Water Resource Management Commons^™

Understanding Sportsperson Retention And Reactivation Through License Purchasing Behavior, Matthew P. Hinrichs, Nathaniel B. Price, Matthew P. Gruntorad, Kevin L. Pope, Joseph J. Fontaine, Christopher J. Chizinski

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Most state and provincial fish and wildlife agencies have access to important information about patterns in sportsperson participation through their license databases. Using transaction data from Nebraska Game and Parks Commission’s electronic hunting and fishing license system, we tracked license purchases of Nebraska, USA, resident license holders in 2010 through 2017. We categorized sportspersons by gender and yearly purchases as hunting only (Hunter), fishing only (Angler), a combination of hunting and fishing (Hunter–Angler), or no purchases (Inactive). The probability of movement among active sportsperson groups was limited and varied little based on initial group participation. The Angler group had the …

Water Current, Volume 52, No. 1, Spring 2020

Water Current Newsletter

MOD$$AT: Ogallala Water CAP’s Integrated Model

The Lowdown on Soil Moisture Monitoring

Innovations in Forages and Grazing in the High Plains

Exploring How Graduates Of The Nebraska Water Leaders Academy Influence Community Capitals: Two Case Studies, Dakota Staggs

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

Natural resources are foundational to any community and so leadership regarding those resources is a key factor to consider in order to understand communities. The vitality and strength of a community, however, is not solely dependent upon the natural resources available to it but depends on the collection of assets and individuals within it. This study sought to understand how individual leaders, graduates of the Nebraska Water Leaders Academy, influence each of the seven community capitals outlined by Flora, Flora, and Gasteyer (2016), and how their individual civic capacity, as defined by Sun and Anderson (2012), contribute to community capacity. …

Maize Growth, Yield, Water Productivity And Evapotranspiration Response To Different Irrigation Methods And Amounts And Different Timing And Methods Of Nitrogen Applications, Ali T. Mohammed

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

Declining the quantity and quality of freshwater resources in many parts of the world, including Midwestern USA, especially in the light of rapidly growing world’s population and changing climate, imposes significant and, in some cases imminent, challenges for producers, policy- and decision-makers to produce more yield with less water and other inputs, particularly in water scarcity regions.

There is not comprehensive previous research has quantified and evaluated coupled impacts of irrigation rates and nitrogen timing management strategies and their interactions on maize (Zea mays L.) productivity and its various attributed efficiency index metrics under different irrigation methods under the …

Who Decides: Is Water Life Or Capital? Contesting Visions Of Western Water Management In The 21st Century, Ceorl

Water Resources Professional Project Reports

There is an ideological divide between the goal of universal access to clean water and the outcomes of how water regulations are implemented. John Fleck, author of Water is for Fighting Over: and Other Myths about Water in the West and Sivas, et al. in California Water Governance in the 21st Century present contesting prescriptions for Western water management. The ideologies advocated by Fleck and Sivas, et al. differ as to who enacts and profits from each and exemplify the divide between the goals of water regulations and how they are implemented. Fleck regards water as property and an economic …

Protecting Water Quality In Virginia: Recommendations To Combat Sea Level Rise And Increased Storm Events, Madhavi Kulkarni

Virginia Coastal Policy Center

Impairment of Virginia waters is tied to coastal storm hazards and sea level rise because excess floodwaters are contaminated by flood-exposed industrial and residential facilities, and these toxic floodwaters flow into the state’s water bodies. In Virginia, thousands of industrial facilities can potentially be subjected to the effects of stormwater flooding, hurricane storm surge, and sea level rise, in turn affecting water quality. Failing or unmaintained septic systems also pose a major threat to the quality of Virginia waters that increases with recurrent inundation by flood waters. A combination of changes to law and policy and investment in infrastructure are …

An Emerging Containment Of (Legal) Concern: Pfas Legal Issues At The State And Federal Level, Michael S. Heard Snow, Conor M. Jennings

Virginia Coastal Policy Center

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are a class of man-made industrial chemicals that have been widely used in a variety of ways, primarily in water-resistant coatings and fire-fighting foam. Their widespread use has led to broad contamination threats to human drinking water sources, including surface and groundwater. As a result, they are an emerging contaminant of concern that are swiftly turning into a global health threat on the forefront of regulatory and policy debates. PFAS have been detected in both aquatic life and humans, and research is increasingly clear that there are concrete health risks to excessive exposure. Currently …

Assessment Of An Automated Calibration Of The Sebal Algorithm To Estimate Dry-Season Surface-Energy Partitioning In A Forest–Savanna Transition In Brazil, Leonardo Laipelt, Anderson Luis Ruhoff, Ayan Santos Fleischmann, Rafael Henrique Bloedow Kayser, Elisa De Mello Kich, Humberto Ribeiro Da Rocha, Christopher Michael Usher Neale

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Evapotranspiration (ET) provides a strong connection between surface energy and hydrological cycles. Advancements in remote sensing techniques have increased our understanding of energy and terrestrial water balances as well as the interaction between surface and atmosphere over large areas. In this study, we computed surface energy fluxes using the Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land (SEBAL) algorithm and a simplified adaptation of the CIMEC (Calibration using Inverse Modeling at Extreme Conditions) process for automated endmember selection. Our main purpose was to assess and compare the accuracy of the automated calibration of the SEBAL algorithm using two different sources of meteorological …

Techno-Economic Analysis Of Electrocoagulation On Water Reclamation And Bacterial/Viral Indicator Reductions Of A High-Strength Organic Wastewater—Anaerobic Digestion Effluent, Sibel Uludag-Demirer, Nathan Olson, Rebecca Ives, Jean Pierre Nshimyimana, Cory A. Rusinek, Joan B. Rose, Wei Liao

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Research

This study investigated the use of iron and aluminum and their combinations as electrodes to determine the technically sound and economically feasible electrochemical approach for the treatment of anaerobic digestion effluent. The results indicated that the use of iron as anode and cathode is the most suitable solution among different electrode combinations. The reduction of turbidity, total chemical oxygen demand, total phosphorus, total coliforms, Escherichia coli, Enterococci, and phages in the reclaimed water were 99%, 91%, 100%, 1.5 log, 1.7 log, 1.0 log, and 2.0 log, respectively. The economic assessment further concluded that the average treatment cost is $3 per …

Comparative Analysis Of Water Quality Disparities In The United States In Relation To Heavy Metals And Biological Contaminants, Kaleh Karim, Sujata Guha, Ryan Beni

Chemistry Faculty Research

Drinking water quality can be compromised by heavy metals, such as copper and lead. If consumed raw, water can pose a health burden to the general population. In this study, the roles of heavy metals and biological contaminants have been explored in determining the quality of drinking water available to consumers of various socioeconomic backgrounds in the United States. In an effort to gain an understanding of possible social disparities in drinking water, a quantitative analysis was conducted to examine whether vulnerable populations are disproportionately impacted by drinking water contaminants. Our data indicated that states with middle-average household incomes were …

Weather And Exposure Period Affect Coyote Detection At Camera Traps, Anastasia E. Madsen, Lucia Corral Hurtado, Joseph J. Fontaine

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Abstract Camera traps are an increasingly popular means to monitor wildlife populations. However, like other techniques for measuring populations, camera traps are subject to sources of error that may bias population estimates. Past studies accounting for detection error have failed to account for a simple but potentially widely pervasive source of environmental error: weather conditions. Using 5,108,416 photographs from 804 scent‐lured camera traps deployed in western Nebraska, USA, during spring and autumn of 2014 and 2015, we analyzed the relationship between weather conditions (barometric pressure, wind speed, precipitation, and temperature) and coyote (Canis latrans) detection probability. Using binomial …

Understanding The Effects Of Above- And Belowground Linkages On Carbon Cycling In A High Latitude, Coastal Wetland, Trisha Atwood

Funded Research Records

No abstract provided.

Influence Of Furrow Tillage And Nitrogen Fertilizer Management On Water Quality And Soil Nitrogen Dynamics In Arkansas Irrigated Cotton, Hunter Wood-Pointfield

Student Theses and Dissertations

Furrow irrigation can increase potential for soil erosion and nutrient losses in agricultural cropping systems. A field experiment to examine furrow tillage and N fertilizer application was conducted in irrigated cotton in northeastern Arkansas. Treatments included a conventional sweep plow or conservation plow to clear water furrows and either a subsurface band of 32% urea ammonium nitrate (UAN) or broadcast urea. Runoff water was collected throughout the experiment at the edge of field, and analyzed for water quality. Soil samples of four depths (0-90 cm) were taken during key crop development stages and analyzed for soil exchangeable N. Soluble nutrients …

Influence Of Forest-To-Silvopasture Conversion And Drought On Components Of Evapotranspiration, Adam P. Coble, Alexandra R. Contosta, Richard G. Smith, Nathan W. Siegert, Matthew A. Vadeboncoeur, Katie A. Jennings, Anthony J. Stewart, Heidi Asbjornsen

Natural Resources & the Environment

The northeastern U.S. is projected to experience more frequent short-term (1-2 month) droughts interspersed among larger precipitation events. Agroforestry practices such as silvopasture may mitigate these impacts of climate change while maintaining economic benefits of both agricultural and forestry practices. This study evaluated the effects of forest-to-silvopasture (i.e., 50% thinning) conversion on the components of evapotranspiration (transpiration, rainfall interception, and soil evaporation) during the growing season of 2016. The study coincided with a late-summer drought throughout the northeastern U.S., which allowed us to also evaluate the effects of forest-to-silvopasture conversion on drought responses of multiple tree species, including Pinus strobus, …

Utilizing Objective Drought Severity Thresholds To Improve Drought Monitoring, Zachary T. Leasor, Steven M. Quiring, Mark D. Svoboda

National Drought Mitigation Center: Faculty Publications

Drought is a prominent climatic hazard in the south-central United States. Drought severity is frequently classified using the categories established by the U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM). This study evaluates whether the thresholds for the standardized precipitation index (SPI) used by the USDM accurately classify drought severity. This study uses the SPI based on PRISM precipitation data from 1900 to 2015 to evaluate drought severity in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. The results show that the fixed SPI thresholds for the USDM drought categories may lead to a systematic underestimation of drought severity in arid regions. To address this issue, objective drought …

Potential For Managed Aquifer Recharge To Enhance Fish Habitat In A Regulated River, Robert W. Van Kirk, Bryce A. Contor, Christina N. Morrisett, Sarah E. Null, Ashly S. Loibman

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) is typically used to enhance the agricultural water supply but may also be promising to maintain summer streamflows and temperatures for cold-water fish. An existing aquifer model, water temperature data, and analysis of water administration were used to assess potential benefits of MAR to cold-water fisheries in Idaho’s Snake River. This highly-regulated river supports irrigated agriculture worth US $10 billion and recreational trout fisheries worth $100 million. The assessment focused on the Henry’s Fork Snake River, which receives groundwater from recharge incidental to irrigation and from MAR operations 8 km from the river, addressing (1) the …

Machine Learning Predicts Reach-Scale Channel Types From Coarse-Scale Geospatial Data In A Large River Basin, Hervé Guillon, Colin F. Byrne, Belize A. Lane, Samuel Sandoval Solis, Gregory B. Pasternack

Publications

Hydrologic and geomorphic classifications have gained traction in response to the increasing need for basin-wide water resources management. Regardless of the selected classification scheme, an open scientific challenge is how to extend information from limited field sites to classify tens of thousands to millions of channel reaches across a basin. To address this spatial scaling challenge, this study leverages machine learning to predict reach-scale geomorphic channel types using publicly available geospatial data. A bottom-up machine learning approach selects the most accurate and stable model among∼20,000 combinations of 287 coarse geospatial predictors, preprocessing methods, and algorithms in a three-tiered framework to …

A Design For A Sustained Assessment Of Climate Forcing And Feedbacks Related To Land Use And Land Cover Change, Thomas Loveland, Rezaul Mahmood

High Plains Regional Climate Center: Staff Publications

L and use and land cover change (LULCC) plays an important role in the climate system. Many studies have documented the impacts of LULCC on local, regional, and global climate. The National Climate Assessment Report (Melillo et al. 2014) identifies LULCC as a “cross cutting” issue of future climate change studies. This report, and the previous U.S. Climate Change Science Program strategic plan (2003), noted that land use and land cover (LULC) and its feedback is an important source of uncertainty within the climate system (Melillo et al. 2014). As a result, the report calls for a better understanding of …

Wireless Underground Communications In Sewer And Stormwater Overflow Monitoring: Radio Waves Through Soil And Asphalt Medium, Usman Raza, Abdul Salam

Faculty Publications

Storm drains and sanitary sewers are prone to backups and overflows due to extra amount wastewater entering the pipes. To prevent that, it is imperative to efficiently monitor the urban underground infrastructure. The combination of sensors system and wireless underground communication system can be used to realize urban underground IoT applications, e.g., storm water and wastewater overflow monitoring systems. The aim of this article is to establish a feasibility of the use of wireless underground communications techniques, and wave propagation through the subsurface soil and asphalt layers, in an underground pavement system for storm water and sewer overflow monitoring application. …

Risk And Cost Assessment Of Nitrate Contamination In Domestic Wells, Pongpun Juntakut, Erin M.K. Haacker, Daniel D. Snow, Chittaranjan Ray

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

This study combines empirical predictive and economics models to estimate the cost of remediation for domestic wells exceeding suggested treatment thresholds for nitrates. A multiple logistic regression model predicted the probability of well contamination by nitrate, and a life cycle costing methodology was used to estimate costs of nitrate contamination in groundwater in two areas of Nebraska. In south-central Nebraska, 37% of wells were estimated to be at risk of exceeding a threshold of 7.5 mg/L as N, and 17% were at risk of exceeding 10 mg/L as N, the legal limit for human consumption in the United States. In …

Phytoremediation Of Heavy Metal Contaminated Wastes From Small-Scale Gold Mining Using Pityrogramma Calomelanos, Zar Che Win, Leslie Joy L. Diaz, Teresita R. Perez, Kiyohiko Nakasaki

Environmental Science Faculty Publications

In this study, viability of employing the waste treatment technique for industrial application was conducted by setting up a phytoremediation protocol for field application where heavy metal (Arsenic and Copper) contaminated adsorbents, i.e. coco peat and nanofiber membrane, used for the treatment of wastewater were also included. An arsenic hyperaccumulator, Pityrogramma calomelanos was used for the treatment of mine wastes-tailings, coco peat and nanofiber membrane. Phytoremediation procedure was established by investigating planting parameters namely ; plot height - (9 cm and 15 cm) and planting distance- (15 cm and 20 cm) for a period of five months. Translocation factor and …

Hydrogeology Of The Gillingarra Palaeochannel, Russell Speed, Adele Killen

Resource management technical reports

Previous groundwater investigations had identified the presence of palaeochannel sediments under the Capitela Valley in the Perth Basin, about 25 kilometres south-west of Moora. The sediments of this Capitela Palaeochannel were thought to form a discrete aquifer of good quality groundwater suitable for agriculture.

To improve our understanding of the Capitela Palaeochannel, its distribution, water quality and potential as a groundwater resource, we undertook an airborne electromagnetic (AEM) geophysical survey of the area in December 2012. This led to the discovery of a palaeochannel located in the Darling Range between Gillingarra and New Norcia, and we named this the Gillingarra …

The Impact Of Advanced Treatment Technologies On The Engery Use In Satellite Water Reuse Plants, Jonathan R. Bailey, Sajjad Ahmad, Jacimaria Batista

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

With an ever-increasing world population and the resulting increase in industrialization and agricultural practices, depletion of one of the world’s most important natural resources, water, is inevitable. Water reclamation and reuse is the key to protecting this natural resource. Water reclamation using smaller decentralized wastewater treatment plants, known as satellite water reuse plants (WRP), has become popular in the last decade. Reuse plants have stricter standards for effluent quality and require a smaller land footprint (i.e., real estate area). They also require additional treatment processes and advanced treatment technologies. This greatly increases the energy consumption of an already energy intensive …

Reverse Osmosis; Addressing Freshwater Shortage With Sustainable Desalination, Jessica Savage

Sustainability Conference

Water security is an imperative part of high-functioning societies. Currently, large populations of the globe live in water-impoverished or water-stressed areas. With climate change and growing global populations, projections show more people being impacted by issues of water shortage.

One solution to water security is the implementation of desalination, specifically with reverse osmosis systems. This presentation walks through the history, capabilities, future work, and explanations on how reverse osmosis systems work. With continued research on improving desalination, communities in both developed and developing nations around the world can work towards total water security.

Centering Equity In Oregon’S 100 Year Water Vision: A Student-Led Policy Paper Prepared By The Oregon Water Stories Team At Portland State University, Clare T. Mcclellan, Sadie Boyers, Victoria Cali De Leon, Tony Cole, Laura Cowley-Martinson, Shersten Finley, Dustin Lanker, Julia Seydel, Aakash Nath Upraity, Janet Cowal, Melissa Haeffner

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

The purpose of this report is to provide evidence for the need to further intentionally incorporate equity into Oregon’s 100 Year Water Vision. Four case studies contextualize this need and highlight the variety of water issues throughout the state, supported by linguistic analyses of local newspapers. As Oregon policy-makers are responsible for ensuring working water systems for all Oregonians, we also suggest implementable criteria for the evaluation of equity in water issues and decision-making. This student-led and interdisciplinary report comes from the Haeffner-Cowal Oregon Water Stories research lab at Portland State University.

Statistical Analysis Of Nutrient Loads From The Mississippi-Atchafalaya River Basin (Marb) To The Gulf Of Mexico, Phyllis Okwan, Yi Zhen, Huan Feng, Shinjae Yoo, Murty S. Kambhampati, Abreione Walker, Shayne Boykin, Joe Omojola, Noel Blackburn

Department of Earth and Environmental Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

This study investigated the annual and seasonal variations in nutrient loads (NO₂⁻ + NO₃⁻ and orthophosphate) delivered to the Gulf of Mexico from the Mississippi-Atchafalaya River Basin (MARB) and examined the water quality variations. The results indicate that (1) annually, the mean NO₂⁻ + NO₃⁻ and orthophosphate loads showed a steady increase during 1996–1999, a persistent level during 2000–2007, and a moderate increase during 2008–2016; (2) seasonally, NO₂⁻ + NO₃⁻ and orthophosphate in MARB in spring and summer were higher than those in autumn and winter. Analysis of …

Arjen Y. Hoekstra 1967–2019, Davy Vanham, Mesfin Mekonnen, Ashok K. Chapagain

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Arjen Hoekstra introduced the water footprint in 20021, building on the concept of virtual water Tony Allan to discuss the role of trade in alleviating water scarcity in the Middle East. He thereby opened a new dimension in the debate around fair and sustainable allocation of freshwater resources. He laid the foundations to show the role of indirect water (that is, water used elsewhere to produce goods we consume) in our daily life beyond our direct use for drinking, cooking or washing. The water footprint is an indicator of direct and indirect water use by a producer or consumer, showing …

Swine Slurry Characteristics As Affected By Selected Additives And Disinfectants, Jon Duerschner, Shannon L. Bartelt-Hunt, Kent Eskridge, John E. Gilley, Xu Li, Amy M. Schmidt, Daniel D. Snow

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

Current swine industry practice is to house animals in confinement facilities which capture and store feces and urine as slurry in pits below the production area. Additives and disinfectants may be introduced into the manure pits. This study was conducted to measure the effects of additives and disinfectants on temporal changes in swine slurry characteristics. Slurry from a commercial swine production facility in southeast Nebraska, USA was collected and transferred to 57 L reactors located within a greenhouse. Selected additives and disinfectants were added to the reactors and physical properties, chemical characteristics, and antibiotic concentrations were monitored for 40 days. …

Effects Of Surface Heterogeneity Due To Drip Irrigation On Scintillometer Estimates Of Sensible, Latent Heat Fluxes And Evapotranspiration Over Vineyards, Hatim M. E. Geli, José González-Piqueras, Christopher M. U. Neale, Claudio Balbontín, Isidro Campos, Alfonso Calera

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Accurate estimates of sensible (H) and latent (LE) heat fluxes and actual evapotranspiration (ET) are required for monitoring vegetation growth and improved agricultural water management. A large aperture scintillometer (LAS) was used to provide these estimates with the objective of quantifying the effects of surface heterogeneity due to soil moisture and vegetation growth variability. The study was conducted over drip-irrigated vineyards located in a semi-arid region in Albacete, Spain during summer 2007. Surface heterogeneity was characterized by integrating eddy covariance (EC) observations of H, LE and ET; land surface temperature (LST) and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data from Landsat …

Assessment Of An Automated Calibration Of The Sebal Algorithm To Estimate Dry-Season Surface-Energy Partitioning In A Forest–Savanna Transition In Brazil, Leonardo Laipelt, Anderson Luis Ruhoff, Ayan Santos Fleischmann, Rafael Henrique Bloedow Kayser, Elisa De Mello Kich, Humberto Ribeiro Da Rocha, Christopher Michael Usher Neale

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Evapotranspiration (ET) provides a strong connection between surface energy and hydrological cycles. Advancements in remote sensing techniques have increased our understanding of energy and terrestrial water balances as well as the interaction between surface and atmosphere over large areas. In this study, we computed surface energy fluxes using the Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land (SEBAL) algorithm and a simplified adaptation of the CIMEC (Calibration using Inverse Modeling at Extreme Conditions) process for automated endmember selection. Our main purpose was to assess and compare the accuracy of the automated calibration of the SEBAL algorithm using two different sources of meteorological …