Emily's Project Page

Who:  I was born in Connecticut, but have also lived in Illinois, Switzerland, and Slovakia, and ended up in Utah. I chose to attend the University of Utah because of the esteemed College of Engineering and the opportunities presented to me by ACCESS. In my free time I like to ski, skateboard, paint, and do gymnastics.

My engineering interests:  I have always been interested in engineering, especially after taking an intro course junior year of high school. I love the way that engineering combines logical math and science with the creativity of the design process.

Academic goals:  I am majoring in Civil Engineering. Throughout college I would like to continue my involvement in research. After graduating with my Bachelor’s degree, I want to start working towards a Master’s.

Career goals:  I want to make a difference in the way that people interact with the world around them, and help make change when it comes to the most prevalent issues facing society today. One problem that I am very passionate about is climate change.

Utah is ranked as one of the highest water users in the western United States. In 2019, the state set a goal for reducing gallons per-capita water use (gpcd) by county. Characterizing the controlling factors related to these goals aides in comparing across counties and provides a framework for assisting Utah’s conservation and management policies. The goals can be evaluated with population to identify increases or decreases in state and county total water use. Using the Utah’s Regional M&I Water Conservation Goals report prepared by Hansen, Allen & Luce, Inc. and University of Utah Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute county population projections, we developed baseline (2015) and future (2030) per-capita water use values to identify trends, relationships, and evaluate conservation goals. Our results indicate Utah’s total volumetric water use will still be increasing by 81,464 acre-feet per year, despite the conservation goals’ reduction in per-capita water use. This is primarily the result of three counties projected to experience the greatest increase in population: Utah (29,842 ac-ft per year), Washington (24,415 acre-feet per year), and Salt Lake (17,088 acre-feet per year). The comparison between state goals and goals required for a net-zero increase in water use revealed a relatively linear relationship (of 2.1 gpcd per % population increase) between the difference (goals vs necessary gpcd for net-zero increase in water use) and percent expected population growth. The research indicates that counties with high projected population growth, even with aggressive conservation goals, are set to further increase their total water use. Recognizing these relationships, we recommend that the Utah Division of Water Resources focus on developing an exclusive water conservation framework to mitigate increasing water use in these fast-growing counties.