Dr. John Schwartz, a professor in UT Knoxville's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and a professional engineer, was recently named director of the Tennessee Water Resources Research Center (TNWRRC), located in UT’s Institute for a Secure and Sustainable Environment. In addition to serving as TNWRRC Director, Dr. Schwartz conducts research, teaches courses, and serves as advisor to several graduate students. He also currently serves on a committee with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) to comprehensively evaluate the Watershed Protection Plan for New York City’s drinking water supply. Eighteen experts from around the US are serving on this 21-month long assignment.
Dr Schwartz’s research program in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at UT over the past 14 years has focused on the study of stressed natural systems, investigating how adjustments in physical, chemical, and biological processes lead to degradation of water quality and stream ecosystems. His research focuses on three thematic areas enhancing the understanding of: 1) river channel adjustments through sediment transport and bank erosion processes, integrated with ecohydraulics restoration/enhancement for physical habitat structure and riparian corridors, 2) soil erosion processes and pollutant transport on disturbed land surfaces, including surface mining, bioenergy crop conversions, and stormwater runoff, and 3) biogeochemical processes in forested watersheds impacted by atmospheric deposition of acid pollutants in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
As one of 54 state water resources research institutes organized as the National Institutes of Water Resources (NIWR), Dr. Schwartz's primary role as director will be to pursue NIWR’s mission goals of planning, facilitating, and conducting research to aid in the resolution of State and regional water problems; promoting technology transfer and dissemination of research results to public and private stakeholders; and provide training for scientists and engineers through research participation.
Dr. Schwartz states, “We have very talented faculty among the many disciplines at the University of Tennessee Knoxville (UTK) and University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture (UTIA). As director my key role is to promote the talents of those faculty members to the regional, state, and federal government agencies so that these agencies seek out UTK/UTIA faculty to solve water resources problems of national importance. In many cases, agencies are unaware of what research capabilities our faculty can offer. I plan to strengthen networking activities on campus to bring faculty together in order to build stronger research teams for successfully funded projects. In addition, I want to build stronger relationships with water resources faculty at other state universities, such as Tennessee Tech, University of Memphis, and University of Tennessee Chattanooga; and USGS offices nationally. As director, the excellent research results from faculty need to be highlighted through multiple technical transfer and engagement venues, such as providing professional trainings, webinar offerings, and supporting production of published journal articles and outreach documents.”
Highlighted are some specific initiatives and programs Dr. Schwartz will oversee as TNWRRC Director:
- Engage UTK/UTIA faculty through increased involvement with the Watershed Faculty Consortium, which builds collaborative water resource activities across campus for research, education, and outreach that can be communicated, shared, and implemented. The Consortium successfully created the Watershed Minor curriculum, supports the student organization Hydrolunteers, and organizes the Watershed Symposium.
- Meet with agency leaders, identify potential research needs, and make the connections between agency staff and UTK/UTIA faculty. Uniquely located in the United States, water-related research initiatives need to be leveraged with researchers and staff from Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
- Facilitate a focused initiative for research, education, and outreach on watershed plan development specific to methods required by the Clean Water Act §319 Program. The theme of the 2019 Watershed Symposium was on the development of §319 watershed plans. The next step of this initiative, with support from the Watershed Faculty Consortium, will involve a proposed multidisciplinary graduate-level course with the students producing a §319 watershed plan. With watershed plans developed, UTK/UTIA faculty can then successfully obtain funding from this program. State-wide, the TNWRRC will also develop a training course for off-campus stakeholders as part of their outreach mission.
- Renew the partnership of TNWRRC as an USEPA Center of Excellence for Watershed Management. This will include a research focus on urban water quality issues, including the development of new assessment tools and restoration design criteria. As a new initiative, an Urban Streams Report Card will be developed and implemented across the state. The report card idea is strongly supported by major Tennessee cities with stormwater management programs (Phase I MS4s) and by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC). The longer-term goal is, working with Phase I MS4 communities on the report card, that we can form a reoccurring research fund to address improvement of stormwater treatment methods. Other activities to be promoted associated with the Center of Excellence will include greater involvement with the non-governmental organizations (NGOs), such as the Tennessee River Basin Network and the Nature Conservancy.
- Increase the number of professional trainings and webinars. Tim Gangaware, Assistant Water Center Director, has provided TDEC-sponsored training on erosion control, stormwater design practices, and hydrological determination certification for many years. This training will continue, and other training opportunities will be explored and implemented over time. The first new training offered will be on the use of 2D hydrodynamic modeling for urban stream restoration design. Other potential training courses include new designs for stormwater control practices, watershed modeling, and new training on quantifying functional lift from stream restoration practices. Also to be pursued will be to work with TVA engineers on development of a national certification for regulated river management. The overall goal is to develop future training courses of national significance in order to promote UT/UTIA as leaders in selected fields.
- Update the TNWRRC’s web page and create the management structure to maintain it with fresh and new material. Also, as part of this activity, a newsletter will be produced and disseminated electronically to the center’s stakeholders state-wide. Though this initiative may seem simplistic, communication is essential and is the key to increasing the number of successful research grant awards.
Reflecting on his new role and what it means to him, Dr. Schwartz states, “I look forward to making the TNWRRC a campus-wide and state-wide water resources community and see what can happen when we work together on challenging problems.”