Infrastructure, Resilience, Equity

Villanova Urban Stormwater Partnership hosts 2022 symposium

More than 350 engineers, researchers, planners and other water-resources professionals gathered on Villanova’s campus in October for the 2022 Pennsylvania Stormwater Management Symposium. Hosted by the Villanova Urban Stormwater Partnership (VUSP), the biennial event aims to promote green stormwater infrastructure to combat urban flooding and protect environmental quality.

The symposium, which had a theme of “Infrastructure, Resilience, Equity,” included keynote presentations, technical sessions and moderated panel discussions, as well as almost 50 abstracts from the stormwater community, research updates from VUSP and booths from vendors. Originally set to take place in 2021, the symposium—VUSP’s 12th since 1998—was delayed a year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“One thing that is special about our symposium is that it brings the stormwater engineering community together to discuss what advances have been made and what challenges we still face as a profession,” says Rob Traver, PhD, PE, ’82 MSCE, director of VUSP and a professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering. “You cannot underestimate the value to our research of these conversations with the engineers and regulators in the public sector in setting our future direction. Our students are also introduced to many future employers—and get introduced to their future.”

The two-day event included keynote presentations by Angus Welch, of the US Environmental Protection Agency Region 3, and Randy E. Hayman, commissioner of the Philadelphia Water Department. Another highlight was a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) panel discussion on “Equitable Engineering in Practice and Within Our Community,” moderated by Mark Orebiyi ’17 CE, ’19 MSCE of Clark Water Group.

The symposium also showcased the work of Villanova Engineering graduate students, many of whom volunteered their time to assist with planning and running the event. “The energy and success of the symposium was largely due to the contributions of our 25 graduate student volunteers,” says Bridget Wadzuk, PhD, ’00 CE, the Edward A. Daylor Chair Professor in Civil Engineering and an organizer of the symposium. “They led the DEI panel, helped to organize the entire event and highlighted their innovative research through presentations and networking.”

The next Stormwater Symposium, VUSP’s 13th, will be held in Fall 2024.

A Greener Tomorrow

A new textbook co-authored by Professor Rob Traver, PhD, PE, ’82 MSCE, focuses on novel stormwater control measures to make for a greener tomorrow. Written with colleagues Allen P. Davis, PhD, PE, of the University of Maryland, College Park, and William F. Hunt III, PhD, PE, of North Carolina State University, Green Stormwater Infrastructure Fundamentals and Design (Wiley, 2022) brings into focus resilient stormwater control measures (SCMs) for the reduction of stormwater flows and associated pollutants that can detrimentally impact our local environmental and ecological systems. Dr. Traver is director of the Villanova Center for Resilient Water Systems and the Villanova Urban Stormwater Partnership.