Visiting Scholar Program Report Series

Throughout its history, the Institute for Water Resources (IWR) has invited preeminent water resources academicians and practitioners to take up residence at the Institute to foster scholarly exchange. Work completed while at IWR includes reports published in the IWR Visiting Scholar Program report series:

Energy & Water Nexus. Why Should the Corps Care?
Author: Alexey Voinov , PhD

Water and energy are the two renewable resources that are most essential for human livelihood. Whereas we have been mostly concerned with non-renewable resources, as the human population grows in size and in terms of the impact that it has on the biosphere, the renewable resources become equally important. The water sector, including treatment and conveyance, is presently one of the largest users of energy, comparable to the paper and refining industries. As it will become increasingly hard to provide additional supply, we will need to pay attention to managing demand. By providing expertise and technology for integrated water management, as well as by discharging its regulatory missions, the Army Corps of Engineers is uniquely placed to recognize energy/water interactions and to contribute to demand reduction efforts.
Report No: 2008-VSP-01, Aug 2008, Download ( pdf, 1.8 MB )

Environmental Valuation and Decision Making for Water Project Investment and Operations: Lessons from the FERC Experience
Author: Leonard Shabman , PhD ; Kurt Stephenson , PhD

"Environmental Valuation and Decision Making for Water Project Investment and Operations: Lessons from the FERC Experience" is of strong interest as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) was addressing the same kind of issues that increasingly face the Corps reviewing the viability and/or operational practices of water control projects that were built years ago, before the new emphasis on river restoration. The approach provides useful insights for the Corps as it seeks to advance its environmental restoration mission in the context of its emphasis on collaborative planning.
Report No: 2007-VSP-01, Mar 2007, Download ( pdf, 689 KB )

Key Performance Indicators of River Basin Organizations
Author: Bruce P Hooper , PhD

This report discusses the results of a study to measure the effectiveness of river basin organizations that was undertaken while Dr. Hooper was the Universities Council on Water Resources Visiting Scholar (2004-2005). The report also includes a method to self-identify the stage of auto-adaptiveness of a river basis organization.
Report No: 2006-VSP-01, Aug 2006, Download ( pdf, 1.2 MB )