The Watercourse

Chelsea Schneider on the Bend Whitewater Park

Welcome to the Episode 3 of The Watercourse! My guest today is Chelsea Schneider (linkedin.com/in/chelsea-schneider-471a457), Principal Landscape Architect at LOCI Studio (www.loci.studio). Chelsea helped design a whitewater park in Bend, Oregon, and she joins me to discuss the interesting technical, aesthetic, and ecological design decisions that went into the project. How hard could it be? Listen in to find out about all the goals and constraints that had to be balanced, and how this relatively small project is a microcosm of the entire Deschutes River basin! Patreon Account: www.patreon.com/thewatercourse Pre-listening resources: Article on Whitewater Parks: biglifemag.com/the-new-wave-of-whitewater-parks/ Description from Whitewater Park Designers: s2odesign.com/about/whitewater-parks-explained/ Bend Whitewater Park Website: bendparksandrec.org/facility/bend-whitewater-park/ Bend Whitewater Park Drone Footage: vimeo.com/358159187 Post-listening resources: Scientific article on whitewater park hydraulics and fish habitat (Kolden et al. 2016): doi.org/10.1002/rra.2931 Graduate thesis on stream restoration, stream aesthetics, and whitewater parks (Podolak 2012): escholarship.org/content/qt7k8243b4/qt7k8243b4.pdf Episode photo: still photo from above video Photo Credit: Greenworks PC.

Chelsea Panos, Ph.D. on Infill Development & Stormwater Runoff

Welcome to the Episode 2 of The Watercourse! My guest today is Chelsea Panos (twitter.com/chelsea_panos), an expert on the stormwater impacts of infill development. What is infill development? It’s a nationwide trend of creating more housing in a smaller footprint, so that more people can live closer to cities. Chelsea explains how you might have seen old neighborhoods get converted from small, single family homes with big yards into high density apartment units. What do those changes mean for stormwater management? We’re here to find out! In this interview from September 2019, Chelsea teaches me about how infill development affects stormwater runoff and what the city and developers can do to mitigate negative impacts. *Pre-listening resources* Stormwater Primer: youtu.be/LMq6FYiF1mo Bioretention Primer: youtu.be/LiNd2ZaYS2k Infill Development Article (NY Times): nyti.ms/2ZxM6eN Climate Change and Stormwater (Medium): bit.ly/3d0K0YY *Post-listening resources* doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-15376-9 doi.org/10.1080/23789689.2020.1754625 Also check out Panos et al. (2018). “High-Resolution Modeling of Infill Development Impact on Stormwater Dynamics in Denver, Colorado”. ascelibrary.org/doi/full/10.1061/JSWBAY.0000863 Episode photo: Extreme rain event on Colorado School of Mines campus 9/12/2013. The storm was between a 100- and a 1,000-year event along much of the Colorado Front Range. Here the sidewalk is flowing like a stream! Photo Credit: Skuyler Herzog.

Andrew Dugan on Wastewater Treatment's Role in Protecting Water Quality

Welcome to the first ever episode of The Watercourse! If you work or play in urban streams, you already know that wastewater effluent can have dramatic impacts on stream water quantity and quality, but you may not be familiar with what goes on within a sewage treatment plant. If you need to learn the basics of sewage treatment or want a refresher, check out the links I’ve posted below. My guest today is Andrew Dugan (www.linkedin.com/in/adugan5/), who recently toured over 300 wastewater treatment plants across Colorado and Wyoming. Rather than reviewing wastewater treatment generically, this episode will be more of a meta-analysis of wastewater treatment, showing the range of systems in the mountain west. In this interview from September 2019, Andrew helps me introduce the concept behind the Watercourse and teaches me to see water quality from the perspective of wastewater treatment professionals. *Pre-listening resources* Introductory Overviews of Wastewater Treatment Plant Processes: https://youtu.be/FvPakzqM3h8 https://youtu.be/mvD0L2Gn5zg