The conclusion of the Spring of Media for the Minnesota Stormwater Seminar Series will involve a panel discussion with 6 industry experts who have extensive experience on stormwater filtration and infiltration media. Bridget Ulrich and Andy Erickson provided highlights of their research on media formulations during the March and April Stormwater Seminar Series, respectively. For the May seminar, they will join four featured panelists including three practitioners who are experienced in filter media applications: Erin Anderson-Wenz (Barr Engineering Co.), Mike Isensee (Carnelian-Marine-St. Croix Watershed District), and Erik Megow (Stantec), and by another media researcher, Mei Cai (Natural Resources Research Institute). These practitioners and researchers have found that some media installations are not performing as desired. However, the solutions explored and developed by them and others may not be cost-effective. The panel discussion will conclude with a presentation of tools and resources for media that are available to practitioners within the Minnesota Stormwater Manual, presented by Joanne Boettcher. The tradeoffs between research and applications will provide for an interesting and informative discussion during the May 18 Minnesota Stormwater Seminar.
Erin Anderson Wenz (Barr Engineering). Erin has more than two decades of experience working on projects involving hydraulics and hydrology, including both stormwater and lake-water quality modeling for watershed districts and municipalities. She has managed strategic lake management plans and total maximum daily load studies for numerous Minnesota lakes. Her work also includes the development of stormwater management plans and design and construction of low-impact development features such as rain gardens, porous pavement, and tree trenches.
Joanne Boettcher (MPCA), P.E. has recently started as the MPCA Stormwater Research Liaison, where she represents the MPCA on stormwater research topics and develops agency guidance based on new research, technologies, and issues. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Resources Engineering from Cal Poly Humboldt and a Minnesota Civil Professional Engineer license. Her experience includes prior work with the MPCA developing Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategies (WRAPS) reports and community engagement strategies, roles with the DNR as a Hydrologist and in Environmental Assessment, and with the USDA NRCS as an Agricultural Engineer. She lives in Mankato with her husband and menagerie of pets and is an avid organic vegetable and native plant gardener.
Mei Cai (Natural Resources Research Institute, U of M Duluth). Dr. Mei Cai is an environmental engineer at Natural Resources Research Institute since 2012. She received her Ph. D. degree in environmental engineering from the University of Tennessee – Knoxville in 2010 and worked at the same university as a post-doc until 2012. Her research focuses on using cost-effective technologies/materials to treat wastewater and stormwater to sustain resources and protect our environment for resilient communities.
Bridget Ulrich (Natural Resources Research Institute, U of M Duluth) leads a research program focused on environmental chemistry at the Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI) in Duluth, MN. Dr. Ulrich is a Minnesota native and grew up on the Iron Range in Virginia, MN. Her educational background includes a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, and a PhD in Environmental Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines. She joined NRRI in 2019 following postdoctoral work at the Swiss Federal Institute for Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag) in Zurich, Switzerland. Her group specializes in combining interdisciplinary insights from environmental engineering, analytical chemistry, and materials science to evaluate contaminant fate and transport in natural and built aquatic systems.
Erik Megow (Stantec). Erik is a Senior Water Resources Engineer with over fourteen years of experience as a consulting engineer; eleven years in water resources and three years in the nuclear energy sector. His primary expertise is stormwater best management practice design, regulatory review, hydraulic and hydrology modeling, stream restoration and stabilization design, and surface water mixing zone modeling. Erik serves as the engineer of record for the Elm Creek Watershed Management Commission and has worked on an array of water resources projects throughout Minnesota, including his recent work on the design, testing, and construction of biochar- and iron-enhanced stormwater filters.
Mike Isensee serves as the Administrator of the Carnelian Marine St. Croix Watershed District (CMSCWD) where he leads the implementation of the watershed management plan to protect and improve 31 lakes, 21 streams, and 18 miles of the St. Croix River. In his 20 years of work in urban water quality he has scoured academic research, tested, installed, monitored, maintained, and fixed bioretention basins. He has had the privilege to work and network with knowledgeable biologists, engineers, landscape architects, soil scientists, and researchers from across the continent to consider how to improve the longevity, health, and function of bioretention basins. Mike currently utilizes this experience to lead the targeting, design, installation, establishment, and maintenance of practices to protect and improve water quality within the CMSCWD. Mike also serves on the Minnesota Stormwater Research Council and the Lower St. Croix Partnership.
Andy Erickson (St. Anthony Falls Lab, U of M Twin Cities), PhD, PE, is a Research Manager at St. Anthony Falls Laboratory and the University of Minnesota and registered professional engineer in Minnesota. Dr. Erickson's research pursues an understanding of water quality in urban and agricultural watersheds, assessment and maintenance of stormwater treatment practices, and developing new stormwater treatment technologies such as the Iron-Enhanced Sand Filter. Dr. Erickson is lead author for the book "Optimizing Stormwater Treatment Practices: A Handbook of Assessment and Maintenance" and the editor of the University of Minnesota stormwater newsletter, UPDATES to approximately 1900 email subscribers, and leads the Minnesota Stormwater Seminar Series for approximately 170 stormwater practitioners per month. Dr. Erickson has given over 245 presentations, over 30 invited guest lectures, and over 40 one-and two-day professional trainings and workshops. Dr. Erickson is the Vice Chair of the ASTM international E64 Committee on Stormwater Control Measures and a member of the Water Environment Federation Stormwater Institute Advisory Board. Dr. Erickson also serves the University of Minnesota as the Chair of the Water Council, a member of the St. Anthony Falls Lab Executive Committee, a member of the Civil, Environmental, and Geo-Engineering Graduate Faculty, an affiliate member of the Water Resources Science Graduate Program, a member of the Center for Transportation Studies Scholar Program, and a member of the Environment and Energy in Transportation Research Council.