EWRI St. Louis Chapter’s 2026 Spring Symposium
Charles Pugh, P.E., CFM, M.ASCE
Every spring, the EWRI St. Louis Chapter and Saint Louis University Water Institute host an annual Spring Symposium, “Water, Water Everywhere.” The 2026 Symposium was held on Friday, March 6th at DuBourg Hall at Saint Louis University.
The event included eleven presentations from local and regional experts. Presenters came from the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District, Washington University, Saint Louis University, St. Louis City, USACE, University of Missouri S & T, and numerous civil & environmental engineering firms.
Presentations covered a wide range of topics. The audience was engaged throughout the day, with thoughtful question and answer sessions occurring after each presentation. The presentations were:
- Coldwater Creek Wastewater System: Engineering Investigation by Charles Pugh and Munira Durakovic, Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District
- Resource Recovery from Sewage Sludge Through Technological Advancement by Dr. Zhen (Jason) He, Washington University
- Year Two of Five: St. Louis MSD's Bissel Point & Lemay WWTFs Fluidized Bed Incinerator Design-Build Project by Jerry Jung, Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District and Nick Kampwerth, Kokosing/Plocher and Rob Schiffer, Black & Veatch
- Laboratory Modeling of Mussel-Inspired Filtration Architectures for Microplastics Collection and Tracking by Dr. Jean Potvin and Ayden Wells, Saint Louis University
- Building Flood Resilience and Reducing Urban Heat Through Increased Tree Canopy by Andrea Godshalk, City of St. Louis
- River Restoration and Dam Removal by Todd Wagner, Wagner & Associates and Loring Bullard
- Levee Setbacks for Floodplain Reconnection at the Columbia Bottom Conservation Area by Chad Olney and Brandon Bringer, US Army Corps of Engineers St. Louis District
- Building the Dardenne Creek Blueway: Connecting Communities Through Water by Tim Dean, Intuition & Logic.
- Developing Discharge Estimation Algorithms Using Low-Cost Velocity Sensors and Machine Learning by Barkha Gautam, Missouri University of Science and Technology
- Hydrologic Extremes and the Engineer in a Variable Climate by Robert Holmes, Wright Water Engineers.
- Flowing Forward: The Forest Park Waterways Restoration Project by Gary Moore, Washington University and Elise Ibendahl, Jacobs
Fifty students and professionals attended from four government agencies, four universities, and eighteen civil engineering firms. Attendees received 7 professional development hours and got the added benefit of a networking opportunity with others in the field. The EWRI St. Louis Chapter 2026 Spring Symposium was proud to bring together a diverse group of civil engineers, planners, scientists, students, and professionals.
The SLU Water Institute graciously cohosted the event on their campus at DuBourg Hall. After the Symposium finished, the group walked a couple blocks away for a social event at Urban Chestnut Brewing Company. Everyone enjoyed a beverage along with some appetizers (including possibly the best soft pretzels I have ever eaten).
We'd like to give a special thanks to our presenters for sharing their knowledge and experiences with us and for the SLU Water Institute for cohosting the event. Lastly, thanks to our Spring Symposium Committee (Samantha Keeven, Charles Pugh, Jhalakman B C) for their time and effort planning this successful symposium.
Samantha Keeven 
Samantha Keeven