Innovative Technologies in Florida Water Resources

Sponsors

The Balmoral Group | NorthStar | Sustainable Water Infrastructure Group (SWIG) | Black & Veatch | LDCFL-NAOS Consulting | Barnard | Royal Consulting Services | Kimley-Horn

Organizations wishing to participate as meeting sponsors should contact Samuel Palermo at 561-351-5278. Pay your sponsorship online here.  

Speaker Biographies

Mark Merkelbach is the Chief Operating Officer of Sustainable Water Infrastructure Group (SWIG), a provider of nutrient removal systems for point and non-point source applications. He is a civil designer and professional wetland scientist (PWS) with 21 years of local and international experience in solving complex water and ecological management issues. Mark led the development of wetland mitigation banks in Alaska, Washington, and Florida with a combined valuation of $250 million. Mark managed the design and construction of over 10 acres of vertical water treatment facilities in China which proved many of the technical elements of SWIG’s Phosphorus Elimination System (PES) now operating in Florida. He leads SWIG’s project implementation teams with the goal of achieving water quality benefits and ecological improvements through cost-effective solutions. Mark has a BS in Environmental Studies from the University of Vermont and a MS in Civil Engineering from the University of Washington. Mark resides in Seattle, Washington.

William C Lucas, PhD is the Chief Technology Officer of Sustainable Water Infrastructure Group (SWIG), a provider of nutrient removal systems for point and non-point source applications. He has provided innovative stormwater management designs for both new construction and urban retrofits for well over 30 years. He wrote Delaware’s Green Technology Manual, and is co-chair of the LID Computations and the CSO-LID Task Committees of the ASCE/EWRI. His rigorous approach to modeling was used to confirm the SWMM model developed for Philadelphia Green Infrastructure. Based on his doctoral research into nutrient retention in bioretention systems, he patented the advanced bioretention system and developed an improved P removal technology called the Phosphorus Elimination System (PES) to optimize phosphorus removal. His 6 refereed papers published on this technology alone have well over 300 citations. His work has been awarded two US and 10 international patents. This technology has been installed in four states. Bill has a BS in Biology from the University of Pennsylvania and a MRP in Regional Planning from the University of Pennsylvania and a PhD in Environmental Engineering from Griffith University. Bill resides in Malvern, Pennsylvania.

Todd McDonnell, PhD is the President and Principal Scientist of E&S Environmental Chemistry, Inc. His research is primarily focused on freshwater and terrestrial eutrophication, climate change effects, and environmental sustainability to inform natural resource management and environmental policy. Todd has extensive experience with a variety of watershed models for risk assessment related to anthropogenic impacts on freshwater systems throughout the United States. He regularly publishes in the peer-reviewed literature and has a Ph.D. in Ecology from Oregon State University and a Masters in Hydrology from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, New York.

James Watson, PhD is the Co-Founder and CEO of ClearWater Analytica LLC. James is also an Assistant Professor of Earth System Science in the College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University. In his academic work, James employs and advances tools from computer science, applied math, complex systems science, ecology and economics to understand processes that involve nature and people. James has published over 50 peer reviewed articles, with a number appearing in high-impact journals such as Nature and PNAS. James has also received a number of awards recognizing his interdisciplinary research, for example the prestigious DARPA Young Faculty Award and The Oceanography Society’s Early Career Award. James has a PhD in Marine Science from the University of California Santa Barbara, a M.Sc. in Oceanography from Southampton University and a B.Sc. in Biochemistry from the University of Bristol in the UK.

Agenda

12:00 PM - Enhanced nutrient removal technology in regional stormwater treatment facilities to clean up Florida’s surface waters - Mark Merkelbach, Chief Operating Officer and William C. Lucas, PhD, Chief Technology Officer, Sustainable Water Infrastructure Group, LLC

12:30 PM - The Operational, Seasonal and Decadal Forecasts of Harmful Algal Blooms in Lake Okeechobee - Todd McDonnell, PhD, President, E&S Environmental Chemistry, Inc. & James Watson, PhD, Co-Founder, ClearWater Analytica LLC

Time will be reserved after the presentation for Q&A.

Continuing Education Hours (CEHs)

One (1) CEH will be provided to attendees.

Format

GoToMeeting (webinar link and call-in details will be provided via email prior to event)

Webinar Coordinator

Samuel Palermo (561-351-5278)