Sunday, July 25, 2010

Northland sewer improvements - Dennis Cantrell, P.E.

Dennis Cantrell, P.E. from HNTB explained the importance of unintended storm water leakage into the separate sanitary sewer system, and how the removal of the stormwater will improve the performance of the sewers in the Northland as part of Kansas City's Overflow Control Plan. Dr. Deb and Dennis explained what engineers mean when they refer to I/I (infiltration and inflow). Infiltration seeps into the sewer system through cracks and poor pipe connections, while inflow comes from roof or basement drains connected to the sewer system. Listen to the podcast.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Culvert redesign for fish passage - Geoff Goll, P.E.

Geoff Goll, P.E. from Princeton Hydro shared his design work for fish passage through culverts. He described how the redesigns accomodate fish and other animals by reducing the exit velocities, reducing/eliminating the height between the culvert's outlet and the stream bed, allowing sufficient light into the culvert, and placing large rocks for a more natural bottom to the culvert. The picture (left) shows how high the outlet can become. Geoff and Deb also recalled the culvert adaptation for bats in an earlier broadcast. Listen to the podcast.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

MR340 - 2010

Scott Mansker (MR340 race organizer), Katy Pfefferkorn (women's MR340 record-holder) and Dawn McKenney-Maxwell (race aspirant) joined the show to share their experience and encouragement. You can watch the flotilla from Riverfront Park on the morning of July 27, 2010. Listen to the podcast.

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Fish Passage - Robert Keller

Dr. Robert Keller from Monash University in Australia discussed weir design for the ephemeral (not always flowing) streams in southern Australia that can accommodate the Murray cod (a large, migratory fish). Listen to the podcast.