Aaron Gwinnup receives the first ever Paul Meyerman Award

Aaron Gwinnup, a Water Resources engineer located in Cedar Rapids, received the first ever Paul Meyerman Award presented at the Iowa Water Conference held March 2 and 3 in Ames, IA.

According to the award announcement, “Engineers typically design and build structures. Aaron is recognized for plunging into a new world of ecosystem restoration. He “took the plunge” and led the design and implementation of a prairie and savanna restoration in Sioux City. He conducted several outreach events to local neighbors and the community as a whole. Sioux City was responsible for the project and obtained funding through the Iowa Department of Natural Resource Sponsored Projects program.”

Aaron was the design engineer for improvements to Ravine Park in Sioux City, IA. The project is located in the Loess Hills region where the native soils are very sensitive to erosion and settlement. The work began as a hydrology and hydraulics study of the lower stream channel, with the intent of re-delineating the 100-year floodplain. Although the floodplain was not found to be problematic, the stream channel was experiencing extreme lateral erosion due to increased urban runoff within the ultra-sensitive loess soils.

A watershed-wide set of projects to reduce runoff and improve water quality was proposed, and ultimately was awarded more than $1 million in State Revolving Fund Sponsored Project support. The overall project includes a wide array of solutions that are currently being implemented from top to bottom throughout the watershed. The oak savanna and prairie restoration work is already underway, and in-stream improvements and upland stormwater best management practices (BMPs) will be installed over the course of 2015.

“Congratulations to Aaron and the whole design team,” said Jim Rasmussen, President of HR Green’s Water Business Line. “This project is a great example of the diverse types of Water Resources projects that are implemented to meet our client’s needs.”

The Award is named after Paul Meyerman, an early adopter of green infrastructure stormwater management practices on the campus of the University of Northern Iowa. He was a major participant and leader in the Dry Run Creek Watershed Project. Unfortunately, Paul lost his fight to cancer on Dec. 27, 2014. This award will be given annually. It honors Paul’s memory and recognizes an individual, business, group, city, county or region that is the “first” to show courage and leadership to embrace green infrastructure practices.

Originally founded in 1913, HR Green has offices throughout the United States. HR Green provides engineering and technical and management services to clients in the following markets: Transportation, Water, Governmental Services, Senior Living, Energy and Land Development. For more information, see www.hrgreen.com

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