Research programs at the Utah Water Research Laboratory (UWRL) directly address current and future needs of the state, the nation, and the world. The UWRL is organized into eight major research programs supported by the Environmental Division, the Water Division, and the International Office for Water and Science Education (IOWSE).
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Bioreactor processing of environmental materials and engineering scale-up of biologically-based environmental reactions are being explored. Areas of specialization include: Composting, Waste Reuse, Biosolids Processing, Management of Environmental Biotransformations, and Engineering Optimization of Wetlands |
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Fluid Mechanics and Hydraulics Work in hydraulic systems at the UWRL focuses on physical and numerical modeling of hydraulic structures, design of hydraulic structures, and field testing and analysis of hydraulic facilities. The UWRL is also a national leader in valve and pipe testing programs |
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Ground Water and Contaminant Hydrogeology The ground water and contaminant hydrogeology area focuses on the transport and fate of pollutants in ground water. The UWRL program in subsurface hydrology deals with basic and applied research on a wide range of topics including ground water flow modeling and analysis |
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Hazardous, Toxic Waste, and Air Quality Management The UWRL program in hazardous and toxic waste remediation focuses on the development of remediation technologies and the study of the fate and behavior of waste materials in soils. The air quality engineering and management focus area at the UWRL is primarily engaged in development of air quality measurement techniques, assessment of temporal and geographical distribution of air pollutants, and analysis of the effects of natural and anthropomorphic air pollution sources |
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The UWRL program in surface hydrology deals with basic and applied research on a wide range of topics in hydrology including distributed coupled hydrologic modeling and development of advanced data synthesis and visualization capabilities at the watershed scale |
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Water Education and Technology Transfer Several projects conducted by the UWRL, including many that are funded from sources other than Mineral Lease Funds, have substantial education, outreach, and training components. Resources proviced by Mineral Lease moneys are sometimes used to enhanced the development of training modules or educational materials, sometimes to provide technical suport to Utah state agencies on water-related issues (such as the State Attorney General's Office in litigation involving liability assessment in hazardous waste problems), and development of curricular materials for use in K-12 education programs in the state. |
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Water quality engineering at the UWRL includes research activities in drinking water and waste water treatment, management of water quality in streams, rivers, and lakes, and on-site waste water treatment systems. This area also addresses research on methods of analysis and interpretation in support of Total Maximum Daily Load applications, real time monitoring of water quality at the watershed scale, and advanced applications of data management |
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Water Resources Planning and Management The UWRL has had a long-standing focus in the water resources planning and management area which currently includes work in integrated watershed and river basin planning and management, real-time and long-term management of water storage and conveyance facilities, and water management policy and institutions. The UWRL also maintains active programs in risk assessment and management in dam safety and human health and environmental risk to chemical exposure. Natural systems engineering is a newly developing discipline primarily concerned with issues related to environmental hydraulics, including the establishment of in-stream flow requirements and rehabilitation and enhancement of fish and aquatic habitat |
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