Water Resource Management Commons^™

Enhancing Agricultural Sustainability Under Climate Change: A Multi-Scale Framework Integrating Climate Extremes, Resource Efficiency, And Data-Driven Modeling, Shahryar Fazli

Computational and Data Sciences (PhD) Dissertations

Agricultural systems are increasingly challenged by climate variability, where shifting temperature regimes, hydrological variability, and the rising frequency of compound and cascading extremes threaten global food security and resource sustainability. Addressing these challenges requires integrated frameworks that bridge biophysical monitoring, predictive modeling, and adaptive decision-making. This dissertation develops a data-driven, multi-scale framework to quantify and enhance agricultural resilience by integrating remote sensing, climate analytics, and machine learning across the United States, with a focus on California and the Western U.S.

First, hyperspectral and thermal remote sensing data from EMIT and OpenET are integrated to characterize crop nitrogen–water interactions and assess …

The Aggregation Of Microplastics By Enhancing Extracellular Polymeric Substance Production In Pseudoalteromonas Sp. Ncimb 2021 To Improve Removal Efficiencies In Environmental Matrices, Janelle L. Mercer

All Theses

Microplastics (MP) are ubiquitous in the natural environment and are a growing threat due to their small size and durability. Plastics are released into the environment through improper waste management, wastewater treatment outfalls, industrial spills, agricultural runoff, and landfills. These particles breakdown into secondary MP through degradation pathways. MP, less than 5 mm, require intricate removal techniques from water systems. Filtration techniques, though viable and effective, have implementation constraints due to high cost, maintenance demands, and filter fouling. By integrating coagulation and flocculation processes prior to filtration, MP removal efficiencies can increase, while minimizing operational challenges during filtration. Extracellular polymeric …

Implementation Of A Practical Sharp Interface Saltwater Intrusion Model To Assess Future Sea-Level Impacts, Alexandra G. Defalco

All Theses

Rising sea levels caused by global warming exacerbate saltwater intrusion, the inland movement of seawater into coastal aquifers. These processes increase susceptibility to freshwater contamination, surface flooding, and infrastructure damage. Numerical models are utilized to assess hazards to coastal aquifers on a regional scale.

The U.S. Navy is currently developing a robust, reduced-order groundwater modeling platform, SWI6, that uses the sharp interface approach to approximate the location of the freshwater-saltwater interface to define the extent of saltwater intrusion within an aquifer. Featuring compatibility with MODFLOW 6 unstructured grid formats and the Newton-Raphson formulation for better solution stability, SWI6 improves upon …

Leveraging Deep Learning Recurrence And Attention Mechanisms For Flood Forecasting And Assessment, Elnaz Heidari

All Dissertations

Predicting how much water will flow in rivers and streams is important for managing floods, water supply, and the environment. Traditionally, government agencies have used complex models, such as the National Water Model (NWM), which simulate how much water moves through landscapes using physical laws and real-world data. However, recent advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) have enabled new ways to make these predictions. This research explored whether AI-based models could predict river discharge more accurately. These AI models learn patterns from past data instead of relying only on physical rules. To find out how well they work, the AI models …

Evaluation Of Dredged Sediments As A Partial Replacement For Fine Aggregate In Mortar And Concrete, Ashish Gautam

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

The feasibility of using dredged sediment from the Mobile River as a partial replacement for fine aggregate in mortar and concrete was investigated through a series of laboratory characterization and performance evaluation. Three dredged sediment samples (A, B and C) were initially examined, and Sample A was selected for further evaluation due to its closer resemblance to natural fine aggregate. This sample exhibited lower moisture content, higher sand equivalent values, higher specific gravity, and lower absorption. Mortar mixtures with 0, 10, 20, 30, 50, 75 and 100% dredged sediment replacement showed decreasing workability as the replacement level increased. The 20% …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Carbon Quantum Dots And Gold Nanoparticles For Norovirus Biosensing Applications In Water Systems, Breanne Evans

Master's Theses

Rapid, reliable detection of viral pathogens remains a significant challenge across water-treatment and environmental monitoring systems, including drinking-water, wastewater, water reuse, and environmental surveillance applications. Waterborne viral contamination can pose substantial public-health risks, making early detection essential for protecting water quality and responding quickly to treatment failures or contamination events. Direct potable reuse (DPR) is one particularly demanding example because it requires continuous verification of treatment performance and the broader need for rapid virus monitoring extends across many water-treatment and environmental surveillance applications. Norovirus is a priority target because of its widespread occurrence in wastewater, environmental persistence, and exceptionally low …

Wildfire Impacts On Fluvial Hydrology From Watershed To National Scales, Paige G. Tunby

Civil Engineering ETDs

Wildfires alter the water quantity and quality in downstream river networks. Fires promote biodiversity, maintain habitat, and provide many ecosystem services in a fire-adapted landscape. However, changes in the natural fire regimes can alter ecosystem function and threaten the water security of impacted downstream communities. The magnitude, timing, and persistence of these impacts are difficult to predict due to the lack of high-resolution datasets with adequate coverage to evaluate spatiotemporal trends after a fire. This dissertation moves us beyond the status quo to evaluate post-fire fluvial responses across scales, from the event-scale impacts after the Hermit’s Peak-Calf Canyon wildfire in …

A Machine Learning Approach For Water Quality Assessment In The Lower Rio Grande Valley Watershed, Saika Nowshin Nowrin, Chu-Lin Cheng, Jungseok Ho, Jinwoo An, Fatemeh Nazari

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

Water quality analysis plays an essential role in maintaining the health and sustainability of river ecosystems, especially in semi-arid regions like the Arroyo Colorado Watershed in South Texas. Since the river is a vital source of water supply for local communities, agriculture, and wildlife, it faces significant challenges and pollution from land use changes, climate variation, and agricultural runoff. Continuous monitoring and assessment of water quality parameters and their temporal variability are essential to ensure the drinking water supply and aquatic ecosystem health. However, comprehensive laboratory-based water quality investigations are often constrained by higher costs, logistical complexity, and limited manpower. …

Development Of A Coupled Hydrological-Nitrogen Modeling Framework For Urban Stormwater Pond Analysis, Tione Grant

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Urbanization impacts the hydrological and biogeochemical processes that regulate water quality in downstream ecosystems, leading to increased stormwater volume and nitrogen loads in receiving aquatic environments. Although stormwater ponds are designed as simple hydraulic storage basins, they function more like managed ecosystems within urban drainage systems, offering both hydraulic attenuation and passive nutrient treatment. However, nitrogen removal efficiency varies significantly and depends on interactions between hydrological and biogeochemical factors. This thesis details the development, calibration, validation, and sensitivity analysis of a coupled hydrological-nitrogen model framework for Aaran’s Pond, an urban stormwater pond in Hillsborough County, Florida.

A process-based water budget …

Amending Planting Media With Typha-Derived Biochar For Sustainable Horticulture, Elissa Touma

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Constructed wetlands are widely used to improve water quality by removing excess nutrients from wastewater and stormwater. Nutrients are stored within wetland vegetation, particularly in fast-growing plants such as Typha. Harvesting vegetation provides an opportunity to permanently remove these nutrients while generating biomass suitable for beneficial reuse. Converting harvested biomass into value-added products such as compost and biochar can support nutrient recovery and sustainable biomass management. In addition, increasing concerns regarding the environmental impacts of peat extraction have created interest in renewable alternatives for horticultural growing media. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the potential of harvested …

Western Kentucky University Stormwater Utility Survey 2026, Warren Campbell

SEAS Faculty Publications

In the U.S., more than 2200 stormwater utilities have been enacted. This year, we have expanded the survey to include stormwater utilities in other countries. Many of these stormwater assessments are called taxes, but if the assessment is recurring, is not an ad valorem tax, and is dedicated to stormwater purposes, we call it a stormwater utility. With the help of ChatGPT we have been able to identify 25 stormwater fees in Australia. We were also able to identify 3 in New Zealand, and some in Europe as well.

Inconsistencies Emerge Between Regional And Local-Scale Water Security Metrics At Military Installations, Abigail Birnbaum, Michael L. Berg, Caitlin Grady, Daniel J. Weeks, Christopher M. Chini

Faculty Publications

Recent United States federal policy for military installations has emphasized the importance of developing a standardized approach for water security assessment to monitor changes in water resources and the ability for an installation to meet both its civilian and mission needs. For military installations in the United States, these assessments must consider demands both inside and outside the installation’s fence line, as regional resources are required to meet mission readiness. Focusing on physical water scarcity, this study compares four water security metrics with unique formulations and spatial resolutions, including an installation-scale metric and multiple regional metrics defined for either baseline …

Riki&Dolphin: Real Time Data Transmission From The Bottom Of A Cave To A Website, Luca Tringali, Giacomo Canciani Dr., Tecla Tripari, Alexander Debenjak, Caterina Bearzotti

International Journal of Speleology

Coming from over 10 years of experience in cave monitoring in northeast Italy, Gruppo Speleologico Talpe del Carso, has designed Riki and Dolphin: customizable, low cost, and easy to assemble tools for getting real time data transmission from the bottom of a cave, even underwater, to a webserver. Their use has been tested to monitor air temperature inside the Abisso Bonetti Cave (Classical Karst, Italy), proving for the first time that a cave in Gorizian Karst can systematically be colder than the outdoor temperature even in winter, recording an internal temperature even lower than 0°C. The Dolphin device can be …

Optimization Of The Baffle Geometry Of A Circular Culvert Outlet Structure To Maximize Energy Dissipation, Kiarash Shirmahi

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

High-velocity flow at culvert outlets can lead to significant soil erosion and damage to downstream infrastructure, particularly in agricultural regions where land protection is critical. Circular culverts, commonly used in transportation systems, are especially susceptible to this issue due to flow acceleration caused by geometric constraints and installation angles. Despite extensive research on energy dissipation in rectangular culverts, limited attention has been given to circular configurations. This study addresses this gap by evaluating the hydraulic performance of baffle systems designed to reduce outlet energy in circular culverts.

A series of laboratory experiments was conducted using a scaled physical model of …

2026 Workshop On Bridging The Gaps: Tackling Microplastics And Nanoplastics Challenges In Coastal Ecosystems, Shenghua Wu, Kaushik Venkiteshwaran, Melike Dizbay-Onat, Alexandra Stenson, Jinhui Wang, Tina Miller-Way, Ebenezer Nyadjro, Bhuvnesh Bharti, John Weinstein, Yi Bao, Shihui Shen, Valerie Longa, Shenghua Zha, John Cleary, Marty Lind

Workshops

This report presents the findings from the 2026 Workshop on Tackling Microplastics and Nanoplastics (MNPs) in Coastal Ecosystems, which took place in Mobile, Alabama. More than 140 experts from universities, government, industry, and community organizations gathered to address the increasing issue of MNPs in coastal regions.

Model Stormwater Standards 2026, Unh Stormwater Center

UNH Stormwater Center

The purpose of post-construction stormwater management standards is to provide reasonable guidance for the regulation of stormwater runoff to protect local natural resources from degradation and prevent adverse impacts to adjacent and downstream land, property, facilities, and infrastructure. These standards regulate discharges from stormwater and runoff from land development projects and other construction activities to control and minimize increases in stormwater runoff rates and volumes, soil erosion, stream channel erosion, and nonpoint source pollution associated with stormwater runoff.

Detecting Sophisticated Cyberattacks On Public Water Infrastructure, Ayrton Purdy

Graduate Theses and Dissertations (2019 - present)

In recent years there has been an increasing number of cyberattacks on public water generation and distribution systems. Advanced persistent attackers could usurp sensors and control systems to contaminate public drinking water. In order to conceal their malicious activity, they can manipulate sensor data flows to give the appearance of normal activity. The compromised sensors would report normal chemical levels even though unsafe water is entering the distribution system. In response, this research proposes a multi-sensor, cross-comparison approach to anomaly detection. The proposed approach is designed to detect sophisticated cyberattacks which are not easily detectable using traditional cyber tools. The …

Using Geoscience To Empower A Community And Provide Access To Potable Groundwater, Hendratta Ali Dr

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

Access to potable water remains challenging around the world and remains one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals for 2030. Barriers to clean water access are exacerbated by the lack of technical expertise, limited funding for education and training, and the absence of reliable infrastructure that provides access to clean water. The Geoscientists Without Borders program, supported FHSU with funding to test, explore and provide access to clean potable groundwater to a rural community in Cameroon. We conducted water quality analyses, identified, mapped and located deep aquifers in fractured metamorphic rocks. Water quality analyses showed acidic pH and elevated amounts …

Downstream Effects Of Post Aerobic Digestion And Divalent Cation Treatment: Dewaterability, Phosphorus Mitigation, And Process Odors, Maya Marisol Quijano Garcia

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This study evaluated post-aerobic digestion (PAD) with aeration, mixing, and divalent cation addition to improve phosphorus capture, dewaterability, and odor control in thermal hydrolysis process (THP)–treated anaerobic digestate at the Hampton Roads Sanitation District’s Atlantic Treatment Plant. A three-day PAD process was operated under constant air flow (5 LPM) and dissolved oxygen (DO)-setpoint (0.2 mg/L) aeration conditions with Ca(OH)₂ or Mg(OH)₂ dosing. Aeration and mixing alone increased polymer demand by 14–46 % relative to untreated influent, indicating enhanced extracellular polymeric substance release. Chemical conditioning partially mitigated this increase but did not restore polymer demand to baseline levels. Dewatered cake total …

How Do Water Utilities Meet Growing Demand And Maintain Resilience Through Water Reuse? A Systems Thinking Approach, Elizabeth F. Vicario

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Water and wastewater utility management is becoming increasingly complex due to factors like urbanization, climate change, new regulations, and rising costs. Utility leaders must balance competing political and financial pressures while managing aging infrastructure, rising demand, climate resilience planning, and customer concerns about affordability. Reuse of treated wastewater has emerged as a promising solution to address scarcity, declining source water quality, and new regulations on wastewater discharge in the United States. However, water reuse is not one-size-fits-all, and bespoke solutions are needed to optimize economic, environmental, and social returns from this finite resource. Despite growing interest, little is known about …

Co-Electrospinning Polyacrylonitrile (Pan) / Polymer Of Intrinsic Microporosity-1 (Pim-1) For Electrochemical-Based Sensor For Pyridine Detection And Absorption, Samar A. Salim

Nanotechnology Research Centre

The electrospinning of the polymer of intrinsic microporosity-1 (PIM-1) poses challenges due to its limited solubility and tendency to form bead-like structures at high concentrations. This work details the synthesis and analysis of electrospun composite fibers made from polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and PIM-1 for electrochemical applications. The data analysis confirmed the successful incorporation of PIM-1 into the PAN matrix. The fiber characteristics were significantly influenced by PIM-1 loading (1–10%), resulting in fiber diameters ranging from 0.8 to 1.7 μm. A 10% concentration of PIM-1 results in the formation of macropores with diameters ranging from 0.5 to 1.7 μm. Optical analysis using …

Multifunctional Green Wall Systems For Greywater Treatment And Hygrothermal Regulation In Egypt, Laila Ossama Mohamed Elhusseiny Abdelsalam

Theses and Dissertations

Increasing environmental concerns regarding climate change and the intensifying challenge of water scarcity in Egypt necessitate the development of innovative, sustainable, and resource-efficient strategies for wastewater reuse. In the built environment, greywater constitutes a significant, relatively low-contaminant wastewater stream that, if treated to comply with Egyptian Codes and relevant international standards, can be safely reused for non-potable applications such as irrigation, landscaping, and building services. This research investigates the efficacy of an integrated green wall panel system, installed on building façades, for decentralized greywater treatment under Egypt’s climatic and environmental conditions, while simultaneously enhancing hygrothermal performance to reduce building energy …

Continuous Sorption Of Ionic Dyes Onto Nanoporous Faujasite Zeolite And The Regeneration Of The Adsorbent, Frederick O. Oshomogho, Miracle Aisosa Omorogieva

BAU Journal - Science and Technology

This study evaluates the efficiency of synthesized faujasite zeolite in the continuous removal of methylene blue from water and tests the reusability of the regenerated adsorbent. Faujasite Zeolite was synthesized from locally available aluminosilicate clay in Edo State using standard methods documented in the literature. XRF analysis affirmed the elemental composition, showing high levels of silica and alumina, which increased its adsorption capacity. SEM images depicted a crystal-clear structure with an octahedral shape and visible micro-pores on the surface. TGA showed effective thermal stability below 300 ºC, with a 10% weight loss between 28.59 ºC and 300 ºC. BET analysis …

When Words Flow Like Water: How The Enbridge Line 3 Pipeline Environmental Impact Statement Failed To Prevent Hydrogeologic Harm In Minnesota, Carly Gutzmann

Journal of Earth and Life Science

For the aquifers of Minnesota, the environmental impact statement (EIS) was a promise of protection that never left the page. An environmental impact statement is meant to be an aid in the decision making process in order to ensure that projects consider potential environmental harms that may occur. However, they are often used instead as another regulatory box to check, rather than as active considerations when planning. As such, a project plan can be flawed from the start—if project developers only consider environmental impacts after they have already put considerable time, effort, and funding into their project as-is, they may …

Powering The Machine, Draining The Planet: Whether U.S. Environmental Law Is Equipped To Regulate The Energy And Water Demands Of Ai Data Centers, Michael Marcu

Journal of Earth and Life Science

Artificial intelligence (AI) data centers have become one of the United States' fastest-growing and least-regulated sources of environmental stress. In 2024 alone, U.S. data centers consumed 183 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity more than the entire nation of Pakistan and consumed an estimated 17 billion gallons of water (IEA, 2025; Berkeley Lab, 2024). By 2030, electricity demand from these facilities is projected to reach 426 TWh, a 133% increase in six years (Pew Research Center, 2025). This paper examines whether the existing U.S. environmental regulatory framework put by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Clean Water Act (CWA), and the …

Uav-Based Sensor Integration For In-Situ Lake Water Quality Monitoring, Alec Campbell

2026 Research Poster Competition

Current water quality assessment methods rely heavily on manual sampling and laboratory analysis, which are time-consuming and difficult to perform in remote or hazardous environments. In surface water monitoring, spatial and temporal resolution is often constrained by labor, access, and logistical limitations of manual sampling programs. This research aims to develop a drone-based system for real-time, in situ lake water quality monitoring. To address these challenges, the project focuses on integrating multiple water quality sensors, including oxidation-reduction potential (ORP), pH, electrical conductivity (EC), turbidity, and a multispectral spectrometer, into a compact, UAV-compatible design capable of collecting spatially referenced data. Methods: …

Assessment Of Soybean Response To Irrigation Variability In Eastern Nebraska Using The Aquacrop Model, Anmol Singh, Saleh Taghvaeian, Yufeng Ge, Derek M. Heeren, Frank Bai

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] is a major irrigated crop in eastern Nebraska, where recent expansions in irrigated agriculture and projected trends in irrigation demand necessitate thorough investigations of approaches that can optimize its irrigation management. In this study, the AquaCrop model was calibrated and validated using 19 variable irrigation treatments from a five-year field experiment. The model accurately simulated canopy cover, soil water content, and grain yield, with validation normalized root mean square error (nRMSE) of 12%, 7%, and 7%, respectively. The model was subsequently applied to estimate soybean yield and water requirement during a 15-year period (2010–2024) …

Assessing Dissolved Organic Matter Sources And Dynamics In Urban Stormwater: Implications For Greenhouse Gases, Harper W. Schmalz

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Stormwater management ponds (SWMPs) are important aspects of land-use planning and increasingly recognized as active sites of biogeochemical processing that influence carbon cycling; however, little research has investigated the controls on dissolved organic and dissolved inorganic carbon (DOC and DIC) within these systems. This thesis examined the processing and transformations of dissolved carbon between three compartments to support the development of a greenhouse gas (GHG) box-model for urban stormwater ponds, including SWMP sediment, surface water, and vegetation. The objective of this thesis was to assess the biogeochemical processes that govern the rate and transformation of DOC and DIC between these …

Jer-2021 Assistance To The State Water Resources Research Institute Program (Year 1 Of 5) For The 104(B) Program, David Tarboton

Funded Research Records

No abstract provided.

Wg-2413 Remote Sensing Of Wine-Grapevine Transpiration For Improving Vine Water Status, Alfonso Faustino Torres

Funded Research Records

No abstract provided.