Water Resource Management Commons^™

Water Security For Texas: A Post-Secondary Education Pathway For The Water Workforce, Rudolph A. Rosen, Luis A. Cifuentes, James Fischer, Howard Marquise, John C. Tracey

Water Resources Science and Technology Faculty Publications (Archived)

Water and wastewater industry leaders in Texas and throughout the United States have expressed concern over high rates of retirement eligibility and difficulties finding and attracting workers ready to fill job openings, especially for work in smaller systems. In late January 2018, the U.S. Government Accountability Office released a report on water workforce readiness and a bill was introduced in the U.S. Senate to establish a water infrastructure workforce development program. Concern over existing education of workers in water and demographic information projecting future workforce readiness are commonly cited as signaling a coming crisis for the water industry. An alignment …

Recovery Of Nutrients From Anaerobically Digested Enhanced Biological Phosphorus Removal (Ebpr) Sludge Through Struvite Precipitation, Maraida Balaguer-Barbosa

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Water resources in Florida have been severely degraded by eutrophic conditions, resulting toxic algae blooms, which negatively affect health and tourism. Eutrophication, or excessive amount of phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) in water, overstimulates the production of aquatic plants, depletes dissolved oxygen, and deteriorates the aquatic environment. However, phosphorus is a non-renewable resource essential for all living organisms. In fact, more than half of the total demand for P globally is to supply the food industry, which has concerningly accelerated the depletion rates of phosphate reserves.

In many wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), the enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) approach has …

Numerical Investigation Of Transition Between Free Surface Flow And Pressurized Flow For A Circular Pipe Flowing Full Upstream, Tanjina Afrin, Abdul A. Khan, Nigel B. Kaye

S.C. Water Resources Conference

The South Carolina Water Resources Conference (SCWRC) provides an integrated forum for discussion of water policies, research projects and water management in order to prepare for and meet the growing challenge of providing water resources to sustain and grow South Carolina’s economy, while preserving our natural resources.

Cooperative Planning For Source Water Protection: Targeting Sediment In The Upper Saluda River Watershed, Melanie Ruhlman, Angela Vandelay, Cindy Roper

S.C. Water Resources Conference

The South Carolina Water Resources Conference (SCWRC) provides an integrated forum for discussion of water policies, research projects and water management in order to prepare for and meet the growing challenge of providing water resources to sustain and grow South Carolina’s economy, while preserving our natural resources.

Supporting Coastal Resiliency By Investigating Tidal Reach And Inter-Connected Factors In Coastal Georgia, S. E. Rosenquist, C. J. Hintz

S.C. Water Resources Conference

The South Carolina Water Resources Conference (SCWRC) provides an integrated forum for discussion of water policies, research projects and water management in order to prepare for and meet the growing challenge of providing water resources to sustain and grow South Carolina’s economy, while preserving our natural resources.

When The Well Runs Dry: Why Water-Rich States Need To Prepare For Climate Change And Protect Their Groundwater, Danielle Takacs

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

It may seem surprising to see such concern over groundwater usage in a state like Wisconsin. While known for its dairy and cheese production, Wisconsin is first in the nation for producing snap beans and cranberries. Agriculture contributes $88.3 billion annually to Wisconsin’s economy alone. In addition to bordering two of the Great Lakes, Lake Michigan and Lake Superior, Wisconsin boasts that it is home to about 15,000 lakes. And this does not include the numerous rivers and streams throughout the state. These facts alone may make Wisconsin seem an unlikely place for disputes over groundwater, as water seems to …

The Waters Of Antarctica: Do They Belong To Some States, No States, Or All States?, Linda A. Malone

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

Major issues and complexities arise when one is looking at the international puzzle that is Antarctica. Despite being uninhabited year round and lacking substantial long-term international law rules for sovereignty, states still try to claim their sovereignty over various parts of Antarctica. The consortium of states under the Antarctica Treaty System (“ATS”) then further aggravates these complexities, especially when other states outside of the ATS have been arguing for different regimes and approaches to dealing with Antarctica and resource exploitation. Due to these major issues and a desperate need for a resolution in times of global climate change, this Article …

Brownsfields To Greenfields: Environmental Justice Versus Environmental Gentrification, Juliana A. Maantay, Andrew Maroko

Publications and Research

Gentrification is a growing concern in many urban areas, due to the potential for displacement of lower-income and other vulnerable populations. This process can be accelerated when neighborhood “greening” projects are undertaken via governmental or private investor efforts, resulting in a phenomenon termed environmental or “green” gentrification. Vacant land in lower-income areas is often improved by the existing community through the creation of community gardens, but this contributes to these greening efforts and paradoxically may spur gentrification and subsequent displacement of the gardens’ stewards and neighbors. “Is proximity to community gardens in less affluent neighborhoods associated with an increased likelihood …

Spatial Analysis Of Borrow Pits Along The Platte River In South-Central Nebraska, Usa, In 1957 And 2016, Nicole M. Pauley, Mary J. Harner, Emma M. Brinley Buckley, Paul R. Burger, Keith Geluso

Transactions of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences and Affiliated Societies

The Central Platte River Valley (CPRV) of Nebraska provides critical habitat for wildlife, while serving agricultural, indus­trial, and other human uses. Mining of sand and gravel from the floodplain of the Platte River has supported construction of roads and other uses, and this extraction has created many borrow-pit ponds, lakes, and other small bodies of standing water (hereafter borrow-pits), further transforming riparian and prairie habitats. The objective of this study was to compare the abundance, size, and distribution of borrow pits before construction of Interstate 80 (1957) and at present (2016) from Lexington to Chapman, Nebraska, a length of river …

Season-Ahead Forecasting Of Water Storage And Irrigation Requirements – An Application To The Southwest Monsoon In India, Arun Ravindranath, Naresh Devineni, Upmanu Lall, Paulina Concha Larrauri

Publications and Research

Water risk management is a ubiquitous challenge faced by stakeholders in the water or agricultural sector. We present a methodological framework for forecasting water storage requirements and present an application of this methodology to risk assessment in India. The application focused on forecasting crop water stress for potatoes grown during the monsoon season in the Satara district of Maharashtra. Pre-season large-scale climate predictors used to forecast water stress were selected based on an exhaustive search method that evaluates for highest ranked probability skill score and lowest root-mean-squared error in a leave-one-out cross-validation mode. Adaptive forecasts were made in the years …

Detection, Occurrence And Fate Of Emerging Contaminants In Agricultural Environments, Daniel D. Snow, David A. Cassada, Saptashati Biswas, Mohammedreza Shafieifini, Xu Li, Matteo D'Alessio, Laura Carter, J. Brett Sallach

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

A total of 75 papers published in 2017 were reviewed ranging from detailed descriptions of analytical methods, to fate and occurrence studies, to ecological effects and sampling techniques for a wide variety of emerging contaminants likely to occur in agricultural environments. New methods and studies on veterinary pharmaceuticals, steroids, antibiotic resistance genes, and engineered nanoparticles agricultural environments continue to expand our knowledge base on the occurrence and potential impacts of these compounds. This review is divided into the following sections: Introduction, Analytical Methods, Fate and Occurrence, Pharmaceutical Metabolites, Anthelmintics, Antibiotic Resistance Genes, and Engineered Nanomaterials.

Algal Blooms In Arkansas Streams, Ponds, And Lakes, Bradley J. Austin, Brie Olsen, Tate Wentz, Brian E. Haggard

Arkansas Water Resource Center Fact Sheets

Did you know that algae are a natural part of ponds, lakes, streams, and rivers? These organisms grow in the water (plankton) and on rocks, plants, and other surfaces (periphyton) and sometimes periphyton slough off into the water (seston). Most of the time these algae are hardly noticeable in waterbodies; however, sometimes they can form very noticeable algal blooms.

Simulation Of Groundwater Flow, 1895–2010, And Effects Of Additional Groundwater Withdrawals On Future Stream Base Flow In The Elkhorn And Loup River Basins, Central Nebraska—Phase Three, Amanda T. Flynn, Jennifer S. Stanton

United States Geological Survey: Water Reports and Publications

Document abstract

The United States Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Lewis and Clark, Lower Elkhorn, Lower Loup, Lower Platte North, Lower Niobrara, Middle Niobrara, Upper Elkhorn, and the Upper Loup Natural Resources Districts, designed a study to refine the spatial and temporal discretization of a previously modeled area. This updated study focused on a 30,000-square-mile area of the High Plains aquifer and constructed regional groundwater-flow models to evaluate the effects of groundwater withdrawal on stream base flow in the Elkhorn and Loup River Basins, Nebraska. The model was calibrated to match groundwater-level and base-flow data from the stream-aquifer …

Droughtscape, Fall 2018, National Drought Mitigation Center

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

Contents

From the director

Drought greatly improves in Southern Plains and South

Texas, Missouri, and Colorado logged late-summer impacts

Memory, remote sensing and a new research methodology

Navigating the U.S. Drought Monitor

Planners discuss the barriers to effective drought mitigation planning

Exploring climate issues from a county management perspective

Strategic Framework for Drought Risk Management and Enhancing Resilience in Africa

Mena global policy forum looks from data to mitigation

About us

State-by-state drought classification table developed by NDMC graduate student

Adaptive Groundwater Governance And The Challenges Of Policy Implementation In Idaho’S Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer Region, Margaret V. Du Bray, Morey Burnham, Katrina Running, Vicken Hillis

Human-Environment Systems Research Center Faculty Publications and Presentations

Globally, groundwater overdraft poses significant challenges to agricultural production. As a result, it is likely that new water management policies and governance arrangements will be needed to stop groundwater depletion and maintain agricultural viability. Drawing on interviews with state and non-state water managers and other water actors, this paper provides a study of a recent resource management agreement between surface water and groundwater irrigators in the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer region of Idaho. Using adaptive governance as our descriptive framework, we examine how groundwater governance arrangements emerge and are applied to mitigate the impacts of groundwater overdraft. Our findings suggest …

La Calidad Del Agua Y El Impacto En La Salud Pública: Un Examen A Las Fuentes Del Agua En La Amazonia Cerca De Puyo, Ecuador Y La Salud De Las Comunidades Indígenas / Water Quality And The Impact On Public Health: An Examination Of Water Sources In The Amazon Near Puyo, Ecuador And The Health Of Indigenous Communities, Mary Kathryn Mcgregor

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Agua limpia es una de las cosas más importantes para la salud humana y el acceso a esta es un derecho humano. Sin embargo, mucha gente todavía no tiene acceso a agua limpia, especialmente en las áreas rurales. El objetivo de este proyecto fue determinar la salud de 3 de las 11 comunidades de la nacionalidad Shuar cerca de Puyo, Ecuador, en la región amazónica con análisis de macroinvertebrados, pH, temperatura y bacterias. Las comunidades de Yuu, Kunkuk y Pitirishca fueron elegidas porque Pitirishca tiene agua entubada y las otras no la tienen, así que necesitan tomar el agua de …

Sources Of Contaminated Flood Sediments In A Rural–Urban Catchment: Johnson Creek, Oregon, Heejun Chang, Deonie Allen, Jennifer L. Morse, Janardan Mainali

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study investigated the delivery of contaminated sediments to the channel network by urban drainage systems in Johnson Creek in Oregon, USA. Concentrations of five heavy metal concentrations measured in 136 samples collected from 37 stormwater outfalls and 99 bed sampling points were analysed. While concentrations of zinc, cadmium and lead increased with distance downstream in Johnson Creek, this was not the case for chromium and copper. Zinc, copper, and cadmium concentrations in outfalls were significantly higher than those in the stream bed, indicating that stormwater runoff is responsible for delivering contaminated sediments to Johnson Creek. Zinc concentrations in outfalls …

Removal Efficiencies, Uptake Mechanisms And Competitive Effects Of Copper And Zinc In Various Stormwater Filter Media, Emily Heleva-Ponaski

Dissertations and Theses

Polluted stormwater, if not treated, can compromise water quality throughout our hydrologic cycle, adversely affecting aquatic ecosystems. Common stormwater pollutants, copper and zinc, have been identified as primary toxicants in multiple freshwater and marine environments. For small-scale generators, stormwater management can be cumbersome and implementation of common BMPs impractical thus catch basins are popular though not the most environmentally conscious and sustainable option. This study aims to characterize the potential of a mobile media filter operation for the treatment and on-site recycling of catch basin stormwater. The removal capacities of various commercially available filter media (e.g. a common perlite; Earthlite™, …

Report Of Community Conversations About Gender Roles In Livestock, Mamusha Lemma, Wole Kinati, Annet Mulema, Zekarias Bassa, Abiro Tigabe, Hiwot Desta, Mesfin Mekonnen, Tadious Asfaw

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the International Center for Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) gender and animal health teams facilitated community conversations (CCs) about gender roles in livestock husbandry in three districts in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region (SNNPR) and Amhara region from 30 May–07 June 2018. These dictricts were: Doyogena (Hawora Arara and Ancha Sadicha kebeles) of SNNPR from 30 and 31 May; and Menz Gera district (Sine Amba kebele) and Menz Mama district (Key Afer kebele) of Amhara from June 6–7. In Doyogena, the team held the conversations in farmer training centres (FTCs) …

Umphlett Qci Sept 2018, Natalie Umphlett

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

Highlights for the Basin

Temperature and Precipitation Anomalies

Drought

Water Resources

Agriculture

Temperature

Precipitation

Regulation Of Dissolved Arsenic Using Zero-Valent Iron With Gypsum And Sulfate Reducing Bacteria: Laboratory Microcosm And Column Studies, Ying Liu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Bench scale microcosm incubation was first conducted in two stages to examine the removal of arsenic (As) by zero-valent iron (ZVI) in the presence of sulfate reducing bacteria, gypsum as well as organic substrates under anaerobic condition. About 98% of dissolved As was removed from solution within 20 days with concurrent decrease of dissolved sulfate and growth of bacterial population. Mineralogy analysis using SEM-EDS found the formation of iron sulfide and Fourier-transformed infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy analysis indicates that some As is associated with pyrite. The main iron corrosion product was found as ferrihydrite with traces of lepidocrocite. Sequential leaching shows …

Assessing The Relationship Between Groundwater Nitrate Concentrations And Environmental Variables Through Repeat Sampling And Statistical Machine Learning: Dutch Flats, Nebraska, Martin Wells

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Nitrate-contaminated aquifers are common in landscapes dominated by agricultural land use. Health concerns related to consuming nitrate-contaminated groundwater are well documented and continued research aimed at decreasing concentrations is critical. A 1990s U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) study focused on groundwater characteristics in the Dutch Flats area of western Nebraska. Agricultural-related practices were determined to largely influence groundwater recharge and nitrate concentrations ([NO₃^-]). Since the conclusion of the USGS study, a transition to more efficient irrigation technology has been observed in this region. The emphasis of this 2016 study was to resample several well nests examined in 1998 …

Impacts Of Updated Design Rainfall Values On Louisiana Infrastructure, Mario Durbic

LSU Master's Theses

The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LADOTD) has a Hydraulics Manual which sets forth drainage design standards and codes for projects. The Manual contains maximum annual 24-hour rainfall maps and Intensity-Duration-Frequency (IDF) curves for the return periods of 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, and 100 years. The Manual divides Louisiana into three regions and specifies that all of the cities within a given region should use the same estimated rainfall intensities and rainfall depths. NOAA Atlas 14, the Precipitation-Frequency Atlas of United States, contains the latest rainfall data and statistics for much of the United States and provides the …

Assessing Spatiotemporal Stream Temperature Trends And Drivers Through Integrated Longitudinal Thermal Profiling And Stationary Data Logger Methodology On The Upper Chehalis River, Wa, Whitney Vonada

Dissertations and Theses

This study encompasses 25 kilometers of the Chehalis River in Washington, USA that currently has sections under a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) plan for stream temperature impairments that exceed 18°C, a regulatory standard set at the time of the listing to protect salmonid spawning, rearing, and migration. Using information integrated from stationary data loggers (n=22) that collected stream temperature information from August 4-September 10, 2017, and longitudinal thermal profiling performed on July 29-30, August 4-5, and September 9-10, 2017, this study aimed to quantify the spatial distribution of stream temperature, evaluate relative consistencies of the riverine thermal regime over …

Next Generation Sequencing Methods For Coastal Zone Water Quality Monitoring, Catherine Iskrenko

HCNSO Student Capstones

When analyzing the water quality of the coastal zone, culture-based techniques have been utilized most often to identify Fecal Indicator Bacteria in samples. Since the advent of the Sanger Method for DNA sequencing, other techniques have arisen that provide significantly more information on the microorganisms in sample, but they are still not the mainstream for water quality analysis. This capstone reviews and compares culture-based techniques, DNA sequencing, RNA sequencing, qPCR for biomarker, and 16S rDNA sequencing to highlight their merits and shortcomings for analyzing environmental water samples. The technique presented that provides the broadest range of information (including the identification …

The Effect Of Two Different Harvesting Methods On The Yield Of 'Topbunch' And 'Hi-Crop' Collards (Brassica Oleracea (L)) When Grown In A Wiregrass Tunnel House, Veronica E. Walton, Raymon Shange, Melissa Johnson, Edward Sparks, Victor Khan, James E. Currington, Ramble Ankumah, Nathaniel Ellison, George X. Hunter Jr., Jeffery L. Moore

Professional Agricultural Workers Journal

A study was conducted to determine if 100% or 50% harvesting of collard leaves was a suitable recommendation for Tunnel House producers. The experiment was conducted as a split-split plot design with varieties as the main plots, harvesting 100% or 50% of leaves as the sub-plots, and days after transplanting as the subplots. All treatments were replicated three times, drip irrigated, and fertilized according to soil test recommendations. The results showed significant interactions between varieties and method of harvest, for leaf numbers and weight. Conversely, the varieties showed significant differences for yield but not leaf numbers. Both varieties showed significant …

Analysis Of Temperature And Salinity Effects On Growth And Mortality Of Oysters (Crassostrea Virginica) In Louisiana, Troy Sehlinger

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Salinity (S) and temperature (T) control every facet of the eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) life cycle, principally reproduction, development, growth, and mortality. Previous studies conducted in in the Breton Sound (BR) and Barataria (BA) estuaries have reported differences in growth and mortality rates between the basins. In the present study, environmental conditions were synchronized to compare growth and mortality rates between basins at similar combinations of T and S. Results indicate that when T and S are the same (synchronized), seasonal oyster growth and mortality rates differ between BR and BA. Seasonal analyses revealed that as salinities increased …

Growth Of Pelagic Age-0 Yellow Perch In Relation To Hatch Dates And Water Temperature In North-Central Minnesota Lakes, Ethan Karppinen

Biology Graduate Theses

Exposure to consistent water warming rates and access to abundant populations of edible sized zooplankton affects growth and increases the probability of survival for newly hatched Yellow Perch Perca flavescens. Seven lakes with varying physical characteristics were selected in north-central Minnesota to study abiotic (water temperature) and biotic (zooplankton community and fish growth) progressions during the spring and early summer (April-June). Mean water temperatures from ice-out to 28 June (11.98-14.62 °C) had significant relationships with mean depth (P < 0.01, R? = 0.85), max depth (P < 0.01, R? = 0.73), and total volume (P < 0.01, R2 = 0.54). Hatch periods ranged from 13 to 19 days in 2015 and 13 to 25 days in 2016. Cumulative degree-days (CDD) were used to predict Yellow Perch hatch periods and explain growth. CDD predicted 21-81% of hatch periods in 2015 and 11-50% in 2016. Mean predicted total lengths at 28 June were 19.65-30.41 mm in 2015 and 20.88-28.54 mm in 2016. There was a significant relationship between CDD and predicted total length (R? = 0.62, P < 0.01) to explain differences in Yellow Perch total length while inhabiting the pelagic zone. Observed gape measurements were highly correlated with predicted gapes from the Schael formula (R? = 0.89, P < 0.01) that was used to assess the availability of edible sized zooplankton for age-0 Yellow Perch in each lake. No predator-prey mismatches were found and earlier hatch dates produced age-0 Yellow Perch with greater predicted total lengths in late June on the majority of lakes. This suggests that earlier hatched Yellow perch have an advantage over later hatched Yellow Perch in attaining greater lengths by late June. Our study provides information on a variety of physical and biological progressions in lakes, which may be used for fisheries management practices in the future.

Methane Emissions From Rice Production On A Silt-Loam Soil In Arkansas, Joshua Jeffry Humphreys

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Methane (CH4) emissions from rice (Oryza sativa L.) production are a source of concern in the environmental and agricultural communities. New and/or revised agronomic methodologies will be needed to identify production practice combinations that reduce CH4 emissions without decreasing yields. The objective of this multi-year study was to evaluate the effects of water management (i.e., full-season flood and mid-season drain) (2015), cultivar (i.e., pure-line cultivar ‘LaKast’ and the RiceTec hybrid “XP753”) (2015), soil organic matter (SOM) concentration (2016), and tillage [conventional tillage (CT) and no-tillage (NT)] and urea-based fertilizers [N-(n-butyl) thiophosphoric triamide (NBPT)-coated urea and non-coated urea] (2017) on CH4 …

Estimating Watershed Mercury Contribution To Lake Fort Smith State Park, Arkansas, Usa, William Miles Harmon

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mercury contamination associated with human activities poses global human health and environmental risks. A fish-consumption advisory has been in effect at Lake Fort Smith in central west Arkansas for more than a decade due to observed methylmercury concentrations in fish tissue. Lake Fort Smith is an important municipal drinking water supply and recreational resource. Water samples from the majority contributing tributary stream, Frog Bayou creek, were collected periodically, under differing hydrologic conditions in order to quantify the allochthonous mercury load delivered to the lake. Temperature, specific conductance, and turbidity data were collected and used to estimate dissolved organic carbon, methylmercury …