Upstream Suburban Philadelphia Cluster of the Delaware River Watershed Initiative

Abstract:  

The Delaware River Watershed Initiative (DRWI) was created by the William Penn Foundation to align the efforts of the various organizations and agencies that are working independently to assure plentiful, clean water in the Delaware River watershed. 

The DRWI has engaged more than 50 leading conservation organizations in prioritized efforts to restore degraded areas, protect important landscapes, encourage innovations in green infrastructure and financing, and measure the scientific impact of the work in over 300 locations with standardized protocols. The organizations are focusing their efforts in eight targeted subwatershed "clusters" to measurably improve water quality and quantity and to assess the impact of those interventions.

The Upstream Suburban Philadelphia cluster is focused on five hydrologically separated stream systems - The Pennypack, Tookany, Wissahickon, Cobbs, and Poquessing. The cluster includes the upstream suburban portions of these watersheds in Bucks, Delaware, and Montgomery counties, where about 400,000 people reside. Almost all of the reaches of the cluster's waterways are on Pennsylvania's list of impaired streams due primarily to stormwater runoff and secondarily to excessive sediment and nutrient pollution. The work in this cluster will need to achieve water quality improvements through restoration of degraded areas. 

This presentation will describe the multifaceted work of this cluster from project implementation to education and outreach with a special emphasis on Villanova University’s role in the DRWI.

Speaker Bio: 

Andrea L. Welker, PhD, PE is a Professor in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at Villanova University. She joined Villanova’s faculty after earning her PhD from The University of Texas at Austin. She is a registered Professional Engineer in the state of Pennsylvania. Dr. Welker teaches undergraduate soil mechanics, soil mechanics laboratory, geology, foundation design, and capstone design and graduate level courses in geoenvironmental engineering and geosynthetics. Most of Dr. Welker’s research focuses on studying the geotechnical aspects of stormwater control measures (SCMs) including rain gardens and permeable pavements. Specifically, she has performed a side-by-side comparison of porous asphalt and pervious concrete and has examined many aspects of rain gardens including infiltration, evapotranspiration, soil mix designs, and the effect this type of SCM has on the water table. In addition, she has developed cost effective inspection techniques for SCMs and studied the effect of multiple rain gardens on a watershed. Dr. Welker is currently part of a multi-state, multi-year effort supported by the William Penn Foundation to ensure plentiful, clean water in the Delaware River Watershed. She is active in the Geo-Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers serving as the chair of the Continuing Education Committee. She is also the Midterm Director of the Civil Engineering Division of the American Society for Engineering Education.

Engineers: 

This seminar does qualify for 1.0 Professional Development Hour (PDH). A Certificate of Attendance will be available on site for AWRA-PMAS members only. The meeting price for non-members who wish to receive a Certificate of Attendance for the PDH is $10.00 ($3.00 for meeting + $7.00 for certificate). 

Please note: all lunch orders will close by noon on the day before the presentation. In addition, all lunch orders will need to be paid for online by this time. We are unable to refund the cost of lunch or meeting fees because they are paid ahead of time based on number of registrations.

Thank you!