David L. Rudolph

Professor, Groundwater

David L. Rudolph. David Rudolph carries out research in groundwater management with a focus on innovative ways to monitor water resources in the face of changing land use and climate.

Professor Rudolph was named the 2013 Henry Darcy Distinguished Lecturer in Ground Water Science by the US National Groundwater Association, one of the most prestigious career awards in this field.

Contact information
Office: EIT 2033
Phone: 519-888-4567, ext. 36778
Email: drudolph@uwaterloo.ca

Expertise

Groundwater resource management, including protection of public drinking water wells, Beneficial Management Practices (BMPs) at the local and regional levels, and the impact of agricultural land use on groundwater quality
Groundwater flow and contaminant transport modeling, specifically in massive and macroporous media
Hydrology of the shallow subsurface including flow and solute transport behaviour in unsaturated porous media
Real-time monitoring of surface and groundwater flow and water quality

Research

Professor Rudolph and his team are currently working to develop a ”smart watershed” data platform network that captures and analyzes near real-time information across an entire subwatershed within the Grand River Watershed in Southern Ontario.

The network is designed to respond to real-time events like rainstorms and floods to provide much needed water management data to scientists, managers and policy makers.

The project is conducted in collaboration with SOLINST Canada Ltd., IBM Canada, and the Southern Ontario Water Consortium, a multi-institutional consortium that supports capacity for the development and testing of innovations in watershed management.

Professor Rudolph has also studied how the nature of groundwater quality has been impacted from agricultural land-use practices, at both local and regional scales, with a specific focus on nitrate and microbial indicator species.

His field experiments and findings have helped local municipalities save millions of dollars in avoided water treatment plant costs.

Teaching

Professor Rudolph teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses. Course offerings have included

Highlighted Publications

Recent publications include

Rudolph, D.L., 2014. Groundwater quality within the agricultural landscape: Assessing the performance of nutrient BMPs. Ground Water Mon. and Remediation, 35, no.1, Winter 2015, 21-22.

Rudolph, D.L., Devlin, J. F. and Bekeris, L., 2015. Challenges and a strategy for agricultural BMP monitoring and remediation of nitrate contamination in unconsolidated aquifers. Ground Water Mon. and Remediation, 35, no.1, Winter 2015, 97-109.

Critchley, K., Rudolph, D. L., Devlin, J.F. and Schillig, P. C., 2014. Stimulating In situ Denitrification in an Aerobic, Highly Permeable Municipal Drinking Water Aquifer. J. of Cont. Hydrology, 171, 66-80.

Frind, E. O., Russell, H. A. J., Rudolph, D. L. and Sharpe, D. R., 2014. The Waterloo Moraine: Water, science and policy. Canadian Water Resources Journal / Revue canadienne des ressources hydriques, 39:2, 85-87, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07011784.2014.914793.

Sousa, M.R., Frind, E. O., and Rudolph, D. L., 2014. Threats to groundwater resources in urbanizing watersheds: The Waterloo Moraine and beyond. Can. Wat. Res. Journal, Vol. 39, number 2, 193-208.

Patents

Multilevel Waveguide for Profiling Water Content and Bulk Electrical Conductivity Using Time Domain Reflectometry.

Official Application Number: 9406916.8, Official Filing Date: April 7, 1994

Inventors: P.A. Ferre, D.L. Rudolph, R.G. Kachanoski

Awards and Distinctions

2013 Henry Darcy Distinguished Lecturer in Ground Water Science, National Ground Water Association
2010 M. King Hubbard Award, National Ground Water Association
2002 Hydrogeology Departmental Merit Award, NRCan
2002 Earth Sciences Sector Merit Award, NRCan
1986 NSERC Postgraduate Scholarship (Ph.D. 1986-1988)
1983 NSERC Postgraduate Scholarship (M.Sc. 1983-1985)
1980 University Gold Medal in Geological Engineering

University of Waterloo Affiliations

Member and Former Director, The Water Institute

Professional Associations and Service

Member of American Geophysical Union, Canadian Geophysical Union, National Ground Water Association, of Geological Society of America and the International Association of Hydrogeologists
Member of Ontario Provincial Advisory Committee on the Nutrient Management Act and Regulations
Member of Ontario Technical Experts Committee on Source Water Protection
Principal of Waterloo Hydrogeology Advisors Inc.
Board Member, National Association of Ground Water Scientists and Engineers (NGWA)
Liaison for the Geological Society of America with the National Ground Water Association
Associate Editor for the journal Ground Water
Associate Editor for the journal Hydrogeology Journal
Registered Professional Engineer in Ontario (PEO)