ASCE -EWRI

MINUTES OF THE WETLANDS HYDROLOGY COMMITTEE MEETING.

SUNDAY, MAY 20, 2001, SALON 8 - MEZZANINE, ROSEN PLAZA HOTEL

ORLANDO, FL

Attendees                            Phone                      E-mail             

Ray Walton                   425-646-8806       rwalton@westconsultants.com

William Wise                 352-846-1754       bwise@ufl.edu

Ananta Nath                  941-597-1505       anath@sfwmd.gov

Vincent Neary               931-372-3604       vneary@tntech.edu

Allen Hjelmfelt               573-882-1142       hjelmfelta@missouri.edu

Zia Hosseinipour            727-791-2375       zhosseinipour@tampabaywater.org

I.  Agenda Approval

Meeting agenda was reviewed and approved.

II.  Committee Update

Nath gave an overview of the inception of the new Technical Committee under the EWRI’s Watershed Council.  During review of the scope of the two earlier Task Committees, the Executive Committee stressed the need for a full-fledged technical committee to provide ASCE’s role on the emerging awareness for the protection of the nation’s wetlands.    The members of the SWHC’s Task Committee on Hydrologic Monitoring of Wetlands forwarded a proposal to form a technical committee in August 2000.  The proposal was tentatively approved by the Watershed Council for implementation effective FY 2001.

The attendees agreed that the thrust of the efforts of the committee should be:

1. The hydrology of wetland restoration and creation formally interfaced with biological elements.

2.  Developing protocols for monitoring surface and groundwater hydrology of wetlands.

III.  Administrative Matters

1.   Lisa Roig, chair of the committee, has intimated unwillingness to continue active participation due to changes in her professional and family commitments.  Accordingly, the following slate of officers was nominated for 2001-2002:

Past Chair - Lisa Roig

Chair - Ray Walton

Vice Chair - Ananta Nath

Secretary - Bill Wise

Other Control Members - Allen Hjelmfelt,  Zia Hosseinipour

2. Membership Drive

a.  Ray Walton is going to solicit membership for the committee through articles in the ASCE newsletter and EWRI currents.

b.   Since participation in EWRI activities is not limited to ASCE membership, the committee will also solicit membership from wetland scientists at large.  Bill Wise will contact Bill Cadilac (CH2M Hill, Gainesville, Florida), Bill Mitsch (Ohio State University, and possible lead in the State Association of Wetland Scientists.

c.    Membership interests should be forwarded to Zia Hosseinipour.

d.   An operative budget of $2,500 will be requested for FY 2002.

IV.  Technical Agenda for Next Year

1. Since the committee is barely off ground, major effort during the year will be in recruitment of active members.

2.  The committee proposes to sponsor two sessions in the EWRI congress at Philadelphia in 2003.

3.  The committee will initiate proposals for two task committees in 2002 for consideration by the Executive Committee for FY 2003.  Possible topics for the new task committees are:

a.   Vegetative Resistance,

b.  Wetland Maintenance,

c.   Integrated SW/GW Modeling of Wetlands Hydrology,

d.  Stormwater Treatment Functions of Wetlands,

e.  Constructed Wetlands for Stormwater Treatment, and

f.    Strategies for Wetland Modeling.

V.  Next Meeting

Since there will not be an EWRI Conference in 2002, the date and venue will be decided upon receiving information from the Watershed Council.  It will be coordinated with the schedules of other committee meetings – either at the Urban Drainage Conference in Portland, Oregon, any other venue suggested by the Council.

Additional Non meeting note:

During the membership-open house at the conference, I manned a table for the committee to solicit membership. The following people expressed interest for membership in the committee:

1. Dr. Pravi Shrestha,  HydroQual Inc

2. Dr. Anand Prakash, URSCorp.

3.Joanne Chamberlain, SFWMD