Hydrological Modeling
Build physics-based rainfall-runoff models using QGIS, HEC-RAS, and Python. Calibrate against USGS gage data.
View curriculum
Read the River. Prepare the Community.
A private research school training the next generation of watershed scientists, flood planners, and resilient infrastructure designers.
Explore the Research SchoolResearch Approach
Field-grounded, community-anchored, and computationally rigorous.
Our pedagogy begins in the watershed. Students couple open-source sensor networks with machine-learning frameworks to model what static engineering cannot predict: dynamic, living river systems.
- Real-time telemetry calibration
- Community-based participatory mapping
- Cross-scale geomorphological verification
- AI-assisted riparian corridor design
Watersheds
An interactive basin map of our primary research catchments.
Learning Programs
Four beginner-ready tracks built for working professionals and career switchers.
Flood Forecasting
Train ensemble machine-learning models on NOAA precipitation ensembles and LiDAR-derived DEMs.
View curriculumRiver Restoration
Design stage-zero geomorphological interventions, wood-placement strategies, and riparian buffer plans.
View curriculumWatershed Intelligence
Integrate remote sensing, low-cost sensor networks, and community knowledge into a unified data layer.
View curriculumRiver Lab
Six active field projects across the Pacific Northwest.
- Challenge
- Rising summer surface temperatures are stressing anadromous salmonid habitat in the middle fork.
- Methodology
- Deployed 40 HOBO temp/loggers; coupled spatial data with LiDAR-derived canopy-cover rasters.
- Outcome
- Identified 12 cold-water refugia zones now targeted for priority riparian planting and beaver mimicry structures.
- Challenge
- Legacy road crossings have incised the channel and cut off floodplain connectivity.
- Methodology
- RTK drone surveys, pebble counts, and Rosgen stream classification at 15 cross-sections.
- Outcome
- Design package completed for two culvert replacements and 800 ft of stage-zero analog construction.
- Challenge
- Regulatory storm-water capacity exceeded during 100-yr events; basement flooding in Lents and Powellhurst-Gilbert.
- Methodology
- SWMM modeling, green-infrastructure scenario testing, and resident interviews for co-design.
- Outcome
- Submitted $4.2M community-led bioswale and daylighting proposal to Metro regional government.
- Challenge
- Historical dike infrastructure blocks juvenile salmon from accessing high-tidal rearing marsh.
- Methodology
- Acoustic-tagged fish tracking, 2D hydrodynamic modeling of proposed breach scenarios, and sediment coring.
- Outcome
- Adaptive management plan accepted by Port of Astoria; pilot breach scheduled for next king-tide window.
- Challenge
- Seasonal algal blooms linked to non-point-source agricultural runoff and legacy drainage tiles.
- Methodology
- Autosampler network, SPARROW model calibration, and farmer-led cover-crop incentive tracking.
- Outcome
- Regression model identifies 3 high-yield sub-basins for precision wetland restoration.
- Challenge
- Post-wildfire debris flows threaten turbidity and reservoir capacity for the City of Portland.
- Methodology
- Rainfall-threshold analysis, InSAR ground-movement monitoring, and AI-assisted scar-regrowth prediction.
- Outcome
- Early-warning dashboard delivered to Portland Water Bureau; evacuation buffer refined by 18%.
Flood-Level Simulation
Adjust stage height on our Lower Columbia test reach to see forecasted impacts.
Normal
Action
Minor Flood
Major Flood
Stage
2.4 ft
Status
Normal
Flow (cfs)
1,460
Velocity
1.2 mph
Visit
Our campus is a restored warehouse in Portland’s Old Town. Visitors by appointment.
Email
[email protected]
Phone
+1 (503) 555-6381
Address
120 SW 2nd Ave
Portland, OR 97204, USA
Campus Hours
Monday – Friday: 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Saturday: 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Sunday: Closed
