Water Conservation Technologies

Welcome to Landscape Architecture 380, Water Conservation Technologies

Spring 2013
Instructor: Gary Austin e-mail: gaustin@uidaho.edu

Course Overview

Even without the global warming crisis there was a disparity between the demand and supply of water especially in the western United States. There are tremendous opportunities for landscape architects and others to contribute to the conservation of this imperiled resource.

In this class we will take a broad look at the opportunities for more efficient use and reuse of water. Topics will include water harvesting, biological treatment of sewage effluent in living machines and constructed wetlands. We will study the newest techniques for storm water capture and treatment. More design and technical topics include fountain design and irrigation system design. The class began as simply an irrigation design course and this is still a strong component of the class since is has a great impact on water use. However, our focus will be on the newest methods of reducing water use. Those of you in the class, who are landscape architecture minors or other from other disciplines, may select other research topics that might be more consistent with you major area of study.

Format
This class is based on the concept of comuter supported learning to preserve time in class for discussion and studio projects. This method will allow you as much time as you need to assimilate the introductory and theoretical information. Then in-class we will be able to devote time to activities that require higher cognitive skills, such as synthesis, evaluation and application of the material to new problems.

Instructor

Gary Austin specializes in water teatment systems including those for wastewater and stormwater. He has a particular interest in constructed wetland design and performance. He publishes regularly on these topics and has recently completed a new book Green Infrastrastructure for Landscape Planning: Integrating Human and Natural Systems.