Undergrad students involved in water modelling
This year (2024), four undergraduate Civil and Chemical Engineering students conducted summer research in the WRH Research Group. They contributed to developing water resource systems models for major river basins in Canada. In this article, they reflect on the work they conducted and the experience gained.
I am Michelle DeLoyde, a third-year civil engineering student at the University of Toronto. I took Professor Basheer’s CIV250 Hydraulics and Hydrology and found the content very interesting, which is why I applied to do summer research with him.
This summer, I created a river system model of the Thames River located in Southern Ontario using WaterStrategy.org. I started by researching the river and getting to know its features, such as how many lakes and reservoirs it has. Due to its location in Southern Ontario, the Thames River Basin is different from most other basins in Ontario as it has few lakes. Many cities also discharge their treated wastewater into the Thames, which was also a consideration when creating the model.
I then moved to HEC-HMS to develop a hydrological model for the Thames Watershed. There were quite a few challenges along the way, and my program would crash frequently. Thankfully, after help from the rest of the team, we figured out what the problem was! This experience has taught me a valuable lesson about modelling: have patience. There will be troubleshooting, and sometimes, things move slowly.
My favorite part of the research project was writing code to download and compile enormous amounts of data that otherwise would have taken a lot of time.
I am Bibi Ouzaifah Bundhoo, a fourth-year chemical engineering student with an environmental minor at the University of Toronto. After attending Professor Basheer’s lectures in the CIV550 course (Water Resources Engineering), I became very interested in his research, which inspired me to apply for a summer research position with him.
This opportunity has significantly enhanced my skillset. Initially, we conducted research on our selected watershed to identify its major reservoirs and rivers. We then learned to navigate and use Waterstrategy.org, which was fascinating for building my model of the Grand River watershed. Then, we explored using HEC-HMS, ARCGIS, and Python to transfer the model onto HMS, allowing us to generate naturalized river flow data and incorporate it back into Waterstrategy. These experiences taught me to think on my feet and persevere, even when facing technical challenges.
I enjoyed collaborating with the team to troubleshoot and improve our models. Our weekly meetings ensured consistent progress, and with Professor Basheer’s constant support and diligence, we advanced much faster.
Lastly, I appreciated the social activities we organized and participated in on campus; they helped create a balanced and engaging work environment. This experience has been invaluable, and I am grateful for the chance to develop my technical and interpersonal skills.
I’m Zehua (Albert) Li, a third-year Civil Engineering student at the University of Toronto. I’ve always found hydraulics and hydrology fascinating, and after taking Professor Basheer’s CIV250 course, I was hooked! A few enlightening chats with Professor Basheer led me to dive into summer research with the WRH Group.
This summer, I’ve been working on creating a model for Lake Madawaska in Eastern Ontario. It all started with building a system model on the WaterStrategy website. Lake Madawaska is unique because it’s connected to a network of small rivers and reservoirs. To get an accurate model, we needed to include as many details as possible, but that made the computations time-consuming and challenging!
After finishing the initial model on WaterStrategy, I switched gears to HEC-HMS, a software that simulates naturalized streamflow based on a mix of ground and satellites. We aimed to develop and fine-tune the model to match real-world conditions. We’ve encountered errors and hiccups! But with some problem-solving (and a lot of perseverance), we found solutions for everything. And to avoid the tedious task of manually downloading 25 years’ worth of gridded weather data, I whipped up a Python script to automate the process—gotta work smart, we are in the University of Toronto!
Working with Professor Basheer this summer has been a fantastic experience. I’ve leveled up my Python coding skills, gained hands-on experience with modelling, and become more familiar with ArcGIS Pro. I’m confident these skills will pave the way for a successful PEY Co-op year and beyond!
I am Isaac, a 3rd year Civil Engineering student. Working in the hydro/water sector was a new challenge for me, and being tasked to model the Peace River watershed was a great training experience. The sheer size of the watershed and the variety of water usage created a massive model that is both challenging and rewarding. It triggered a lot of different errors over different modelling software, challenging their capabilities to analyze and render, and it took me extra effort to organize and resolve. Still, it feels uniquely rewarding when everything runs smoothly, and the supportive atmosphere in the team also made things better along the way. We had regular meetings and fun social events together, sharing the challenges we faced along the way and the joy when they were resolved. This is an unforgettable memory of our team spirit. The experiences I had dealing with the model have revealed to me the purpose of having such all-round models of rivers around the world, and it is great to see my work contributing to this goal.
