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Deputy
Secretary of Water visits Villanova
 The
Villanova Urban Stormwater Partnership (VUSP) hosted Cathy Meyers, deputy
secretary of the Office of Water Management for the Pennsylvania Department
of Environmental Protection, during a special research board meeting held
on campus last Feb. 27. The purpose of the VUSP is to advance the field
of stormwater management through demonstration, technical transfer and
education.
After an introduction by Dr. Robert Traver, VUSP director and associate
professor of civil and environmental engineering, the attendees toured
the Villanova University Stormwater Best Management Practice Demonstration
Park, featuring the stormwater best management practices on campus. At
each site graduate students updated the board on the latest performance
data being collected for that site. Jordan Ermilio, who earned a bachelor
of mechanical engineering in 1997 and who is currently enrolled in the
master of science in water resources and environment engineering program
(MSWREE), spoke to the deputy secretary about the performance and effectiveness
of the Bio-Infiltration Traffic Island on the University’s West
Campus. Matthew Rea, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biology
in 2002, and who is also a student in MSWREE Program, addressed the tour
group on recent water quality data being analyzed at the Stormwater Wetlands
(located behind the Law School), while graduate students Michael Kwiatkowski
and Tyler Ladd, who both earned bachelor of mechanical engineering degrees
in 2004 and who will both earn their master’s in civil engineering
in 2004, led the tour at the Porous Concrete Infiltration Basin.
After the tour, the board met and discussed some of the future endeavors
of the VUSP, which include a proposed study on several 85- to100-year-old
seepage pits recently rediscovered in front of Tolentine Hall. “The
deputy secretary’s visit was a complete success and she praised
Villanova’s activities,” said Traver.
The VUSP started as a joint effort between Villanova and the Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection. As of last December, industrial
members have been invited to join. To date Cahill Associates, Delaware
River Basin Commission, McCormick Taylor and O’Brien & Gere
have joined as partners or members and were represented at the meeting.
For more information and results on the research in stormwater visit the
web site at http://www.villanova.edu/VUSP.
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