UT’s Jon Hathaway has become a recognized expert in urban storm runoff, with the Christian Science Monitor the latest publication to seek out his expertise.
Hathaway, an Assistant Professor in the Tickle College of Engineering’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, recently spoke with the publication about how cities are beginning to tackle the problem of storm runoff.
“We call it buffering capacity,” Hathaway told the magazine. “Essentially to what degree can we take intense rainfall and buffer it a little bit, shave off the intensity of these rainfall events.”
The magazine noted that green infrastructure, the process of using plants and natural methods to lessen the impact of storms, works well in many areas, but that if a city was built in a natural floodplain—such as New Orleans—then green methods can only go so far.
The complete story can be read at the Christian Science Monitor