A publication of

Vol. 16, No. 1 - Special Issue 2015

Inside This Issue...

• The Issues That Have Shaped Our Field and Our Firm

• Changes in Environmental Tools and Technology

• Water and Environment: Changing Now More Than Ever

• Our People and Our Culture

In Focus: A Retrospective Look at Four Decades of Evolution in Our Field and Our Company

www.limno.com

CurrentsThis issue has a special focus for us, because it commemorates LimnoTech’s 40-year anniversary. For this newsletter, we decided to take a retrospective look at our company's progression, and at the same time discuss how the issues and approaches in our field have evolved and are evolving. For those of you who have contributed to our field for decades, I hope you will find this discussion not just nostalgic, but also a source of pride for our collective role in working to protect the water environment. For those newer to the field, I hope you will find this newsletter interesting.

About 40 years ago, I co-founded LimnoTech. We had a simple vision: use the newest science and technology to help solve our most pressing and challenging water resource problems. This was a time of new technical innovation and environmental focus. We at LimnoTech wanted to do "cool," innovative things, work with top-quality people, help to shape the new field of environmental engineering, and most of all help to protect and restore our waters. We’ve added many outstanding staff, clients, partners, and services since then, but that vision remains as our compass and is integral to our culture today.

In this newsletter you will read about how water issues in our field have evolved and how LimnoTech's services have expanded to address those issues. In the beginning, our focus and the nation's

were on wastewater discharges, but over time this evolved to toxics and ecologic integrity, and now has further broadened to include water scarcity, environmental sustainability, and urban redesign. The initial national focus was on lakes and streams, but national attention and LimnoTech's focus have expanded to address estuaries, coastal water and groundwater, sediments, soils, watersheds, and urban rivers and waterways. Water issues and our services have also grown from local to regional to national and now global.

You will also read about how technology has evolved. Our "cool things” in 1975 began with huge mainframe computer models, but in part through our pioneering activities, they have evolved into interactive and graphic personal computing, and now even include smart phones. You will read about the impact the people in our company have had in shaping our vision, our success, our culture, and our industry.

I'm proud of all that we as a company and an industry have accomplished. I hope that you enjoy reading this retrospective look at our industry and our firm.

Paul L. FreedmanPresident and CEOpfreedman@limno.com

When the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, Ohio, caught fire in 1969, Time magazine described it as the river that “oozes rather than flows.” Around the same time, Lake Erie was declared “dead.” These and other events helped spur a national commitment to clean water. Many engineers and scientists, and new companies, entered the new field of environmental engineering to make a difference. It was during this time that Paul Freedman and other University of Michigan faculty and researchers formed a consulting company with the goal of becoming “players” in solving the nation's water quality problems. This was the beginning of LimnoTech in 1975.

The excitement at the time was enhanced by the development and adoption of new treatment technologies and analytical tools. LimnoTech's history was built around employing new, cutting-edge computer models to analyze environmental problems. Since then, we have remained focused on developing and employing state-of-the-art approaches to solve problems. Although our services have changed and grown, for four decades we have stayed committed to our vision of using the latest science and technology to solve water resource problems, adapting to new issues and technologies as they have emerged.

Our First DecadeThe 1970s brought a surge in environmental awareness and legislation to protect our lakes and rivers from eutrophication, oxygen depletion, and bacterial contamination. LimnoTech became a pioneer in applying emerging science to develop and apply computer models to address these issues. We conducted research on water resource management, and helped municipal utility managers make difficult decisions about expensive wastewater treatment requirements and combined sewer overflow (CSO) control. Today LimnoTech continues to be a national leader on these and other water quality issues.

The Issues That Have Shaped Our Field and Our Firm for Four Decades

LimnoTech became a pioneer in applying emerging science to help utility managers make difficult treatment decisions.

In the 1990s our industry saw an expanded focus on degradation of large ecosystems and the need for integrated assessments. LimnoTech was at the forefront of large-scale ecosystem restoration strategies in the Gulf of Mexico, the Great Lakes, the Florida Everglades, and Chesapeake Bay. Our focus was also no longer limited strictly to water quality: we broadened our services to address habitat loss, hydraulic/hydrologic studies, and invasive species. We developed the first models to consider the effects of zebra mussels on everything from blue-green algae to hypoxia to PCB concentrations in fish. The 1990s also saw the financial challenge of toxic cleanups preventing progress, bringing about a need for innovative thinking. Responding to this need, LimnoTech employed innovative technology to reexamine dredging as a universal strategy for contaminated sediment sites, and considered the feasibility of targeted containment and natural attenuation as part of effective measures at Superfund sites.

The 2000s: Sustainability and Globalization In the 21st century water pollution and water scarcity concerns emerged on a global scale. Increasing populations, demand for resources, climate change, and a globalization of economies manifested themselves in water issues that significantly affected businesses, people, and the environment. The problems became larger and more widespread, and the solutions became more complex and expensive. Businesses, governments, and NGOs sought new tools and approaches to assess water-related risks, and to develop sustainable strategies to protect against those risks.

LimnoTech has helped to develop new tools and contributed to sustainable solutions to water scarcity issues through our support to major global corporations and NGOs. We have developed and applied new assessment tools, from risk assessment models to water footprinting to water benefit credits. We have worked in partnership with global environmental nonprofits, international agencies and banks, as well as research organizations, to develop and demonstrate the utility of new approaches to benefit business, society, and the environment.

Over this same period, water pollution concerns remained huge regional issues in the U.S. LimnoTech has continued as an industry leader, addressing runoff pollution, eutrophication, toxic bioaccumulation, habitat loss, and invasive species. We have been a leader in addressing Great Lakes problems, and have worked on similar issues in other large watersheds throughout the Country. We have developed new tools including integrated models that examine the full ecosystem response to watershed, water level and pollution issues; comprehensive data architectures for managing regional databases; and localized remote sensor systems to monitor problems.

Even with the broader focus on regional approaches to water issues taking center stage, cities still have localized issues. Urban communities continue to wrestle with how to solve wet weather pollution issues with sustainable approaches that they can afford. LimnoTech has been at the forefront in developing and promoting approaches such as adaptive management, integrated planning, and combining green practices with traditional infrastructure as affordable but effective solutions. Solving urban problems does not rely only on pollution control, however, but also on much-needed changes in communities’ core design. LimnoTech is working with some of the world’s leading urban planners and architects in cities like Toronto, St. Louis, and Austin to reshape and restore streams, creating urban plans that integrate sustainable water functions into the core fabric of our cities.

In addition to our important project work throughout the world, LimnoTech’s staff continue to champion new science and technology to advance scientific innovations. Innovation and advancing technology are in our DNA.

2015 and Beyond: The FutureNow in our 40th year at LimnoTech, we are still excited about our role in helping to solve our clients’ problems. We are passionate about contributing to effective solutions, and eager to help advance technology to design those solutions. As new environmental challenges emerge during the next 40 years, we will continue to play a leadership role, helping our clients make informed decisions to protect our water environment.

LimnoTech was at the forefront of large-scale ecosystem restoration strategies, addressing issues such as agricultural runoff, habitat loss, hydraulic/hydrologic studies, and invasive species.

eutrophication problems grew, and we also began to examine how changes in agricultural practices were an important component of regional pollution control strategies. Toxic chemical pollution emerged as a significant concern. LimnoTech became a nationally recognized leader by addressing issues in surface water and groundwater for both conventional and toxic pollutants. Staff at LimnoTech developed some of the earliest fate and transport models of PCBs, DDT, and other chemical contaminants. Building on our earlier work with eutrophication in the Great Lakes, we employed models to evaluate problems and potential solutions in Saginaw Bay, Lake Michigan, Lake

LimnoTech is a national leader in addressing surface water and groundwater issues for conventional and toxic pollutants. We have worked on projects in over half of the Great Lakes Areas of Concern.

LimnoTech has contributed to sustainable solutions to water scarcity by developing and applying new assessment tools, such as Water Prism (developed for EPRI), to evaluate the potential benefits of reduced consumptive demand with multi-sector water management strategies.

Our firm is working with some of the world’s leading urban planners and architects to create plans that integrate sustainable water functions into the core fabric of our cities.

Ontario, and other locations. Soil and groundwater pollution from spills of toxic solvents were also a concern. LimnoTech applied innovative modeling and computer analyses to solve problems at high-profile Superfund sites and smaller sites.

In parallel with this evolution in our services and clients, a growing transition from the use of large, main-frame computers to personal desktop computers emerged. LimnoTech became a leader in making computer simulations more accessible to decision-makers. We were pioneers in developing user-interactive PC models, graphic interfaces, GIS database management and display programs, probabilistic models, and other innovations. Computer modeling and analysis became standard tools for decision-making, and LimnoTech was a key player in that evolution.

The 1990s: Focus on Holistic ApproachesIn the 1990s, attention turned from controlling point source pollution to more holistic approaches of prevention and restoration, and LimnoTech embraced this philosophy. The relatively new concept of watershed management received greater emphasis, along with its regulatory counterpart, Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs). We applied these approaches to CSO and stormwater management, and were among the first to model and recommend large-scale application of green practices to reduce urban pollution. We also expanded our interests from primarily being urban-focused to emphasize rural and agricultural issues. LimnoTech became a leader in exercising innovative scientific approaches to develop more effective solutions for water quality protection and restoration.

The 1980s: Toxics Concerns and New TechnologiesIn the 1980s an expansion of interests in our field emerged that broadened the focus of sources beyond wastewater and also addressed toxic contaminants and legacy impacts. LimnoTech's work and reputation for addressing dissolved oxygen and

Paul Freedman and two associates founded LimnoTech in 1975, the same year that Bill Gates and Paul Allen started a partnership they named Microsoft. As the years passed and computers became an integral part of our lives, they became a critical part of our business as well. Technology has always been a big part of who we are, and technological innovation has continually helped LimnoTech advance its goal of improved management and decision support for the environment and for natural resources like the Great Lakes.

In 1975, computers were predominantly centralized mainframes that executed batch jobs submitted on carefully punched card decks containing program code and inputs. When the proper rituals had been observed, results would be delivered in fanfold printouts. At the same time, environmental problems were becoming real: Lake Erie was declared “dead,” and the Cuyahoga River was so polluted that it caught fire. LimnoTech’s founders looked at the Great Lakes and wondered if computers could be used to simulate what was happening in these large water bodies, and perhaps even guide management actions to reduce pollution around the lakes. So they got to work—they submitted many card decks and retrieved many printouts to address the new problem of eutrophication in the Great Lakes and in the Nation’s rivers.

One computer revolution of the 1980s was remote access. LimnoTech staff no longer had to go to the University of Michigan’s computing centers to use the Amdahl 470 mainframe; they were able to time-share through a DEC LA36 DECwriter terminal connected through a 300-baud acoustic modem—exciting times! Then the desktop revolution began cutting into the need for mainframe access. In 1985, LimnoTech staff used a portable (!) 23-pound Compaq computer to present a linked watershed-receiving water model for the Occoquan Reservoir in Fairfax County, VA. The model allowed us to interactively demonstrate in a courtroom that phosphorus loads from development near the reservoir contributed heavily to algal growth. The judge agreed with

Making the Most of Changes in Environmental Tools and Technology

Fairfax County’s limits on development, undoubtedly strongly influenced by the then "high-quality" 320 x 200 pixel, four-color graphics of LimnoTech’s integrated model as displayed with the 90-pound, three-gun Sony projector flown from Michigan to make our points.

The desktop revolution did not immediately translate to computers at every desk. LimnoTech’s first network connected four shared computers located in the “computer room,” using 10BASE2 RG-58 coax cables, while the clerical and accounting computers were integrated only through the “sneakernet.” The shared computers’ data were backed up onto 20-megabyte tapes. At this time, though, we were already exploring the use of geographic information systems (GIS) to better manage and visualize complex environmental datasets, such as Superfund sites.

As desktop computers came into vogue, new software programs with new capabilities became available, such as geographic information systems (GIS). In 1989 LimnoTech developed an experimental linkage between the WASP water quality model and a new product called PC ARC/INFO GIS. The “Geographic” capabilities of GIS were used to precisely delineate water quality segment boundaries and to calculate volumes and interfacial areas, and the “Information” capabilities were used to store these data along with other parameters like rate coefficients. Scripts and small programs

were used to write input files for WASP, and results were read back into the GIS for plotting to improve understanding of the dynamics of contaminant transport.

We’ve been integrating models and interactive maps ever since. The level of integration between data, maps, and models has been raised significantly since then, of course—it’s often hard to separate database, spatial information, and simulation. We’ve shepherded this convergence at LimnoTech, developing tools like WinModel that provide a consistent user interface supporting rapid development, evaluation, visualization, and comparison of management scenarios involving the multiple models that best reflect disparate problem domains such as surface runoff, hydrodynamics, receiving water quality, and ecosystem services.

temporal, and process resolution, improving the quality of simulations as the desktop revolution has continued. Higher resolution in time and space and added detail in process representation have made it possible to answer management questions with much more precision and accuracy.

Now in 2015, we take the continued evolution of computing power for granted. Our modeling computers provide up to 200,000 times the power of LimnoTech’s first desktop computer, and they generate a lot more data: backing up LimnoTech’s 200 terabytes of online storage would require 10 million individual 20 megabyte tapes like the ones we used in the 1980s. We did the math—that would fill up our Ann Arbor office just about to the roof.

One of our earliest computer "revolutions" was remote access, which saved staff from having to visit computer facilities. This "exciting" development would be made less exciting by the advent of desktop computers.

Early data visualization efforts—while advanced for their era—were crude compared to today's GIS capabilities.

Today we seamlessly integrate our models into real-time data systems, operational planning tools, and architectural visualization software.

LimnoTech has also gone "small"—our myBeachCast

mobile phone "app" integrates real-time buoy observations, simulation

results, and beach closing and hazard data into a powerful

tool to inform recreational users and others.

Backing up LimnoTech’s current 200 terabytes

of online storage would require millions of

individual storage devices like those used in the

1980s. The small thumb drive pictured could easily

hold our entire 1980 network's capacity.

Greater computing power has come in ever-smaller packages, with tablets and smartphones becoming increasingly prevalent since 2010. We've also gone "small," with Android and iPhone applications (apps) running on mobile devices packing a hundred times the power of our 1980s "portable" computers while weighing almost a hundred times less. One such app—myBeachCast—integrates real-time buoy observations, simulation results, and beach closing and hazard data into a powerful tool to inform recreational users and others.

Development and deployment of multicore, multiprocessor desktop computers has also continued the upward trend of computing power. This has allowed smaller-scale spatial,

Employing the latest technology in tools and equipment, LimnoTech is working with NOAA and other agencies to monitor and integrate

environmental data and make information accessible to researchers and the public.

And the next step in our technical evolution is connectivity. Connectivity of computers has evolved along with their power and capabilities, and this improved connectivity provides LimnoTech with new options to acquire, model, and disseminate data and information to support smart decisions. We’re thinking a lot about information architecture these days, and making the information generated with our models available to clients, water resource managers, and the broader user community is one of the most rewarding things we’re doing. Technology is helping to make the links between our work and the people who benefit from it closer and closer.

Our staff appreciate the fun of working on projects and joining in on company social activities: sports teams, picnics, seasonal parties, and informal get-togethers. We long ago realized that staff who enjoy their work and their work friends invariably perform better and stay longer. We also have a company-wide meeting every Friday morning, run by staff members, where we talk about what is going on in every aspect of our firm, as a way of keeping everyone engaged and leveraging wide talents and knowledge.

Our staff’s daily work lives are also enhanced by an activity that we call “giving back.” LimnoTech has encouraged and supported staff to champion causes and organize charitable activities for over 20 years. Our monthly charity program is organized and managed by our employees. It is a year-

round campaign, with a different charity each month, to help people in the local community through actions and activities, as well as through financial support. Our charitable activities have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for good causes as well as strengthened

our relationships with one another. Activities have included delivering meals to the ill and elderly, repairing homes for those in need, supporting food banks and domestic violence shelters, contributing to medical research efforts, and donating to many other local and national charitable causes.

Our people and culture make LimnoTech the respected and accomplished firm that it is today. Talented individuals join us and stay with us because they like the challenge to be technical innovators, the opportunity to be part of a firm at the top of its field, a work environment that encourages personal and professional growth, and working with great people. The people here have made LimnoTech that kind of place, and will sustain us in the decades ahead.

Since our beginning in 1975, LimnoTech has always been known as a pioneer in developing and applying new technologies to address our clients’ water resource challenges. But what people do not always consider is that these innovations are the products of exceptional people. It is the talents, character, and commitment of our people and our culture that have made LimnoTech the successful company that it is today.

LimnoTech can attract top-quality people because we offer them the opportunity to work on challenging, high-profile projects with other great people, nearly 85% of whom have advanced degrees. Our collegial atmosphere and our ability to let quality and innovation drive our projects is key.

We avoid the “top down” management hierarchy, which helps us retain motivated, top performers and makes LimnoTech a desirable place to work. Our yearly turnover rate for staff is less than 2%, a small fraction of the average for firms in our field. Many of our staff have worked their entire careers at LimnoTech, and more than half have ten or more years of experience with us.

Our company culture also focuses on giving our people opportunities to improve themselves through training, conferences, workshops, and seminars, and we encourage publication and presentation at high-profile national and international conference venues. We have phased out traditional forms of performance evaluation for more personal career planning, and give every staff member the opportunity to take part in evaluations.

Our People and Our Culturewatershed/river/lake model that characterizes biological response (hazardous algal blooms and toxic bacteria) based on a full set of underlying physical and chemical factors.

Urban Redesign: The Lower Don Lands in Toronto is a remarkable example of what a city can do to solve many problems at once: environmental damage, extreme flooding, and a need for a livable, economically vibrant waterfront. We’ve been working with Waterfront Toronto and Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates for several years to develop a technical basis and plan for restoration of a highly visible Great Lakes river mouth in the middle of an active city. The final environmental assessment requirements are complete, and the City is ready to move ahead with a dramatic redesign of a major North American waterfront.

Water Sustainability: In an era of increased globalization, corporate supply chains are increasingly complex and subject to risks from many factors, including water resource limitations. This requires corporations to take an active role in water stewardship. Our client Miller Coors maintains close relationships with the barley growers that make up an important part of its supply chain. To help them understand and manage water-related risks for its suppliers, and the communities and ecosystems dependent on them, we are mapping areas of water risk and assessing the implications of that risk for barley-growing operations around the world.

Big Data and Water: In recent years, we have seen dramatic advances in the technology, scale, and complexity of sensing systems that provide data on the rivers and lakes that help us better understand and manage these systems. We at LimnoTech have been helping to build the sensing infrastructure in the Great Lakes, from deploying individual sensor-equipped buoys to designing the data management systems' architecture that is starting to organize, manage, and deliver critical water sample, sensor, and satellite data to researchers and managers. Our work with NOAA and the Great Lakes Observing System (GLOS) is helping to make observing the Great Lakes smarter and more open than ever before.

These new areas of scientific research and engineering applications are changing from year to year, and that’s good news—new technology, new tools and new ideas are creating opportunities to see greater efficiencies and real benefits in managing our water resources. The entire environmental research and engineering community plays a part, and for us, these changes depend on the many clients and teaming partners who share our vision for clean water, smarter water systems, and a better, healthier future. We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished so far, and we’re looking forward to another 40 years.

Water and the Environment: A Changing Field, Now More Than Ever

The issues and challenges in the field of water resources have changed dramatically from the 1970s when the focus was primarily on basic wastewater treatment. As an industry, we’ve had to adapt our services and technologies to respond to new issues, new pollutants, and increasingly complex demands for water. This has required an evolving understanding of the environment, our use of water, and our role as caretakers and stewards of it. We at LimnoTech feel privileged to be playing an important role in this changing field, as we and many others continue to develop the science and technologies that help our clients ensure efficient, safe, and sustainable water management.

Changes in priority needs in our field have come in increments, and for our firm mostly through projects, both big and small, that bring us into contact with clients that have very real problems: legacy contamination, new pollutants and invasive species, climate change, increased urbanization and flooding, and faltering ecosystems, for a start. The emerging needs right now are more pressing than ever. Some examples:

Green Design: Urban communities are looking to redesign their relationship to water to improve public appreciation and satisfaction, but also to minimize costs to address failing infrastructure needs and to control impacts of storms. The Washington, DC, District Department of the Environment is working to assess the benefits of distributed green infrastructure and low-impact development (LID) practices that can be applied at a neighborhood scale in Washington, DC. On our award-winning RiverSmart project, LimnoTech is part of a team providing support to the City that ranges from planning green infrastructure at a city-wide scale to design, modeling, construction, and monitoring of infrastructure in a set of representative project areas, giving the City a quantitative understanding of the role LID can play in managing DC’s stormwater.

Large Ecosystems: Pollution impacts are no longer just local, but now impact large ecosystems. For example, the body of science and research work on Lake Erie spans decades, but problems today have new causes. Most recently we’ve had the exciting opportunity to work with the Army Corps of Engineers to develop a suite of coupled models that represents what really matters for Lake Erie toxic algal blooms: the dynamic connection between land, tributary rivers, and Lake Erie itself, coupled with complexities from invasive mussels. We believe that this kind of model integration represents the future of large ecosystem modeling: a coupled

Our Central Regional Office tries curling for their holiday party.

Cleaning up around the stormwater retention area in our business park for World Water Day; this is part of our program to make the pond a more "natural" area

Every year we pitch in to help others with Habitat for Humanity.

LimnoTech has been supporting Meals on Wheels for over 20 years, with staff members delivering meals to people in need weekly.

Our weekly staff meeting, run by staff, allows us to catch up with whatever is going on in the firm and with each other. We have even set up the gathering so that we can see and hear everyone in our regional offices and remote locations.

Our company culture gives our people chances to improve themselves through training, conferences, workshops, and seminars, including presenting at high-profile, international venues.

Graphic: Michael Van Valkenburgh Assoc.

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Thank You Currents is published for our clients and associates by the employees of LimnoTech.

This newsletter and past issues may be viewed on our website at:

www.limno.com/publications

For more information please contact:Tim Bertsos, Editor tbertsos@limno.com

Contributors to this issue:Paul Freedman, PE, BCEE pfreedman@limno.com

Tim Dekker, PhD, PE tdekker@limno.com

Tad Slawecki tslawecki@limno.com

Kathy Hall, QEP khall@limno.com

Cathy Whiting cwhiting@limno.com

Reproduction of material by permission only.

LimnoTech Office Locations:Headquarters Ann Arbor, Michigan 734-332-1200

Mid-Atlantic Office Washington, D.C. 202-833-9140

Central Region Office Minneapolis Region 651-330-6038

West Coast Office Los Angeles Region 310-939-7293

www.limno.com

We would like to thank everyone who has helped LimnoTech become what it is today—one of the leading water environmental science and engineering firms in the United States. Our staff, our clients, and our partners have all had a part in our successes, and we feel fortunate to have had their contributions since 1975. For the last 40 years, through our work and our collaborations with other professionals, we have been able to restore and maintain the quality of water resources throughout the world, and we look forward to continuing our work for the next 40 years.

This mosaic image of the Earth was created by LimnoTech employees using images of our staff and projects, and personal pictures contributed by staff.

Phot

o: N

ASA