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Sociology Water Lab at CSU Provides Social and Economic Information For Local Canal and Ditch Companies The Sociology Water Lab, founded in 1995 as an adjunct to the Department of Sociology at Colorado State University, focuses on practical research in service to canal companies and irrigation districts in the western United States. This includes research on social and economic issues facing these two kinds of irrigation enter- prises. Urban growth throughout the West has increased the complexity and cost of operating traditional irrigation enterprises. The Sociology Water Lab has generated more than $1.2 million of research and educational funds since 1995. These funds include grants from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the U.S. Department of Agri- culture, the Colorado Water Conservation Board, the Colorado Agricultural Experi- ment Station, and other sources. More information on Sociology Water Lab activities can be found at http: / /waterlab. colostate.edu. Sociology Water Lab Projects • assisting ditch companies in Colorado with grant applications for new technologies, such as GIS and SCADA • conducting institutional strengthening pro- grams for water user associations in the Navajo Nation • conducting workshops on urban encroach- ment issues facing canal companies and irrigation districts • assisting old drainage districts in the Arkan- sas Valley to rehabilitate their tile line infra- structure • conducting study tours and workshops for canal companies in Colorado • assisting canal companies with developing risk assessment tools to improve water sup- ply forecasting • conducting research and organizing work- shops for canal companies in ways to im- prove cooperation between these entities and to strengthen their position in the economy Colorado School of Mines Faculty Receives DoD Award Robert Siegrist, Michelle Crimi, Junko Munakata- Marr, and Tissa Illangasekare of Colorado School of Mines were honored with a DoD Project of the Year award. Their $750,000 project, Reaction and Transport Processes Controlling In Situ Chemical Oxidation of DNAPLs, was selected from a pool of 60 projects. Activities and accomplishments of the project in- clude: • Applied varied experimental and modeling ap- proaches to advance the understanding of in situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) for degradation of chlori- nated organics presence in soil and groundwater as dense nonaqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs) • Developed an improved understanding of ISCO for degrading DNAPLs in groundwater as affected by water chemistry and porous media properties 18 • Batch and flow - through reactor and 2D tank experiments revealed ISCO can achieve a target contaminant mass destruction if engineering pa- rameters such as oxidant type, concentration, and delivery mode are chosen correctly ISCO can be effectively coupled with pre -ISCO sur- factant- cosolvent flushing or post-ISCO bioremedia- tion to achieve cleanup goals at DNAPL sites • Analytical and numerical modeling studies were completed to enhance ISCO engineering and site - specific decision - making •The project supported two Ph.D students, four M.S. students, and four B.S. students, as well as producing 32 publications including journal papers and conference presentations/ papers in the USA and abroad, and one patent application.