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Emile Elias

Degree: PhD in Forestry

Prior degrees: MS in Watershed Science from Colorado State University; BS in Environmental Biology from the University of Colorado 

Major Professors: Dr. Mark Dougherty, Biosystems Engineering and Dr. Graeme Lockaby, Forestry 

Committee Members: Dr. David Laband, Dr. Puneet Srivastava and Dr. Hugo Rodriguez

Total organic carbon (TOC) in drinking water supplies can react with chlorine to form carcinogenic substances called disinfection byproducts (DBP).  TOC in drinking water reservoirs originates from either watershed sources or internal algal growth.  This project models watershed and reservoir nutrient processes with selected urbanization scenarios and actual precipitation (1990 – 2006) to determine the effects on reservoir TOC.  Resulting TOC concentrations are then utilized to estimate the cost of TOC removal during drinking water treatment for a given urbanization and precipitation scenario.  Scenarios simulate the conversion of forest to urban land use.  Differences between scenarios yield the municipal water treatment cost savings provided by forest ecosystems through minimized in-reservoir TOC.  The expected dollar value per hectare savings represents the water quality services provided by forests.  While forests may be a net exporter of TOC, conversion of forest to urban land use is expected to further elevate in-reservoir TOC concentrations through increased phosphorus loads from the watershed.

In Mobile, Alabama drinking water TOC and DBP have been a concern for over 15 years.  Tributary and reservoir data have been collected by multiple sources under differing monitoring plans since 1990.  Existing data from 1990 to 2006 will be used to answer ecosystem services questions related to watershed and reservoir management and future urbanization.  Project objectives include: 1) Model current land use with a process-based watershed model and actual 1990-2006 precipitation to determine baseline monthly and yearly changes in nitrogen, phosphorus, sediment, chlorophyll-a, and total organic carbon additions to J.B. Converse Reservoir.  2) Apply daily loads from baseline and urbanization watershed modeling scenarios to a dynamic reservoir model capable of simulating stratification, macrophyte communities and other reservoir processes to determine changes in TOC under selected urbanization scenarios. 3) Apply economic methods to ecosystem services provided to determine the value of the forested watershed for water quality and TOC/DBP formation.

New highway development in the JB Converse watersheed 2007.

Upper Big Creek headwaters of the largest tributary to JB Converse Reservois.

JB Converse grid used for reservoir modeling with Environmental Fluid Dynamics Code