Research Interests

• Stormwater Management
• Technology for a Sustainable Environment
• Lake Restoration
• Surface and Groundwater Pollution Control
• Mathematical Models of Surface Water Systems
• Life Long Learning

Research Projects

• Transportation Research Board Contract NCHRP No. 20-12, Hydrocarbons and Fugitive Dust from Highway construction, April 1974 to April 1975. Administrative and technical director for the $23,000 contract with one other faculty member, three undergraduates and one graduate student was the responsibility.
• State Department of Pollution Control Research Contract on Nonpoint Sources, September 1974 to December 1975. Dr. Wanielista was one of six principal investigators and the administrator for the $150,000 contract. The responsibility for the execution of the contract was solely his. In this capacity, he had hired and established salaries for two research assistants, six graduate students, and five undergraduate students.
• Project Director for the restoration of Lake Eola, Orlando, Florida. This was done with the City of Orlando Public Works Department, Orange County Pollution Control Department, the State Department of Pollution Control, the State Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, and Soils and Environment Consultant in 1972.
• Project director on a $29,000 contract to determine the surface water body effects from land development. Five faculty and four students were assigned to the project. The funds were awarded by a private consulting firm. The results are now used as a model for development, August 1973.
• One of the two Principal Investigators on Waste Assimilation Studies in the Tampa Bay Region - A Department of Environmental Regulation Contract for $25,000 from July 1975 through March 1976.
• Principal Investigator and Project Director - an EPA project on Best Management Practices for Nonpoint Sources. $22,000 contract from August 1976 through October 1977. This project formed the basis for State stormwater rule.
• One of two Principal Investigators on the Fate of Pollutants in Aquatic Swales - A Florida Department of Transportation/University Board of Regents Project for $35,000 from October 1976 through December 1977.
• Principal Investigator and Project Director on the Quality of Urban Underdrains in Seminole County for $1,400 from January 1977 through December 1978.
• Principal Investigator and Project Director on Stormwater Management and Lake Water Quality - Environmental Protection Agency/State Department of Environmental Regulation and City of Orlando funding for $164,000 from April 1978 through August 1979.
• National Science Foundation Travel Grant to attend an International Meeting on Stormwater Drainage, Southampton, England, $733, April 1978.
• Florida Department of Transportation research grant on Bridge Runoff and its Effects on Surrounding Environments, $40,000, September 1978 through March 1980.
• State Department of Environmental Regulation research contract on Stormwater Management Manual, September 1979 through December 1980, $29,000.
• Environmental Protection Agency Clean Lakes Grant on Lake Eola, Orlando, Florida, together with State Legislature money administered by the State Department of Environmental Regulation for monitoring, design and construction of Urban stormwater management practices, a $434,000 contract from January 1980 through September 1981.
• FHWA and FDOT Grant on Best Management Practices for Highways, one investigator among four, $150,000, September 1981 through December 1984.
• South Florida Water Management, Lake Tohopekaliga Stormwater Management, $40,000, May 1982 through December 1982.
• South Florida Water Management District, Detention Pond Design, $5,000, January 1983 through May 1983.
• State Department of Environmental Regulation, Lake Jackson Bottom Muds, $49,000, August 1983 through May 1984.
• City of Orlando, Lake Lawsona Alum Treatment, one of two investigators, $3,650, January 1984 through August 1985.
• City of Orlando, Drainage Well Quality and Quantity, one of two investigations, $13,000, August 1984 through May 1985.
• State Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration, Stormwater Management Alternatives Retrofits to Injection System, (SMARTS), $100,000, August 1984 through December 1986.
• State Department of Environmental Regulation, reviewer for Wetlands and Stormwater Grant, $60,000, August 1984 through December 1985.
• Southwest Florida Water Management District, Rainfall Analysis, $70,000, October 1985 through December 1987.
• City of Orlando, Urban Detention, $60,000, July 1, 1987 through September 1989.
• City of Bradenton, Engineering Affiliate Program, $45,000, November 1987.
• Wekiva Resources Council Legislative Appropriation $160,000, July 1988 - June 1989.
• State Department of Transportation, Exfiltration Systems, $72,000, July 1988 - June 1990.
• State Department of Transportation, Activated Carbon, $60,000, July 1988 -June 1990.
• St. Johns River Water Management District, Hydrologic Balance for the Econlockhatchee River Basin, Dec. 12, 1990-September 30, 1992, $47,081.
• Florida Department of Environmental Regulation, Precipitation-Inter-event-Frequency Curves, February 1990-December 1991, $87,821.
• Florida Department of Environmental Regulation, Stormwater Management and Re-use Technology (SMART), February 1990-June 1992, $128,000.
• Florida Department of Transportation, Exfiltration with Limestone, Dec. 1, 1990-Oct 1991, $9,000.
• Southwest Florida Water Management District, Hydrograph Shapes, Aug. 15, 1990-Sept. 30, 1994, $40,000.
• Florida Department of Environmental Regulation, Hydrograph Shapes and Detention Pond Water Quality, Feb. 18, 1991-December 1, 1992. $48,600.
• Florida Department of Environmental Regulation, Technical Development of a Stormwater Utility Program (ABC's), Dec 1991- Dec 1992, $5000.
• Florida Department of Environmental Regulation, Econlockhatchee River Restoration and Preservation, A Water Quantity and Quality Budget, Aug 9, 1991- December 30, 1992, $162,000.
• Florida Department of Transportation, Intensity-Duration-Frequency Curves, Sep 1993-August 1995, $110,000.
• Florida Department of Transportation, Continuous Simulation of Detention Pond Designs (no infiltration), Sep 1995-Sep 1996, $100,000, one of three investigators.
• Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Water Storage Value. March 2002- Present, $250,000.
• Florida Department of Transportation. Stormwater Management Academy. January 8, 2003 to December 31, 2008. $2,500,000.
• Florida Department of Environmental Regulation, Effectiveness of a Stormwater Reuse System, $150,000, June 2003- November 2004.
• Florida Department of Environmental Regulation, Green Roofs and Demonstrations, $165,000, January, 2004 - June 2005.
• Rinker Materials and Florida Department of Transportation, Pervious Concrete, $135,000, May 2004- August 2005.
• Florida Department of Community Affairs, Water Budgets in Springshed Areas, $129,000, September, 2003 - August 2005.
• EPA, New Partnerships in Public Education, $115,000, March, 2004 - November, 2004.
• Orange County Florida, Lake Butler Restoration, $15,000, September 2003 - May 2004.
• Ready Mix Concrete Foundation, Pervious Concrete National Data, $50,000, June 2004- June 2005. (Co-PI) Â
• Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Green Roof Design Monitoring, $178,641, Task 3, July 2005- August 2006.
• Florida Highway Administration/Florida Department of Transportation, $642,280, Florida Manuals and Erosion Sediment Lab, September, 2005 - September 2006.
• Waste Tires for Pollution Control, with Seminole County, $638,000 with UCF portion being $200,000, Florida Legislative Waste Use program, administered by the Florida Department of Environmental Regulation, October 2005 - January 2008.
• Green Roof Demonstration and Evaluation (Modifications for State-wide Applications), $140,093, State Department of Environmental Protection, January 2006 - September, 2007.
• Health Risk Assessment of Stormwater Irrigation, $56,179, $134,241, State Department of Environmental Regulation, January 2006 - May 2007.
• Pervious Pavements for Highway Shoulders, $50,000, State Department of Transportation, March 2006- June 2007.
• Design Storm Rainfall Depths for the State of Florida, $60,000 (Co-PI with Dr. Ron Eaglin), Southwest Florida Water Management District, June 2006- June 2007.
• Alternatives Stormwater Sorption Media, $100,000 (Co-PI with Dr. Ni-Bin Chang), Southwest Florida Water Management District, January 2007- January 2008.
• Nitrogen transport and transformation beneath stormwater ponds in Karst areas and effectiveness of stormwater best management practices for reducing nitrate leaching to ground water, multi agency, $780,000, February 2007 - January 2010. (Co-PI with Dr. Ni-Bin Chang).