Portsmouth Science Café Spring Series 2014: Rain, Roofs and Roads: Hydro-Logical Thinking for a Clean Water Future

Hosted
by University of New Hampshire faculty member Cameron Wake at the Portsmouth
Brewery’s Jimmy LaPanza Lounge, the Portsmouth Science Café provides a unique
opportunity for Seacoast residents to feed their minds with contemporary
science in the relaxed atmosphere of a pub. The discussions, which are free and
open to all, run from 6-8 p.m.; doors open at 5 p.m. for food and drinks.

April 9, 2014:
Rain, Roofs and Roads:  Hydro-Logical Thinking
for a Clean Water Future

Stormwater
is rain runoff that flows across roofs, roads or other hard surfaces. The
runoff contributes to flooding and can carry pollutants, including road salt
and nitrogen, into our rivers, lakes coastal waters. Jamie Houle and Alison
Watts of the UNH Stormwater Center will
discuss some of the steps communities and residents can (and are) taking to
reduce stormwater runoff.

Watts
is an assistant research professor in the UNH department of civil engineering. She
has a strong interest in sustainable resource management and is currently
working with municipal and watershed organizations to develop adaptive
management strategies for water resources threatened by land use and climate change.
Her research includes contaminant transport in storm water, statistical
analysis of hydrologic data; ecological assessment of stormwater wetlands.

Houle
is the program manager for the Stormwater Center. His responsibilities include
directing and managing the Stormwater Center's growing body of research
projects. Areas of expertise include the design and implementation of
innovative stormwater control measures, including porous pavements and
subsurface gravel wetland systems, low impact development (LID) and green
infrastructure (GI) planning and implementation, operation and maintenance, and
water resource monitoring.