THANKS to Client Survey Respondents (August 2010)
We are constantly striving to enhance our services to our clients, and since 1991 we have been conducting client surveys. This gives our clients a chance to rate our technical performance and client service. We thank all those who responded. This year our respondents were automatically entered in a raffle to win a gift card or a donation in their name to a worthy charity. The 2010 winner graciously chose a donation to Water 4People in lieu of a gift card.
The feedback we get from you in our survey helps us get better every year, and we hope that it reminds you that we are always here to help you.
LimnoTech Team Selected as Finalist in International Delta City of the Future Competition (July 2010)
LimnoTech teamed with the University of Virginia to compete in an international design competition sponsored by UNESCO and the Port of Rotterdam. The competition seeks to advance innovative strategies for management of worldwide port cities, focusing on river deltas and their interactions with urban environments. Of 57 international entries into the competition, seven were selected to advance to an intense “pressure cooker” 24-hour design session in Rotterdam exploring innovative ideas for sustainable management of Delta Cities, with emphasis on the Port of Rotterdam. As one of the winning teams, the University of Virginia/LimnoTech team will take part in the design sessions and describe their winning proposal at the “Deltas in Times of Climate Change” international conference.
LimnoTech a Finalist for St. Louis Arch Competition (May 2010)
LimnoTech is a member of two teams that have advanced to the final round of a highly visible national design competition focusing on the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Park in St. Louis, the home of the Gateway Arch. The competition, entitled “Framing a Modern Masterpiece: The City + The Arch + The River 2015,” seeks a redesign of the park area around the Arch to better integrate the memorial and its grounds with the City of St. Louis, the Mississippi River and Illinois on the other side of the river. The three-stage competition began with 48 teams submitting qualifications, and after completion of the first two stages, this group has been reduced to five teams. LimnoTech is pleased to be part of two of the five, one led by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates and one led by Behnisch Architects. The five teams are now participating in a 90-day design concept competition to explore their design approach and test their working methodology. The winning design will be announced in October 2010, with the resulting work completed by October 28, 2015—the 50th anniversary of the completion of the Arch.
LimnoTech Paper is One of Most Cited (May 2010)
A LimnoTech paper was recently recognized as one of the "Top-20 most cited articles" published in Journal of Great Lakes Research from 2005-2009. The authors of the paper, “Modeling the role of zebra mussels in the proliferation of blue-green algae in Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron,” include current LimnoTech employees Victor J. Bierman Jr., Joseph V. DePinto and David W. Dilks. Blooms of Microcystis, a toxin-producing blue-green alga, had all but been eliminated from Saginaw Bay in the early 1980s because of controls on phosphorus loadings from the watershed, but have re-occurred in the bay most summers since the early 1990s even though these loadings have not increased. The paper describes use of an ecosystem model to explain how zebra mussels could have caused the re-occurrence of these blue-green algal blooms because of their impacts on phytoplankton community structure and/or on internal phosphorus loadings from the sediments. paper
Pat Bradley Is Instructor at WEF NPDES Workshop (May 2010)
Pat Bradley, Senior Scientist in LimnoTech’s Washington, DC office, was an instructor at an NPDES Permits Program Overview Course sponsored recently by the Water Environment Federation and the U.S. EPA. The objective of the course was to increase understanding by both the permit holder and the permit writer of the NPDES process to reduce the time it takes to issue a permit and to increase compliance. The program included lectures and discussion, and provided attendees with a better understanding of the purpose of the NPDES program. Topics also covered new and emerging issues including the watershed approach and water quality trading. Prior to joining LimnoTech, Pat was the Assistant Branch Chief of the State & Regional Branch of the Water Permits Division at EPA Headquarters in Washington, DC. Details about this event can be found at: http://www.wef.org/Conferences/page_seminars
LimnoTech’s Joe DePinto Attends Lake Erie Phosphorus Research Forum (February 2010)
Joe DePinto, PhD, LimnoTech Senior Environmental Scientist, and Edward Verhamme, LimnoTech Project Engineer, recently attended the Lake Erie Phosphorus Research Forum, an informal venue for scientists and managers to review results from ongoing phosphorus research projects on Lake Erie and its watershed. This gathering allowed investigators who have led five phosphorus projects funded by GLNPO, two funded by LEPF, and others funded by Sea Grant to report to managers and decision-makers and discuss the meaning of their results. This was a significant exchange of information, as excessive nutrient enrichment is increasingly being recognized as a major threat to the quality of surface water resources in the United States. The forum was sponsored by the Lake Erie Millennium Network, a part of the Great Lakes Regional Research Information Network.Dr. DePinto gave a presentation (see link below) on two large modeling efforts being conducted by LimnoTech to support management decisions concerning control measures for eutrophication in Lake Erie. Other LimnoTech staff working on these projects include Todd Redder, Dan Rucinski, Ric McCulloch, Jeremy Grush, and Brian Lord. pdf
LimnoTech Takes Water Footprinting Expertise to India (January 2010)
LimnoTech’s Wendy Larson recently traveled to India as a member of the International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) Water Footprinting Team. The purpose was to conduct a workshop and launch a water footprint initiative with Jain Irrigation that will allow the company to measure its environmental and sustainability benefits, and identify ways to reduce water consumption. Wendy and the others in her group toured farms in the region where drip irrigation technology is being applied. IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, fosters sustainable economic growth in developing countries by financing private sector investment. Jain Irrigation has pioneered water conservation and the use of water-saving devices in India.
LimnoTech Contributes to EPA Sediment Guide (November 2009)
U.S. EPA has released its second Sediment Assessment and Monitoring Sheet, titled, "Understanding the Use of Models in Predicting the Effectiveness of Proposed Remedial Actions at Superfund Sediment Sites." This document is a primer for those not experienced in the development and use of models at sediment sites. It explains the typical objectives of modeling, how models are built, how they are used to predict the effectiveness of remedies, and how the uncertainty in model predictions can be addressed. John Wolfe, Ph.D., P.E., BCEE, and Tim Dekker, Ph.D., P.E., Senior LimnoTech Environmental Engineers, were major contributors to this document, which is now available on the EPA website. With EPA, Tim and John prepared document drafts and developed revisions to respond to comments from each of the EPA regions. Their work has been well received and much appreciated at EPA, as well as by the regulated community. This document is available at: http://www.epa.gov/superfund/health/conmedia/sediment/pdfs/Modeling_Primer.pdf
LimnoTech Projects Recognized in Professional Publications (June 2009)
Two LimnoTech projects have been featured recently in professional publications. The first involved LimnoTech’s contribution as part of a large NSF-funded collaborative research project led by The Ohio State University. The overall project examined interactions between lake ecosystems and lake-related human activities in Lake Erie, and it was featured in 2009 Spring/Summer issue of Twine Line magazine, an Ohio Sea Grant publication. The article, titled “Biocomplexity: Uncovering Lake Erie’s Physical, Biological, and Economic Connections,” (pdf) was written by Stacey Brannan. Joe DePinto, Ph.D., Dan Rucinski, Ed Verhamme, and Todd Redder of LimnoTech were part of the project team involved in developing complex fine-scale models to explore how human-lake interactions affect human-lake dynamics. The second article appears in Minnegram, a publication of the Minnesota Water Resources Center, and is titled “Model Will Allow Managers to Forecast Impact of Policies on Toxic Chemicals in the Great Lakes,” (pdf) by Nina Shepard. This project, a collaborative effort between LimnoTech and the University of Minnesota, was again led by Joe DePinto, and involved developing a screening-level, multi-media chemical exposure model for the entire Great Lakes Basin that will allow water resource managers to anticipate basin-wide risk from emerging chemicals of concern.
LimnoTech Receives Corp! Magazine Award as Michigan Economic Bright Spot (June 2009)
LimnoTech was recently chosen as a “Michigan Economic Bright Spot” 2009 award winner by Corp! magazine. Corp! sought nominations for firms in Michigan that persevered and even prospered during the recent economic downturn. Fifty firms from all sectors of business in Michigan received this award. Firms were recognized for their service, knowledge and innovation, creativity, reputation, cost savings, and enabling abilities. The award also highlighted firms that introduced or applied unique new technologies to Michigan. LimnoTech was recognized at a special breakfast for awardees on June 2, and is featured in an article in Corp!’s May/June 2009 issue.Corp! magazine was founded in 1998 to provide features, news and profiles with a Michigan emphasis, and is Michigan’s largest business magazine.
LimnoTech Works with Chinese Experts to Solve Environmental Challenges (January 2009)
LimnoTech staff are involved in several exciting projects and initiatives in China. First, we are conducting several workshops in China to provide training to Chinese experts and regulators in the use of watershed management and Total daily Maximum Load approaches for restoring and protecting water quality. The focus has been on transboundary issues (involving large areas and multiple cities and provinces), and has also focused on southern provinces involving China’s largest watersheds and industrial areas that are experiencing extreme water quality problems, impacting ecologic conditions and causing major disruptions in water supply for millions. This is a cooperative program in which we are teaming with experts from Australia and Canada. LimnoTech staff are also supporting the early stages of research efforts with Chinese research institutes on capping contaminated sediments, and the development of green eco-cities approaches to planning for Chinese cities.
LimnoTech Named a Best Place to Work (October 2008)
In a survey performed by ZweigWhite and published in the CENews, LimnoTech was named 11th among the 20 best environmental service firms to work for in the U.S. for 2008. The survey compiled data covering a number of characteristics related to company policies, benefits, and work environments, including overtime compensation, human resources services, maternity leave policy, flexibility of working hours, 401(k) benefits, and generally how employees feel about their own firms. CENews,a publication of ZweigWhite, is a resource for civil engineers that reports trends, technologies, applications, news, and business management advice in the business of civil engineering.