Environmental & Water Resources Institute (EWRI)

The Environmental & Water Resources Institute Orange County Chapter (EWRI OC) allows our members to interact with other professionals in the environmental, water, and wastewater areas of civil engineering. We regularly send active Orange County branch members to EWRI Congresses held on a annual bases across the country. We hope the Orange County Branch members will learn new ideas and find interesting speaker topics that we can bring back to our local branch members. EWRI OC focuses on surface and storm water, and periodically holds joint events with the Orange County Branch to cover subjects regarding drinking water, sewage treatment, and environmental issues during branch general meetings. The Orange County Branch and the EWRI OC work together to provide continuing educations events that are relevant EWRI members. We hope you will come out and participate in our institute and work with us to build a strong organization.

The 2021-2022 EWRI OC Board of Directors

Chair: Jenny Robinet
Secretary: David Jaffe
Treasurer: Ben Smith
Events Coordinator: Roger Chung
EWRI/YMF Liaison: Camille Le
Board Member: Remi Candaele
Board Member: Rianne Okamoto

History

EWRI OC has been very successful ever since it was founded in 1991. EWRI OC was originally incorporated as a Hydrology and Hydraulics Technical Group under the by-laws of ASCE Los Angeles Section, but later moved under the auspices of the ASCE Orange County Branch. In 2012 the former Orange County Branch Hydrology and Hydraulics Technical Group became a chapter of EWRI. At present the EWRI OC organizes bimonthly programs and attracts over 50 professionals working in the field of hydrology, hydraulics, and related areas.

Below in the Related News section are some articles from past events. For more information contact asceocewri@gmail.com.

Contacts

Jenny Robinet
EWRI OC Chair
PACE Advanced Water Engineering
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Phone: (714) 481-7300

David Jaffe
EWRI OC Secretary

Ben Smith
EWRI OC Treasurer

Roger Chung
EWRI OC Events Coordinator

Remi Candaele
EWRI OC Board Member

Rianne Okamoto
EWRI OC Board Member

Committee Files

There are no related documents at this moment.

Natural Valley Procedure for Hydraulic Analysis and Floodplain Mapping of Non-Accredited Levee Systems Using HEC-RAS 2-D

By: Roger Chung, PE In the August luncheon, Dr. Dragi Stefanovic of Tetra Tech, Inc., presented a new procedure for hydraulic analysis and floodplain mapping of “Without Levee” (Natural Valley) conditions in accordance with latest FEMA guidelines for Analysis and Mapping of Non-Accredited Levee Systems. An unsteady hydraulic model (HEC-RAS) is developed to analyze flows in the main river, while two-dimensional flood routing (HEC-RAS 2-D) is utilized for the floodplain mapping on the landward side of a levee. The advantages and challenges of the new approach are discussed with special emphasis on the long awaited HEC-RAS Version 5.0 featuring a two-dimensional modeling component.

Yorba Linda Water District PFAS Treatment Plant Tour

ASCE OC EWRI received an in-depth and informative tour of the Nation’s Largest Ion Exchange PFAS Water Treatment Plant located right here in Orange County!

Shaping Our Future World

Civil engineers reimagine the world and shape the future of our civilizations. Recent conversations with several Orange County Branch members reminded me of the inspiring initiative led by ASCE, known as Future World Vision. The effects of climate change, increasing population, and rapid deployment of new technologies drive civil engineers and the infrastructure industry to be at the forefront of changing trends and to constantly adapt. ASCE performed an in-depth analysis of future macrotrends to generate a projected evolution of our industry's infrastructure through the Year 2070.

Sudamericana Water Conservation

Last month, I traveled to Chile for my brother’s wedding and took the opportunity to wander in Patagonia, the Colchagua Valley (wine country), Santiago, and a few other places. I don’t know if the pattern is common across my peers, but as for myself, travels are generally punctuated by a constant evaluation of the local infrastructure, design details, construction means and methods, and an assessment of the infrastructure challenges that each region faces.

Connecting the Dots in 2022 and Beyond?

As we enter 2022, I wish our members a very happy and prosperous new year. It would be a shame not to recognize the accomplishments of the past year. Our hyperactive Orange County Branch committees did not stop interacting and implementing activities: I counted over 60 events held during the past year. I could not be prouder to belong to such a resilient and proactive organization. I thank my predecessor, Clint Isa, P.E., for spearheading the efforts, and all of our volunteers for your contributions over the past couple of years.

So It Goes…

With the new fiscal year having begun in October, we felt this month’s President’s Column would be a good forum for our new presidents (Remi Candaele, ASCE OC Branch President; Ashlyn Alexander, ASCE OC YMF President) to introduce themselves and for me and YMF counterpart (Melissa Hilsabeck) to reflect on our respective terms as president of the OC Branch and OC YMF. I hope that the Q&A that follows helps you get to know more about each of us.