Kasprzyk – Slide 1
Introduc)on to Water Resources Engineering
Guest Lecture for the Interna;onal English Center
Dr. Joseph Kasprzyk Assistant Professor
Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering University of Colorado Boulder
Kasprzyk – Slide 2
Topics
Flooding Water Supply Some Basic Concepts
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Flooding
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The Johnstown Flood of 1889
• The South Fork Dam was built between 1838-‐1853 as part of canal system
• The dam was later abandoned by Pennsylvania and sold to public interests.
• When the dam was sold, the new owners removed safety features and did not maintain it.
hPp://www.jaha.org/edu/flood/why/img/dam_gallery/
Kasprzyk – Slide 5
Return Period Analysis
• Water resources engineers use return periods to calculate how likely it is that it will rain a certain amount.
• For example, the return period for a 24-‐hour dura;on storm of 10 inches is 1000 years.
• On May 28, 1889, a storm formed and dumped an es;mated 6 to 10 inches in 24 hours Return Period analysis for Johnstown, PA
hPp://hdsc.nws.noaa.gov/hdsc/pfds/pfds_map_cont.html?bkmrk=pa
Kasprzyk – Slide 6
Johnstown Flood of 1889
• On the morning of May 31, 1889, the president of the fishing club who owned the dam awoke to the river nearly cres;ng the dam.
• An engineer rode horseback to South Fork in order to send a telegraph to Johnstown warning of a collapse. In Johnstown, the warning was thought to be a false alarm!
• At 3:10 pm, the dam collapsed, freeing 20 million tons of water down the LiPle Conemaugh River. hPp://www.eriksmith.com/PANY/johnstownfloodNM.htm
Kasprzyk – Slide 7
Johnstown Flood of 1889
• 2,209 people died, largest civilian casualty at the ;me
• Took floodwater 57 minutes to travel to Johnstown, wall of water up to 60 f high
hPp://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-‐news/kocets-‐corner-‐the-‐johnstown-‐flood-‐anniversary/50378
Kasprzyk – Slide 8
In Class Exercise
Find a neighbor or two and write your names on a sheet of paper. Brainstorm answers to the following ques;ons: -‐ What data do engineers need to plan for flooding?
-‐ How can we help prevent large damages due to flooding?
hPp://www.wjla.com/blogs/weather/2012/05/123-‐year-‐anniversary-‐of-‐the-‐infamous-‐johnstown-‐flood-‐15480.html
Kasprzyk – Slide 9
In Class Exercise: Some Thoughts
• What sorts of data do we need to plan for flooding? • Rainfall/atmospheric informa;on • Land use and slope in the floodplain • Historical measured streamflow in rivers • Soil and land use informa;on
• How can we prevent large damages due to flooding? • Avoid building homes/structures in the floodplain • Provide engineered solu;ons for rivers: build dikes, remove obstruc;ons from bridges, make sure channels can convey water
• Operate reservoirs for flood control, make sure reservoirs are in good maintenance
• Warn people that flooding is likely to occur
Kasprzyk – Slide 10
Water Supply
Kasprzyk – Slide 11
Ques)ons about residen)al water use
• What percentage of residen;al water use is for the outdoors (irriga;on, car washing, etc.)?
• What percentage of residen;al water use is for indoors (drinking, cooking, etc.)?
• For the indoor por;on of water use, how much is used for the toilet, versus for the faucet, and for clothes washing?
Kasprzyk – Slide 12 hPp://www.utdallas.edu/~brikowi/Teaching/Environ_Geology/LectureNotes/WaterSupply/waterSupply.pdf
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Total US Water Withdrawals, from the US Geological Survey hPp://www.na;onalatlas.gov/ar;cles/water/a_wateruse.html
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• In the Western US, there are large projects to divert water to where it is needed.
• Example: The Central Arizona Project is a 336 mile diversion canal diver;ng water from Colorado River to central and southern Arizona – Almost 1 million acres of farmed land – Phoenix and Tuscon
• Largest and most expensive aqueduct in US • Also has flood control, recrea;on, and sediment
control benefits
Kasprzyk – Slide 15
hPp://places.designobserver.com/feature/the-‐very-‐hungry-‐city/32058/
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Some Basic Concepts
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Hydrology is the science that describes and predicts the occurrence, circula)on, and distribu)on of water on the earth and its atmosphere.
This figure shows the hydrologic cycle.
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Most water on earth is saltwater, and only a small frac)on of freshwater can be used for supply.
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A watershed is an area that contributes all water flowing on the surface that enters a stream.
hPp://www.catskillcenter.org/atlas/hydrology/hyd_smallwatershed_l.htm
The outlet is where the flow from the watershed terminates. The drainage divide is the boundary of the watershed.
Watershed
Stream
Outlet
Drainage Divide
Kasprzyk – Slide 20
The End! Thanks for listening. Any ques)ons?