Water Resource Management Commons^™

Logging Impacts On Aquatic Ecosystem Quality In Michaux State Forest, Pennsylvania, Sara Baran, Timothy J. Bell, Erick R. Seager

Student Publications

Logging can affect freshwater streams around logging sites, even years after the logging has occurred. In this study, we looked into how sustainable logging in Michaux State Forest (in Adams County, Pennsylvania) has affected two streams within the state park: Mountain Creek and Birch Run. Six sites were selected along each stream, with three upstream and three downstream from the logging area. We hypothesized that the water quality would be lower at the stream sites downstream from the logged areas as compared to the upstream sites. At each site, water samples were collected, including pH, water temperature, and turbidity, as …

Safe Water For All: A Multi-Modal Approach To North Alabama's Water Resources, Elijah Walker

Theses

Environmental degradation is a destructive force produced by the human disturbance of pollution. It is a phenomenon that gradually evolves landscapes over time resulting in irreversible outcomes. Environmental degradation physically affects spaces’ resources, objects, and inhabiting humans. This study observes the impacts of pollution beyond physical boundaries and how it affects human identity/sense of place through the utilization of geographic information systems. Specifically, it examines cultural identity developed through human experiences and connections to landscapes containing water resources. Following, pollution contaminates water resources disrupting experiences and connections thus causing the cultural identity to disappear. The case study applied to this …

Casting Pearls Before Swine: Why The Public's Darling Right To Pollute Should Have Been Overturned In Recent Scova Decision, Thummim Park

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

This Note calls for the Virginia Supreme Court to recognize that a city’s right to freely pollute the public waterways is no longer valid under the Virginia Constitution, and to recognize that the line of Darling cases granting municipalities the public right to pollute waterways should have been overturned.

Part I will set out the foundation for this Note. It will discuss the background of Johnson v. City of Suffolk, laying the context for this Note’s discussion. Part II will engage in an analysis of the rationale for Darling. It will contextualize and compare it to current understandings …

Pack It Out Utah: Usu Water Quality Extension Leads Utah’S Statewide Trails And Waterways Cleanup, Lauren Houskeeper, Hope Braithwaite

Outcomes and Impact Quarterly

Utah’s public lands have experienced a surge in outdoor recreation which has led to an increase in garbage on trails, parks, neighborhoods, and eventually, in our waterways. In response, Utah State University Water Quality Extension initiated an annual statewide cleanup to raise awareness and facilitate the proper disposal of litter. During the cleanup events in 2020 and 2021, over 11,000 pounds of trash were removed from our public lands and waterways.

Quality Control: Potomac Riverkeeper V. Wheeler & Standards For Qualitative Citizen Water Quality Data In Virginia, Jacqueline Goodrum

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

This Article explores the issue of quality of citizen data through the lens of Potomac Riverkeeper v. Wheeler, a recent impaired waters listing case concerning the Shenandoah River in Virginia. Part I of this Article provides a brief overview of citizen science data in regulation and policymaking under the CWA. Part II discusses Potomac Riverkeeper v. Wheeler, examining Virginia’s water quality-related data standards and DEQ’s use (and non-use) of citizen water quality-related data and information in that case. Finally, Part III argues that Virginia should establish clear, reasonable, and specific data quality standards for qualitative citizen data so …

A Remote Sensing And Machine Learning-Based Approach To Forecast The Onset Of Harmful Algal Bloom (Red Tides), Moein Izadi

Dissertations

In the last few decades, harmful algal blooms (HABs, also known as “red tides”) have become one of the most detrimental natural phenomena all around the world especially in Florida’s coastal areas due to local environmental factors and global warming in a larger scale. Karenia brevis produces toxins that have harmful effects on humans, fisheries, and ecosystems. In this study, I developed and compared the efficiency of state-of-the-art machine learning models (e.g., XGBoost, Random Forest, and Support Vector Machine) in predicting the occurrence of HABs. In the proposed models, the K. brevis abundance is used as the target, and 10 …

Mass Capacity Analysis Of Stormwater Control Measures Using Synthetic Stormwater With Silica, Organic And Hydrocarbon Constituents, Craig Michael Fairbaugh

Dissertations and Theses

Stormwater control measure (SCM) performance is well studied regarding solids removal; however, analysis of mass loading capacity, long-term performance, and maintenance demands are challenging due to the variability and multiple constituents inherent in urban stormwater. This research examines the long-term water quality performance and sediment mass capacity of two common SCMs: high rate biofiltration (HRBF) and conventional bioretention (BRT). Pollutant removal trials were conducted in a laboratory setting per the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) filtration protocol in two phases: the first using inorganic sediment per the NJDEP protocol, the second phase with the addition of organic sediment …

Generating The Power Of Microbes How Microbial Metabolism May Solve Water And Energy Shortages, Anna Vietmeier

D.U.Quark

No abstract provided.

Chemical And Carbon Isotopic Characterization Of A Karst-Dominated Urbanized Watershed: Case Of The Upper San Antonio River, Abongwa T. Pride, Walter Den, Aarin Teague

Water Resources Science and Technology Faculty Publications

Urbanization and agriculture are two key factors that place demands on water resources and serve as sources of anthropogenic pollution into inland waterways. The San Antonio River, which is sourced from a karst aquifer, plays an important recreational and scenic role, yet effective management is often hampered by the lack of understanding of the chemical characterization of the water system. The karst-dominated Edwards Aquifer watershed in south-central Texas is an ideal watershed to understand water-rock interaction (carbonate dissolution) and anthropogenic impact on our water resources. In order to understand groundwater-surface water interactions, we made chemical and isotopic measurements over a …

Perceptions Of Historical Climate Change And Park Policy: The Impact On The Fremont Cottonwood In Zion National Park, Kathleen Kavarra Corr

Doctoral Dissertations

Despite its “natural” appearance and the Organic Act 1916 mandate for preservation of the natural environment in National Parks, the Virgin River as it flows through Zion National Park’s Zion Canyon was transformed through massive flood control re-engineering projects in the 1930s. The armoring of the river has had significant impacts on riparian vegetation, particularly on the stands of native Fremont Cottonwood trees that once filled the narrow valley. What was the motivation for this massive flood control project carried out in an arid region with less than 15 inches of rain per year?

This dissertation explores the motivations which …

Watershed Management For Nutrient Control In Taylor Creek And Nubbins Slough, Florida, Rachael Z. Cooper

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite efforts to improve water quality within the watershed since the 1970s, harmful algal blooms (HABs) still occur within Lake Okeechobee (LO). HABs are harmful to the people, the ecosystem, and the economy dependent on the lake. Taylor Creek Nubbins Slough (TCNS) is a subwatershed of the lake, contributing to a large percentage of the nutrient loading. Due to the size and complexity of LO’s watershed, two smaller basins within the TCNS subwatershed were selected to evaluate the following research questions: (1) How do water quality trends contrast between two basins? (2) How do nutrient load and treatment within the …

Using Fine-Scale Aquatic Habitat Data To Construct Dreissenid Sdms In The Laurentian Great Lakes, Grace C. Henderson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The invasion of the Laurentian Great Lakes by aquatic invasive species (AIS) has been the subject of investigation for decades, due to their dramatic alterations to the ecosystem and high economic costs. Two AIS with the largest impacts are dreissenid zebra and quagga mussels, and though these species have been studied extensively, questions remain about what factors control their distributions, and whether lake warming will alter these distributions. Species distribution models (SDMs) offer a powerful tool to examine the relationship between species presences and environmental variables, which are typically bioclimactic data. The creation of the Aquatic Habitat (AqHab) dataset containing …

Arsenic In Groundwater Sources From Selected Communities Surrounding Taal Volcano, Philippines: An Exploratory Study, Geminn Louis C. Apostol, Sary Valenzuela, Xerxes Seposo

Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health Publications

Arsenic (As) is a highly toxic, carcinogenic trace metal that can potentially contaminate groundwater sources in volcanic regions. This study provides the first comparative documentation of As concentrations in groundwater in a volcano-sedimentary region in the Philippines. Matched, repeated As measurements and physico-chemical analyses were performed in 26 individual wells from 11 municipalities and city in Batangas province from July 2020 to November 2021. Using the electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometric method, analysis of the wells revealed that in 2020, 23 out of 26 (88.46%) had As levels above the WHO limit of >10 ppb while 20 out of 26 wells …

The Design Of An Agricultural Youth-Centered Rural Development Program In Rwanda, Laetitia Igiraneza Sinyigenga

Honors Theses, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Rwanda is primarily a rural, young, and agriculture-based country. The referred variables- agriculture, rural population, and youth- can be creatively merged to engage and empower youth for rural development. This paper indicates the utilization of cross-disciplinary knowledge to design an agricultural youth-centered rural development program in Rwanda. The program uses the interdependence of economic sectors (agriculture and education) with resources (environmental & natural resources and human resources) to boost rural community development. The program’s main activities- mentorship, agribusiness training, tutoring, exposure visits, and community work- highly reflect the requirement for advancing the selected main economic sectors and resources. There is …

Irrigation’S Impact On A Precipitation Event During Grainex In Nebraska, Usa, Daniel Whitesel

Dissertations & Theses in Natural Resources

Numerous precipitation events were observed during the Great Plains Irrigation Experiment (GRAINEX). However, the precipitation event that was observed the morning of 23 July 2018 is the focus of this thesis. Six experiments were conducted which involved increasing or decreasing soil moisture by 5% increments over the irrigated cropland. An additional experiment, which changed the irrigated land use to grassland, showed precipitation increases. It was found that regardless of strength of irrigation, average precipitation decreased. Average precipitation decreased by up to 72% when irrigation increased compared to the control simulation and decreased by up to 85% when irrigation decreased compared …

Efficiency Mapping And Determination Of Reliability, Resiliency And Vulnerability Of Atmospheric Water Generators In The United States, Erica F. Sadowski

Theses and Dissertations

Atmospheric Water Generators (AWG) extract water from the air using one of three available technologies: refrigeration, sorption, and fog harvesting. A refrigeration device works like a dehumidifier and works best in conditions above 60% relative humidity. A sorption device utilizes a desiccant to extract the water vapor from the air and works in very low humidity levels. A fog harvesting device utilizes a mesh to capture the water vapor from the air and requires 100% relative humidity. In this research, I analyze two refrigeration-based devices and one sorption-based device and their efficacy in providing supplemental water supply. Due to climatological …

The Impacts Of Climate Uncertainty On Streamflow In Andes, Antioquia, Colombia, Kristen R. Roberts

Theses and Dissertations

Natural hazards, such as hurricanes, wildfires, floods, and droughts impact human systems that rely on predictable patterns in the natural elements with which they interact. Skillful prediction of the impacts of climate change on linked, human-natural systems, like surface water resources, can help ensure physical risks within vulnerable communities are mitigated, resource sustainability is maximized, and intersectoral markets continue to contribute to socioeconomic stability. Due to water resources being a primary conduit through which climate uncertainty impacts people, economies, and ecosystems, its study is worthy of investigation; particularly, where those resources are uncertain and demanded by a variety of competitive …

Perceptions Of Drinking Water Access And Quality In Rural Indigenous Villages In Fiji, Sarah Nelson, Jacqueline Thomas, Aaron Jenkins, Kelera Naivalu, Timoci Naivalulevu, Vilisi Naivalulevu, Kinikoto Mailautoka, Shylett Anthony, Mereia Ravoka, Stacy D. Jupiter, Sangeeta Mangubhai, Pierre Horwitz, Seye Abimbola, Joel Negin

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Poor rural water quality is a health challenge in Fiji. A mixed-methods study in six iTaukei (Indigenous Fijian) villages was conducted to understand local perceptions of drinking water access and quality, how this changes drinking water source choices, and impacts of age and gender. Seventy-two household surveys, 30 key informant interviews (KIIs) and 12 focus group discus-sions (FGDs) were conducted. Household surveys revealed 41.7% of community members perceived their water as dirty and 76.4% perceived their water as clean. Two-thirds of households reported that they always or usually had enough water. FGDs and KIIs revealed water access and quality was …

Fire Effects In Montane Meadows, Rosie Deak

Master's Theses

The impact of forest fires on downstream meadow communities across California is of great ecological interest, as meadows are an important source of biodiversity in this region. Over a century of fire suppression has led to increased forest stand densities, which in turn has resulted in less water availability due to increased transpiration of densely growing trees. This potentially has left less available water for downstream plant communities in meadows. If true, then high mortality wildfires in surrounding forest are predicted to lead to an increase in available downstream moisture where obligate and facultative-wetland taxa increase and dry-adapted upland taxa …

Does Restoration Of Urban Riparian Zones Impact Stream Water Quality In Portland, Oregon, Ash Ivanov

University Honors Theses

Riparian zones influence urban stream quality through factors such as shading the stream, adding nutrients through leaf litter, stabilizing the stream banks to reduce turbidity, and filtering toxins out of the water. Riparian restoration often involves changing plant assemblage to be more diverse and include primarily native species instead of non-native, improving connection to the stream through changing stream morphology, improving species habitat, and reducing pollution. The goal of this study was to determine if urban riparian restoration projects in the region were successful, and if not, why that may be the case. The study was performed in the Portland, …