Fresh Water Studies Commons^™

Port And Vessel Communication Traffic Intrusion Detection: A Variational Autoencoder‑Enhanced Multilayer Perceptron Approach, Chien-Lin Chiang, Hsien-Cheng Chou, Ming-Yuan Peng, Yi-Yuan Chiang, Yu-Shun Liu

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Port and vessel networks increasingly operate on IP/Ethernet backbones with high‑noise, high‑dimensional traffic. We present a lightweight hybrid intrusion‑detection model that couples a variational autoencoder (VAE) with a multilayer perceptron (MLP) and augments training with a boundary‑oriented latent‑space mixup strategy. The VAE models the distribution of normal traffic and identifies anomalies through reconstruction errors. Subsequently, it generates robust latent vectors, enabling the MLP to perform highly accurate supervised classification. On the UNSW‑NB15 dataset, the proposed pipeline attains ≥97% accuracy and an outstanding recall of 99.56% in binary intrusion detection, and visualization of the latent space (PCA) together with reconstruction‑error analyses …

Sar Ship Detection Based On Shallow Feature Guidance, Chenxu Xia, Peng Chen, Ya Zhang, Ying Li

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Maritime ship detection is of great significance for both military security and civilian applications. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), with its all-weather and all-day imaging capability, plays a vital role in maritime surveillance. Nevertheless, SAR ship targets typically appear small in scale, embedded in complex backgrounds, blurred at boundaries, and easily confused with near-shore features, which pose substantial challenges for accurate detection. To address these issues, we propose a SAR ship detection network that integrates dual enhancements of small-object representation and edge information. The network introduces two key components: the Small Target Refine Pyramid (STRP) to strengthen shallow feature representation for …

Enhancing Shipboard Safety Management Under The Ism Code: An Innovative Risk Assessment Framework With A Stern Tube Case Study, Pi-Yen Lin

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

The shipboard safety management system (SMS) is designed to enhance safe operations, risk management, and emergency response to improve overall ship safety and efficiency. This paper demonstrates the use of an engine room simulator (ERS) for collecting failure modes and applies it to a comprehensive failure analysis of the stern tube lubricating oil system. A new risk closeness coefficient method was developed, integrating expert background knowledge and weighted risk assessments. The analysis, based on multiple expert evaluations, covered five subsystems, eight main components, 23 failure modes, and 112 failure causes. This study presents 26 recommendations for maritime practitioners and onboard …

Can Artificial Seagrass Meadows Reduce Pathogenic Bacteria In Coral Reef Ecosystems- A Mesocosm Study, Hewa Pathirannahelage Athri Thathsarani Weerakoon, Jimmy Kuo, Pi-Jen Liu, Kwee Siong Tew

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Seagrass meadows provide essential coastal ecosystem functions by stabilizing sediments, enhancing water quality, and shaping nutrient and microbial dynamics. With global seagrass losses accelerating due to climate change and anthropogenic pressures, artificial seagrass (ASG) has been proposed as a nature-based alternative to mimic these functions. However, its ability to replicate biological interactions, particularly microbial regulation and pathogen suppression, remains unclear. In this study, we conducted a six-week mesocosm experiment comparing natural Thalassia hemprichii and ASG within coral reef-associated habitats in southern Taiwan. Physicochemical parameters, sedimentation rates, nutrient concentrations, and planktonic and benthic bacterial communities were analyzed. Sedimentation rates and nutrient …

Spatiotemporal Variations Of Tidal Asymmetry Along The Coast Of Taiwan: Characteristics And Implications, Ting-Chieh Lin, Tai-Wen Hsu, Tzu-Chun Huang, Chun-Yuan Lin

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

This study presents the first systematic investigation into the spatiotemporal characteristics and evolutionary trends of tidal asymmetry along the coast of Taiwan from 2003 to 2022, employing a moving window method combined with the S_TIDE toolbox.  By quantifying the skewness of the Main Tidal Asymmetry Combinations (MTAC) and their temporal variations, the study reveals significant regional disparities between the eastern and western coasts.  The western coast is primarily dominated by the M2-M4 combination, with the northwestern region exhibiting a flood dominance pattern and the southwestern region characterized by ebb dominance.  Conversely, the eastern coast, attributed to its open topography and …

Reliable Performance Analysis Of Polyurea Coatings Used In Offshore Wind Turbines, Yu-Chang Lin, Yen-Fu Liu, I-Ming Pan, Ming-Yuan Lin, Kang-Yu Liao, Hung-Hua Sheu, Hung-Bin Lee

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

This study explores the weather resistance, mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of polyurea coatings in marine environments. The relevant analysis results can be used as a reliability assessment of offshore wind turbine structural coatings during their service life under the influence of marine environments. The long-term experiment uses seawater and 70°C thermal aging conditions as coating reliability assessment items. The microstructure of the samples that have been immersed in seawater for a long time and thermally aged is observed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results show that the surface of the 100 and 125 series polyurea coatings is …

Identifying The Causality And Criticality Of Factors Influencing The Promotion Of Asian Island-Hopping Cruise Tourism In Taiwan, Hsiao-Chuan Liu, Gin-Shuh Liang, Feng-Ming Tsai, Yu-Ling Lien

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the global tourism industry has steadily recovered since 2022. Island-hopping cruises have gained increasing attention for enhancing regional connectivity and diversifying marine travel experiences; however, their development in Asia remains limited compared with that in Europe and the Caribbean due to fragmented policy coordination, inadequate port infrastructure, and uneven technological readiness. Although Taiwan possesses a geographic advantage and can serve as a strategic hub linking Asian island destinations, systematic planning and stakeholder coordination remain insufficient, resulting in unclear mechanisms that drive or constrain island-hopping cruise tourism. Existing studies mainly focus on market demand or passenger behavior, …

Technical Analysis And Market Liquidity In Sale-And-Purchase Transactions Of Second-Hand Oil Tankers, Chih-Chung Cheng, Po-Yin Wang, Heng-Chih Chou

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

In addition to using second-hand oil tankers to fulfil immediate shipping needs, shipowners can leverage price fluctuations in the tanker market to make vessel sale-and-purchase (S&P) transactions. Given that the profitability of vessel S&P transactions depends primarily on timing decisions, in this study, technical analysis was applied to identify the optimal transaction timing for 5-, 10-, and 15-year-old second-hand Aframax tankers. In a simulation, an S&P strategy based on technical analysis outperformed a benchmark buy-and-hold strategy, particularly for newer tankers, possibly due to the higher price volatility and lower market efficiency in the markets for these vessels. However, the lack …

Synchronous Deep Reinforcement Learning For Optimized Storage Assignment Of Ship Blocks, Gawon Lee, Jaehyeon Heo, Misung Kim, Hyerim Bae

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

This paper presents a deep reinforcement learning (RL) framework for optimizing block storage allocation in shipbuilding yards. During the shipbuilding process, vessels are constructed in block units to maximize the operational efficiency. Following assembly, these blocks must be stored in limited yard spaces, creating a complex variant of the binary packing problem. This storage allocation problem is further complicated by operational constraints, including the barge capacity and transportation time restrictions. Moreover, poor storage decisions can lead to redundant block movements, which can adversely affect downstream processes and increase operational costs. To resolve this problem, a policy-gradient-based synchronous RL model was …

A Resilience Early Warning Assessment Of The Maritime Supply Chain: A Case Study Of China’S New Energy Vehicle Exports, Xiuqian Chen, Liangyong Chu, Mengyao Wang, Jiayin Du, Yiming Zhang, Xiyao Xu

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Enhancing resilience through early warning is a critical strategy for mitigating disruption risks in the maritime supply chain (MSC). This study proposes a novel early warning assessment framework to determine the resilience of the MSC. It is referred to as a resilience early warning system. An evaluation index system for shipping enterprises is developed based on four dimensions: withstand capacity, adaptive capacity, learning capability, and the external environment. A resilience assessment model that uses the Bayesian best-worst method (BBWM) and the extension cloud model (ECM) is established to quantify MSC resilience. An early warning evaluation model based on a Bayesian …

Public-Port Throughput As An Activity Proxy For Near-Port Air Quality And Health: A Transferable Two-Scale Framework (Kaohsiung, 2017–2024), Ping-Jen Wang, Ying-Lin Hsu, Shih-Hao Chang, Bao-Tzung Wu

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

We developed a two-scale time series framework using monthly container throughput (20-foot equivalent units, TEU) as a port activity indicator. Applied to Kaohsiung, Taiwan (2017–2024), we related TEU to near-port NO₂ and PM₂.₅ (monthly) and air quality to outpatient respiratory diagnoses (weekly) across the 2019–2020 sulfur rules and the COVID-19 pandemic. Transfer-function models indicate TEU tends to lead near-port NO₂ by 6–9 months. Structural break tests at policy dates indicate nonsignificant changes in levels and slopes, suggesting gradual rather than abrupt shifts in the activity–pollution linkage. Weekly two-pollutant distributed-lag Poisson models estimated relative risks (lags 0–8) per interquartile range (IQR) …

Ontology-Based Decision Support System For Improving Aquaculture Management, Thuy Thi Thu Pham, Phuong Thi Can, Nga Thi Thanh Ha

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Early detection of shrimp diseases is vital for reducing losses and ensuring sustainable aquaculture. In this study, a novel ontology-driven framework for shrimp disease diagnosis that integrates environmental knowledge with machine learning-based image analysis is proposed. An ontology was constructed from a structured dataset of environmental parameters and farm conditions related to shrimp diseases, which formally represents concepts such as farm characteristics, environmental factors, symptoms, and disease types. Two public shrimp image datasets were subsequently used to train convolutional neural networks (ResNet50 and MobileNetV2) for automated disease classification. The predicted disease labels and confidence scores were mapped onto the ontology. …

Case Study On Operational Performance Improvement By Turbocharger Nozzle-Ring Modification In Shipboard Generators, Jong-Hun Im, Mukyeong Kang, Sang-Deuk Lee

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Owing to increasingly stringent emission regulations imposed by the International Maritime Organization and rising fuel prices, the demand for enhanced energy efficiency and emission control in marine power systems is increasing. This study presents a case study in which the performance of an aging auxiliary generator is restored by modifying the turbocharger nozzle ring. The vessel, a 12-year-old crude-oil tanker, experienced repeated operational issues with its No. 3 generator. This included elevated exhaust gas temperatures, reduced intake air pressure, and frequent turbocharger surges. To address these challenges, the nozzle-ring blade angle was reduced by approximately 2° using spare components, while …

Towards Sustainable Marine Education: Assessing High School Students’ Understanding Of Conservation Concepts, Cheng-Chieh Chang, Tsuyoshi Sasaki, Ya-Yin Liao, Ling-Ya Hung, Liang-Ting Tsai

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

This study assesses the concepts of marine resource conservation and sustainability among Taiwanese high school students by developing a Chinese version of the Marine Resources Conservation and Sustainability Scale. Grounded in the cognitive, socio-emotional, and behavioral learning objectives outlined in UNESCO’s Education for Sustainable Development Goals (ESDGs), the scale targets students aged 16 to 18 to examine gender differences in marine knowledge and conservation concepts. The scale comprises 31 items across four dimensions: the first section evaluates marine knowledge, while the remaining dimensions utilize a four-point Likert scale to assess cognitive, socio-emotional, and behavioral learning objectives, respectively. The results indicate …

Dynamic Governance Of Transboundary Fisheries Through Deep Learning And High-Frequency Vessel Tracking Data For Climate-Resilient Management: An Application To The East China Sea, Qin Lin, Yaqing Shu, Manel Grifoll, Hongxiang Feng

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Transboundary fisheries governance is increasingly challenged by jurisdictional conflicts, regulatory asymmetries, and climate-induced stock shifts in fish stocks, especially in contested regions like the East China Sea (ECS). This study capitalizes on China’s high-frequency BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) data (June 2021–May 2022) to pioneer a CNN-BiLSTM deep learning model to dynamically identify fishing hotspots and evaluate policy effectiveness. By integrating vessel trajectories, environmental variables, and regulatory events, we examine spatiotemporal patterns of fishing effort relative to seasonal bans, extreme weather, and quota systems. Key findings reveal: (1) post-moratorium (September–December) concentration of fishing intensity, peaking in November; (2) significant weather-driven …

Lock Scheduling Decisions And Strategy Optimization Under Operation Interruption Scenarios, Junhe Li, Qiang Zhang, Junpeng Jiang, Jiangchao Bao

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

Locks are critical nodes in inland waterway transportation systems that concentrate vessel traffic between upstream and downstream reaches, making their operations highly sensitive to hydrological conditions. Therefore, disruptions caused by droughts, floods, or routine maintenance can easily trigger congestion. To address this issue, this study systematically examines the interrelationships among the number of ships awaiting passage, scheduling strategies, the trade-off between lock chamber utilization and ship waiting time, the influence of ship entry sequences on user satisfaction, and the combined effects of these factors on overall lock scheduling performance. Based on these analyses, an integrated decision-making model for two-stage ship …

Corrosion Protection Assessment Of Offshore Wind Turbine Substructures Using Beasy Cp Simulation Analysis, Chuan-Yang Wan, Hung-Hua Sheu, Sheng-Yu Wang, Yao-Ming Wang, Wei-De Chen, Ming-Yuan Lin, Hung-Bin Lee

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

This study investigates the corrosion protection assessment of offshore wind turbine substructures established in the waters off Keelung, Taiwan. First, a cathodic protection system for the monopile foundation is designed and established. The Boundary Element Method (BEM) is applied using the BEASY simulation software to develop a 3D geometric model for cathodic protection. In the steel monopile simulation analysis, the exposed marine environment is set based on the sea conditions of the Keelung small boat marina, including parameters such as salinity, resistance, and polarization curves, to establish an effective cathodic protection system for underwater structures. By simulating these parameters, a …

Face-To-Face Versus Distance Education In Competence-Based Maritime Education And Training, Clara Borén, Marcella Castells-Sanabra, Manel Grifoll

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

The COVID-19 pandemic created significant challenges for higher education, with universities being shut down and face-to-face teaching and assessment shifting to an online format. This presented an opportunity to focus on the continuity of learning through distance education, especially in the maritime context, due to the on-board training requirements, and even though five years have passed, this shift has reshaped the education landscape, proving that remote learning has come to stay.

At the Barcelona School of Nautical Studies, we have developed a weather routing software in the framework of distance education and teaching innovation. We conducted a teaching trial alternatively …

A Bibliometric And Visualization Analysis Of Global Giant Clam Research, Chia-Hsiang Chen, Chih-Hsien Chang

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

In this study, bibliometric analysis and visualization tools were used to investigate the academic network and knowledge structure surrounding global giant clam research. A total of 551 relevant publications from the Web of Science database, published from 1900 to 2024, were analyzed. The findings indicate that research on giant clams has experienced considerable growth since 2012, peaking in publication output in 2021. Sixty-six countries were represented in the study sample, with the United States, Australia, China, Singapore, and Japan being the most represented ones. Notably, the rate of international collaboration was only 29%, highlighting a need for additional integrated cross-border …

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.

Productive Armature, Gabriel Ofem Peter

Masters Theses

What if water was all you had, what if your only source of survival was a body of water? I shudder to think that some people get to be put in this situation in the world we live in. As I understand the importance of water to survival, it is obvious that water can be the only lifeline of survival for a community. This is the experience for residents of Makoko, Lagos. Their survival depends on the Lagos Lagoon, a large body of water flowing in from the Atlantic Ocean. This research looks beyond the surface of what this community …

Evapotranspiration Everywhere, All The Time: Towards A Unified View From Earth Observation, Joshua B. Fisher, Martha C. Anderson, Diego G. Miralles, Kanishka Mallick, Paul C. Stoy, Youngryel Ryu, Wim G. M. Bastiaanssen

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Scientists want to know everything, everywhere, and all the time. This is particularly true in Earth science, where we seek to understand processes that span from the molecular to the planetary scale in how the world works, how it affects us, and how we impact it—especially the water cycle. Evapotranspiration (ET) was the last component to be measured in closing the water cycle: for decades, closing the water budget meant adding up all the measurable components, then inferring ET as the residual. Early measurements relied on water loss from pans and weighing lysimeters, followed by sensors inserted into plants to …

Microplastic Composition And Exposure Pathways In Freshwater Systems: A Multi-Matrix Comparison Between Streams And Retention Ponds In Hamilton County, In, Mya Whaley

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since the early 1900s, the use of plastics has increased exponentially. The breakdown of plastic materials has exposed all ecosystems to microplastics (small particles of plastic < 5 mm), which are now ubiquitous in natural settings. Microplastics have a relatively large surface area, and many chemicals adsorb to these small particles, impacting their fate and transport of pollution. While microplastics have been found in virtually every setting on Earth, research is necessary to understand their impact on freshwater ecosystems and biogeochemical cycles. The focus of this research was to investigate microplastic compositions in crayfish, sediments, and water samples collected in streams and retention ponds. We analyzed trends in microplastic counts across different land-cover classes, waterbody types, and species, and compared concentrations among matrices to improve our understanding of microplastic exposure pathways in freshwater ecosystems. As a secondary objective, lead and arsenic concentrations were analyzed from sediment samples to investigate metal burdens and compare them to microplastic concentrations. Our findings revealed that, in general, urban streams had the highest microplastic concentrations within land cover categories, and retention ponds had higher microplastic counts than streams. Crayfish, such as F. rusticus had higher microplastic concentrations than F. virilis and F. propinquus, although these results may be influenced by study design. The most common microplastic type was fibers, and most common color was transparent. There was no significant correlation between microplastic and metal concentrations in sediments. We found crayfish to be adequate bioindicators of microplastic pollution, because they were less impacted by environmental variability than sediment and water samples. This research presents the first evidence of microplastics in our study species, F. propinquus, F. rusticus, and F. virlis. This work presents new evidence of microplastic accumulation in crayfish, sediments, and water from freshwater systems in the Midwestern United States. Microplastics were found in every sample type—crayfish, water, and sediment—across urban, rural, and forested landscapes, highlighting their pervasive distribution. The findings provide foundational data for assessing emerging ecological and human-health risks and emphasize the importance of sustained monitoring and research on MP contamination in freshwater environments.

Examining Extremes: A Comparison Between Machine Learning Based Southwestern Conus Seasonal Drought And High Fire Risk Event Synoptic Climatologies, Ethan M. Greenberg

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

The Southwestern United States (SW CONUS), comprised of California, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah, is a vast region that tens of millions of people call home. Hosting ecosystems ranging from grasslands and shrublands to temperate forests and climate zones ranging from Mediterranean climates to arid deserts, the region is nearly unanimously prone to intense droughts and devastating wildfires. While fire weather conditions and drought are often studied separately or mentioned as background conditions for the other, there are relatively few studies that compare the typical meteorological conditions between the two. This study aims to more closely understand the meteorological relationship between …

Assessing The Effect Of A Human-Made Reservoir On The Mussel Community In Caney Creek, Trakker Estes

ATU Scholars Symposium

Freshwater mussels are one of the most threatened taxonomic groups globally, with less than 32% of North American taxa considered secure. In Arkansas, over half of the state’s 85 species are endangered, threatened, or of special concern. Small impoundments may contribute to these declines through reduced hydrological connectivity and the resulting decline of fish community movement. This study examines the effects of Tri-County Lake, a small impoundment of Caney Creek in southern Arkansas, on mussel abundance and diversity. In total, eight sites were surveyed upstream, within, and downstream of the impoundment across various habitat types. A timed-search approach utilizing scuba …

Ecosystem-Based Flood Disaster Risk Reduction In The Little Ruaha River Basin, In The Southern Highlands Of Tanzania, Mawazo Ghambi, Tiemo Romward Haule

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

Ecosystem-based approach that integrates floods and environmental risk management is believed to reduce flood disaster risk while providing socio-economic and environmental benefits to floodplain occupants. This study examined the socio-economic and environmental benefits of the ecosystem-based approach in managing flood disaster risk in the Little Ruaha River Basin in the southern highlands of Tanzania. The study involved 157 participants and employed the mixed research design to collect quantitative and qualitative data. Semi-structured interviews, in-depth interviews, direct field observation and Focus Group Discussions were used to collect primary data, whereas documentary review was used to collect secondary data. Findings revealed that …

Long-Term Variability Of Air Quality And Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Rice Crop Burning In Punjab During 2012–2020, Harsimranjit Kaur Romana, Dericks Praise Shukla, Ramesh P. Singh

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Punjab, India's primary rice and wheat production hub, has witnessed rapid expansion of paddy cultivation over the past two decades, driven by minimum support price incentives, changes in government policies, alignment of sowing with the monsoon season and the adoption of high-yielding varieties. This transition has intensified groundwater extraction and shortened the fallow period between rabi and kharif crop seasons, reducing the window between rice harvesting and wheat sowing, leading to widespread open-field burning of rice residue and recurrent post-monsoon air-quality deterioration across the Indo-Gangetic Plain. Despite numerous short-term or single-pollutant assessments, a spatially resolved, multi-pollutant and multi-decadal evaluation linking …

Biogeochemical Controls On Phosphorus Transport And Legacy Storage Across A Coastal Watershed, Lee Potter

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Excess phosphorus (P) loading is a key driver of eutrophication and harmful algal blooms (HABs) in aquatic systems worldwide. This relationship is of increasing concern in coastal Louisiana, where climate variability, altered hydrology, and land-use change converge, resulting in increased hydrologic and nutrient loading into coastal systems. This dissertation examines controls on P cycling in the Lake Pontchartrain Basin through a multi-scale framework linking estuarine processes, watershed loading, climate and weather patterns, and sediment dynamics. The dissertation begins with an overview of the study region, P dynamics, and changes in hydrology and nutrient loading patterns. Chapter 2 presents a spatial …

Automated Machine Learning For High-Resolution Daily And Hourly Methane Emission Mapping For Rice Paddies Over South Korea: Integrating Modis, Era5-Land, And Soil Data, Jiah Jang, Seung Hee Kim, Menas Kafatos, Jaeil Cho, Gayoung Yoo, Sujong Jeong, Yangwon Lee

Institute for ECHO Articles and Research

Agriculture is a major global source of methane (CH4), and accurate emission estimates are essential for refining national greenhouse gas inventories and supporting climate-resilient policies. This study develops a high-resolution estimation framework for CH4 emissions from Korean rice paddies by integrating multi-source datasets, including Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) vegetation indices, European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Reanalysis Version 5 (ERA5)-Land meteorological variables, and Harmonized World Soil Database (HWSD) soil properties. Using CH4 flux observations from four global rice ecosystems (Italy, Japan, South Korea, and USA), we constructed parallel daily and hourly machine learning models using an automated machine …

Identifying Priorities To Guide Extension Water Quality Programming In Utah, Clare Entwistle, Sarah Erwin, Stephanie Vaughn

Outcomes and Impact Quarterly

Utah State University Extension water quality faculty conducted a statewide water quality needs assessment to identify priority contaminants and resource gaps. The results found that elevated nutrient levels and sedimentation were the top concerns where additional resources would be beneficial. In addition, insufficient funding for improvements and low public engagement were identified as key challenges in addressing water quality issues. Results revealed current unmet needs with regional variation to inform Extension resource allocation and programming.