Graduate Ideas Flow
Utah State University's expertise in water spans the globe, and a recent graduate from the university came all the way from the Middle East to learn from the best how to manage the world's water problems.
Abedalrazq F. Khalil has worked to develop innovative and better management tools used in the design and operation of large-scale water supply systems. Recently, he had his research featured in the Journal of the American Water Resources Association.
"I came to Utah State because in Palestine, my home country, Utah State has a very good reputation in the water resources sector," said Khalil. "I have learned a great deal at USU and I am deeply indebted to the many people who have made the success of this research possible. Having my research published is a great asset to my career and will enable me to get a better job."
Khalil worked with faculty mentor and advisor Mac McKee on the Sevier River Basin in southern Utah, where an extensive, basin-wide automated water monitoring system has been installed. The system records and stores data on an hourly basis, enabling real-time information processing.
"In most river basins, and particularly in the Sevier, water supply is managed at different temporal and spatial scales, and decisions made by different water managers are not always well coordinated," said Khalil. "To alleviate those challenges, large amounts of data were integrated into an artificial neural networks framework to develop useful models for water management problems."
Khalil's published paper presented seasonal predictions of future water availability in the upper Sevier basin. The predictions reduce the vulnerability of water users to unforeseen water shortages. The information helps decision makers avoid financial commitments that must be made early in the water year but can result in substantial economic losses if future water supplies become limited.
The system also provides daily predictions to improve on-demand flexibility in reservoir operation and a way to account for uncontrolled tributary flows, allowing water managers to accurately anticipate diurnal flow conditions, consequently integrating both upstream reservoir releases with numerous downstream canal diversions.
"Efficient daily management decisions about reservoir releases reduce water losses and improve deliveries to downstream irrigators," said Khalil. "The information can provide both short-term and long-term decision-relevant information."
Khalil said that in the future, such models can reduce the cost of management and more fully exploit the resources available in the Sevier basin.
"Because of Abed's work, our colleagues at the Bureau of Reclamation are now in the process of programming his model for operations of Paiute Reservoir into the Sevier River Water Users' computer system," said McKee. "In a few weeks, Abed's model will be operating Paiute Reservoir in real-time. His work is already pointing the direction toward other possible advances in the management of large, complex water systems."
Khalil came to Utah State in 2001 to begin a master's program and finished his doctorate in May with a degree in civil and environmental engineering, with an emphasis in water resources management. Mariush Kemblowski, professor at the Utah State's Utah Water Research Laboratory, McKee, director of the Utah Water Research Laboratory, and Tirusew Asefa, a recent graduate of Utah State, served as co-authors on the paper. Khalil has also published papers in other top water journals.
"Abed has been a fantastic water resources engineering student and I consider him a colleague and friend," said McKee.
Khalil said that he owes a lot to Utah State and McKee. He is looking forward to what's next and is trying to make arrangements with Columbia University in New York for postdoctorate work.
"I have always found it interesting to solve challenging problems," said Khalil.
The paper, Basin Scale Water Management and Forecasting Using Artificial Neural Networks, was published in the February issue of the Journal of the American Water Resources Association. The journal is dedicated to the publication of original papers characterized by broad, multidisciplinary approaches to water resources management and research. The journal is very popular among water resources engineers and practitioners, said Khalil.
Remote gates can control the release of water.
Water releases from Paiute Reservoir are part of an automated water monitoring system.
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