the future of their community."

Johnston adds that social scientists, such as human geographers and other behavioural scientists also need to be included in the discussion because their expertise would complement the expertise of hydrologists and engineers. "One would be foolish to consult a cardiologist about a hip replacement, so why would we rely on experts trained in disciplines that don't deal with understanding human behaviour for advice on human dimensions of hazard management?"

Johnston says that it's stating the obvious that no one wishes to go through another flood season like this. "Regardless of how affected a particular community is – from severe to moderate -- it would be prudent to get people more directly involved and looking ahead not only to next year, but 30 or more years in the future, so they could say they helped to solve a big problem for the next generation of residents. This year's flooding in the Bow River Basin was extreme. The chances of a flood of that magnitude occurring in any given year are very low — probably less than one per cent — but we need to remember that includes next year."

The Government of Alberta recently rolled out a Flood Hazard Mitigation Plan, which Johnston says will be helpful to increase public awareness about flood-affected areas of the province.

"A central feature of the plan is a web-based interactive map that highlights "Flood Hazard Areas" down to the local scale. The GIS-based system is operator friendly, and if you have used interactive mapping software on your smart phone or some other device, you can easily navigate this system," Johnston says. http://environment.alberta.ca/01655.html

The hazard maps will be useful for home buyers, and should be helpful in guiding flood-proofing efforts and for land-use planning, Johnston adds, but in order for the system to achieve anything close to its full potential, two conditions must be satisfied.

"First, the studies used to delineate flood hazard areas should be as current as possible. Second, local and regional authorities charged with the responsibility for land-use planning must be willing to use the system to guide their decision making, even though this could involve constraining the range of residential location choices available to citizens."

Johnston says that as of June, 2013, more than 50 flood hazard studies had been completed for the provincial government.

"The most recent studies in and around the communities experiencing severe flooding in June were completed after February, 1996, or 17 years ago." (http://environment.alberta.ca/01656.html )

"Many were completed under the Canada-Alberta Flood Damage Reduction Program, a program which began in 1989, but lapsed in 1999. The studies covered most of the province, including all of the heavily populated ones. A majority of the studies -- approximately 60 per cent -- are now up to two decades old. During that time, communities have changed, and the physical geography of entire regions have changed as residential and commercial developments increased."

Given the recent flood events, future hazard zone mapping should be more consistent, Johnston says.

"We are dealing with dynamic systems, many of which are under increasing pressure from a variety of human activities, so it is prudent to make sure they are done regularly."

When a panel chaired by George Groeneveld, then the Alberta MLA for the constituency of Highwood (encompassing High River and surrounding areas) submitted its report following the 2005 floods (website link below) Johnston says it included in its recommendations that Alberta Environment develop a maintenance program to ensure that the flood risk maps are updated when appropriate. "This is a recommendation that many in the flood mitigation and hazard response communities would like to see acted upon sooner rather than later."

As well, Johnston says that any future planning process should also include a review of legislation surrounding land development to require that the level of flood hazard must be taken into account in the course of land development decisions.

"The current regulations state that local authorities 'may' require developers to stipulate "…if the land subject to the application is located in a potential flood plain.' The province may wish to raise the bar in light of recent events." http://www.qp.alberta.ca/documents/Regs/2002_043.pdf

Additional Resources:

"Provincial Flood Mitigation Report: Consultation and Recommendations" http://www.aema.alberta.ca/images/News/Provincial_Flood_Mitigation_Report.pdf

The State of Flood Plain Mapping in Ontario (a report prepared for the Catastrophic Loss Reduction Institute of Canada): http://www.iclr.org/images/2007_June_ICLRPRESFloodMapping.pdf

Flood Plain Mapping (overview of BC program): http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wsd/data_searches/fpm/

FEMA Flood Plain Map Service Center: https://msc.fema.gov/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/FemaWelcomeView?storeId=10001&catalogId=10001&langId=-1

-- 30 --

Contact:

Dr. Tom Johnston, Department of Geography
(403) 329-2534 office
(403) 915-5805 cell
johnston@uleth.ca

Dr. Johnston will be away from the office on August 19, 20 and 21, but can be available via cellphone and e-mail

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