Civil & Environmental Engineering

Water Resources Engineering and Science

Microbiology graduate student Alexandra Linz, at left, and volunteer Carolyn Voter, a graduate student studying water resources engineering and science, collect data and water samples from Lake Mendota near the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus during a pre-dawn through sunrise summer outing on July 14, 2016. The work is part of a continuous, 44-hour limnology experiment to study how day- and night-light cycles effect growth of water bacteria and carbon exchange between photosynthetic microbes and non-photosynthetic microbes. (Photo by Jeff Miller/UW-Madison)

The two primary foci of the water resources engineering & science group are hydrology and environmental/ecological fluid mechanics with particular strengths in water sustainability; computational fluid mechanics; flow, mixing and thermal structure of lakes; stochastic hydrology; groundwater hydrology; engineering hydraulics; stream and wetland restoration; stormwater management; and hydroecology. The group investigates applied and theoretical problems in both the built and natural environments. Field methods, laboratory experiments, remote-sensing techniques, numerical modeling, statistical modeling, and analytic approaches are combined to address scientific and engineering questions leading to better water resource management, a better interface between the built and natural environments, and more sustainable use of water resources.

Faculty

Steve P. Loheide II, Associate Professor

Affiliated Faculty

Katherine McMahon
Dante Fratta

Professors of Practice

Rich Beilfuss
Tom Jenkins
Fred Klancnik

Post-doctoral students
and researchers

Eric Booth
Solomon Erkyihun

Research groups

Hydroecology Group
Environmental/Ecological Fluid Mechanics Lab
Water Systems & Society
Water Systems & Society
Water Systems & Society
Hydroclimate Extremes Research Group

Related Programs

Water Resources Management
Freshwater and Marine Sciences Program
Geological Engineering
UW Water Resources Institute
Water@UW-Madison

Current research projects:

Groundwater-forest interactions during drought in temperate forests across scales:

Principal Investigators: Steve Loheide and Phil Townsend
Sponsor: National Science Foundation, Hydrologic Sciences Program
8/01/2017-7/31/2020

Linking groundwater and nutrients to monitor fen ecosystems using airborne imaging spectroscopy

Principal Investigator: Eric Booth and Steve Loheide
Sponsor: WI Groundwater Coordinating Council
07/01/2017- 06/30/2019

Exploratory Research: Transport and Transformation of Particulate Organic Matter in Permeable Riverbed Sediments

Principal Investigator: Matt Ginder-Vogel, Eric Roden and Steve Loheide
Sponsor: Department of Energy

Developing Scenario Models to Analyze Impacts of Groundwater Withdrawal on Calcareous Fens

Principal Investigator: Steve Loheide and David Bart
Sponsor: Environmental Protection Agency
04/1/2016-03/31/2018

The hydrologic and ecologic effects of green infrastructure within urban coastal catchments

Principal Investigator: Steve Loheide
Sponsor: SeaGrant
02/01/2017-1/31/2019

Web-based Stochastic Storm Transposition Toolkit for Physically-based Rainfall and Flood Hazard Analysis

Principal Investigator: Daniel Wright, Kathleen Holman
Sponsor: Bureau of Reclamation
4/1/2017-9/30/2019

Evaluating Satellite Rainfall Extremes in Complex Terrain for Landslide Hazards Applications

Principal Investigator: Daniel Wright, Dalia Kirschbaum
Sponsor: NASA
April 2016-March 2019

Collaborative Research:

New knowledge from the global lake ecological observatory network
Principal Investigator: Chin Wu and Paul Hanson
10/01/09-12/13/14
Sponsor: National Science Foundation

Application and Demonstration of Floating Bog Interceptors (FBIs) for Cherokee Marsh Restoration

Principal Investigator: Chin Wu
01/01/12-12/31/14
Sponsor: Dane County, Wisconsin

Yahara Clean Water Initiatives