Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Water Efficiency & Sustainability In The Mountain West, 2022, Zachary Billot, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Environment

This fact sheet analyzes the effectiveness of state-level policies related to water usage, conservation, and sustainability for the Mountain West states of Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah in 2022. The original data are published in the “2022 State Policy Scorecard for Water Efficiency and Sustainability” report written by the Alliance for Water Efficiency.

Environmental And Socio-Economic Stress In The Mountain West, Ayda Atici, Caitlin J. Saladino, Fatma Nasoz, William E. Brown Jr.

Environment

This fact sheet examines data on environmental and socio-economic risk metrics including which metrics pose the most risk for Nevada counties.The data are retrieved from “System for the Triage of Risks from Environmental and Socio-Economic Stressors” created by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) joint program on the science and policy of global change.

Indigenous Water Rights: Navigating Sovereign Waters, Cynthia N. Pina

Master's Projects and Capstones

The issue of Native American water rights and the sovereignty of their land on reservations is gaining increasing prominence, making it the focal point of this thesis as an environmental justice concern. Native Americans face disproportionate public health challenges related to water accessibility, contamination, sanitation, outdated infrastructure, and other social determinants of health. The legal framework that governs the coexistence of Native Americans in the United States is rooted in a settler colonial perspective. Consequently, this has created a dependent relationship between Native Americans and the United States federal government. Despite the long-standing advocacy of Tribes for sovereignty since the …

Desalination And Development: Locating The Missing Masses In Dakar’S Water Network, Marina Riad

Scripps Senior Theses

The introduction of desalination technology to the water network in Dakar, Senegal marks a monumental change in how state and commercial interests aim to solve systemic problems using novel technologies. Desalination aims to transform the ocean surrounding Dakar into potable water, a vital resource in the growing metropolis. However, this desalination project must integrate itself within a network of social, historical, political, commercial, and ecological influences shaping the role of desalination in urban Dakar. With millions of dollars and an entire ocean mobilized towards solving Dakar’s water problems, it may come as a surprise that this project will only provide …

Decreasing Trash In Local Creeks: A Program Evaluation Of The City Of San Jose’S Direct Discharge Trash Control Program, Lakeisha Bryant

Master's Projects

The entire San Francisco Bay was once a navigable waterway in the 1850s during the Gold Rush era. Large amounts of sediment from upstream erosion and mining flowed to the bay resulting in the downsizing of the bay’s square miles (Environmental Protection Agency, 2022). As a result of intense development on the bay shores and adjacent lands, the bay faces several challenges that affect its water quality and threatens aquatic ecosystems. Pesticides, mercury, metals, and pathogens are just a few substances in the bay that cause unhealthy conditions for aquatic life and threaten human health. California’s Water Resources Control Board …

Drought Levels In Nevada Counties, 2022, Julianna Jovillar, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Environment

This fact sheet synthesizes data on drought levels within Nevada counties from the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) in 2022. The information presented in this document focuses on the breakdown of the number of Nevada residents affected by the droughts within each county and the drought experience in each county.

Communication Matters: A Study Of Communication Between Emergency Managers And Water Systems Professionals Regarding Insufficient Access To Drinking Water, Paula R. Buchanan

Dissertations

In 2021, the United States – specifically the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation – declared its first-ever drinking water shortage for the Colorado River and the Hoover Dam, resulting in cuts to water access for the southwestern United States. Unfortunately, incidents like this one are increasingly likely to occur as access to drinking water has become a more pervasive issue that not only impacts the work of water systems professionals, but also impacts the field of emergency management and its practitioners. In addition, these incidents underscore the need to put a spotlight on communication processes between water systems professionals and emergency …

Determinants Of Success: The Atlantic First Nations Water Authority, Michaela Sferrazza

MPA Major Research Papers

Water security and access within First Nations communities entails a complex set of issues. However, this does not excuse government authorities’ inadequacies to address the inequity among Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada regarding access to safe water. The Human Rights Watch describes access to safe drinking water “as a fundamental human right easily enjoyed by most Canadians” (Human Rights Watch 2016), and one that is integral to health and wellbeing. Many Indigenous communities have long been lacking access to clean, potable water which has many socio-economic implications. In a 2012 article written by White et al., they articulate that …

The Preparedness Of Suffolk County’S Emergency Managers For Drinking Water Disruptions, Richard Rotanz

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractFor many years, a chronic issue within Suffolk County, New York, one of the most populated counties in the country, is the deterioration of its drinking water along with its polluted beaches, lakes, and rivers, which are imperative for tourism and the fishing industry. However, little is known regarding the awareness of, and the preparedness towards, any disruptions of drinking water by the community of emergency managers. Narrowing this gap of knowledge was the purpose of this study. The research question examined the knowledge of, the attitudes, and the preparedness levels of the emergency management community of Suffolk County involving …

Drinking Water Affordability In Georgia. Are Water Rates Affordable In Georgia And Is Infrastructure Investment Influencing Rates?, Guyer Boyle

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

Abstract

This research project starts with a review of the literature that addresses the challenges facing public drinking water utilities and the impact these challenges are having on rate affordability. The degree and frequency at which water infrastructure is failing has escalated over the past few decades. These infrastructure failures along with the increased costs of operating a water utility have put enormous upward pressures on water rates charged by utilities for service.

In the state of Georgia, a large percentage of the population is living at or below the federal poverty level and many of the poorest are minorities. …

Protocol For A Trial Assessing The Impacts Of School-Based Wash Interventions On Children’S Health Literacy, Handwashing, And Nutrition Status In Low- And Middle-Income Countries, Stephanie O. Sangalang, Shelley Anne J. Medina, Zheina J. Ottong, Allen Lemuel G. Lemence, Donrey Totanes, John Cedrick Valencia, Patricia Andrea A. Singson, Mikaela Olaguera, Nelissa O. Prado, Roezel Mari Z. Ocaña, Rovin James F. Canja, Alfem John T. Benolirao, Shyrill Mae F. Mariano, Jergil Gyle Gavieres, Clarisse P. Aquino, Edison C. Latag, Maria Vianca Jasmin C. Anglo, Christian Borgemeister, Thoomas Kistemann

Development Studies Faculty Publications

Diarrhea, soil-transmitted helminth infection and malnutrition are leading causes of child mortality in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). To reduce the prevalence of these diseases, effective interventions for adequate water, sanitation, and hygiene (WaSH) should be implemented. This paper describes the design of a cluster-randomized controlled trial that will compare the efficacy of four school-based WaSH interventions for improving children’s health literacy, handwashing, and nutrition. Interventions consisted of (1) WaSH policy reinforcement; (2) low-, medium-, or high-volume health education; (3) hygiene supplies; and (4) WaSH facilities (e.g., toilets, urinals, handwashing basins) improvements. We randomly allocated school clusters from the intervention …

The Waterfall Crisis, Guiliana G. Grisaffi

English Department: Research for Change - Wicked Problems in Our World

While the Earth’s surface is 71% covered in water, that does not mean that one day all our water could be gone. The current global water crisis is not just a water crisis-it is a waterfall crisis. One wicked, terrible problem that leads to many other wicked problems, a waterfall crisis. Millions of women and young girls are taken out of work and school and instead forced to collect and gather fresh water for their families. Children are suffering from irreversible health consequences from toxic, contaminated water, an example of a health consequence is a lower IQ from lead poisoning. …

An Analysis Of Irrigation Policy In The Mississippi Delta, Brooklyn Mooney

Honors Theses

This thesis aims to provide a sustainable irrigation alternative that could be easily adopted by farmers in the Mississippi Delta in order to improve water resource management. The Mississippi Alluvial Valley Aquifer, the groundwater system that lies under the Mississippi Delta, is being depleted at rapid rates due to industrial farming and unsustainable, outdated irrigation methods. The intent of this research is to evaluate the water scarcity problem in the Mississippi Delta by assessing water extraction rates and the progression of agriculture in the region. Then, various irrigation methods will be evaluated before a final suggestion is made. Through extensive …

Using Historical Information And Data To Strengthen Planning For Environmental Protection And Management At Everglades National Park, South Florida, George Atisa

Public Affairs and Security Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

The early environmental conditions in many national parks fit the favorable description given to Everglades National Park (ENP) at the time of its founding that the park’s wilderness and ecological resources were “superlative in value.” With the understanding that wilderness does not mean complete human exclusion, this study examines the possibilities, interests, and difficulties associated with establishing the historical superlative state of the park’s resources as a target for current restoration efforts. The focus is specifically on ENP, as the park’s existence was considered justified only if its superlative and pristine wilderness conditions could be retained in the future. Data …

I’M Afraid Of That Water: A Collaborative Ethnography Of A West Virginia Water Crisis, Luke E. Lassiter, Brian A. Hoey, Elizabeth Campbell

Brian A. Hoey, Ph.D.

Kentucky's Environmental Future, Fall/Winter 2004, Issue 9

Sustain Magazine

No abstract provided.

Interrupted Progress: Water And Sanitation In Haiti, Emily Bauer

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

Haiti has faced damaging environmental and social impacts, which have interrupted progress towards clean drinking water and adequate sanitation facilities for its over 10 million people. Natural disasters, disease outbreak, political corruption and economic instability have contributed to poor health and social outcomes for the small, island nation. This study used the most recent data from the World Health Organization and United Nations Children’s Fund Joint Monitoring Programme (WHO/UNICEF JMP) to assess national trends in water source and sanitation facility improvements from 1990-2015. WHO/UNICEF JMP defines water improvements as piped or non-piped protected water, and sanitation improvements as networked, flushed …

Public Policy And Strategies To Support Institutional And Technological Innovations In The New Water Economy: The Example Of Innovation Technology Clusters In Developing And Diffusing Water Technologies., Craig Francis Barham

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A long list of water technologies has been central to human development throughout history. From the well in ancient times to desalination in the contemporary period, water technologies are needed to produce, distribute and treat water to support human life, industry, agriculture, and environmental health. As human development puts intense pressure on the planet's limited fresh water supplies, society is turning to increasingly innovative water technologies to close the supply-demand gap. The water economy represents a significant share of total economic output it its own right, while at the same time water directly or indirectly underpins all other economic activity. …

Capacity, Sustainability, And The Community Benefits Of Municipal Utility Ownership In The United States, George C. Homsy

Public Administration Faculty Scholarship

Most literature on utility sustainability focuses on internal operations; this misses the role that utilities cold play within a community. This study measures the impact of municipal ownership of water and electric utilities on the sustainability policymaking of local governments. I find that municipalities with government-owned water utilities adopt more sustainability measures than those with investor-owned service. Similarly, municipally-owned electric utilities have higher levels of energy sustainability in the community, but not in government operations. The utilities provide fiscal and technical capacity to municipalities. This study brings potential community benefits to the discussion of private investment in public service delivery.

Why Is Water So Efficient At Suppressing The Effects Of Explosions?, Stephen Salter, John Parkes

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

When most experienced explosives engineers first observe an explosion suppressed by bags of water, they are convinced that there has been a misfire. Depending on the amount of water and the way it is contained, the overpressure can be reduced by a factor of ten, sometimes more than twenty. The number of fragments from shell cases can be one hundred times less. Their velocities can be seven times. Slugs from focal point charges are stopped. Safety distances around magazines can be cut. The number of people evacuated from a bomb disposal site can be reduced. In June 1999, engineers from …

Determining Pathways And Connections Between Access To Water And High School Noncompletion Rates For Communities Along The U.S.–Mexico Border, Margie R. Vela, Sarah E. Lind, Paul H. Gutierrez

Journal of Sustainable Social Change

Lack of access to potable water through a conveyance system impacts all aspects of modern life. Many colonias, communities in the Southwestern United States along the U.S.–Mexico border, continue to lack access to piped and treated water. This article discusses a model for the pathway from lack of access to water to lack of high school completion, including intermediary conditions impacting wellness, health, and quality of life for community members. A facilitated discussion with five environmental and public health experts who frequently work in the colonias of El Paso County, Texas (border communities that resemble the developing world), established …

How Do You Mobilize Public Support For Infrastructural Investment In California’S Aging Water System?, Christine M. Hackett

Master's Projects and Capstones

This paper looks at how the state of California maintains an aging water system – the California State Water Project (SWP) – that will threaten California’s water supply if further maintained, and concludes that the system faces three major problems that are of concern in 2017 – aging pipes, health hazards, and environmental threats. What needs to be done in order to address these issues is to invest in a new and improved SWP that will save water, protect the water supply from contamination of hazardous particles, and replenish the ecosystems within piping range that it has depleted. To do …

Water As A Social Opportunity Edited By Seanna L. Davidson, Jamie Linton, And Warren E. Mabee, Katherine Chung

The Goose

Review of Seanna L. Davidson, Jamie Linton, and Warren E. Mabee's Water as a Social Opportunity.

Traditional Knowledge: Considerations For Protecting Water In Ontario, Deborah Mcgregor

Deborah McGregor

In Canada, the water crisis increasingly felt around the world is being experienced primarily in small, usually Indigenous, communities. At the heart of this issue lies an ongoing struggle to have Indigenous voices heard in the decision-making processes that affect their lives, lands, and waters. As part of ancient systems of Traditional Knowledge (TK), Indigenous people bear the knowledge and the responsibility to care for the waters upon which they depend for survival. A series of internationally developed documents has supported Indigenous peoples’ calls for increased recognition of the importance of TK in resolving environmental crises, including those involving water. …

Agenda: Indigenous Water Justice Symposium, University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment

Indigenous Water Justice Symposium (June 6)

Indigenous peoples throughout the world face diverse and often formidable challenges of what might be termed “water justice.” On one hand, these challenges involve issues of distributional justice that concern Indigenous communities’ relative abilities to access and use water for self-determined purposes. On the other hand, issues of procedural justice are frequently associated with water allocation and management, encompassing fundamental matters like representation within governance entities and participation in decision-making processes. Yet another realm of water justice in which disputes are commonplace relates to the persistence of, and respect afforded to, Indigenous communities’ cultural traditions and values surrounding water—more specifically, …

Increasing Access To Potable Water: A Question Of Economics And Governance In Bo District, Sierra Leone, Alissa M. Heiring

Lawrence University Honors Projects

This paper analyzes existing supply gaps that are impeding rural water access in Bo District, Sierra Leone. On a national and district level, Sierra Leone has failed to meet the target of 70% access to potable water inspired by the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals. This paper focuses on Bo District due to its near total inclusion in the Sewa River basin and split urban and rural population. Given the existing political and economic constraints, this paper identifies the most feasible way to sustainably increase access to potable water in Bo. To develop the recommendations, current supply gaps in rural …

Keep Your Head Above Water: Management And Water Literacy In Italy, Rachel E. Huxhold

Black & Gold

According to the 2015 World Economic Forum, water is identified as the top economic concern moving forward (World Economic Forum, 2015). Through climate change, population growth, increased overall demand, and pollution, the availability of potable water is drastically changing—more severely in some areas than others at this point in time. In Italy, such factors have called attention to the importance of good water governance, as the country faces multiple water issues at once. In the north, climate change has contributed to rising sea levels and increased flooding, while the south faces water scarcity due to climate change and increased demand. …

Critical Assessment Of The Literature Regarding The Public Costs Of Roadway Damage Due To Fracking, Brent Ritzel

Brent Ritzel

Many government bodies have raised concerns regarding preservation of existing public roadway systems from infrastructure damage, and roadway degradation in particular, due to the impact of fracking-related truck traffic on roads that are simply not designed for that level and intensity of usage. This significant heavy usage imposes both immediate and long-term cost burdens on taxpayers, and can create unfunded liabilities for the wide range of levels of government (jurisdictions) responsible for maintaining the roadways (from township to federal). This acceleration in roadway consumption has manifested a financial need that is not easily funded by traditional fee mechanisms.

This paper’s …

Writing A Community Guidebook For Evaluating Low-Grade Geothermal Energy From Flooded Underground Mines For Heating And Cooling Buildings, Edward Peace Louie

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

When underground mines close they often fill with water from ground and surface sources; each mine can contain millions to billions of gallons of water. This water, heated by the Earth’s geothermal energy, reaches temperatures ideal for heat pumps. The sheer scale of these flooded underground mines presents a unique opportunity for large scale geothermal heat pump setups which would not be as economically, socially, and environmentally feasible anywhere else. A literature search revealed approximately 30 instances of flooded underground mines being used to heat and cool buildings worldwide. With thousands of closed/abandoned underground mines in the U.S. and a …

Stakeholder Perceptions Of Sustainable Value And Water Conservation: A Case Study Of Social, Environmental, And Economic Concerns In The Rookery Bay Estuary, Bruce Victor Lilyea

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

Stakeholders’ perceptions of social, environmental, and economic concerns in the Rookery Bay Estuary were examined through this research. The purpose of this study was to discover the shared value and common resolution responses for the people of the Rookery Bay area that can extend to other local environmental management scenarios. Using Stakeholder Theory, Rational Choice Theory, Symbolic Interactionism, and Systems Theory as theoretical foundation, the following research questions were considered: RQ1) What are the points of shared value of community stakeholders facing environmental management issues? RQ2) How do the perspectives of the community stakeholders toward the social, environmental, and economic …