Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Floodplain Geomorphology And Response To Hurricanes: Lower Pee Dee Basin, South Carolina, Thomas M. Williams, Bo Song, Daniel Hitchcock, Thomas O'Halloran

Journal of South Carolina Water Resources

Undeveloped forested wetlands in the valleys of coastal plain rivers can play a large role in storing floodwater and attenuating river flooding. In the lower Pee Dee, Little Pee Dee, and Lynches Rivers, these wetlands played a large role in mitigating downstream flooding following Hurricane Florence. Wetland forest flood mitigation was most effective for large flows in the Great Pee Dee River, where flooding on former river terraces determined the course of overbank flow and the potential storage of floodwaters. Floodwater storage and attenuation of water level were less effective if larger flows were limited to the Little Pee Dee …

Streamflow And Tidal Dynamics In The Lower Pee Dee Basin: Hurricane Impacts, Thomas M. Williams, Bo Song, Daniel Hitchcock, Thomas O'Halloran

Journal of South Carolina Water Resources

Over past years, extreme tropical storm events along the North and South Carolina coasts—and subsequent river flooding—have warranted the need for a better understanding of the hydrologic response to these events to protect life, property, businesses, and natural and cultural resources. Our focus in this study is the Pee Dee and Waccamaw River systems, which ultimately flow into Winyah Bay near Georgetown, South Carolina. River flows, coupled with the tidal nature of these freshwater systems, are complex and difficult to predict. The objective of the work is to analyze publicly available data from gauging stations along those river system as …

Understanding Stakeholders’ Knowledge, Awareness, And Perception Of Conservation Programs In South Carolina, J. Carl Ureta, Marzieh Motallebi, Lori Dickes, Lucas Clay, Joan Ureta, Robert Baldwin

Journal of South Carolina Water Resources

The increasing population and economic growth of South Carolina make it attractive for landowners to convert their land to commercial and urbanized zones. However, since ecosystems are directly affected by land use, changes in these land uses directly impact the ecosystem services (ES). Therefore, efforts to conserve ecosystems are paramount and are often supported through conservation-incentive programs. One approach for conservation programs is to provide economic incentives for landowners to retain their land as forest or agricultural land. The success of these programs eventually affects the ES recipients or “end-users,” particularly the residents. Therefore, it is important to understand the …

A Multi-Reservoir Study Of The Impact Of Uncertainty In Pool Evaporation Estimates On Water-Availability Models, R. C. Phillips, Nigel Kaye, John Saylor

Journal of South Carolina Water Resources

Quantifying evaporative loss from reservoirs plays a critical role in sound water-availability management plans and in reservoir management. Various methods are used to quantify reservoir evaporation; however, each method carries a degree of uncertainty that propagates to model predictions of available water within a reservoir or a reservoir network. Herein, we explore the impact of uncertainty in reservoir evaporation on model outputs of historical and future water availability throughout the five major reservoirs in the Savannah River Basin in South Carolina, USA, using four different evaporation methods. Variability in the total available water is evaluated using the United States Army …

Mapping Center Pivot Irrigation Fields In South Carolina With Google Earth Engine And The National Agricultural Imagery Program, C. Alex Pellett

Journal of South Carolina Water Resources

Aerial images taken during the growing seasons of 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017 were visually inspected for evidence of irrigation. Center pivot irrigation was identified by the characteristic shape of the spans and the curved tracks left by the wheels. The author manually delineated a polygon over each agricultural area where signs of irrigation infrastructure were observed. The result is a map of 2,689 polygons covering 146,662 acres in South Carolina. Compared with the United States Department of Agriculture 2017 Census of Agriculture, the sampling results account for over 69% of total irrigated area and over 98% of area …

Modeling Tidal Characteristics In A Creek-Marsh Drainage System: Implications For Stormwater Management, C. E. Brown, T. J. Callahan

Journal of South Carolina Water Resources

The traditional goal of stormwater management is to reduce the threat of flooding to life and property, and so most landscapes are engineered to maximize the speed at which the unwanted water leaves the watershed. This has been effective in landscapes with some topographic gradient. This often involves the installation of drainage ditches that disperse runoff from urban areas to receiving water bodies; in coastal areas this means a tidal creek, estuary, bay, sounds, or the coastal ocean. This practice reduces flood hazards in some cases but results in unintended effects on the natural hydrology in the watershed and downstream …

Lessons From A Landscape Irrigation Rebate Program In Miami Dade County, Haimanote K. Bayabil, Laura Vasquez, Jesus Lomeli, Patrick Martin

The Journal of Extension

We calculated savings in outdoor water uses from 37 properties in Fisher Island, Florida, that were retrofitted with smart Evapotranspiration-based irrigation controllers through the Miami Dade County’s Landscape Irrigation Rebate Program. We found average water savings of 11.4 million gallons per year from the 37 properties on the island. We discuss the roles of extension personnel in developing and effectively managing an irrigation rebate program and the implications of results from this program for large scale efforts towards efficient use of freshwater resources.

Not Approved For Human Consumption: A Study Of The Denmark Water Crisis, A Call For Reforming The Swda, And A Demand For Community Lawyering In Rural America, Matthew Woodward

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

Over the past four decades, nine million Americans have ingested dangerous drinking water from a trusted source: their own taps. Each year, “an estimated 16.4 million cases of acute gastroenteritis” are linked to public drinking water. For many Americans, drinking water—perhaps the most important cornerstone of human health—has become cause for concern.

In Flint, Michigan, this concern turned to panic. In 2014, after toddlers began developing painful skin conditions, children fell seriously ill, and tap water emerged in the form of thick, orange-brown sludge, the people of Flint began to wonder: is there something in the water? What soon became …

Hydrochemical Assessment Of Groundwater Around Lapite Dumpsite For Irrigation Water Quality In Ibadan, Southwestern Nigeria, Oluwatoyin Opeyemi Akintola, Gabriel Oladapo Adeyemi, Adewunmi Idayat Bodede, Oluwatoyin Oluwatoyin Adekoya, Kekinde O. Babatunde

Journal of Bioresource Management

Due to the increase in population and industrialization growth, most countries in the world depend on groundwater to meet agriculture demands for food production. The increase in water contamination due to indiscriminate solid wastes has necessitated the assessment of water quality and its suitability for agricultural usage. Twenty four groundwater and ten stream water samples were randomly collected from the downslope and upslope side of the dumpsite for all the major physio-chemical parameters. The pH of water samples indicates slightly acidic to alkaline in nature. High concentrations of nitrate, total dissolved solids and electrical conductivity suggest the impact of the …

Fish Disease Outreach Messages: Testing Of Gain And Loss Frames, Erin L. Pavloski, Heather A. Triezenberg

The Journal of Extension

Gain and loss framing has been used as a technique in risk communication to shape individuals’ behaviors in many fields. Our community-engaged research, conducted in partnership with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR), experimentally tested five message frames to determine efficacy for outreach programs. We found: a) to increase risk perceptions of fish disease use a loss frame in a management context, b) to decrease risk perceptions of fish disease management use a gain frame in a disease context, and c) to motivate behavioral intentions for prevention and risk reduction use a gain frame in a disease context.

How A Simple Question About Freshwater Inflow To Estuaries Shaped A Career, Paul A. Montagna

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Chance and good luck led to a career studying how freshwater inflow drives estuary processes. In 1986, someone asked me: How much fresh water has to flow to a bay for it to be healthy? The question shaped my career. There is probably no better place on Earth to compare effects caused by inflow differences than the Texas coast, because the major estuarine systems lie in a climatic gradient where runoff decreases 56—fold from the Louisiana border in the northeast to the Mexico border in the southwest. This estuary—comparison experiment was used to study inflow effects. The science evolved from …

A Watershed Event For A Watershed Community: The Development Of Flood Control For The Santa Ana River Basin, Adam Scott Miller

History in the Making

Southern California receives the vast majority of its yearly rainfall in the relatively short time period between the months of December and March. Occasionally, this intense rainfall creates floods that have historically threatened and devastated the communities of this region. The twentieth century proved challenging for local flood control agencies. California experienced tremendous population growth, resulting in migrants settling on the existing floodplains. Unaware of the periodic, hidden menace, newcomers were ruined when rivers and their tributaries flooded. It became clear that a significant change in flood control methods was required. In 1936, Congress passed the Flood Control Act appropriating …

Using Cold War-Era Satellite Imagery To Inform Historic Land Cover Classification, Nicholas Hamp-Adams

The Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

Corn Response To Wastewater-Recycled Phosphorus Fertilizers, Shane R. Ylagan, Kristofor R. Brye

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

The ability to recycle phosphorus (P) from wastewaters could provide a sustainable, continuous source of P that might also help protect surface water quality from P enrichment. The mineral struvite (MgNH4PO4 · 6H2O) is an understudied material that can be created from P- and nitrogen (N)-containing wastewater and has been shown to have agricultural fertilizer value. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of electrochemically precipitated struvite (ECST), chemically precipitated struvite (Crystal Green; CG), diammonium phosphate (DAP), monoammonium phosphate (MAP), rock phosphate (RP), and triple superphosphate (TSP) on corn (Zea mays) response in a greenhouse pot study. …

Electronic Field Trips For Science Engagement: The Streaming Science Model, Jamie Loizzo, Mary J. Harner, Deborah J. Weitzenkamp, Kevin Kent

Journal of Applied Communications

While institutions of higher education work to engage PK-12 youth in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) concepts and careers via in-person programming, PK-12 teachers and students face many logistical and access constraints for physically traveling to sites off of school grounds during the school day. Throughout the years, electronic field trips (EFTs) have offered a digital way for schools to engage in meaningful ways with museums, parks, laboratories, and field research sites. In order for EFTs to be effective, they should be cost effective and created collaboratively with teachers, students, subject matter experts, and instructional design and communication professionals. …

Identification Of Mined Areas That May Contribute To Water Quality Degradation At Hobet Coal Mine, West Virginia, Brian P. Murphy

IdeaFest: Interdisciplinary Journal of Creative Works and Research from Cal Poly Humboldt

No abstract provided.

A Network Approach To Complex Problems: Understanding Collaborative Governance In Watershed Management, Allison Daniel

Hatfield Graduate Journal of Public Affairs

The complexity of current environmental problems poses a challenge to the field of public management. With multiple stressors acting on the earth’s natural systems, the likelihood that complex environmental problems will persist is undeniable. Traditional approaches to such problems follow a top-down method, often useful for problem management within public policy; however, it proves too rigid when considering the complexity of environmental policy. Recent literature points to the use of collaboration and coordination in addressing complex problems, whereby stakeholders accumulate knowledge and resources across a variety of fields. One such method is network governance, identified as a problem-solving approach capable …

Evaluating Oyster Aquaculture’S Cost-Effectiveness As A Nitrogen Removal Best Management Practice – A Case Study Of The Delaware Inland Bays, Jefferson F. Flood

Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics

Disease and overfishing have led to a dramatic decline in wild populations and subsequent harvests of the eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica over the past few decades in Delaware and other states along the Atlantic Coast. However, in addition to their value as food to consumers, oysters, whether wild populations or cultured stocks, can provide ecosystem services such as nutrient removal, which may result in localized water quality improvements. Consequently, recent policies in Delaware have sought to establish and grow an oyster aquaculture industry. However, a key challenge to achieving efficient levels of industry growth and water quality improvements is that …

Shale Play: Poems And Photographs From The Fracking Fields By Julia Spicher Kasdorf And Steven Rubin, Kelly Shepherd

The Goose

Review of Julia Spicher Kasdorf and Steven Rubin's Shale Play: Poems and Photographs from the Fracking Fields

Watering The Desert: Azraq, Public Opinion, And Environmental Post-Materialism, Wesley A. Gerard

Venture: The University of Mississippi Undergraduate Research Journal

This article focuses on physical, socioeconomic, and political changes in the community of Azraq, Jordan. Azraq, a small town in northeastern Jordan, sits atop a large aquifer that has been heavily pumped by the government for several decades in response to an increasing nationwide demand for water. This has led to large-scale transformations in not only the physical landscape surrounding the aquifer, but also in the daily lives, economic statuses, and political opinions of the people living there. My research thus fits the case of Azraq into larger academic discourse on groundwater governance, resource access, and environmentalism. I use a …

Precipitation Trends Across The Commonwealth Of Virginia (1947 – 2016), Michael J. Allen, Thomas R. Allen

Virginia Journal of Science

Water is an important resource for the Commonwealth of Virginia. Too much water increases runoff, disrupt transportation networks, and contributes to school closures. Too little water may adversely impact agricultural operations. To improve climate-related information to Virginia citizens, this study assesses means and changes in precipitation across the Commonwealth of Virginia (1947 – 2016). Using daily station-level precipitation data from the Global Historical Climate Network (GHCN), descriptive statistics were calculated for 43 locations in terms of total precipitation (inches decade^-1), precipitation days (x>0”), and heavy precipitation days (x>1.0”). On average, locations showed an overall increase in …

The Waters Of Antarctica: Do They Belong To Some States, No States, Or All States?, Linda A. Malone

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

Major issues and complexities arise when one is looking at the international puzzle that is Antarctica. Despite being uninhabited year round and lacking substantial long-term international law rules for sovereignty, states still try to claim their sovereignty over various parts of Antarctica. The consortium of states under the Antarctica Treaty System (“ATS”) then further aggravates these complexities, especially when other states outside of the ATS have been arguing for different regimes and approaches to dealing with Antarctica and resource exploitation. Due to these major issues and a desperate need for a resolution in times of global climate change, this Article …

When The Well Runs Dry: Why Water-Rich States Need To Prepare For Climate Change And Protect Their Groundwater, Danielle Takacs

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

It may seem surprising to see such concern over groundwater usage in a state like Wisconsin. While known for its dairy and cheese production, Wisconsin is first in the nation for producing snap beans and cranberries. Agriculture contributes $88.3 billion annually to Wisconsin’s economy alone. In addition to bordering two of the Great Lakes, Lake Michigan and Lake Superior, Wisconsin boasts that it is home to about 15,000 lakes. And this does not include the numerous rivers and streams throughout the state. These facts alone may make Wisconsin seem an unlikely place for disputes over groundwater, as water seems to …

The Effect Of Two Different Harvesting Methods On The Yield Of 'Topbunch' And 'Hi-Crop' Collards (Brassica Oleracea (L)) When Grown In A Wiregrass Tunnel House, Veronica E. Walton, Raymon Shange, Melissa Johnson, Edward Sparks, Victor Khan, James E. Currington, Ramble Ankumah, Nathaniel Ellison, George X. Hunter Jr., Jeffery L. Moore

Professional Agricultural Workers Journal

A study was conducted to determine if 100% or 50% harvesting of collard leaves was a suitable recommendation for Tunnel House producers. The experiment was conducted as a split-split plot design with varieties as the main plots, harvesting 100% or 50% of leaves as the sub-plots, and days after transplanting as the subplots. All treatments were replicated three times, drip irrigated, and fertilized according to soil test recommendations. The results showed significant interactions between varieties and method of harvest, for leaf numbers and weight. Conversely, the varieties showed significant differences for yield but not leaf numbers. Both varieties showed significant …

California Rushes In—Keeping Water Instream For Fisheries Without Federal Law, Paul Stanton Kibel

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Translating Legal Norms Into Quantitative Indicators: Lessons From The Global Water, Sanitation, And Hygiene Sector, Sharmila L. Murthy

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Keeping The Clean Water Act Cooperatively Federal—Or, Why The Clean Water Act Does Not Directly Regulate Groundwater Pollution, Damien Schiff

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

The Application And Usefulness Of Economic Analyses For Water Quality Management In Coastal Areas, Sheri L. Jewhurst, Kate K. Mulvaney, Marisa J. Mazzotta

Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics

Economic studies are increasingly sought as tools to contribute to water quality management in estuaries and coastal communities, yet little is known about how the results from existing studies have been received and utilized by the organizations who solicited them. We interviewed managers from eight organizations who solicited economic studies over the past 15 years to understand how useful the studies were to their organizations and what economic research would be most helpful for their management needs. In terms of utility for coastal managers, there are a number of limitations in the studies. These include lack of site-specific data, the …

Water, Lead, And Environmental Justice: Easing The Flint Water Crisis With A Public Water Contamination Liability Fund, Jonathon Lubrano

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Changing Tides In Water Management: Policy Options To Encourage Greater Recycling Of Fracking Wastewater, Romany M. Webb

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

The U.S. has recently experienced a domestic energy renaissance, made possible by technological advances, enabling the development of unconventional oil and gas resources. Vital to this development is hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”), whereby fluid is injected underground at high pressure to fracture the rock, thereby enabling the flow of oil and gas. Fracking has recently faced growing opposition with many concerned about its environmental impacts, particularly its potential to adversely affect water resources, because fracking uses vast amounts of fresh water that ends up as contaminated wastewater. Most of this wastewater is disposed of through underground injection, resulting in its permanent …