Aspect's Mark Swank and Bodie McCosby Presenting at AEG's Annual Meeting

Aspect’s Infrastructure team will be at the Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists (AEG) 65th Annual Meeting this month in Las Vegas. Associate Engineering Geologist Mark Swank, CEG, LEG, and Staff Geologist J. Bodie McCosby, GIT, will present as part of the Dams and Levees Technical Symposium on Thursday, September 15.

Bodie’s talk, “Eightmile Lake Restoration Project - Characterization of a Landslide Dam,” chronicles his and Aspect’s ongoing geologic and seismic studies to modernize the dam infrastructure at the remote Eightmile Lake dam, which was built on an ancient landslide in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area of the Cascades.

Drill rig at the remote Eightmile Lake site

Mark’s presentation, “River’s Edge – The Story of a Levee Setback and Restoration Project,” is on Aspect’s recent project for the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe to build a new levee setback and restore natural river processes along the Lower Dungeness River near Sequim. Earlier this year, the River’s Edge Levee Setback Project won in the Geotechnical category of the Seattle Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Local Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Awards.

Aerial view of the new levee setback – photo courtesy of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe

Mark will also moderate the “Wild Problems, Unique Solutions, and Lessons Learned” panel on Friday, September 16.

Sitkas That tell a Story: Chelsea Bush to present at GSA conference in Portland

Rialto Beach, north of La Push along Washington’s active, dynamic Pacific coast, is home to a stretch of Sitka spruce trees that are teaching geologists about how shoreline forests react to and recover from large-scale storms. Staff Geologist Chelsea Bush, GIT, will present this at the Geological Society of America’s Connects conference in Portland on Wednesday, October 13.

rialto beach.jpeg

Her presentation, “Determination of Forest Age in a Coastal Setting Affected by Both Landsliding and Catastrophic Storm Events,” explores how she and her study group, part of her masters’ thesis at the University of Washington, started out trying to determine the age of the Sitkas in an effort to figure out when a landslide on site occurred. But after they’d researched Carbon 14 and LiDAR data, the results showed that the modern forest is younger than expected.

After further investigation, they determined that the diameter of the trees and the age of the trees weren’t related–most of the trees on site had been knocked down by the Olympic Blowdown of 1921 or had been shaped by other geomorphic processes. Understanding the true age of the trees will help geologist determine how they will respond to geomorphic or weather events and estimate how long it will take for the trees to succumb to erosion and fall to the beach below.

Chelsea and her team’s research shows that it’s easy to assume certain things about the age of a forest based on looks and the sizes of the trees – but when you look further, there may be more than meets the eye.

Join us on November 3rd and 4th for the 13th Annual Washington Water Code Seminar

On November 3rd and 4th, join (virtually) Aspect’s Principal Water Resource Engineer Dan Haller and Senior Associate Hydrogeologist Tyson Carlson at The Seminar Group’s 13th Annual Washington Water Code Seminar.

As Co-chair, Dan will guide a distinguished group of professionals presenting on the past, present, and future of key issues in water law, including relinquishment, adjudications, conservancy boards, water banking, and instream flows.

In addition to Co-chairing the conference, Dan is leading the “Water Right 101 Power Hour: An interactive presentation on how the prior appropriation system works, impairment in water rights, and how engineering, hydrogeology, policy, and legal disciplines all have important roles in administering the water code.”

Tyson is co-presenting at the “COVID-19 Impacts on Water Resources in Washington” Session. This session aims to inform attendees on the “economic impacts, regulatory response, and use of technology in adapting to COVID-19 issues in water resources; New Health and Safety Standards for Projects; Use of Technology (drones) for site visits; how technology is changing the water resources practice.”

The Conference will also highlight Ecology’s recent legislative report on the future of adjudications in Washington. Given that the Acquavella Adjudication in the Yakima basin lasted 42 years, Ecology’s recommendation to adjudicate basins in Whatcom County and near Lake Roosevelt will help shape the future of water right law and policy for years to come.

Learn More about the upcoming conference here: https://www.theseminargroup.net/seminardetl.aspx?id=6064

Robyn Pepin and Spencer Ambauen Talk Fish Habitat Solutions at River Restoration Northwest

The 19th annual River Restoration Northwest symposium is this week in Stevenson, Washington. Representatives from Aspect’s Seattle, Wenatchee, and Portland offices are attending to cheer on presentations by two of our colleagues focused on removing fish passage barriers in the Pacific Northwest.

Senior GIS Analyst Robyn Pepin’s presentation “Data-Driven Decision Making: An Innovative Prioritization Tool for Restoration (and more!)” showcases the methodology behind the GIS-based tool she created in partnership with the Upper Columbia Salmon Recovery Board that synthesizes and streamlines numerous data sets to prioritize what barriers are most need of removal in the Wenatchee Basin.

Spencer Ambauen is presenting his poster on the Geosynthetic Reinforced Soil-Integrated Bridge System (GRS-IBS). This bridge construction system is made from alternates layers of compacted structural fill soils and a mesh-like geosynthetic reinforcement that can be used in many subsurface and seismic conditions. For public agencies looking to replace hundreds of aging, undersized culverts and other structures hindering riparian habitat, GRS-IBS bridges are a less expensive option that are easier to construct and maintain. These bridges becoming more common across the east coast, but so far there have been only two constructed in Washington state. Spencer is well familiar with the GRS-IBS system; masters thesis involved numerical modeling to evaluate how these bridges behave under surcharge loading, and he completed design for an GRS-IBS bridge for the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife to enhance fish passage at Tolmie State Park near Olympia.

Carla Brock Chairs WA’s Geologist Licensing Board

Associate Geologist Carla Brock was recently appointed as Chair of the Washington State Geologist Licensing Board by her fellow board members. The board is comprised of six licensed geologists and one public member and is responsible for licensing geologists; updating the rules and regulations governing the practice of geology in the state of Washington; and investigating violations of the regulations. Carla is starting her second year of a four-term appointment to the board.

Washington State is a member of the National Association of the State Boards of Geology (ASBOG), which develops standardized written examinations for administration by the 32 member states and Puerto Rico, assessing qualifications of applicants seeking licensure as professional geologists. In addition to her duties on the state board, Carla participates as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) on ASBOG’s Council of Examiners (COE). The COE is comprised of SMEs from across the country and convenes twice a year, immediately following administration of the tests, for examination development and validation workshops. The COE spends two days reviewing test questions and answers to maximize the fairness and quality of the examinations as measures of competency. The COE is not all work, each meeting includes lunchtime presentations by local experts on interesting and relevant topics and a third day in which local experts lead a geologic field trip.

Carla just returned from the spring COE, which was held in Nashua, New Hampshire and is proud to support ASBOG but also enjoys the opportunity to connect with colleagues from across the country and to learn about local geology.

Geologists love a good roadcut! A quartz syenite ring dike intrudes the pre-Mesozoic tonalite with mylonitization at the contact.

Geologists love a good roadcut! A quarts syenite ring dike intrudes pre-Mesozoic tonalite.

Geologists ogling an outcrop in central New Hampshire.

Geologists stomping through the snow in central New Hampshire in search of an outcrop.

Taylor Dayton Presenting on Water Rights as Mortgage Assets to NAPMW - April 12

Taylor Dayton, Water Resources Engineer

Aspect Water Resources Engineer Taylor Dayton, EIT, will present at the National Association of Professional Mortgage Women (NAPMW) LPO Seminar in Lake Chelan on Friday, April 12, 2019. The presentation will explore water rights as assets in the mortgage industry - how water rights are created, moved, lost, and valued. Taylor will also speak to the recent Hirst decision and “fix” and how it affects eastern Washington water rights and development.

Learn about Washington Water Law

Aspect’s water law expert, Dan Haller, will be presenting on Water Banking for Agricultural Water Supplies at the 27th Annual Water Law in Washington conference (June 14-15). This year’s conference focuses on major legislative changes, new case law, and important practical information for water rights and resource management in the State of Washington.

Aspect Talks Water at AWWA Conference

Tim Flynn and Dan Haller will both be presenting Friday April 27th at the AWWA ‘Just Add Water’ 2018 Section Conference in Tacoma. Friday morning, Tim’s presentation will focus on the City of Othello’s unique approach to source development by securing new supplies using irrigation canals, reclaimed water and ASR.

Aspect’s Andrew Austreng will be moderating the afternoon Water Resources technical session during which Dan Haller will be presenting an overview of water rights and water banking in WA.

Aspect's Dan Haller Presenting on Water Law, Water Banking, and Water Rights - 9/28 & 9/29

Washington Public Utility District Association Conference - 9/28

On day two of this year’s WPUDA conference in Leavenworth, Aspect’s Dan Haller will be participating on a morning session panel titled “What’s a Water Bank and How Does it Work?” During the afternoon sessions, Dan will be giving a Water Rights 101 presentation.  Public Utility District's manage numerous water rights over domestic systems, dams, hatcheries, and Parks, which put them in a unique position to participating water Banks to accomplish their overall District. Protecting District water rights is a key priority to ensure they are available for multiple District business needs.

Yakima County Bar Association - 9/29

Dan will be giving a presentation on the Hirst decision and how it affects Eastern Washington water rights to the Yakima County Bar Association September 29th. The Hirst decision changed the regulatory framework of County rural building permit and land use policies and is prompting numerous changes from new regulations, moratoriums on building, creation of water Banks, and water write transactions.

The State of Water Banking in Washington -- Aspect at Law Seminar International

Aspect's Dan Haller will be presenting on the practical implentation issues of Water Banking in Washington State at Law Seminars International on Tuesday July 25 in Seattle.

With water policy presently in the forefront of the state's political arena, water managers across the state are hunting for better solutions to manage water supply. Water banking is a relatively young but promising water policy approach that builds a framework, based in science, of transferring and using water across a municipality.

Water banking has promise because it's better at solving one-to-many water authority issues than traditional water transfers and can be more advantageous under the water code than traditional transfer.

Dan will be presenting alongside Peter H. Dykstra, with Plauche and Carr LLP and Kristina Nelson-Gross with the City of Sequim.

Aspect at the 2017 WA Hydrogeology Symposium

Aspect's Tyson Carlson and Andrew Austreng will both be presenting at the 11th Washington Hydrogeology Symposium in Tacoma this week (May 9-11). Senior Project Hydrogeologist Andrew Austren will discuss his Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) work on the Columbia Plateau. Andrew will present on his work for the City of Othello and how the City aims to stabilize aquifer levels and support well yields under current and future water demand.

Associate Hydrogeologist Tyson Carlson will present at a Thursday workshop on Training for Water Rights Analysis – Certified Water Rights Examiners (CWREs).  This workshop offers a refresher for CWREs on Washington water law. Tyson’s presentation will focus on how to write a proof of examination.

Taking place in Tacoma, the Hydrogeology Symposium is one of the Northwest's foremost meeting place for hydrogeologists and groundwater professionals in the academic, regulatory, and business worlds.

Chris Augustine Presents on Key Concepts in Thermal ASR Systems at AWWA

Aspect’s Senior Hydrogeologist Chris Augustine will be presenting on his work on developing a thermal Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) system at this year’s annual Pacific Northwest Section American Water Works Association (AWWA) conference in Kennewick, WA.

While at another firm, and collaborating with Boise White Paper, LLC (Boise) and the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology), Chris worked on a Wallula, Washington project that would store cold Columbia River water in the winter and spring months and then recover the stored water during the summer months when the temperature of the Columbia River becomes warmer. 

His presentation will focus on the goal of the project to reduce operational costs for cooling of process water and reduce surface water diversion during the summer to meet the target yield of 4,000 gallons per minute.

Learn more here: American Water Works Association

You can get there from here: Ending post-closure activities at old landfills

After landfills stop accepting waste, they transition into a post-closure period of typically 30 years or more. Towards the end of the post-closure period, landfill managers try to terminate or modify monitoring requirements in compliance with criteria and regulations.  Data collected on settlement, leachate generation, groundwater quality and landfill gas production are evaluated to demonstrate if monitoring activities can be terminated or reduced.

In one example of successful post-closure transition, see Seattle’s South Park Landfill before (2007) and after (2016) closure. The landfill was capped and redeveloped as a parking and storage facility.

On April 26 at the 2017 NW Regional SWANA (Solid Waste Association of North America) Conference in Tulalip, Aspect’s Peter Bannister will discuss his experience at closed landfills in eastern and western Washington and lessons learned that have set these sites up for terminating or reducing post-closure activities with regulatory certainty.

Learn more and register here.

Dave Cook Helping Future Professionals Build Great Resumes on January 10

Aspect’s Principal Geologist Dave Cook will man the “Resume Review” station at the University of Washington’s College of Engineering Career Fair Prep Night on January 10. Dave will be giving out free advice to hopeful future professionals on what to do and, most importantly, what not to do when engineering an inviting resume for the working world. Learn more HERE.

Aspect Presenting on Topics Ranging from Hydrology and Water Rights to Water Supply and Demand Projections at Water Rights Transfers Seminar

Aspect’s Dan Haller and Tyson Carlson will be presenting at The Seminar Group’s 9th annual Water Rights Transfers seminar. On November 9th, Tyson will be presenting during the Hydrology And Water Rights portion of the seminar. He will be discussing approaches used to determine same body of public groundwater; groundwater – surface water continuity; potential impairment and water availability; and mitigation suitability.

The next day, Dan will join a panel to discuss the 2016 Water Supply and Demand Forecast. The group will present on the new supply/demand projections through 2035; water banking inventory; and economic evaluation on how the cost of water is affecting water supply development.

Learn more about the seminar HERE.

Dave Cook Speaks and Moderates at GBA, Urban Land Institute, and IEEE Humanitarian Events

Aspect’s principal geologist, Dave Cook, is participating in several urban energy and humanitarian events this week in Seattle.

On Wednesday October 12th in Seattle, Dave moderates a panel of local experts discussing sharing energy sources between facilities and throughout communities. The discussion is sponsored by the Urban Land Institute of which Dave is a member.  The panel discussion is titled, “District Energy, What’s stopping us from sharing in the sharing economy?” will seek to answer the questions, “What is keeping us from sharing and conserving energy, reducing carbon footprints, and revolutionizing how we pay to heat, cool, and power our downtown core and neighborhoods?” Learn more about the presentation HERE.

On Saturday October 15th in Seattle, Dave will be at the Geoprofessional Business Associations’ Fall Conference in Seattle. As the 2016 Board President of the 15,000-person volunteer organization Engineers Without Borders-USA (EWB-USA), he will discuss how EWB-USA responded to recovery efforts after the 2015 Nepal earthquakes, and how geoprofessionals can contribute their skills at EWB-USA. Learn more HERE.

Later on that Saturday, Dave will be the Keynote Speaker at IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference in Seattle again discussing the importance of EWB-USA’s work and how professionals can engage in the humanitarian world. Learn more HERE.

Join Aspect at the NEBC 2016 Northwest Remediation Conference

Aspect is once again a proud sponsor and participant in this year’s Northwest Remediation Conference held October 4th in Seattle, WA. For session 2A, “Implementing Combined Remedies,” Senior Remediation Engineer, Adam Griffin, will discuss how, why, and with what results remediation technologies have been deployed at complex sites.  Later in the day, join Carla Brock, Aspect’s Associate Geologist, as she moderates a panel of remediation professionals and regulators on the challenges they face when mitigating surface water contamination.

The conference is presented by the Northwest Environmental Business Council, “a regional trade association representing leading service and technology firms who are working to protect, restore, and sustain the natural and built environment.”

Learn more about the conference HERE. 

Tim Flynn talks Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) at the NGWA Conference in Portland

This September 8-9 the National Groundwater Association will host the “Connecting the Dots…Groundwater, Surface Water, and Climate Connections” conference in Portland, Oregon.  This 2-day conference will focus on the connections between groundwater, surface water, and climate in the area encompassing Washington, Idaho, Oregon, northern California, and British Columbia.

Aspect’s president and principal hydrogeologist Tim Flynn will present on day two of the conference in the Drought Resilience/Water Availability/Scarcity portion of the conference. He will be presenting on Aquifer Storage and Recovery and will examine the challenges and opportunities of ASR. Learn more about the conference HERE.

Lea Beard Talks Tableau and EQuIS at ICEDM in Oregon

Aspect’s Lea Beard was invited to speak at the 7th Annual International Conference for Environmental Data Management (ICEDM) this week in Oregon.  Lea’s talk is on using environmental data management systems such as EQuIS in conjunction with powerful graphical analytics systems like Tableau to easily produce reliable, beautiful insights into data.

 

 

Aspect’s Owen Reese and Tom Atkins presenting at NEBC’s Stormwater Conference on March 9th

On March 9th in Tacoma, the Northwest Environmental Business Council (NEBC) will host the 9th annual Managing Stormwater Conference in Washington. This focused one-day conference is Washington's leading stormwater event, convening regulated companies, governments, solution providers, and regulators to share solutions to the challenges of stormwater management. The conference’s educational sessions will cover both basics and advanced topics in the areas of industrial stormwater management, construction stormwater management, municipal stormwater management, and cross-cutting issues. Aspect is proud to be a premier sponsor of the conference. Aspect’s stormwater engineers Tom Atkins and Owen Reese will also be contributing to two of the educational sessions. 

Tom will present a case study in the Industrial Treatment Project Showcase Session; his presentation will highlight deployment of a customized treatment system that successfully met tight time constraints, overcame challenging site conditions, and achieved NPDES permit requirements.

Owen will moderate the cross-cutting issues session on the “Impact of Third-Party Lawsuits”. This session will discuss Clean Water Act lawsuits by outside parties as a de facto enforcement tool for stormwater permit compliance, walk through the process of a typical citizen suit,  and share what can be learned from the outcome of these cases. 

Learn more about the conference HERE.