Email to Advisor/Mentor

Dear Professor,

This is to follow up on the phone conversation we had regarding my interest in a graduate program now that I have a BS in Civil Engineering. Subject interests listed are in order from most interested to significantly interested.

M.S. Water Resources Engineering:

1. Hydrology

2. Computational Programming

3. Remote Sensing

4. Environmental Law

I have one question at the end of this email.  If we could have a zoom meeting to discuss your concerns or comments I would greatly appreciate it. 

In long (my apologies), my ikigai is to design a framework computer program that enables the user to generate a study on the suitability to significantly increase a given water catchment's groundwater recharge capability. In short, I want to build a program that I can input satellite imagery, soil type, slope, aquifer capacity, precipitation data, etc. and deliver a BMP type report to a municipality to use to plan their watershed management policies.The report will include a map that highlights areas with the potential for return on investment when implementing the results of the study. My target audience for the BMP type reports will be moderate to large cities and agricultural regions.

Humans waste a lot of water and currently the most effective way to address this is to reduce per capita consumption though education, policy and cost rates. However, with increasing climate instability, the severity and frequency of storms may flip this paradigm. Increased number of floods and fewer rain events dictate that an increase of storage capacity is necessary. Humans will need to develop more innovative ways to catch the water that falls on the land. 

The age of dams is waning due to the detrimental impacts on the environment and wildlife diversity and populations.(Agreement of this statement is an assumption of this study)

This work aims to complement land's natural ability to sustain wildlife, soil biomass and thus groundwater recharge. Many others are working parallel to this effort such as with legislature and funding towards removing or remodeling human structures that damage the environment. As a design parameter, this study will address solving water crisis problems with solutions that improve the natural environment relative to its state before human encroachment. This study is not proposing to go back to the way things were.

Means being considered to accomplish this goal are: increase of soil biomass; installation of bio-swales on contour; increase of the land's capacity to carry wildlife; and extension of seasonal groundwater recharge periods. The scale of applications being implemented are in the acres to hundreds of acres--these are not BMP's for typical construction projects.

Some potential theses I am considering for this study:

1. Can Groundwater recharge period be increased by adding irrigation swales on contour?
2. Does increasing soil biomass extend groundwater recharge periods?
3. Can soil biomass be increased by installation of irrigation swales on contour?
4. Can capacity of land to carry wildlife ( number of animals per acre) be increased by adding soil biomass? 
5. Can capacity of the land to carry wildlife be increased by irrigation swales on contour?
6. Can groundwater recharge period be extended by increasing the land's capacity to carry wildlife?
7. Can increasing the land's ability to carry wildlife extend groundwater recharge period?

My preference is No. 7 but they are all just titles. I plan on addressing all of these questions. Strategically I'm unsure of the best starting point for this study.

Ending question: Should I be considering a PhD.?

Thank you for everything,

Carl

Tech-Fest at CSUN

Good News,

I never would have imagined working for a very large municipality but after running into a classmate at a job fair, I now am interested.

Let me back up a bit: I have always imagined working for a consulting firm focusing on hydraulic and hydrological engineering tasks, getting a PE license; all the while working on changing the world on my own time, with modest designs of forests that recharge groundwater while nurturing the environment in a time of environmental turbulence brought, or not brought on by human activities(honestly, I care less about blaming than being part of the solution). I used to even dream of creating a template for forest rehabilitation and groundwater recharge but I now believe the best that I may develop, in the meta sense, is a framework for diagnostics and recommendations to take to town hall meetings.

So, back to that large municipality. When I spoke with my friend Jim(Alias, I haven't gotten permission to use his real name yet), he explained how the department in which he worked was centered around the developing engineer. And that, new-hires went through a cycle of rotations that gave them exposure to several stages of the life of a CIP(capital improvements project) such as planning, construction and maintenance to name a few. To add further, and what I am most interested in, at the end of the 6 year cycle, 4 each at 18 months per each, the developing engineer has a good chance of joining the team where she/he belongs. And who knows, by the end of this cycle I may be designing CIPs aligned with my passion during my nine to five(dear God, wouldn't it be nice!).
If not, I am confident that hard work ethic, honesty and a friendly smile will find me in the hands of a good employer.

Thank you,

CH

Update, Spring 2020

Hello Again,
This is an update on my whirlwind of a last semester, full-time, at university. I feel like I'm coming out of the clouds to find solid ground on earth. Not giving up on dreams, but rather, getting a firm footing on which to take off from... when the time comes.
Thanks to my amazing family, wife and kids, I have the fortune to take a load heavy enough that it required approval from the Associate Dean of my college. As I have explained in previous writing, breaking into a niche field via a degree program that doesn't lend to it has put me on my heels for the last few years. Although... all is not for not, as much as I have been groomed outside the classroom for a career in water resources, thanks to all who have made this possible, I now will drop the grooming and focus on fundamentals:

- Graduate with a degree in civil engineering
- Take and pass the FE Exam and obtain an EIT Certificate
- Register and start prep work to pass the PE Exam.
- Find a job where: 1.) My passion will benefit the company's mission; 2.) I can work under a PE who is interested in guiding me on my path to becoming a Professional Engineer.

God willing, these goals(above) will happen this year.
At which time I can again take flight by:

- Getting certified in  Python Programming
- Continue project based learning of PCSWMM
- Applying for an online graduate program in environmental and water resources
- Continuing to set goals that will lead to being expert in watershed management, groundwater recharge, etc.

Thank you,

Carl Humphrey

Summer 2019

Hey Peoples,

    Quick update:
  
    Just finished an interesting semester at university. Didn't do as well as I had hoped but managed to scrape by with a 3.05 out of 4.00. Looking forward to graduation in spring 2020. Taking a prerequisite Structures course to qualify for Senior Design in the fall.
    Finished Problem Solving in GIS course with a B and made a solid connection with the professor--I may adopt her as an unofficial advisor, she inspires me to go far with my ideas and uncovers my weaknesses at the same time. Was able to incorporate personal project into the courses final project and succesfully complete a suitability analysis. The course was an elective I chose to help me with my Senior Showcase Project(SSP) which has the current title of Drought Mitigation In The Lower San Joaquin Valley.
    Really excited about a grant I received from CHI for a PCSWWM license to build a flow model for my showcase project. I used PCSWMM in an internship I completed last year and could only scratch the surface of it. During the said internship I worked under a civil engineering hydrologist who was gracious enough to give me a variety of tasks and introduce me to the field in a broad sense.
     I expect my SSP to display my knowledge of Python, ArcMap, Civil3D and PCSWWM. A little intimidated by the scope of my SSP because my advisor said it was more likely to get completed as a doctoral thesis and I have no immediate plans for graduate studies. Never the less, I am passionate about completing the project--at least enough to showcase it, even if I have to list research I don't have time to complete as 'Further research needed'.
    Realizing that my hopes and dreams are temporal, I intend to complete as much as possible in case I end up in another field of civil engineering after graduation. I have have a strong intuition that I have a valid and simple solution to arid-California's water resources problem--the problem that our water cycle is not annual cycle but more near a ten year cycle. Basically, if the vegetation was better equipped for drought it would be more resilient to fire and thus quicker to regrow/thrive/support wild things. More relevant to current human concern, it would be more suited to transfer water to the subsoil and recharge aquifers during the high rainfall years--not to mention healthier ground-cover prevents erosion and protects the reservoirs that currently suffer from sediment deposits. If you have not yet guessed, Underground water storage is the way forward. Dams are too detrimental to the natural environment--something we are more and more dependent on in the age of climate change. Dams also offer a temporary fix to a permanent problem, the solution exists in controlling how water flows over and into the land not trying to hoard it behind a dam. In short, we must figure how to slow it down not stop it. This can be done by utilizing aquifers where water can be slowed and tapped as it travels downstream towards the ocean.

Thanks for Caring,

Take Care,

Carl

Wish Me Luck

Hello All,

To date, I have been fortunate to have completed a few years at university and some internships. Going into my last year towards a degree in civil engineering with intermediate GIS experience and an introduction to water modeling software. Filling up spare time with a research project to answer the question 'Can ground water recharge rates be increased by adding bio mass to soil?', which is intended to be published in a Jupyter notebook. Nervous about finding a job that will nurture my development and pays well in the water resources field. Posted on an engineering forum pointed at civil engineers. Hope this gets traction.

Thanks,
Carl

Hello World!

Hello and thanks for stopping by.

This blog will share some things learned on a mission to contribute towards humanity's adaptation to climate change. With seasonal weather becoming increasingly unpredictable, our mission is to build the infrastructure's capacity to supply water to municipalities during droughts that span multiple years. This blog is to account of accomplishments and failures experienced along the path to this goal.

The tools meant to be implemented are ground water recharge, forest rehabilitation, hydraulics and hydrology, civil engineering, minor earthworks(not dams), web applications, open source publication(s) and social media.

If any of this peaks your interest, please follow us.

Thanks again,
Carl

We invite anyone that is on a similar path to join in the mission. If you are interested in contributing to this project or about sharing what you are doing with us please contact us.