Bennington Willardson

Faculty Member

Dr. Ben Willardson

Biography

Dr. Willardson has 18 years of professional experience in water resources and stormwater management prior to teaching at UVU. He also worked for 2 years as a graduate student at the Utah Water Research Laboratory in Logan, UT, testing meters, valves, pump sumps, and other hydraulic structures. He has extensive experience in the development and review of hydrologic, hydraulic, and sediment transport models. He has been heavily involved in the implementation of stormwater management programs for compliance with National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit requirements for the County of Los Angeles and has guided the development of methodologies to evaluate the effective use of Best Management Practices within the County. He has reviewed hydrologic and storm water quality methodologies for implementations as standards. He has operated 14 dams and 27 spreading grounds for flood control and water conservation within the complex flood control system serving Los Angeles County. He has represented the interests of the County during discussions with the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regarding discharge of water from Superfund sites into the flood control system. He has acted as an in-house expert witness for Los Angeles County Counsel for litigation related to flooding. He has also conducted asset assessment for asset management programs related to flood control channels and road pavements. The projects worked on include_ hydrology and hydraulics, hydrologic methods and software development, scour and sedimentation, dam analysis, operations and maintenance, river restoration and fish passage, coastal analysis, and legal and expert witness.

Education

PhD, University of Southern California, 2011

Major: Civil Engineering

MS, Utah State University, 2001

Major: Civil Engineering

BS, Utah State University, 2000

Major: Civil Engineering

AA/AS, Snow College, 1997

Major: Pre-Engineering

Teaching

CIVE 490R

Advanced Current Topics in Civil Engineering, Fall 2024

CIVE 3310

Civil Engineering Fluid Mechanics, Fall 2024

CIVE 2130

Engineering Economics and Statistics, Fall 2024

CIVE 4310

Storm Water Management, Fall 2024

CIVE 490R

Advanced Current Topics in Civil Engineering, Summer 2024

CIVE 3335

Hydrology and Hydraulics Lab WE, Spring 2024

CIVE 3320

Introduction to Water Resources, Spring 2024

Scholarly/Creative Works

Willardson, Ben , Stringham, Joseph , Tackett, Cassia , "Wastewater Report Card, Dams Report Card" (Issue: 2024). ASCE. https://infrastructurereportcard.org/state-item/utah/
Willardson, Ben , Bell, Steven , Lumido, Laniel , "Los Angeles County Department of Public Works - Trancas Canyon Cost Estimate and Cost-Benefit Analysis Memo Draft" . Alhambra, California:
Bordelon, Amanda , Jaafar, Israd , Jensen, Matt , Tolman, Sean , Willardson, Ben , Raje, Janis P., "Enhancing STEM Degree Completion_ A Framework for he Work in Progress Civil and Mechanical Engineering (CAMS) Scholarship Project" . American Society of Engineering Educators.
Willardson, Ben , (2023) "Blow Out_ How 2023 Flooding Impacted Fish Populations in Utah County Urban Streams" . https://watershedsymposium2023.sched.com/event/1U8x4/blow-out-how-2023-flooding-impacted-fish-populations-in-utah-county-urban-streams
Willardson, Ben , Kilgo, Kayla , "City of Visalia Stormwater Master Plan Draft" . Visalia, California:
Willardson, Ben , Bell, Steven , Esparza-Almaraz, Aaron , (2022) "Los Angeles County Department of Public Works - Trancas Canyon Debris Basin Capacity Calculaions Memo FINAL" . Alhambra, California:

Awards

Outstanding Educator Award 2020-2021

Utah Valley University Alumni - May 7, 2020

The Educator of the Year award is currently hosted by the Utah Valley University Alumni Association and voted upon by graduating students and bestowed during spring Commencement to one faculty member from each of UVU's schools and colleges.

Industry Icon

Storm Water Solutions - July 1, 2015

Storm Water Solutions honors the individuals who have shaped the storm water & erosion control industry.