Dr. Azad Hossain’s new research brings together geospatial analysis, field data collection and advanced computer modeling to examine how land use changes are reshaping Friar Branch Creek’s behavior and water quality. Photo by Angela Foster.
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Associate Professor Azad Hossain, an environmental geoscientist in the Department of Biology, Geology and Environmental Science, has received a $227,172 contract from the City of Chattanooga to study how urban development is affecting Friar Branch Creek and the surrounding watershed. The project runs through September 2029.
The project, titled “Evaluating the effects of Land Use and Land Cover Change on Friar Branch Creek Using Geospatial, Watershed and Hydrodynamic Models with Emphasis on Channel Widening and Sediment Transport,” brings together geospatial analysis, field data collection and advanced computer modeling to examine how land use changes are reshaping the creek’s behavior and water quality. The research is being funded by stormwater fees.
“This project is all about understanding growth,” Hossain said. “We like growth. It’s good for the economy. But at the same time, we have to ask, ‘Is this sustainable? What is it doing to our streams and water quality?’”
Friar Branch Creek is part of the South Chickamauga Creek watershed, one of the most urbanized drainage areas in Chattanooga. The creek runs through the eastern part of the city, including areas around Hamilton Place and the broader Brainerd corridor, where residential, commercial and industrial development has expanded significantly in recent decades.
As that development increases hard surfaces such as roads and rooftops, rainfall moves more quickly across the landscape, carrying sediment into nearby waterways instead of soaking into the ground.
“When you have more development, you have more runoff,” Hossain said. “The water moves quickly and with that water comes sediment. That sediment carries pollutants and affects the overall health of the stream.”
The research will focus on two key concerns identified by the city: sediment transport and channel widening.
Sediment, the fine particles carried by flowing water, is a major contributor to water quality issues because it can transport contaminants and degrade aquatic habitats. Over time, increased sediment loads can alter the physical structure of a stream, filling its bed and forcing water outward—leading to wider, less stable channels.
To better understand those processes, Hossain and his team will combine decades of satellite imagery with newly collected field data. Using geospatial tools, they will map how land use and land cover have changed across the watershed over the past 40 years. That information will then feed into watershed and hydrodynamic models designed to simulate how water and sediment move through the creek under current and future development scenarios.
“We’re creating a modeling framework that allows us to ask, ‘What is happening now and what could happen next?’” Hossain said. “If development continues, how much sediment will we see? What will the stream look like in the future?”
A key component of the project is the development of a modeling capability tied to total maximum daily load (TMDL), a regulatory benchmark that defines the maximum amount of a pollutant a waterbody can receive while still meeting water quality standards. By integrating TMDL considerations into the model, the research will provide the City of Chattanooga with data to help guide future planning and environmental management.
“The goal is to give the city something they can use,” Hossain said. “Not just understanding the problem, but helping inform decisions moving forward.”
Side-by-side satellite images from 1985 (left) and 2022 show the expansion of urban development in Chattanooga around the Friar Branch Creek watershed. Areas highlighted in white in the 2022 image indicate increased hard surfaces such as roads and buildings, which contribute to faster runoff, increased sediment transport and potential impacts on stream health and water quality. Images courtesy of Google Earth.
The project builds on a long-standing partnership between UTC and the City of Chattanooga. Hossain credited the late Dr. Mark Schorr, a longtime faculty member who helped establish the University’s early water research efforts with the city.
“Dr. Schorr created the pathway for this kind of work,” Hossain said. “What we’re doing now is building on that foundation and continuing that collaboration.”
That collaboration continues to guide the project. The City of Chattanooga will provide historical and ongoing data collection, while UTC researchers will contribute analysis and modeling expertise.
Dr. Mounir Minkara, water quality manager in the Department of Public Works, will lead the collaboration from the city’s side.
“I really appreciate the support from the city,” Hossain said. “These kinds of projects take time to develop, and their partnership makes this possible for our research, for our students and for the community.”
The project also includes work with the University of Mississippi’s National Center for Computational Hydroscience and Engineering, with Dr. Chao Xiaobo serving as co-principal investigator. The NCCHE specializes in hydrodynamic modeling and has developed tools used by federal agencies, bringing additional expertise to the project’s modeling efforts.
“They are pioneers in this type of modeling,” Hossain said. “We’re bringing their expertise into this project to strengthen our ability to simulate what’s happening in the stream.”
Beyond its research outcomes, the project will create opportunities for UTC students. Hossain said undergraduate and graduate students will be involved in data collection, analysis and modeling, gaining hands-on experience with tools and techniques used in environmental research.
“This project will greatly support our students,” he said. “They’ll be working with real data, real problems and real applications. That kind of experience is invaluable.”
UC Foundation Professor Gretchen Potts, head of the Department of Biology, Geology and Environmental Science, said the project reflects the kind of community-connected research that defines UTC’s mission.
“Through this collaboration with the City of Chattanooga, UTC faculty and students are contributing research that directly informs local decision-making,” Potts said. “Dr. Hossain’s project demonstrates the value of aligning University scholarship with city-led efforts to promote sustainable growth and environmental stewardship.”
For Hossain, a member of the UTC faculty since 2016, the project is about more than data and models; it’s about connecting research to the place he calls home.
“Chattanooga is growing, and that’s a good thing,” he said. “But we also have to understand what that growth means for our environment. If we can do that, we can grow in a way that is both productive and sustainable.”
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