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Mining-Contaminated Sediment And Metal Storage In Channel Deposits In Turkey Creek, Tri-State Mining District, Missouri And Kansas, Max Quinn Hillermann

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The Joplin subdistrict, within the Tri-State Mining District (TSMD), was a major producer of lead (Pb) and zinc (Zn) ore between the 1880s to 1920s. Metalliferous mining wastes are still stored in the channel deposits of local streams raising environmental and health concerns. This study quantifies the volume, sediment size, and metal concentrations in channel bed, bar, bench, and chute deposits to quantify the spatial variability of contaminated sediment storage in Turkey Creek (119 km²). Sample reaches (n=14) contained metal concentrations elevated above the Tri-State Mining District specific probable effects concentration at every site with mean concentrations in …

Porewater Salinity Influences Germination Of Ruppia Polycarpa In Variable Estuarine Habitats, Chanelle Webster

Research Datasets

Porewater salinity at different depth intervals during different months. Seed, germling and seedling density data in two estuaries and during different months. Seed germination, seedling establishment and growth under experimental conditions.

Life Cycle Assessment Of Canned Fish Production In Thailand, Chanya Kraiwed

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

The canned fish industry is one of the world's most popular exports in Thailand. Moreover, the canned seafood industry ranks fourth in terms of energy consumption, which compares to all industry group (Wiriyatangsakul, 2021). Commercial competitiveness, on the other hand, must be improved because of the competitive conditions in the global market. Thus, this study evaluates the environmental performance of a factory in Samut Sakhon, Thailand, using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) with Gate-to-Gate approach and setting functional unit by 1 ton fresh fish entering to process. The study used the SimaPro LCA application with the CML 2 baseline 2000 method, …

Co-Effects Of Silver Nanoparticles And Microplastics On Nitrifying Microorganisms From Wastewater Treatment Plants And Their Activities, Nampetch Charanaipayuk

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and microplastics are emerging water contaminants of the decade. They share a similar fate and transport in wastewater treatment plants as they tend to accumulate in sludge of aeration tanks. Since both contaminants have negative effects on microbial growth, the ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms in the aeration tanks are at risk for inhibition and consequently nitrification process fails. This study investigated the effects of AgNPs and microplastics on ammonia-oxidizing activity and community. No inhibition of ammonia oxidation rate was observed at 0.1 mg/L AgNPs. Partial inhibition was found at 0.5 and 1 mg/L AgNPs, while complete inhibition occurred at …

อิทธิพลของลักษณะเชิงปริมาณของรากแสมขาวต่อการตกตะกอนในแปลงปลูกป่าชายเลน จังหวัดสมุทรปราการ, ศราวรรณ หงษ์วิเศษ

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

ระบบนิเวศป่าชายเลนนอกจากมีบทบาทสำคัญในการเป็นแหล่งกักเก็บคาร์บอน ยังช่วยรักษาเสถียรภาพของพื้นที่ชายฝั่งผ่านกระบวนการตกตะกอน การฟื้นฟูระบบนิเวศชายฝั่งด้วยการปลูกป่าชายเลนจึงมีส่วนช่วยบรรเทาการ กัดเซาะชายฝั่ง โครงสร้างพืชพรรณโดยเฉพาะส่วนของรากมีบทบาทต่อการตกตะกอนในป่าชายเลน การศึกษานี้จึงมีวัตถุประสงค์เพื่อศึกษาอิทธิพลของลักษณะเชิงปริมาณของรากแสมขาว (Avicennia alba) ต่อการตกตะกอนตามระยะห่างจากชายฝั่งในแปลงปลูกป่าชายเลนบางปู จังหวัดสมุทรปราการ ตั้งแต่เดือนกันยายน พ.ศ. 2563 ถึงเดือนพฤศจิกายน พ.ศ. 2564 ผลการศึกษาพบว่าลักษณะเชิงปริมาณของรากหายใจแบบ pneumatophore ของแสมขาวมีความผันแปรตามระยะห่างจากชายฝั่ง โดยความสูง ความหนาแน่น พื้นที่หน้าตัดรวม ปริมาตรรวม และพื้นที่ผิวรวมของรากหายใจมีค่าลดลงเมื่อระยะห่างจากชายฝั่งมากขึ้น ขณะที่พื้นที่หน้าตัดของลำต้นและความหนาแน่นของกล้าไม้มีแนวโน้มมากขึ้นเมื่อระยะห่างจากชายฝั่งเพิ่มขึ้น ผลการศึกษาอัตราการตกตะกอนพบว่าบริเวณแปลงปลูกป่าชายเลนมีค่ามากกว่าบริเวณหาดโคลนที่ไม่มีพืชปกคลุม และมีค่ามากที่ระยะ 50 และ 70 เมตรจากชายฝั่งทะเล (0.1231±0.02 และ 0.1114±0.04 กรัมต่อเซนติเมตรต่อวัน ตามลำดับ) นอกจากนี้พบว่าลักษณะเชิงปริมาณของรากหายใจแบบ pneumatophore (ได้แก่ ความสูง พื้นที่ผิวรวม และปริมาตรรวม) มีความสัมพันธ์เชิงลบกับอัตราการตกตะกอน กล่าวได้ว่าโครงสร้างพืชพรรณส่วนเหนือดินเพิ่มความปั่นป่วนของมวลน้ำ ทำให้ตะกอนขนาดเล็กแขวนลอยนานขึ้นและถูกพัดพาไปด้านในของแปลงปลูก ส่วนรากใต้ดินโดยเฉพาะรากฝอยมีความหนาแน่นมากในบริเวณที่ห่างจากชายฝั่งและมีสหสัมพันธ์เชิงบวกกับสัดส่วนโคลน (อนุภาคดินเหนียวรวมกับทรายแป้ง) แสดงให้เห็นถึงความสามารถในการยึดจับตะกอนของรากฝอย สอดคล้องกับการเปลี่ยนแปลงระดับความสูงของพื้นที่สุทธิในแปลงปลูกที่มีค่าเป็นบวกและผันแปรอยู่ในช่วงแคบกว่าบริเวณหาดโคลน นั่นคือมีการสะสมของตะกอนในพื้นที่แปลงปลูก แต่เกิดการกัดเซาะบริเวณหาดโคลนเนื่องจากมีค่าสุทธิเป็นลบ จึงสรุปได้ว่าลักษณะเชิงปริมาณของรากหายใจแบบ pneumatophore และรากใต้ดินของ แสมขาวมีอิทธิพลต่อการตกตะกอนในแปลงปลูกป่าชายเลนบางปู โดยทำหน้าที่ร่วมกับลำต้นและกล้าไม้ช่วยส่งเสริมการสะสมของตะกอน เกิดเสถียรภาพของตะกอนให้คงอยู่ในพื้นที่ป่า แปลงปลูกป่าชายเลนจึงช่วยบรรเทาการกัดเซาะชายฝั่ง ในระยะยาวได้อย่างยั่งยืน อีกทั้งความสามารถในการสะสมตะกอนนี้ยังใช้เป็นดัชนีชี้วัดผลสัมฤทธิ์ของการปลูกฟื้นฟู ป่าชายเลนในแง่ของนิเวศบริการได้อีกด้วย

Evaluating Energy-Based Trait Shifts And Population Level Impacts Of Big Brown Bats (Eptesicus Fuscus) With Long-Term Exposure To Pseudogymnoascus Destructans, Molly C. Simonis

Browse all Theses and Dissertations

Disturbances in environment can lead to a wide range of host physiological responses. These responses can either allow hosts to adjust to new conditions in their environment or can reduce their survival, and can subsequently cause host traits to shift. Small mammals are particularly vulnerable to stochastic disturbances, like a pathogen introduction, because of their high energy demands. Studies examining host responses to pathogens often focus on species highly susceptible to infection that typically have high mortality rates, leading to a gap in understanding the responses of less susceptible species. My dissertation evaluates the energy balance of Eptesicus fuscus (big …

Nutrient Improvements In Chesapeake Bay: Direct Effect Of Load Reductions And Implications For Coastal Management, Rebecca R. Murphy, Jennifer Keisman, Jon Harcum, Renee R. Karrh, Mike Lane, Elgin S. Perry, Qian Zhang

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

In Chesapeake Bay in the United States, decades of management efforts have resulted in modest reductions of nutrient loads from the watershed, but the corresponding improvements in estuarine water quality have not consistently followed. Generalized additive models were used to directly link river flows and nutrient loads from the watershed to nutrient trends in the estuary on a station-by-station basis, which allowed for identification of exactly when and where responses are happening. Results show that Chesapeake Bay’s total nitrogen and total phosphorus conditions are mostly improving after accounting for variation in freshwater flow. Almost all of these improving nutrient concentrations …

The Global Impact Of Covid-19 And Tourism On Conservation Rangers' Guardianship Capabilities, Zachary Bockler

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This thesis explores how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted wildlife rangers with an emphasis on the influences of tourism rates. Two sets of data are used: one is a survey of rangers around the world and the other looks at global governmental tourism data. While coming from a routine activities perspective, the problem of decreased capable guardianship becomes apparent in the form of massively decreased tourism arrivals and troubling ranger perceptions. This data allows for the establishment of tourism trends and changes during COVID. The findings of this thesis link the downturn in tourism with impacts on formal and informal …

Testing The Influence Of Water Depth In Design Of Created Oyster Reef For Living Shoreline Applications, Peter Vien

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Living shoreline stabilization has become a popular practice in shoreline restoration and bank protection; however, there are still many uncertainties regarding effective site design using living materials. For example, natural wave-breaks may be formed of created reefs, but the optimum water depth for hydrodynamic influence may differ from the preferred depth to ensure organism recruitment. The objective of this research is to understand how water depth relative to the crest of submerged artificial oyster reef structures influences nearshore hydrodynamic processes and sediment transport or retention in nearshore areas. A field study, sited in a microtidal estuary on the Atlantic coast …

Application Of Biologically Activate Carbon For Treatment Of Sulfide-Laden Groundwater, Jessica Cormier

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Small-system water purveyors must overcome many challenges to provide an adequate and safe water supply to its consuming public. This dissertation reports on research related to the application of biologically activated carbon (BAC) media filters for the treatment of well water to remove disinfection by-product (DBP) precursor matter, measured as dissolved organic carbon (DOC), at two treatment plants serving a small community water system. Four research questions were investigated individually in discrete, yet interconnected studies at two water treatment facilities processing groundwater that contained hydrogen-sulfide (~1.2 mg/L) and dissolved organic carbon (~2.0 mg/L). The first study revealed that BAC filters …

Distribution Of Particulate Organic Carbon – Fluxes And Inventories – In Growth-Faulted Coastal Wetlands, Samuel Joel Whitehead

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

Coastal wetlands along the Northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOMx) are critically important but threatened environments which provide significant and diverse economic, social, and environmental value. These environments are essential components to the global carbon cycle, serving as one of the most efficient terrestrial carbon sinks. Since onset of the Industrial Revolution increasing rates of coastal wetland loss have been documented due to a variety of anthropogenic activities, neotectonic processes, subsidence, and rising sea-levels. This research utilized an array of methods and sedimentological analyses to test the hypothesis that growth-fault induced changes at Earth’s surface affects the delivery to, and storage …

Naturally Occurring And Introduced Tracers For Examining Water Pathways In Urban Environments, Elizabeth Avery

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

Naturally occurring stable isotopes of water and introduced water tracers allow researchers to examine water pathways and better understand spatial and temporal variability in water sources. Trends in naturally occurring stable isotope values can function not only as a tracer for precipitation patterns and moisture recycling but also as a confirmation of municipal data. Additionally, these data can provide an early signal for the effects of climate change on these sources, reducing uncertainty from physical measurements. To further assess water pathways, introduced tracers can be used to investigate surface and below ground surface flow for streams and rivers.

In chapter …

Deformation Of Wall Rocks And Overburden Sequences Proximal To Salt Diapirs In Salt Valley, Utah: Implications For Predicting Subseismic Damage In Salt Tectonic Systems, William Swanger

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

Although deformation related to salt tectonics is generally considered to be an ancillary field of structural geology, owing to its relatively limited occurrence in the geologic record, the preponderance of salt-involved systems in multiple hydrocarbon-rich basins around the world (e.g., Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic passive margins, Iran, etc.) creates a necessity for understanding salt-related deformation. Traditionally, salt was considered to be relatively weak and thus was mostly unable to drive deformation of adjacent wall rocks and cover sequences. However, a number of recent numerical modeling studies have shown that mobilized and pressurized salt may have the ability to actively pierce …

Tryptophan-Like Fluorescence And Non-Point Source Pollution In Karst Basins, Inner Bluegrass Region, Kentucky, Ryan Dapkus

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

Typically, the degree of fecal contamination of water is assessed by the concentration of thermotolerant coliforms, like E. coli. This method is time-consuming, taking > 18 hours between the start of incubation and subsequent enumeration. The current study examines the utility of monitoring tryptophan-like fluorescence (TLF) using in-situ fluorometers as a proxy for fecal contamination, particularly E. coli. Relative timing of discharge peaks and TLF peaks is considered, as well as differences in E. coli concentrations and major anion concentrations between two different basins that were monitored weekly. Results indicate that TLF is somewhat useful in the prediction of …

Evaluating Restoration Outcomes: Red Spruce Reforestation In The West Virginia Highlands, Benjamin Rhodes

Theses and Dissertations--Forestry and Natural Resources

Red spruce (Picea rubens) is the keystone species of the red spruce-northern hardwood forest, a unique high-elevation plant community that supports hundreds of animal species in the Central Appalachians. These forests were devastated by the Industrial Logging Era of the late 1800s and early 1900s, and they remain in a degraded and fragmented state. Current restoration efforts include red spruce plantings on old field sites and reclaimed coal mines. This project seeks to aid those efforts by evaluating restoration outcomes for vegetation and soils along a ten-year chronosequence. Specifically, the study aims to determine whether restoration site soils …

Bat Activity On West Virginia Mined Lands Restored Via The Forestry Reclamation Approach, Briana C. Snyder

Theses and Dissertations--Forestry and Natural Resources

The Forestry Reclamation Approach (FRA) is a practical guide to reforesting surface mined lands. Bats, as a unique group of species with declining populations, could benefit from this reforestation. In order to determine if the FRA is providing suitable bat foraging habitat, I surveyed bat activity at created depressional wetlands on 1-year old and 8-year old FRA restored lands (FRA1; FRA8), as well as at naturally formed wetlands in regenerating forest on traditionally reclaimed mined land (~40 years old; REGEN) and wetlands in mature forest not previously mined (MAT). I passively recorded echolocation calls for 12 nights across sixteen sites …

Exploration Of Lignin-Based Superabsorbent Polymers (Hydrogels) For Soil Water Management And As A Carrier For Delivering Rhizobium Spp., Toby Adjuik

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

Superabsorbent polymers (hydrogels) as soil amendments may improve soil hydraulic properties and act as carrier materials beneficial to soil microorganisms. Researchers have mostly explored synthetic hydrogels which may not be environmentally sustainable. This dissertation focused on the development and application of lignin-based hydrogels as sustainable soil amendments. This dissertation also explores the development of pedotransfer transfer functions (PTFs) for predicting saturated hydraulic conductivity using statistical and machine learning methods with a publicly available large data set. A lignin-based hydrogel was synthesized, and its impact on soil water retention was determined in silt loam and loamy fine sand soils. Hydrogel treatment …

Assessing Machine Learning Utility In Predicting Hydrologic And Nitrate Dynamics In Karst Agroecosystems, Timothy Mcgill

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

Seasonal hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico and harmful algal blooms experienced in many inland freshwater bodies is partially driven due to excessive nitrogen loading seen from agricultural watersheds. Within the Mississippi/Atchafalaya River Basin, many areas are underlain with karst features, and efforts to reduce nitrogen contributions from these areas have had varying success, due to lacking a complete understanding of nutrient dynamics in karst agricultural systems. To improve the understanding of nitrogen cycling in these systems, 35 months of high resolution in situ water quality and atmospheric data were collected and fed into a two-hidden layer extreme learning machine …

Gene Silencing Provides Insights Into Bark Beetle Biology And Creates Potential For Broad Scale Forest Protection, Beth R. Kyre

Theses and Dissertations--Entomology

Dendroctonus bark beetles are among the most economically and ecologically significant forest pests in North America and play a critical role in the overall health of conifer forest ecosystems. Dendroctonus bark beetles influence ecosystem benefits and biodiversity and drive forest succession, and adversely affect timber production, forest management, and recreation. As temperatures surge and climatic fluctuations become more extreme, catastrophic bark beetle outbreaks are increasing in frequency, escalating pressures on highly vulnerable conifer forests already compromised by heat and drought. Eruptive outbreaks of Dendroctonus beetles are largely unhindered by traditional silvicultural management; these practices further disrupt forest ecosystem services, including …

Largemouth Bass In The Upper Mississippi River: An Evaluation Of Management Strategies And Understanding Potential Factors Influencing Dynamic Rate Functions, Kylie Beth Sterling

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The Upper Mississippi River (UMR) supports ecologically and economically important commercial and recreational fisheries. One recreational fishery in the UMR is the Largemouth Bass fishery. Recreational fisheries can be effectively managed using information on population dynamics, though little is known about Largemouth Bass population dynamics in large river ecosystems. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to 1) evaluate recruitment, growth, and mortality of three Largemouth Bass populations in the UMR, specifically within Pools 4, 8, and 13, and 2) to use those estimates of recruitment, growth and mortality to inform exploitation models to evaluate best management practices for each …

Fundamental Data Analysis Tools And Concepts For Bioacoustical Research, Chandra Salgado Kent, Tiago A. Marques, Danielle Harris

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Bioacoustics is a growing field of research in which sound is measured to gain knowledge about species’ natural history and their environments. For example, bioacousticians have been able to create phylogenies, identify populations, and estimate abundance using sound. Moreover, today, many animals are exposed to human-generated noise, which can impact animals’ behavior, ability to communicate, physiology, hearing, and, in some instances, survival. Bioacoustics, thus, is commonly used to assess and predict the impacts of anthropogenic noise on animals and their populations. The use of bioacoustics to address such research questions, however, is only effective provided the quantitative and statistical analysis …

Towards A Digital Twin For Characterising Natural Source Zone Depletion: A Feasibility Study Based On The Bemidji Site, Kaveh Sookhak Lari, Greg B. Davis, John L. Rayner

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Natural source zone depletion (NSZD) of light non-aqueous phase liquids (LNAPLs) may be a valid long-term management option at petroleum impacted sites. However, its future long-term reliability needs to be established. NSZD includes partitioning, biotic and abiotic degradation of LNAPL components plus multiphase fluid dynamics in the subsurface. Over time, LNAPL components are depleted and those partitioning to various phases change, as do those available for biodegradation. To accommodate these processes and predict trends and NSZD over decades to centuries, for the first time, we incorporated a multi-phase multi-component multi-microbe non-isothermal approach to representatively simulate NSZD at field scale. To …

Landslide Inventory Dataset Post Hurricane Stan (2005), Lake Atitlan Region, Guatemala, Elia Axinia Machado, Yuri Gorokhovich, Mahta Ghahremani

Publications and Research

Landslides are a global hazard of devastating impacts resulting in thousands of fatalities every year, substantial economic losses, and long-term economic disruption. Examining the frequency and distribution of landslides is important to better understand their associated factors and to identify where future landslides may occur. The dataset described in this article consists of landslides digitized as polygons using high resolution aerial photography collected after Hurricane Stan (October 2005), which caused severe damages in Central America. In Guatemala, the total economic impact of Hurricane Stan has been estimated at US$983 Million dollars, with 719,000 ha of land lost due to flooding, …

A Framework For Near-Real Time Monitoring Of Diversity Patterns Based On Indirect Remote Sensing, With An Application In The Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest, Andrea Paz, Thiago S. Silva, Ana C. Carnaval

Publications and Research

Monitoring biodiversity change is key to effective conservation policy. While it is difficult to establish in situ biodiversity monitoring programs at broad geographical scales, remote sensing advances allow for near-real time Earth observations that may help with this goal. We combine periodical and freely available remote sensing information describing temperature and precipitation with curated biological information from several groups of animals and plants in the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest to design an indirect remote sensing framework that monitors potential loss and gain of biodiversity in near-real time. Using data from biological collections and information from repeated field inventories, we demonstrate that …

Characterizing Changes In Extreme Ozone Levels Under 2050s Climate Conditions: An Extreme-Value Analysis In California, Bradley Wilson, Mariah Pope, Jeremy R. Porter, Edward Kearns, Evelyn Shu, Mark Bauer, Neil Freeman, Mike Amodeo, David Melecio-Vazquez, Ho Hsieh, Maggie Tarasovitch

Publications and Research

Ground-level ozone has a well established climate penalty associated with changing meteorological conditions under future climate change, but most existing research focuses exclusively on ozone-temperature relationships defined at specific locations. Using an extreme-value theory approach, we model relationships between temperature, humidity, and vapor pressure deficit and maximum daily 8 h ozone concentrations (MDA8) across California using a combination of ozone station network data and Community Multiscale Air Quality Modeling System (CMAQ) model output from 2008 to 2017. We use a spatial regression with time varying bias coefficients to fuse station observations and modeled output into a spatially explicit gridded ozone …

Power In Numbers: An Abundance Of Small Corals Responsible For Storing Over Half Of The Carbon Stored By All Alaskan Primnoa Pacifica Deep-Sea Corals, Sylvie Alexander

Scripps Senior Theses

Gorgonian deep-sea corals (DSCs) are biologically linked to ocean carbon cycling converting ocean carbon to gorgonin and calcite in their skeletons. As such, gorgonian DSCs likely accumulate and store carbon in their skeleton throughout their lifespans, acting as carbon sinks on historic timescales. Yet, DSC carbon storage hasn’t been investigated to date. This study evaluates gorgonian DSC carbon storage capacity through an evaluation of the carbon stored by Alaskan Primnoa pacifica corals. The development of a model relating coral height to biomass in specimens with this data available was used to determine biomass values in a suite of Alaskan P. …

Cradle-To-Grave Life Cycle Assessment Of Production And Consumption Of Pulses In The United States, Prathamesh A. Bandekar, Ben Putman, Greg Thoma, Marty Matlock

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Environmental impact associated with production and consumption of pulses in the United States was evaluated using life cycle assessment (LCA). The system boundary was set to cradle-to-grave with a functional unit of 60 g (dry basis) of pulses consumed in a US household. Varieties of pulses modeled in the study included field pea (Pisum sativum), lentil (Lens culinaris), chickpea (Cicer arietinum), and dry bean. Three methods of cooking pulses at the consumer stage tested in the study were cooking in open vessel on electric cooking range (OVC), cooking in stovetop pressure cooker on electric cooking range (SPC), and cooking in …

Chapter 14: 2022: North America, Christopher J. Lemieux, Intergovernmental Panel On Climate Change

Geography and Environmental Studies Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

(Re)Empowering The Community: A Case Study Of Namibia's Legal Evolution Of Wildlife Governance, Stefan Carpenter

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

This Article will introduce the theoretical foundation of the CBC [Community-Based Conservation] approach. It will then use Namibia as a case study to both: (a) illustrate the sort of historical, political, and economic drivers that motivate the adoption of CBC across the global south, and (b) highlight the existence of potential structural weaknesses present in even the most lauded CBC programs. Finally, this Article will present some of the common theoretical and results-based criticisms of CBC and discuss broader lessons that can be drawn from the Namibian experience. The analyses in this Article draw from academic literature, Namibia’s statutes and …

New Strategies For Groundwater Litigation In Texas, Amy Hardberger

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

This Article evaluates the evolution of the understanding of groundwater rights since the Day decision and assesses the relative power of property rights in groundwater that have emerged and what can be done to equalize resulting inequities. Part I reviews the current state of groundwater ownership rights and includes a brief history of litigation that led to that point. Part II explains the authority and obligations of groundwater conservation districts, which create a regulatory overlay on the common law vested rights through permitting rules and the statewide planning process. Part III summarizes the history of constitutional challenges litigated after the …