Water Resource Management Commons^™

Management Applications Of Discontinuity Theory, David G. Angeler, Craig R. Allen, Chris Barichievy, Tarsha Eason, Ahjond S. Garmestani, Nicholas A.J. Graham, Dean Granholm, Lance H. Gunderson, Melinda Knutson, Kristy L. Nash, R. John Nelson, Magnus Nystrom, Trisha L. Spanbauer, Craig A. Stow, Shana M. Sundstrom

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

1. Human impacts on the environment are multifaceted and can occur across distinct spatiotemporal scales. Ecological responses to environmental change are therefore difficult to predict, and entail large degrees of uncertainty. Such uncertainty requires robust tools for management to sustain ecosystem goods and services and maintain resilient ecosystems.

2. We propose an approach based on discontinuity theory that accounts for patterns and processes at distinct spatial and temporal scales, an inherent property of ecological systems. Discontinuity theory has not been applied in natural resource management and could therefore improve ecosystem management because it explicitly accounts for ecological complexity.

3. Synthesis …

Quantifying Spatial Resilience, Craig R. Allen, David G. Angeler, Graeme S. Cumming, Carl Folke, Dirac L. Twidwell, Daniel R. Uden

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

1. Anthropogenic stressors affect the ecosystems upon which humanity relies. In some cases when resilience is exceeded, relatively small linear changes in stressors can cause relatively abrupt and nonlinear changes in ecosystems.

2. Ecological regime shifts occur when resilience is exceeded and ecosystems enter a new local equilibrium that differs in its structure and function from the previous state. Ecological resilience, the amount of disturbance that a system can withstand before it shifts into an alternative stability domain, is an important framework for understanding and managing ecological systems subject to collapse and reorganization.

3. Recently, interest in the influence of …

Biological Invasions, Ecological Resilience And Adaptive Governance, Brian C. Chaffin, Ahjond S. Garmestani, David G. Angeler, Dustin L. Herrmann, Craig A. Stow, Magnus Nystrom, Jan Sendzimir, Matthew E. Hopton, Jurek Kolasa, Craig R. Allen

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

In a world of increasing interconnections in global trade as well as rapid change in climate and land cover, the accelerating introduction and spread of invasive species is a critical concern due to associated negative social and ecological impacts, both real and perceived. Much of the societal response to invasive species to date has been associated with negative economic consequences of invasions. This response has shaped a war-like approach to addressing invasions, one with an agenda of eradications and intense ecological restoration efforts towards prior or more desirable ecological regimes. This trajectory often ignores the concept of ecological resilience and …

Avoiding Decline: Fostering Resilience And Sustainability In Midsize Cities, Craig R. Allen, Hannah E. Birge, Shannon L. Bartelt-Hunt, Rebecca Bevans, Jessica L. Burnett, Barbara A. Cosens, Ximing Cai, Ahjond S. Garmestani, Igor Linkov, Elizabeth A. Scott, Mark D. Solomon, Daniel R. Uden

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Eighty-five percent of United States citizens live in urban areas. However, research surrounding the resilience and sustainability of complex urban systems focuses largely on coastal megacities (>1 million people). Midsize cities differ from their larger counterparts due to tight urban-rural feedbacks with their immediate natural environments that result from heavy reliance and close management of local ecosystem services. They also may be less path-dependent than larger cities due to shorter average connection length among system components, contributing to higher responsiveness among social, infrastructural, and ecological feedbacks. These distinct midsize city features call for a framework that organizes information and …

2016 Nebraska Groundwater Quality Monitoring Report

Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality: Reports

The 2001 Nebraska Legislature passed LB329 (Neb. Rev. Stat. §46-1304) which, in part, directed the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ) to report on groundwater quality monitoring in Nebraska. Reports have been issued annually since December 2001. The text of the statute applicable to this report follows: “The Department of Environmental Quality shall prepare a report outlining the extent of ground water quality monitoring conducted by natural resources districts during the preceding calendar year. The department shall analyze the data collected for the purpose of determining whether or not ground water quality is degrading or improving and shall present the …

Water Current, Volume 48, No. 1, Winter 2016

Water Current Newsletter

2016 tour to Colorado’s South Platte basin June 14-16

Research, awards, speaking engagements, new staff position

Droughtscape, Winter 2016, Kelly Smith

DroughtScape: Quarterly Newsletter of the National Drought Mitigation Center (2007–2023)

Contents

Director’s column

California drought FAQ

October-December 2015 drought

October-December 2015 impacts

2015 drought impacts in review

NDMC hiring geospatial analyst

CA drought exposes social vulnerability

UA helps Arizona ranchers, Forest Service work together

NDMC and partners help southern Plains ranchers manage drought

Chickasaw ranching workshop

Enhanced Pump Schedule Optimization For Large Water Distribution Networks To Maximize Environmental And Economic Benefits, Seyed Mohsen Sadatiyan Abkenar

Wayne State University Dissertations

For more than four decades researchers tried to develop optimization method and tools to reduce electricity consumption of pump stations of water distribution systems. Based on this ongoing research trend, about a decade ago, some commercial pump operation optimization software introduced to the market. Using metaheuristic and evolutionary techniques (e.g. Genetic Algorithm) make some commercial and research tools able to optimize the electricity cost of small water distribution systems (WDS). Still reducing the environmental footprint of these systems and dealing with large and complicated water distribution system is a challenge.

In this study, we aimed to develop a multiobjective optimization …

Optimizing The Safety Margins Governing A Deterministic Design Process While Considering The Effects Of A Future Test And Redesign On Epistemic Model Uncertainty, Nathaniel B. Price

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

At the initial design stage, engineers often rely on low-fidelity models that have high uncertainty. Model uncertainty is reducible and is classified as epistemic uncertainty; uncertainty due to variability is irreducible and classified as aleatory uncertainty. In a deterministic safety-margin-based design approach, uncertainty is implicitly compensated for by using fixed conservative values in place of aleatory variables and ensuring the design satisfies a safety-margin with respect to design constraints. After an initial design is selected, testing (e.g. physical experiment or high-fidelity simulation) is performed to reduce epistemic uncertainty and ensure the design achieves the targeted levels of safety. Testing is …

Mobility Of Escherichia Coli Within Karst Terrains, Kentucky, Usa, Ashley M. Bandy

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

Bacterial contamination of karst aquifers is a concern as water quality across the globe deteriorates in the face of decreasing water security. This study examined the transport and attenuation of two non-virulent isolates of Escherichia coli in relation to traditional groundwater tracers such as rhodamine WT dye and latex microspheres in two karst regions in Kentucky. Differential movement between the four tracers was observed in both epikarst and karst aquifer traces, with differences in behavior dependent on flow conditions. Attenuation was greater for the bacterial isolate containing the iha gene, compared to the isolate containing the kps gene. Microspheres of …

Global And Regional Assessments Of Unsustainable Groundwater Use In Irrigated Agriculture, Danielle S. Grogan

Doctoral Dissertations

Groundwater is an essential input to agriculture world-wide, but it is clear that current rates of groundwater use are unsustainable in the long term. This dissertation assesses both current use of groundwater for country- to global-scale agriculture, and looks at the future of groundwater. The focus is on 1) quantifying food directly produced as a result of groundwater use across spatially-varying agricultural systems, 2) projecting future groundwater demands with consideration of climate change and human decision-making, and 3) understanding the system dynamics of groundwater re-use through surface water systems. All three are addressed using a process-based model designed to simulate …

Assessing The Impacts Of Climate Change On The Surface Temperature Of Inland Lakes In Michigan, Kaitlin Reinl

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The aim of this study was to validate and apply a lake model for predicting the susceptibility of small inland lakes in Michigan to changes in thermal regime and increased cyanobacteria growth as a result of future climate conditions. The Freshwater Lake Model was selected, tested for sensitivity to various inputs, and validated through comparison to observed conditions. The sensitivity analysis showed that the lake model was most sensitive to solar radiation, air temperature, and air humidity. Comparison of predicted climate data with observed conditions revealed highly variable climate model error. The lake model validation was conducted using 10 lakes …

A Step In The Right Direction: Streambank Restoration Efforts At The Botanical Garden Of The Ozarks, Dylan S. Milholen, Madison Brown, Steven Thao, Lisa S. Wood

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

The Botanical Garden of the Ozarks (BGO) is a unique destination in Northwest Arkansas that draws more than 80,000 visitors a year. While the BGO manages low-input practices, run-off from pesticide application and synthetic fertilizers containing phosphorus and nitrogen are of concern to water quality, habitat, and overall ecological interactions of the BGO streambanks and adjacent Hilton Creek, which flows directly into Lake Fayetteville. One way to reduce pollution to waterbodies is through the use of riparian buffers. This project sought to establish a riparian buffer immediately adjacent to a portion of Hilton Creek in an effort to improve ecological …

Chemical Removal Of Total Phosphorus From Wastewater To Low Levels And Its Analysis, Farah Ateeq

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Numerous studies have been conducted on the removal of inorganic phosphorus (P) from wastewater, but a push towards lower effluent targets necessitates the additional removal of organic phosphorus as well. This study tested the ability of manganese oxide nanoparticles and iron oxide as potential catalysts for conversion of organic P into more readily removable inorganic forms, as well as the role of iron(III) chloride as coagulant to subsequently allow P to be removed by solids/liquid separation. Removals of 99-101% were obtained for model compounds at pH 5-7, 0.05-0.5 M H₂O₂, and Fe:P molar ratio of 5:1. …

Geochemical Processes And Controls Affecting Water Quality Of The Karst Area Of Big Creek Near Mt. Judea, Arkansas, V. Brahana, J. Nix, C. Kuyper, T. Turk, F. Usrey, S. Hodges, C. Bitting, K. Ficco, E. Pollock, R. Quick, B. Thompson, J. Murdoch

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

Karst regions typically are considered to be vulnerable with respect to various land-use activities, owing to the intimate association of surface and groundwater and lack of contaminant attenuation provided by most karst aquifers. Inasmuch as the soluble rocks of the karst landscape can be dissolved to create large, rapid-flow zones that compete successfully with surface streams, groundwater and subsurface flow represent a much larger component of the hydrologic budget in karst regions than in areas where non-soluble rocks predominate. Karst areas typically are distinguished by being unique, but some general approaches can be applied to characterize the hydrology of the …

River Report. State Of The Lower St. Johns River Basin, Florida: Water Quality, Fisheries, Aquatic Life, Contaminants, 2016, Environmental Protection Board, City Of Jacksonville, University Of North Florida, Jacksonville University, Gerry Pinto, Nisse Goldberg, Radha Pyati, Peter Bacopoulos, Anthony Ouellette, Gretchen Bielmyer-Fraser, An-Phong Le, Ray Oldakowski

State of the River Report

No abstract provided.

Assessing The Evolution Of Soil Moisture And Vegetation Conditions During The 2012 United States Flash Drought, Jason A. Otkin, Martha C. Anderson, Christopher R. Hain, Mark D. Svoboda, David K. Johnson, Richard Mueller, Tsegaye Tadesse, Brian D. Wardlow, Jesslyn Brown

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

This study examines the evolution of several model-based and satellite-derived drought metrics sensitive to soil moisture and vegetation conditions during the extreme flash drought event that impacted major agricultural areas across the central U.S. during 2012. Standardized anomalies from the remote sensing based Evaporative Stress Index (ESI) and Vegetation Drought Response Index (VegDRI) and soil moisture anomalies from the North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS) are compared to the United States Drought Monitor (USDM), surface meteorological conditions, and crop and soil moisture data compiled by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).

Overall, the results show that rapid decreases in …

The Implications Of Climate Change For Nebraska: Summary Report Of Sector-Based Roundtable Discussions, Donald A. Wilhite, Kimberly Morrow

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

This report is the result of the work of many individuals that contributed to the success of the series of eight sector-based roundtable events that were held in September and October of 2015. First and foremost, we would like to thank the organizers and the organizations they represent for their leadership in bringing together a diverse set of key stakeholders to discuss the implications of climate change on their sector. It was such a pleasure to work with such a dedicated group of individuals. Second, we would like to thank the more than 350 people who participated in these discussions …

New Tools For Assessing Drought Conditions For Rangeland Management, Cody Knutson, Brian Fuchs

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Historical drought assessment and ongoingmonitoring is essential for understanding past drought occurrence, the relationships between past drought and its impacts, and for triggering action during current drought events. • A variety of new products have recently been developed to better monitor drought conditions and assess past occurrences at the local scale. • A growing number of resources are available to assist rangeland managers to develop a monitoring system and incorporate it into a drought management plan.

Identification And Quantification Of Zooplankton In Ne Ohio Drinking Water Reservoirs, Michael Vigorito

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, are present in most freshwater ecosystems and are usually harmless. When these algae swell in numbers, they release harmful toxins that can be detrimental to animal and human health, and can destroy ecosystems. For this reason, many scientists and engineers have studied these harmful algal blooms in an attempt to predict, prevent, or control them to keep people and ecosystems safe. One of the variables in this investigation is the presence and quantity of zooplankton. These animals could play an important role in the prevalence of cyanobacteria, but more information is needed to determine what that …

Temporal Variations Of Streamflow In A Mid-Latitude Eurasian Steppe Watershed In The Past Half Century, Xixi Wang

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Previous studies either did not identify abrupt change or identified such change but did not exclude it from the detection of trend in streamflow. As a result, an overall downward trend might be erroneously detected as an upward trend because of abrupt increase, while an overall upward trend could be faked as a downward trend due to abrupt decrease. The objectives of this study were to: (1) present a methodology to analyze trend in streamflow in the presence of abrupt change; and (2) use this methodology to detect trend and extreme occurrence of streamflow in the Upper Balagaer River watershed, …

Water Management Efficiency In The Food And Beverage Industry, Maria Del C Reyes Torres

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Water is critical for food production, food security, and health. Water quality management influences freshwater sustainability, land, and energy administration. Global agriculture accounts for more than 70% of all water consumption; the fertilizer, manure, and pesticide overspills are chief sources of water pollution worldwide. On a global scale, food-related waste directly impacts local food production and water resource management. The purpose of this multiple-case study on the food and beverage (FB) industry in the State of Georgia was to identify successful strategies for improving water management efficiency. The concepts of systems thinking, adaptive resource management, and integrated water resource management …

Modeling Spring Catchment Discharge: A Case Study Of Candela, Panama, Central America, Jordan P. Van Sickle

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Where the proper geological and hydrological conditions exist, natural springs have provided a reliable source of clean water to mankind for eons. Changing climates and land development can negatively impact spring source replenishment and threaten their reliability as a source of water. In the face of prospects of diminishing supplies and increasing population demands, community leaders question whether and how to invest in development for enhancing sustainability and protecting water quality, causing water managers to dispute their reliability given decreasing flows. Springs located in the rugged jungle of western Panama serve as the primary water supply for many indigenous communities, …

Pumpage Reduction By Using Variable Rate Irrigation To Mine Undepleted Soil Water, Tsz Him Lo, Derek M. Heeren, Derrel Martin, Luciano Mateos, Joe D. Luck, Dean E. Eisenhauer

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Conventional irrigation schedules are typically based on portions of the field where root zones hold the least available soil water. This leaves undepleted available water in areas with larger water holding capacities. The undepleted water could be used through variable-rate irrigation (VRI) management; however, the benefits of VRI without in-field mapping are unexamined. In this research, the field-averaged amount of undepleted available soil water in the root zone was calculated from the NRCS Soil Survey Geographic database for 49,224 center-pivot irrigated fields in Nebraska. Potential reductions in pumpage from mining undepleted available water were then estimated. Results of the analysis …

Adsorption Of Antibiotics By Vermiculite, Mosa J. Ferdous

Dissertations and Theses

The occurrence of residual antibiotics in the environment has been a worldwide issue and warrants the development of inexpensive yet effective methods for antibiotics removal from contaminated water. In this thesis work, the adsorption of four antibiotics, namely chlorotetracycline (CTC), oxytetracycline (OTC), ofloxacin (OFL), and enrofloxacin (ENR), onto natural vermiculite has been studied using batch (static) and column (dynamic) adsorption techniques. The Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models were initially used to explain the adsorption processes. The separation factor (RL) values derived from the Langmuir model and the 1/n values derived from Freundlich model in the present investigation were less than …

Non-Point Sources And Point Sources For Nutrient And Fecal Microbe Contamination In A Typical Upland Stream: Tates Creek, Madison County, Kentucky, Walter S. Borowski, Malcolm P. Frisbie

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Tates Creek (Madison County, Kentucky) is characterized by an oversupply of nutrients and fecal microbe contamination. Its watershed is dominated by pastureland and immature woodlands with scattered settlements served by septic systems, whereas, 5% of the watershed drains urban areas of Richmond, Kentucky. Creek waters are eutrophic and commonly display levels of Escherichia coli deemed unfit for human contact by United States Environmental Protection Agency standards. Both point and non-point sources existed for stream contaminants. A secondary sewage treatment plant (STP) discharged effluent into the creek until mid-2011 and was a point source for nitrate and phosphate. Pastureland likely contributes …

Evaluating Floating Treatment Wetlands To Improve Nitrogen Removal In A Wet Detention Pond, Zachary Marimon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Wet detention ponds are used for stormwater treatment across the United States and reduce most pollutants by at least 60%, but only remove 30% of total nitrogen. Floating Treatment Wetlands (FTWs) are an emerging technology that uses aquatic plants suspended in the pelagic zone to remove nitrogen through vegetative assimilation and microbial denitrification. A before-after field experiment evaluated nitrogen removal in a an existing pond in Orlando, FL, retrofitted with BioHaven® FTWs planted with the aquatic macrophytes Juncus effusus (Soft Rush) and Pontederia cordata (Pickerelweed). Surface water samples were used to compare the nitrogen removal performance of the pond under …

Marine Ecoregion And Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Affect Recruitment And Population Structure Of A Salt Marsh Snail, Steven C. Pennings, Scott Zengel, Jacob Oehrig, Merryl Alber, T. Dale Bishop, Donald R. Deis, Donna Devlin, A. Randall Hughes, John J. Hutchens, Jr., Whitney M. Kiehn, Caroline R. Mcfarlin, Clay L. Montague, Sean P. Powers, C. Edward Proffitt, Nicholle Rutherford, Camille L. Stagg, Keith Walters

University Faculty and Staff Publications

Marine species with planktonic larvae often have high spatial and temporal variation in recruitment that leads to subsequent variation in the ecology of benthic adults. Using a combination of published and unpublished data, we compared the population structure of the salt marsh snail, Littoraria irrorata, between the South Atlantic Bight and the Gulf Coast of the United States to infer geographic differences in recruitment and to test the hypothesis that the Deepwater Horizon oil spill led to widespread recruitment failure of L. irrorata in Louisiana in 2010. Size-frequency distributions in both ecoregions were bimodal, with troughs in the distributions consistent …

Ogeechee Riverkeeper Oral Histories, Zach S. Henderson Library Special Collections

Finding Aids

This collection consists of oral history interviews of people who grew up living on the Ogeechee River and its watershed. The interviews were conducted from 2016-2017 for Phase I of the Ogeechee Project, but the topics span a broad range of time - including family lore and artifacts from Native American settlement and the Colonial Period through today. Materials include photographs and written documents with audio recordings making the bulk of the collection. Materials were originally collected by c.a.s.e. Consulting Services for the Ogeechee Riverkeeper organization.

Find this collection in the University Libraries' catalog.

Texas Water Roadmap Forum: Workforce Education, Data, And Research. Institute For Water Resources Science And Technology, Rudolph A. Rosen

Water Resources Science and Technology Book and E-Book Publications and Reports (Archived)

The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) and National Science Foundation Coordination Network on Climate, Energy, Environment and Engagement in Semiarid Regions (NSF/RCN-CE3SAR) co-sponsored the 2016 Texas Water Roadmap Forum. Focusing on workforce education, data, and research, the forum was hosted by the Institute for Water Resources Science and Technology on the campus of Texas A&M University–San Antonio on November 29, 2016. The forum brought together Texans from diverse technical, academic, research, management, and business backgrounds in water to participate in the third in a series of water roadmap forums facilitated by NSF/RCN-CE3SAR. By envisioning a future Texas where water security …