Selected Assignment: Scholarly Advancement

Taking this class helped me understand what environmental engineering, and the grand challenges, were all about! I wanted to take my course project and what I learned about in class to another level by interviewing a licensed professional environmental engineer that works with the South West Florida Water Management District. I learned a lot and the interview put potential career choices into perspective for me. The interview questions can be seen in red. 

Reflection

The interview was held last Wednesday, March 31^st, from 8:30 to 9:00 AM. I feel as though I gained a lot of both personal knowledge in terms of career outlook and a lot of important knowledge to use in my presentation with Elizabeth. Even though the questions were guided towards agriculturally related phosphorous issues and water management, the interview was very informative about what an engineer’s perspective on things are like. For example, Mr. Yue referenced that the environmental scientists that the SWFL Water Management District partners with like the Conservancy deals with the more environmental science side of things (education and awareness), whereas he must address practical application, economic issues, and sustainability. I really enjoyed hearing from Mr. Yue because I plan to work in Naples as well if possible and I also thoroughly enjoyed hearing about his job specifically. I chose Mr. Yue because I met him through an event with Leadership Collier that I was invited to as a guest. Below are the notes I took during the interview. The takeaways can be seen there. There are some notes with links at the bottom where I found the research, he referenced in the interview afterwards. I look forward to utilizing this interview in my project presentation this coming Tuesday!

Interview

I would love to hear what you have to say about these topics and just what you do as a career in general. Typical workday: reviewing the canal levels, reviewing weather, where water supply needs are, determine how we need to balance things out. Look at engineering work: balancing out plans, infrastructure improvements, work on budgeting not much wiggle room so plan accordingly.

I would like to know what is being done currently to try to prevent phosphorus runoff in local waterways, phosphorous is found in fertilizer on farms. SWFL does not have phosphorus in soil naturally, so a lot of it is added in fertilizer and then applied. Farmers try to apply the right source of phosphorus for right sort of application (only use what is needed).

Are there any other negative side effects of phosphorous use in fertilizer other than agricultural impacts?

Education/outreach is needed, people should not spray before rain… causes misuse on consumer level. Buying phosphorous for daily household/ large scale application is less money now but long run increase cost as it becomes more limited. Homeowners’ association fees will increase, and cost of maintenance of golf courses/ lawns will also increase. Leads to a bigger question:  how can we save water/ better way of irrigating, watering lawn, conserving water? (Because water conservation is also an issue with ties to pollution/runoff)

Other than agriculturally, the bigger Issue: homeowners misuse and golf courses most people are misinformed want phosphorous for inexpensive purposes SOCIETAL ISSUE: WANT A BETTER, GREENER LAWN RATHER THAN A HEALTHIER/MORE ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY LAWN. 

 

Any current issues you are dealing with concerning phosphorus? directly no, works towards flood supply but work with the conservancy and rookery bay who work with water quality issues.

However, in terms of running out of phosphorous, Companies/ farms want a better producing (yield) farm field: ex.  tomatoes: hot commodity today. cheapest way of growing tomato is to use phosphorous. Otherwise, it costs too much to make the food with the same yield from the economic side of things.

How is Phosphorus removed once it has infiltrated a waterway? Research at UF being done IFIS professor (SanJay Shukla), using above ground impoundments detention basin and let water percolate down certain plants absorb P easier uptake by plants over time harvest P out of water. Challenging because it is a water farm, have to maintain the system, Main economic question: who is going to pay for it?

sediment in water, lake Trafford, P will settle out (bound soil)

phytoremediation-stop water from flowing engineer a wetlands system; what’s being done at lake Okeechobee storm water treatment STAs water impoundments allows water to flow at slower rates