Antonio Blair
Civil engineering
Hometown: Sacramento, California, United States
Graduation date: Fall 2024
Additional details: Honors student
FURI | Fall 2024, Summer 2024
Assessing the Impacts of Best Management Practices on Water Quality in the Southwestern United States – Is the Nonpoint Mitigation Strategy Working?
Best Management Practices (BMPs) are often designed to restore the water quality of impaired bodies of water. Their installation and maintenance is expensive, and they have limited post-installation analysis. There is a gap in the knowledge of long-term real-world efficiency of such systems, as their dynamics are complex, poorly understood, and have limited data. The research team looks at water quality changes pre- and post-BMP implementation from sites in the Southwestern United States. This allows for a better understanding of the impacts BMPs have on nutrient concentrations within the watershed. Future work would include expanding the study area nationwide.
Mentor: Saurav Kumar
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Featured project | Fall 2024, Summer 2024
Antonio Blair chose to study civil engineering because he has always found dams to be one of the most fascinating types of infrastructure. As part of the FURI program, the civil engineering senior is working on research in another area of his major: stormwater management. Under the guidance of Saurav Kumar, an assistant professor of civil, environmental and sustainableengineering focusing on hydrosystems engineering, Blair is studying the effects of several stormwater management practices for efficiency and water quality.
What made you want to get involved in FURI and why did you choose the project you’re working on?
I thought it was a great opportunity to explore a topic of interest while also gaining many technical skills. I chose to research stormwater management practices across the United States because it closely pertains to water quality. Water quality is a big issue and, if not monitored, it can eventually harm marine life. This is a topic I feel very passionate about, and I am very happy I was gifted the opportunity to explore whether the stormwater nutrient management practices implemented are effective in their goals.
How will your research project impact the world?
It will allow government agencies to be more effective in improving water quality. In my project, I looked into whether or not stormwater management practices were effective in reducing excess water nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus. By examining if these practices are effective, we can determine if the time and money government agencies are putting into them are worth it. If it is not, they will be able to use a new technique of mitigating water quality. In the end, we will see an increase in water quality, positively impacting the world.
Have there been any surprises in your research?
One of the big surprises in my research was the results. I thought we would see a decrease in the water nutrient levels after the best management practices were implemented, but this was not always the case. This opened some new avenues for investigation we had not originally anticipated. It also allowed us to develop our analysis further and dive deeper into the subject.
How do you see this experience helping with your career or advanced degree goals?
This experience will greatly help me in the future. Working on a research project develops a different method of thinking than typical academic courses. This experience has encouraged me to think outside the box and be creative in my solutions. This mindset will help me greatly as I move into my graduate program here at ASU. I will be able to take these skills and use them in many circumstances in the future.
Why should other students get involved in FURI?
I think other students should get involved in this program because it develops many different skills. This program has exposed me to many new types of software, programs and methods of thinking. Also, I enjoyed all the time I spent researching. When the topic of research is something you are interested in and passionate about, it quickly becomes fun.
