iUTAH Team - Graduate Research Assistant

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DASCH HOUDESHEL

University of Utah

 

Research Topic

Implementing Low Impact Development at the University of Utah

 

iUTAH Research Focus Area

RFA2

 

Faculty Advisor

Christine Pomeroy, Dave Bowling

 

Abstract

This project will create a plan to implement Green Infrastructure (GI) stormwater management facilities throughout the University of Utah Research Park to study the effects of GI implementation on the hydrology of Red Butte Creek. This work will require Low Impact Development (LID) design innovation to adapt GI designs used in other regions to perform in our semi-arid, cold desert climate. Collaborative relationships must also be built between the University of Utah, Salt Lake City and County public utilities, and State water agencies to achieve plan implementation. Both the design innovation and inter-agency communication will benefit the development of the EPSCoR Green Infrastructure Facility and iUTAH Summer Institute.

 

Biography

Dasch is a PhD candidate and iUTAH graduate research fellow in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at the University of Utah. He graduated from Oregon State University with a bachelor’s degree in Arid Land Ecology and has worked as an ecosystem sciences research technician in arid systems in Oregon, California, and southern Utah. Dasch first became interested in water resources management while river guiding on the Colorado River through Utah and the Grand Canyon. The management challenges that threaten Colorado River ecosystems led him to change fields and complete a master’s degree at the University of Utah in Water Resources Engineering. He is now combining his previous arid land ecosystems background with his technical Water Resources Engineering degree to improve the sustainability of water resources management in Salt Lake City’s semi-arid climate. Specifically, Dasch’s studies focus on engineering ecosystems that maximize on-site stormwater retention that reduces nutrient loading to receiving waters, replicates pre-development hydrology in urban settings, and is implemented as a no-irrigation landscaping alternative. <p> While studying at the University of Utah, Dasch has worked on a variety of water resources projects. The focus of his master’s degree was to develop a Low Impact Development infrastructure cost estimation tool for the Environmental Protection Agency. Dasch has also worked with the City of Moab to analyze its culinary water distribution system and help plan for future growth, and with the University of Utah’s Office of Sustainability to implement and monitor bioretention gardens on campus. Currently, Dasch is using stable isotope technics to better understand the mechanisms of how bioretention immobilizes nitrogen from urban stormwater runoff to improve future garden design.</p>

 

Posters