March 20, 2020
At the University of Utah, undergraduates in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering have a unique opportunity to participate in a senior design class that both prepares them for professional practice and gives them a chance to solve real issues in the community.
The teams, under the direction of professor Dr. Steve Burian, are investigating alternatives and solutions to increase Salt Lake City’s drinking water supply within City Creek Canyon.
Dr. David Hansen, a U alumnus and HAL managing principal, is serving as an advisor and resource to the student teams. Mentoring is being offered regarding canyon hydrology and streamflow measurement techniques that are needed to formulate recommendations to maximize the use of the City Creek Water Treatment Plant.
In January, members of the student teams, pictured above, visited the canyon to tour the water treatment plant and to discuss stream measurement concepts, stream inflows, and shallow aquifer hydrology.
The student teams will continue their fieldwork by taking flow measurements in City Creek during the Spring 2020 semester and evaluating the potential to maximize the treatable flow capacity within the canyon. The individual teams will then present their findings to the Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities at the end of the semester.