Water Resource Management Commons^™

How Forest Structure And Climate Influence Snowpack For Water Resources In The Southwestern United States, Lindsey L. Rotche

Geography ETDs

Climate change, declining snowpack, and increasing wildfire risk have profound impacts on water availability in the southwestern United States. Because the southwestern United States is a global hotspot for freshwater vulnerability, and snowpack provides much of the region’s freshwater, understanding how climate and forest structure influence snowpack dynamics is increasingly important. In this dissertation I aim to better understand and communicate these dynamics through empirical data collection and the development of a simple vegetation driven temperature-index snow model: SNOW-17(VEG). I then implement the model at a watershed scale using remotely sensed imagery to create vegetation zones and climate simulations to …

Reskilling And Retraining The Water Technology Workforce: An Agentic Generative Ai Framework For Water Purification, Nano‑Mems, And Curriculum Development, Satyadhar Joshi, Noor Zulfiqar

Harrisburg University Other Works

The rapid digitalization of water infrastructure is bringing artificial intelligence, advanced sensing, and membrane materials science into routine water treatment practice. At the same time, utilities, regulators, and training institutions face a persistent workforce challenge: many operators, engineers, and managers are being asked to adopt data-driven tools without a coherent educational pathway that links AI literacy to real treatment workflows. This article synthesizes recent literature on agentic generative AI, reinforcement learning, smart sensing, nano-enabled membranes, and digital twins for water systems, then translates those developments into a structured reskilling model for the water sector. The proposed framework is organized around …

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

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

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

Harmful Algal Blooms: Risks For Food In Utah, Jose Brandao, Sarah Erwin, Stephanie Vaughn, Clare Entwistle

All Current Publications

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are a problem because they can produce toxins that make water unsafe for people, animals, and the environment. In recent years, HABs have emerged as a growing concern in freshwater systems throughout Utah, including irrigation canals, reservoirs, and livestock ponds. HABs in freshwater are caused by cyanobacteria, also called blue-green algae. These microorganisms can release dangerous toxins that can harm swimmers, pets, and the food supply. Unlike foodborne pathogens, these toxins cannot be removed by boiling, cooking, or washing the food. Therefore, regular monitoring is essential to detect HABs early and reduce exposure risks. This fact …

Water Scarcity On Arizona’S Navajo Nation, As An Environmental Justice Issue, Chenoa Marks

Scholarly Horizons: University of Minnesota, Morris Undergraduate Journal

For the Navajo–or Diné, meaning ‘the people’ in Diné Bizaad (Navajo language)–water is not only a resource. It is life, story, and relationship. It is tied to origin, movement, and balance within the natural and spiritual world. Water exists not only in rivers and rainfall, but in teachings, ceremonies, and the way knowledge is passed down from one generation to the next. In this sense, water is both physical and cultural, shaping how people live, understand the land, and connect to one another.

At the same time, water on the Navajo Nation–known by the Diné as Diné Bikéyah, also translated …

Development And Evaluation Of A Community-Based Water Quality Monitoring Program In Mississippi, Beth H. Baker, Lily Langstaff, Mona Dominguez, Sergio Ruiz-Cordova, Eric Sparks, Madison Gnoose

Journal of Extension

Community-based water monitoring (CBWM) programs provide mechanisms for education and water quality data collection. In this pilot program, we adapted a long-standing CBWM program from Alabama to Mississippi. We assessed the efficacy of the initial program implementation in promoting changes in knowledge, skills, and behavior of participants. Results indicated that 94% of survey respondents reported increased knowledge, 96% reported learning a new skill, and 99% reported an intention to start monitoring, but only 33% engaged in active monitoring. This evaluation summary offers data-driven strategies to expand and adopt CBWM into Extension curricula that build knowledge, skills, and capacity for community …

The Implementation Of Smart City Initiatives In Addressing Climate Change Challenges For The Transformation Of Jakarta Into A Resilient Global City, Roby Dwiputra, Nurulitha Andini Susetyo, Apriano Hanindito Amanza

CSID Journal of Infrastructure Development

Jakarta, a densely populated delta city and Indonesia's former capital undergoing post-relocation transformation, faces escalating climate change impacts, including land subsidence and tidal flooding. Annual subsidence rates of 5–25 cm in northern areas and recurrent tidal floods, including the December 2025 event, pose significant threats to urban sustainability and economic stability. This study employs a qualitative descriptive–analytic approach using a single-case study of Jakarta. Smart city initiatives are examined as governance instruments for climate resilience, drawing on secondary data from regulatory documents, real-time digital monitoring platforms, and global smart city performance indicators. The analysis applies thematic and comparative techniques supported …

Automated Machine Learning And Satellite Image Data Fusion For Monitoring Water Quality In Mosaicked Landscapes, Sahar Rezaei

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite the ecological, economic, and social importance of inland water bodies, they are increasingly impacted by human and natural drivers. Harmful algal blooms (HABs) and total suspended solids (TSS) are key indicators of water quality, and elevated concentrations pose significant ecological and public health risks. The spatiotemporal dynamics of these variables remain insufficiently understood in major river systems, including the Upper Mississippi River (UMR) and the Illinois River Basin (IRB). While in situ measurements provide accurate observations, they are costly and offer limited spatial and temporal coverage, restricting basin-scale monitoring. Remote sensing offers a powerful alternative; however, single-sensor approaches are …

Hydroclimatic Whiplash Across The Contiguous United States: Characterizing Wet–Dry Transitions In Pdsi And Phdi, James Lam, Thomas Christopher Piechota

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Hydroclimatic whiplash, characterized by rapid transitions between wet and dry conditions, poses a growing challenge for water resource management and ecosystem stability. However, the spatial and statistical characteristics of wet–dry transitions across the contiguous United States are not fully understood. This study analyzed Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) and Palmer Hydrological Drought Index (PHDI) records from 344 NOAA climate divisions spanning 1895–2024. Whiplash was defined as a transition between severe drought and severe wetness within 12-month rolling windows. Statistical descriptors including lag-1 autocorrelation, variance, and skewness were evaluated for whiplash and non-whiplash windows to assess differences between them. Whiplash hotspots …

Hydrogeochemical Characterization Of Groundwater In Fractured Crystalline Basement Aquifers In Dodoma, Central Tanzania: Implications On Water Quality For Domestic And Irrigation Applications, George J. Ishabairu, Simon R. Melchioly, Charles H. Kasanzu, Gabriel D. Mulibo

Tanzania Journal of Science

Assessment of groundwater hydrogeochemistry characteristics of aquifers plays a vital role in establishing water quality status and its suitability for human and industrial use. The main objective of this research was to carry out hydrogeochemical characterization of groundwater and assess its impacts on water quality and spatial variability of groundwater geochemistry in Dodoma, Tanzania. The methods used include groundwater sampling, laboratory analysis to determine physico- chemical parameters and data processing to classify the groundwater hydrochemical facies. The results show that the average value for pH is 7.2, for electrical conductivity (EC) is 1108 µS/cm and for total dissolved solids (TDS) …

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

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

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

A process-based water budget …

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

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

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

Creating Sustainable School And Home Gardens: Managing Rainwater, Lawrence Krissek, Kathy Cabe Trundle

All Current Publications

Rainscaping can help solve drainage problems, reduce erosion, improve water quality, and conserve soil by effectively managing rainwater movement across the landscape. It can also provide environments with increased biodiversity while reducing the need for supplemental watering.  The details of rainscaping your garden are very site-specific, affected by the amount of space and money available, your garden’s physical and weather/climate characteristics, and your garden goals. This resource sheet addresses the use of natural methods to ensure efficient rainwater management.

Disparities In The Identification Of Vulnerable Communities Due To Design Storm Methods: A Case Study In The Vermilion River Watershed, South Louisiana, Usa, Claire Orgeron

Masters Theses

Accurately identifying socially vulnerable populations at-risk of flooding is critical for equitable disaster mitigation and planning. This study investigates how the selection of design storm method, which is fundamental to developing flood risk maps used for this identification, influences which socially vulnerable populations are recognized as being at elevated flood risk. The most widely used design storm approach relies on National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Atlas 14 point-based rainfall frequency estimates. These estimates are typically applied spatially using areal reduction factors, thereby disregarding rainfall spatial variability in real storms. Stochastic Storm Transposition (SST), an alternative design storm approach that …

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.

Flood Risk Assessment And Water Diversion Scenarios For Terre Haute, Indiana Based On Time-Series Remote Sensing And In-Situ Measurements, Hung Q. Ha

2026 Spring Reports (Terre Haute)

The City of Terre Haute has faced growing concerns over the increasing frequency and intensity of riverine flooding along the Wabash River, alongside risks associated with urban inundation. To create more safely floodable areas – specifically by locating wetland areas using GIS and researching government ordinances on development in those areas – the City of Terre Haute sought to better understand flood patterns and identify viable floodwater diversion strategies. The project was formally titled as “Pattern of Flooding along the Wabash River in Vigo County and Scenarios for Floodwater Diversion”. Faculty and students from Geospatial Intelligence Lab, Department of Earth …

Utah Growing Water Smart: The Water-Land Use Integration Guidebook For Central Utah, Kelly Kopp, Joanna Endter-Wada

Utah Growing Water Smart

The Utah Growing Water Smart workshop brings together key staff and water and land use planning decision makers to help communities build a more resilient and sustainable water future. The workshop uses a range of public engagement, planning, communication, and policy implementation tools to help community teams realize their water efficiency, smart growth, watershed health, and water resiliency goals.

Thermal Transformation Of Organic Matter And Impacts On Water Quality In Fire-Affected Jarrah Forest, Kuenzang Tshering, David Blake, Andrea Bravo Escobar, Konrad Miotlinski, Andrew Bath, Mary C. Boyce, Pauline Grierson, Pierre Horwitz

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Fire in forested catchments significantly alters organic matter fluxes by generating dissolved organic matter (DOM) different from that generated under non-fire conditions. Elucidating the composition of DOM is key to understanding its persistence in the post-fire environment. This laboratory study aimed to establish a relationship between DOM quantity and quality with aspects of fire regime. Soil and litter samples were collected from areas with different burn histories (described as Time Since Last Fire – TSLF). Each sample was subjected to burn temperature treatments simulating different burn severity regimes in a muffle furnace (at 250°C – low severity, 350°C – moderate …

The Role Of Intermittent Nutrient Loading In The San Francisco Bay, Rebecca M. To

Master's Projects and Capstones

A harmful algal bloom in 2022 shattered the illusion that the highly enriched San Francisco Bay is resilient to eutrophication. This event provided justification for the San Francisco Water Board to issue restrictions on nitrogen in wastewater effluent, the largest source of nitrogen in San Francisco Bay. Recognizing San Francisco’s fragile status even with this recent regulation, this study analyzes other anthropogenic sources of nutrient pollution, and it examines nature-based solutions to drawdown nutrient loading. This research utilizes a nutrient budget review to account for nitrogen inputs, a relative source contribution to quantify sanitary sewer overflows, a geospatial analysis to …

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 …