Lamar study helps SE Texas mitigate flooding and address pollution
August 04, 2020 | by Shelly Vitanza
The Texas General Land Office has awarded a $30,000 grant to Dr. Qin Qian, associate professor, in Lamar University’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering to conduct a comprehensive study to mitigate flooding and nonpoint source pollution. The project is a collaborative effort with Dr. Yu Zhang, professor of 
Civil Engineering, at the University of Texas Arlington.
The research team applies sophisticated modeling tools to estimate precipitation frequency and intensity to assess the community exposure to the risk of flood and the water quality impact caused by stormwater runoffs.
“Municipal stormwater and wastewater infrastructures in coastal and near-coastal communities are often inadequately designed for the frequency and magnitude of storms in a changing climate.,” said Qian. “We saw the devastating flood damages in our region during Hurricane Harvey and Imelda, not to mention the associated water pollution problems caused by stormwater runoff, such as increased levels of bacterial counts, agricultural chemicals and oxygen depleting nutrients in the watershed. This project focuses upon the Neches River Watershed upstream of IH-10. Our work provides the much-needed data in our region for local authorities to mitigate the problems.”
The grant is assessing the severity of flood and stormwater quality using the precipitation data archived by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to create a decision support system. The system will appraise the cost-effectiveness of best management practices for stormwater, in particular detention basins and constructed wetlands, to provide support to flood mitigation planning efforts.
Flooding has been the top natural hazard to coastal and inland communities in the State of Texas in recent years. Beyond its destructive impact of rising waters in communities, flood waters negatively affect the quality of large bodies of water, which this project also seeks to mitigate.
“Severe storms and catastrophic flooding events have become more frequent along the Gulf Coast,” said Qian. “The pollutants mobilized by flood water impact the coastal ecosystem and are key contributors to the hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico, by increasing the nutrient and sediment loading that suppresses the oxygen in seawater.”
Qin Qian is the project lead and working with LU computer science professor Bo Sun and computer science instructor Frank Sun, who are serving as co-investigators. Together they have deployed automated water quality probes that can be deployed to remote sites for collecting water quality data of high temporal and spatial resolution. Data like these are extremely valuable for determining the site suitability of constructed wetlands and detention ponds in a flood plain.
“We have consulted stakeholders in Orange and Jefferson County in search of possible sites for constructed wetlands and detention ponds,” said Qian. “We’ll present our findings to not only the stakeholders in these communities but also to the citizens of SE Texas.”
LU undergraduate students are assisting with this project. Jointly, they have conducted a field survey for possible wetland and retention/detention pond locations and will develop hydrodynamic models to quantify the increased load of sediments and pollutants due to flood events.
“These benefit our students’ understanding on the impact caused by floods and engage them to seek solutions for protecting, preserving, restoring the values of coastal natural resource,” said Qian.
The grant funding runs through March 2021. At that time the researchers expect to present all of the collected data.
“We hope the outcome of the study can serve as a basis for repair, renewal and replacement of decaying storm water infrastructures that minimize the loss of human life and property during flooding events,” said Qian. “In the least the study will inform the state and regional planners on balancing between storm water retention needs and development over the watershed area. Also the study will shed light on reducing and mitigating nonpoint source pollution problems in the Neches River and Sabine Lake.”
Civil Engineering, at the University of Texas Arlington.The research team applies sophisticated modeling tools to estimate precipitation frequency and intensity to assess the community exposure to the risk of flood and the water quality impact caused by stormwater runoffs.
“Municipal stormwater and wastewater infrastructures in coastal and near-coastal communities are often inadequately designed for the frequency and magnitude of storms in a changing climate.,” said Qian. “We saw the devastating flood damages in our region during Hurricane Harvey and Imelda, not to mention the associated water pollution problems caused by stormwater runoff, such as increased levels of bacterial counts, agricultural chemicals and oxygen depleting nutrients in the watershed. This project focuses upon the Neches River Watershed upstream of IH-10. Our work provides the much-needed data in our region for local authorities to mitigate the problems.”
The grant is assessing the severity of flood and stormwater quality using the precipitation data archived by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to create a decision support system. The system will appraise the cost-effectiveness of best management practices for stormwater, in particular detention basins and constructed wetlands, to provide support to flood mitigation planning efforts.
Flooding has been the top natural hazard to coastal and inland communities in the State of Texas in recent years. Beyond its destructive impact of rising waters in communities, flood waters negatively affect the quality of large bodies of water, which this project also seeks to mitigate.
“Severe storms and catastrophic flooding events have become more frequent along the Gulf Coast,” said Qian. “The pollutants mobilized by flood water impact the coastal ecosystem and are key contributors to the hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico, by increasing the nutrient and sediment loading that suppresses the oxygen in seawater.”
Qin Qian is the project lead and working with LU computer science professor Bo Sun and computer science instructor Frank Sun, who are serving as co-investigators. Together they have deployed automated water quality probes that can be deployed to remote sites for collecting water quality data of high temporal and spatial resolution. Data like these are extremely valuable for determining the site suitability of constructed wetlands and detention ponds in a flood plain.
“We have consulted stakeholders in Orange and Jefferson County in search of possible sites for constructed wetlands and detention ponds,” said Qian. “We’ll present our findings to not only the stakeholders in these communities but also to the citizens of SE Texas.”
LU undergraduate students are assisting with this project. Jointly, they have conducted a field survey for possible wetland and retention/detention pond locations and will develop hydrodynamic models to quantify the increased load of sediments and pollutants due to flood events.
“These benefit our students’ understanding on the impact caused by floods and engage them to seek solutions for protecting, preserving, restoring the values of coastal natural resource,” said Qian.
The grant funding runs through March 2021. At that time the researchers expect to present all of the collected data.
“We hope the outcome of the study can serve as a basis for repair, renewal and replacement of decaying storm water infrastructures that minimize the loss of human life and property during flooding events,” said Qian. “In the least the study will inform the state and regional planners on balancing between storm water retention needs and development over the watershed area. Also the study will shed light on reducing and mitigating nonpoint source pollution problems in the Neches River and Sabine Lake.”