UCOWR home office supported by Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Click the issue numbers and titles below to show or hide a list of articles from each issue. Additional journal issues can be found on Wiley Online Library where they can be downloaded by researchers, educators, and policy-makers around the world.
Note: to download a PDF from one of the links below, right click the link and choose “Save link as…” or similar (wording may vary depending on your browser of choice).
For Indigenous communities, protecting traditional lands and waters is of the utmost importance. In the U.S. context, scholars have documented an unfortunate neglect of water quality on tribal lands. Treatment as a State (TAS) provisions, adopted in the 1987 amendments to the Clean Water Act, and tribal Water Quality Standards (WQSs) programs are intended to address such problems. Importantly, tribal WQSs may be more stringent than neighboring state standards, and can be used to influence pollution levels coming from upstream, off-reservation users. Tribes can also develop WQSs that support unique tribal values, including ceremonial and cultural uses of native waters. Yet scholarly debates question whether tribal environmental self-determination strategies can fully succeed within dominant regulatory structures. Based on a synthesis of the published literature, this article examines tribal WQSs as a case of tribal environmental self-determination. The author discusses how U.S. tribes pursue WQSs under TAS, program outcomes, and why so few tribes have established WQSs to date. Because most scholarship was found within the legal literature, the author focuses on the legal and political outcomes that arise from tribal WQSs, and analyzes specific opportunities and constraints for program participants. The author also considers how some tribes use WQSs as a “third space” strategy—simultaneously working inside and outside of dominant government structures to advance tribal sovereignty (Bruyneel 2007). Additional research is needed to understand the diversity of tribal environmental self-determination strategies that occur through federal regulatory frameworks and under tribal law.
Keywords: water governance, Indigenous environmental politics, Native American tribes, tribal sovereignty, U.S. water policy, Clean Water Act, cooperative federalism, collaborative management (co-management)
Tribal Nations in the United States are afflicted by a number of disparities including health, socioeconomics, education, and contaminant exposure to name a few. To understand drinking water quality disparities, we analyzed Safe Drinking Water Act violations in Indian Country found in the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO) and compared them to violations in non-tribal areas of the same state for the time period 2014 – 2017. The violations assessed were total point accumulations per year per 1,000 customers, health-based maximum contaminant limit (MCL), reporting and monitoring, and public notice for each state reporting tribal data. Violation point disparities were evident, as tribal facilities acquired nearly six times the points of the national average. In some states, health-based tribal water quality was better than in non-tribal communities, however Arizona, Iowa, Idaho, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming had MCL violations affecting a greater percentage of tribal populations than non-tribal. Nation-wide, monitoring and reporting violations affected tribal communities at nearly twice the rate of non-tribal customers. Public notice reporting was high and comparable for both tribal and non-tribal
facilities. Finally, a comparison of small drinking water facilities, under which ~97% of the surveyed tribal drinking water falls, confirmed state-wide disparities. Solutions for the apparent disparities in Indian Country and on non-tribal lands may be as simple as rectifying monitoring and reporting violations, though this correction will not shift the overall water quality difference. Addressing MCL and treatment violations is the next step to reduce the disparity.
Keywords: drinking water quality, tribal water quality, EPA ECHO, disparity
This paper examines patterns in water rights quantification, agriculture, gaming, and economic characteristics across selected Native American nations in the United States (U.S.) to provide a perspective across tribal nations and regions. A unique set of data was analyzed, drawing from the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Agriculture, court decrees, water rights data, and other sources. Fifty‐one tribal nations are included in this study, based on availability of data on agricultural and economic indicators. Data analysis indicates the following: 1) tribes with quantified water rights also have higher agricultural revenue, 2) tribes which have quantified their water rights are more likely to also operate a casino, 3) tribes which have quantified their water rights tend to be more commonly located close to major cities, and 4) tribes which operate at least one casino have notably higher annual household income compared to tribes which do not. A number of interesting regional differences are observed: 1) Northwest tribes have significantly higher rates of water quantification than other regions, 2) Midwest tribes have the highest prevalence of casino operations compared to the other areas, and 3) the Southwest has the smallest proportion of tribes with casino operations. This paper identifies patterns across multiple tribal nations and across regions, and does not focus on establishing cause‐and‐effect. Causal relationships among tribal water quantification, farming, gaming, income levels, and unemployment will vary by location and tribe. Identifying cause and effect among different components of tribal economic development warrants further inquiry. The examination of patterns presented here illuminates interesting differences among tribal nations and regions, and provides a broad context for tribal leaders how best to cultivate sustainable, resilient economies and water resource management.
On reservation lands, tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) are key to preparing indigenous communities to adapt to the effects of a changing climate. The original mission of TCUs, to improve access to higher education and to sustain the cultural heritage of indigenous people, facilitates close ties between TCU faculty and staff and the indigenous communities they serve. Since 1994, the land‐grant status of TCUs allows access to limited federal funds in support of research, education, and outreach to improve food security, natural resource management, and rural quality of life, while expanding public access to higher education to underserved populations in remote rural areas. This study was designed to assess the priorities for enhancing climate adaptation on reservation lands. It summarizes the results of an assessment implemented at the 2016 Annual First Americans Land‐Grant Consortium Conference. Study participants included faculty, administrators, outreach educators, support staff, and students representing 25 of the 37 TCUs in the United States. Results from this national assessment suggest that in order for TCUs to effectively meet the climate adaptation needs of indigenous communities, additional fiscal and human resource investments are necessary. Specifically, this includes fiscal support to enhance climate science teaching, research, and professional development programs. Additional goals include creating or expanding food‐sovereignty programs, increasing community outreach education, investigating climate change impacts on water resource quality, access, and related ecological services, and exploring renewable and alternative energy opportunities.
A growing body of research focuses on climate change and Indigenous peoples. However, relatively little of this work focuses on Native American tribes living in the Atlantic Coastal Plain of the United States. The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina is a large (60,000 member) Native American tribe located on the Coastal Plain in present day North Carolina (U.S.). The tribe has deep connections to the Lumbee River, which flows through a watershed dominated by extensive forested wetlands. In this paper, I outline key issues associated with climate change and water in the region, and I use long‐term climatic and hydrologic datasets and analysis to establish context for understanding historical climate change in the Lumbee River watershed. Downscaled climate model outputs for the region show how further changes may affect the hydrologic balance of the watershed. I discuss these changes in terms of environmental degradation and potential impacts on Lumbee culture and persistence, which has remained strong through centuries of adversity and has also experienced a resurgence in recent years. I close by acknowledging the especially vulnerable position of the Lumbee Tribe as a non‐federal tribe that lacks access to certain resources, statutory protections, and policies aimed at helping Native American tribes deal with climate change and other environmental challenges.
Climate change and human population growth could reduce household water availability in the historically water‐rich Great Lakes region. It is critical to understand human‐water relationships in advance of policy actions that could result from reduced water supplies. Research on household water conservation typically occurs in a reactionary nature, in settings that are already water‐stressed. Furthermore, few studies involve Native American perspectives on this important topic. We used semi‐structured interviews to assess residents’ perspectives of Great Lakes water resources and views on household conservation, involving distinct samples of Native American and non‐Native residents. Although interviewees deeply value the region’s water resources, few practice household conservation or plan to do so in the future. Few perceive others in the region as conserving water. Beliefs about water‐related problems are focused more on water quality than supply. Native American interviewees expressed deeper spiritual values toward water than non‐Native interviewees. Findings can help inform policy and outreach strategies and provide a rich foundation for follow‐up quantitative research testing the Theory of Planned Behavior’s ability to explain household conservation intentions in the Great Lakes region.
Due to its semi‐arid climate, the Navajo Nation, situated in the southwestern United States, is sensitive to small changes in precipitation. However, little information on patterns and causes of rainfall variation is available for this sparsely populated region. In order to study stability and variability over time, this study characterized hydroclimatic changes for the Navajo Nation over timescales of months to years based on data from 90 sites from 2002 to 2015. This research will help local water managers identify related precipitation areas within the region, compare Navajo Nation precipitation with climate indices to ascertain larger‐scale atmospheric contributors to precipitation in the Four Corners region, and support future water planning in this understudied region. A vector quantization method, called k‐means clustering, identified five sub‐regions of contrasting precipitation climatology. The regions differed in the timing, magnitude, and relative importance of the winter and summer peaks comprising the bimodal precipitation regime of the area. Correlation examination of spatial and temporal trends of precipitation variability with three climate indices revealed strong winter precipitation relationships to the Pacific North American teleconnection pattern for all regions; summer precipitation teleconnections were weaker and more variable; however, modest correlations with Pacific Decadal Oscillation were observed. Climate field analysis indicates that cold‐season precipitation is enhanced by intensification of the Aleutian Low with a storm trajectory into the southwest United States; warm season precipitation is enhanced by poleward shift of the North American monsoon ridge.
In the arid Southwest, snowpack in mountains plays an essential role in supplying surface water resources. Water managers from the Navajo Nation monitor snowpack at nine snow survey stations located in the Chuska Mountains and Defiance Plateau in northern Arizona and New Mexico. We characterize these snowpack data for the period 1985‐2014 and evaluate the efficacy of snowpack data collection efforts. Peak snow water equivalent occurs in early to mid‐March depending on elevation. Variability in snowpack levels correlates highly among all sites (r > 0.64), but higher elevation sites in the Chuska Mountains correlate more strongly with one another compared to lower elevation sites and vice versa. Northern sites also correlate well with each other. A principal component analysis is used to create a weighted average time series of year‐to‐year peak snowpack variability. The first principal component showed no trend in increasing or decreasing Navajo Nation snowpack. Results from this research will provide the Navajo Nation Department of Water Resources information to help determine if any snow survey sites in the Chuska Mountains are redundant and can be discontinued to save time and money, while still providing snowpack information needed by the Navajo Nation. This summary of snowpack patterns, variability, and trends in the Chuska Mountains and Defiance Plateau will help the Navajo Nation to understand how snowpack and water resources respond to climate change and climate variability.
Measures of student training and workforce development are key academic, social, and economic metrics. A principal component of the United States Geological Survey Water Resources Research Act Program is the training of water scientists and engineers through participation in research and other mentoring. This training occurs through Water Resources Research Institutes known as the National Institutes for Water Resources. Though the institutes have a demonstrated record in student training, there has been limited synthesis of data on students trained at state and national levels to clarify these contributions to workforce development. We investigated student support at the 54 institutes from 2000 through 2015 using archived data, including a survey of institute practices. Institutes play a key role in water resources training within a greater science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) framework. Institutes pooled supported on average 678 (sd = 83) students per year (range 518 to 788), providing 10,853 student support years during this period. Individual institutes supported on average 201 (sd = 102) students per year (range 76 to 646). While 98% of institutes used data on students supported to fulfill required reporting, fewer used these data for institute promotion (45%), website or social media engagement (41%), and development/donor activities (16%). Consistency in data collection and management among institutes, coupled with refined use of student support data, such as documenting disciplines and dates of degrees earned, post‐support job placement, and diversity and equity metrics, would further demonstrate the value of this investment in student training and workforce development.
Cascabel residents have cooperated in assembling and discussing a dataset addressing community concerns about groundwater quality and sustainability of water supply in their reach of the semi‐arid San Pedro Valley. Most of the groundwater is drawn from Holocene sediments underlying the pre‐entrenchment floodplain of the San Pedro River and similar sediments in major tributaries. Stable O and H isotopes distinguish two main floodplain aquifers: A, containing groundwater derived from the Valley flanks, and B, containing groundwater labeled by the presence of ancient water from a hot‐spring system. In aquifer A, unpalatable groundwater containing dissolved ferrous iron and hydrogen sulfide is associated with clay containing buried wetland sediments that supply nutrients for microbial reduction of iron and sulfate. In aquifer B, groundwater is palatable, and static water levels at three locations have generally declined since the early 1990s, probably as a result of natural drainage in the upgradient part of the aquifer. Most groundwater from both aquifers contains measurable tritium, indicating vulnerability to multi‐decadal drought.
This article investigates the challenges that face the development, community‐scale adoption, and long‐term sustainability of educational innovations in the field of hydrology and water resources engineering undergraduate education. Adopting a customer‐based discovery process, the current study conducted a set of 78 informal interviews with two main groups: faculty members who teach water resources and hydrology courses, and practicing engineers with specialty in the same field. The interviews revealed that the main motivation for faculty to develop or adopt new educational innovations stems from self‐efficacy and desire to achieve effective instructional strategies. Other factors, such as institutional requirements and faculty evaluations and incentives, seem to play a modulating role for generating self‐created motivation. The results identified time limitations and steep learning‐curves as the two adoption hindering factors cited by a majority of the interviewees. Other hindering factors reported were rigidity of resources and lack of assessment data. Industry perspectives on preparedness of recent graduates and relation to current educational practices showed that young engineers may lack critical skills on the proper use and interpretation of data and modeling analyses. The study also discusses potential solutions, such as development of sharing environments to facilitate exchange of data and resources, modular design to support adaptation and compatibility with existing curricula, collaborative efforts to produce shareable evaluation and assessment data, and potential opportunities for collaboration between academia and the professional industry to facilitate development and sustainability of educational innovations.
In this article, researchers report the impact study results of University of Minnesota Extension’s civic engagement for water quality cohort program. The cohort curriculum highlights Extension’s research‐informed, five‐stage civic engagement model emphasizing process design and process management. Using a non‐random comparison group design, a survey was conducted with participants of three civic engagement cohorts for water quality professionals, as well as a comparison group of water quality professionals not part of a cohort. Survey results were aggregated into the five stages of Extension’s civic engagement process: prepare, inquire, analyze, synthesize, and act together. Findings indicated cohort participants experienced significantly better results than members of the comparison group in four of the five stages. A strength of Extension’s civic engagement model and curriculum is its emphasis on the collective nature and processual aspects of civic engagement work. Cohort participants received training on civic engagement skills, which are not often emphasized in education for water quality professionals. While both groups reported a high frequency of increased civic engagement skills, cohort participants did not report more frequent collaboration or public engagement behaviors than comparison group members. A challenge for those training water quality professionals is instilling the value of civic engagement skills in addition to the more traditional technical skill sets associated with water quality work. Additionally, ongoing training and organizational support is needed for practitioners to effectively implement new skills and leverage new networks.
This study investigated how perceptions of news conference sources varied from measures taken in real‐time to those taken retrospectively after exposure to news conference footage. A 4 (source type) X 4 (message replication) mixed design experiment was conducted in which participants viewed four organizational spokespersons responding to water crises involving organizations. Participants evaluated spokespersons using a handheld dial during stimulus exposure, and then, retrospectively, using self‐report measures. Evaluation of source trustworthiness tended to increase over time, regardless of the type of source. However, retrospective self‐report measures demonstrated that public relations practitioner credibility suffered in comparison to that of other sources. Implications are discussed for public relations practice and future research in source credibility.
New techniques are needed to distinguish between leakage of methane (CH4) into surface waters from gas wells and natural sources. Here, scientists worked with >50 citizen scientists in a hydrocarbon‐rich basin (Pennsylvania, U.S.A.) to measure methane concentrations ([CH4]) in streams. These measurements were combined with published observations to form a reconnaissance dataset. The dataset was then used to categorize sites as background or as impacted by other sources of gas. For 479 samples at 131 sites, 470 were supersaturated with respect to the atmosphere (>0.08 µg/L). Sites with the lowest concentrations generally were located in low‐productivity, sandstone‐underlain upland streams, while other streams contained CH4 from sources in addition to atmospheric. The median of 63 sites not located near wetland habitats and not affected by known thermogenic influxes yielded an estimate of background [CH4] in the streams, 0.5 µg/L. The highest individual measurements (∼70 µg/L) in the stream dataset were observed in one site near a wetland and one site near a putatively leaking gas well. Inspection of the dataset revealed that values of [CH4] above a threshold for non‐wetland sites, 4 μg/L, signals gas is likely deriving from sources such as leaking gas wells, shallow organic‐rich shales, coal, or landfills. Using historical and local volunteer knowledge, we discovered 12 non‐wetland sites above the threshold that are potentially contaminated by such sources. Although sources of CH4 cannot be proven from such surveys of [CH4], stream sampling with nonscientists nonetheless allows discovery of sites of potential contamination that can be further investigated.
This case study describes a region‐wide, multi‐sectoral, and whole‐of‐community stakeholder engagement approach for addressing sea level rise (SLR) and flooding. This approach was implemented through a university‐led community engagement event, the Hampton Roads Resilient Region Reality Check (H4RC), which allowed an examination of its effectiveness as a mechanism for capturing community‐wide perceptions regarding SLR, flooding, and associated risks; engaging stakeholders in discussion within and across different groups; and assessing community willingness to address flooding and SLR. The results show that the event helped participants broaden their perspectives and understanding of flooding and SLR. In an approach that called for participants to engage in social learning across social networks, the event had some effect on individual efficacy. However, there was little impact on participants’ already‐established perception that the region does not possess significant willingness to take action.
An array of methodologies to quantify blue, green, and grey water have emerged in recent years and are still evolving rapidly, as are efforts to come up with reliable indicators of human appropriation of freshwater resources. This study provides an overview of recent blue, green, and grey water quantification approaches by analyzing publications extracted from the Web of Science database utilizing the Network Analysis Interface for Literature Studies (NAILS) bibliometric analysis tool, covering the period 2000-2018. A steep increase in the number of blue, green, and grey water publications was observed from the year 2009, with the United States and China among the top contributing nations. Blue, green, and grey water quantification approaches used in the analyzed publications were broadly categorized into Water Footprint Assessment, Life Cycle Assessment, and Hybrid methodologies. The Water Footprint Network was the most influential hub in terms of providing the most productive and cited authors. “Water footprint” and “virtual water” were unsurprisingly the trendiest and most cited keywords associated with the sample of analyzed publications. The study provides important insights that are helpful in understanding the diversity of techniques that have been applied to quantify blue, green, and grey water in recent assessment studies.
Florida has successfully irrigated agricultural crops with reclaimed water (RW) for more than 50 years. Florida and California are the two largest producers and users of RW in the U.S. To allay early fears about RW, Florida regulatory agencies established rules in the 1980s that prohibited direct contact of RW with crops that are not processed but eaten raw. This means that RW cannot be used for direct contact irrigation or frost protection of crops such as strawberries or blueberries. Other states do not have such limitations on RW use. Reclaimed water has an excellent safety record, and no health problems have occurred from its use. The main edible crop that uses RW in Florida is citrus. Reclaimed water contains some macro- and micronutrients, but can provide only a small amount of nitrogen (N) to citrus. Some RW sources can provide adequate N to turf grass. Reclaimed water production has increased dramatically in the past 20 years, and much of the increased flow has gone to public access irrigation. While still important, agricultural use of RW as a percentage of total flow may continue to decrease, but the supply of RW continues to grow as Florida’s population increases.
Potential for use of recycled water1 is great, especially for agricultural irrigation, which comprises by far the highest percentage of water taken from developed sources in the arid and semi-arid regions of the world. In California, 80% of developed water is used for agriculture, and the same pattern prevails throughout the western United States. The potential for recycled water use in agriculture remains underrealized because of numerous impediments. Understanding how the incentives and impediments to agricultural reuse vary based on local context is critical to understanding the tradeoffs and technology requirements for different end uses of recycled water. Public perceptions about the safety of reclaimed water (from human waste) were a major impediment to water recycling until recent years. Several pioneers of water recycling have demonstrated—as specialists in the field of social psychology have hypothesized— that these attitudes are ephemeral and can be changed with proper outreach, demonstration, and education. Another impediment is the regulatory structure in some states. Water rights issues are another impediment specific to some western states in the United States. Cost differences for delivered water from traditional sources versus recycled water can be another challenge potentially requiring financial incentives in the interest of the greater good. One other impediment to the use of recycled water for agricultural irrigation is competition with other demands for the same water—landscape, golf course, industrial, and potable reuse. Potential for increased use of recycled water is great if impediments are removed and incentives are provided at the local, state, and/or federal levels to close the gaps (geographic and otherwise) between the utilities and the farmers.
Nonpoint source (NPS) pollution from agricultural and urban development is a primary source of nutrients and decreased water quality in aquatic systems. Installation of best management practices (BMPs) within critical source areas of the watershed can be helpful at reducing the transport of nutrients to waterbodies; however, prioritizing these areas may be difficult. The objective of this study was to develop several potential frameworks for prioritizing subwatersheds using baseflow water chemistry data in relation to a simple human development index (HDI; total percent agriculture and urban development). At a monthly interval, samples were collected at 26 sites throughout the Oklahoma portion of the Lake Wister Watershed (LWW) and analyzed for total nitrogen, total phosphorus, total suspended solids, and chlorophyll a. Changepoint analysis for each parameter found significant thresholds for each of the parameters ranging from 20 to 30% HDI. Changepoint analysis summary statistics were used to develop prioritization frameworks for the LWW that could be used to target subwatersheds where BMP installation would have the greatest effect at improving water quality. Additionally, regression models developed from the relationships between water quality parameters and HDI values serve as realistic targets for improving water quality, with the modeled line representing the target concentration for a given HDI value. After BMPs have been implemented, baseflow monitoring should continue at the subwatershed scale to track changes in water quality. Focusing monitoring efforts at the subwatershed scale will provide an earlier indication of the effectiveness of BMPs, as it may take several decades to detect improvements in water quality at the larger watershed scale.
Perhaps the biggest challenge the world faces is providing sufficient, nutritious, and safe food at the right time for its ever-increasing population. Considering current world population growth trends, it is estimated that the global population will be about 10 billion by the year 2050. Therefore, food production should at least double in the same period if food security is to be satisfied. Water and land resources play a pivotal role in agriculture and directly connect to food security. At the same time, the capacity to produce food is constrained by global climate changes and increased pressure on land resources. These challenges are more severe in Southern Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and East Asia, where conflict and lack of capacity to fund agricultural research and food production are common. Strategies that simultaneously increase food production and reduce threats to food security are therefore needed. The objectives of this paper are to review the grand challenges of global food security and to propose strategies for mitigating food insecurity, with an emphasis on the link between water resources and food production.
Due to its multiple uses, water is a highly competed-for resource. While the competition is mainly in the use of the resource, contestation over water resources is also demonstrated through how the resource is defined and described. Terms such as water stress and water scarcity are commonly used in literature, and so are various colors that define water quality, including white, grey, yellow, and black water. Water that is useful for agriculture is distinctly known as blue or green water, with the latter increasingly gaining prominence in water planning for improved agricultural productivity. Proper management of green water has been shown to improve grain yields in Sub-Saharan Africa by as much as 2.5 – 6 times. The arid nature of Sub-Saharan Africa, coupled with the high evapotranspiration rates, calls for improved management of green water, including reducing evaporation losses, reducing seepage, and increasing the water holding capacity of soils. The value of green water management in Sub-Saharan Africa is further enhanced by its low-cost nature when compared to irrigation, which is an area that Sub-Saharan Africa has also been focusing on as part of the solutions to the increasing food needs of its growing population. Infrastructure for irrigation is costly and not affordable to the majority in Africa. In addition, irrigation can only benefit those communities near the water sources, whereas proper green water management can have benefits to all communities, including those far from a water source.
This article examines policy innovations and data concerns related to water trading in Colorado, and develops econometric models of transactions occurring over two distinct time periods. The Punctuated Equilibrium Theory (PET) of policy adaptation is used to examine shifts in Colorado water trading policy paradigms. Creating better policy frameworks for water trading is a key concern for agricultural, urban, and environmental water interests, given hotter temperatures and more variable precipitation patterns in the western U.S. Contractual arrangements of varying types are being used to engage farmers in providing reliable water supplies for ecosystem and urban needs through changes in farm water use practices. While various pieces of information about changes in water use can be gleaned from public databases, transaction price information is notably lacking. Recent Colorado policy innovations related to water trading emphasize reducing on-farm consumptive use and making water available for other purposes without permanently drying up irrigated cropland. The use of econometric models analyzing water rights transactions provides insight into how changes in key external factors affect transaction prices. The econometric models developed here focus upon Colorado’s urbanizing Front Range and examine the effect of demographics, housing prices, drought indicators, and agricultural profitability on prices at which water is traded. Volume traded, drought measures, housing prices, alfalfa prices, and water source characteristics are statistically significant in these models. The article concludes by discussing factors that contribute to water trading policy innovations
and the broader relevance of Colorado’s innovative trading arrangements to water management challenges
in arid regions.
This study examines the results of a random sample survey of Texans evaluating citizen awareness, attitudes, and willingness to adopt water conservation practices. The study investigates changes in public attitudes following the most intense one-year drought on record in Texas by evaluating public perception of water availability, assessing Texans’ attitudes and perceptions regarding drought conditions, and comparing the number of Texans adopting practices to conserve water before and after the drought of 2011. Almost 70% indicated that the likelihood of their area suffering from a prolonged drought was increasing. More than 61% of respondents have changed the way their yard is landscaped and 62% have also adopted new technologies in an effort to conserve water. Overall, responses indicated that Texans are concerned with water availability after experiencing, in 2011, the worst one-year drought on record, and that the majority of respondents are taking personal action in an effort to conserve water for the future.
Water quality standards are developed to protect and define when waterbodies support their designated uses including public water supply, recreational use, aquatic life use, and others. Recreational use categories include various activities that typically do not occur under similar hydrologic conditions making protection of all uses challenging. This paper presents a case study where Escherichia coli concentrations were grouped by flow rate to demonstrate potential effects of developing use-specific water quality standards for contact recreation. Adopting this approach requires a shift from current water quality policy which applies to all hydrologic conditions; however, it also requires additional data collection on actual usage types and occurrence before it can be implemented. This paper demonstrates that implementing an alternative water quality standards approach can still reasonably protect human health while minimizing taxpayer cost to restore impaired waterbodies.
Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) and the nexus approach are tools to identify solutions for water problems across interdependent sectors with interacting social and natural systems. Although both tools aim at solutions for complex water issues using an interdisciplinary approach, IWRM is a management process and the nexus approach is a systems tool to characterize problems. By clarifying their attributes and providing examples, instructors can use them to explain broad social problems and offer practical frameworks for problem-solving. Given their breadth, IWRM and the nexus approach can seem vague and attract criticism, but if they are replaced, the need for them will endure. The concepts are explained, and similarities between them are explored in the paper. Case study sources for them are identified, and the cases are classified by the processes of water resources management as applied across related sectors. How the concepts and their corresponding case studies can be used will vary by context. Suggestions are made for interdisciplinary instruction and discussions in disciplinary settings.
Bankfull is a concept that is intimately tied to the annual flood series through the well-accepted tenet that bankfull discharge occurs at approximately the 1.5-year recurrence interval on the annual series. Thus, due to this association the annual series provides a useful diagnostic tool for helping to identify the bankfull elevation in the field. The partial-duration series does not provide an equivalent tool because paired discharge and recurrence interval values from the flood frequency curve depend upon the minimum threshold selected for developing the partial-duration series. However, the interpretation that bankfull discharge occurs on average once every 1.5 years, or two out of every three years from that bankfull discharge/recurrence interval relationship on the annual series is incorrect. Frequencies of small floods (those with recurrence intervals ≤10 years) should be obtained using the partial-duration flood series because it contains a more accurate representation of the size and frequency of small events. We used discharge data from 11 streams in West Virginia watersheds that ranged from about 0.14 to 223 km2 to compare the two series and to illustrate the variability in small flood frequencies through time. Flooding to the bankfull stage was absent some years but occurred as many as four or five times during other years.
Significant challenges in the provision of safe drinking water and appropriate, effective sanitation remain in the United States, particularly among communities with few financial resources and/or situated in challenging terrain. Though previous formal research is limited, anecdotal reports suggest that some households in Appalachia may rely on untreated, unregulated roadside “springs” as a primary source of potable water. This effort monitored the water quality at twenty-one of these springs in Central Appalachia and identified potential motivations for this behavior through volunteer surveys in order to better define community challenges and to establish communication for future outreach. The majority (>80%) of spring samples collected were positive for E. coli, indicating a potential risk of exposure to waterborne pathogens; measured concentrations of metals and nutrients were generally in accordance with USEPA recommendations for drinking water. Survey respondents generally had a piped source of in-home water available yet primarily collected the water due to “taste” and “quality/health” and used it directly for drinking. Multiple respondents included extra written information indicating that they either did not trust their in-home water source or considered it unreliable. Collectively these results suggest that these roadside springs do serve as a regular source of household water for some communities though they generally do not meet federal drinking water standards. Future efforts are encouraged to work with local municipal water authorities to rebuild community trust and/or to determine whether on-site treatment at these springs is
practicable.
Recent legal cases have suggested that contaminated seeps and/or springs that have measurable impacts on adjacent surface water quality may fall under the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act (CWA). An improved understanding of the effects of groundwater seeps on surface water quality is needed to support the evolving legal and regulatory environment. Surface seeps or seepage zones are locations where upwelling groundwater saturates the surface. Seeps can provide groundwater that may be transported to nearby surface waters along surface and shallow subsurface flowpaths. From a water quality perspective, seeps can provide portholes to observe groundwater quality. Here we consider examples of seeps as contaminant sources or sinks across a range of watershed disturbance and synthesize the seep water quality literature to help answer the questions: Why do seeps act as contaminant sinks in some cases and contaminant sources in others? What areas of seep water quality research can help apprise the legal and policy discussion on the role of the CWA to address groundwater contamination that is conveyed to streams? Overall, the case studies and literature review indicated that seep water quality data can provide valuable insights into the effects of stream-groundwater interactions on stream water quality. Future work on seep-surface water interactions is needed to characterize seep water quality behavior across a range of hydrogeological, meteorological, and land-use conditions to better understand the locations where seeps are more likely to convey contaminants to streams and affect stream water quality.
Natural resource professionals increasingly recognize that water protection and restoration efforts require not only technical solutions, but also the active engagement of stakeholders who live and work in the local community. People of color, and those of lower income brackets, are frequently underrepresented in water-related programming or decision-making, although they are often disproportionately affected by water problems. Effective engagement of diverse community members in water programs and projects requires understanding and addressing constraints to action. We conducted 25 interviews with community members who live or work in a highly urbanized Minnesota watershed to explore perceived obstacles to community engagement in local water resource protection and restoration. Based on self-reported race, ethnicity, and general community engagement level, interviewees were assigned to one of three “stakeholder groups” for comparative analysis: formal decision-makers, active white community members, and active community members of color. Qualitative analysis of responses revealed perceived constraints to engagement common to all three groups: inaccessibility and invisibility of water, lack of local leadership in water issues, and limited community dialogue about water problems and solutions. Additional constraints were perceived uniquely by community members of color: cultural constraints around water uses, recreation, action, and inequities or disenfranchisement in community decision-making processes and water programming. Study findings suggest partnership building is needed for collaboration in designing civic engagement programs
and improving water protection and restoration projects.
Managing water resources is increasingly complex and dynamic. Sustaining freshwater ecosystem services in the face of increasing challenges and emerging threats is a supreme leadership challenge. Leadership development program designers should look to social science theories and methods to prepare leaders to catalyze the change necessary to meet future challenges. This paper provides evidence that a new generation of water leaders is needed; and correspondingly, there is a need for new leadership development programs. The Nebraska Water Leaders Academy and its evaluation is presented as a case study of a successful program training leaders in social science-based skills in order to produce catalysts of change. The Academy is theoretically grounded in transformational leadership, champions of innovation, civic capacity, and entrepreneurial leadership. The Academy employs a process-based curriculum with developmental experiences that includes key components of assessment, challenge, and support. Formative assessment provides constructive feedback from participants and guides the development of future sessions and curriculum. Summative assessment is used to gauge participants’ leadership knowledge, skills, and behaviors, and evaluate the instructional methods used in the Academy. Results of pre- and post-Academy assessments of participants from both the participants’ and raters’ perspectives indicate statistically significant increases in transformational leadership behaviors, champion of innovation behaviors, civic capacity, entrepreneurial leadership behavior, awareness of Nebraska water issues, and engagement with Nebraska water issues.
This paper describes a research project that collected information about the leadership characteristics of successful watershed coordinators in Ohio. We interviewed a total of twenty watershed coordinators who had successfully completed nonpoint source (NPS) management projects and asked them to discuss their perceptions of what made them and others like them successful. We organized the attributes identified into three themes (social, technical and administrative). Of these, social attributes like strong communication skills were considered to be the most critical for getting NPS projects completed, though technical and administrative attributes were also important. We discuss how these findings might be applied in evaluating and training watershed coordinators, and consider possible avenues for further research.
The purpose of this study was to explore and explain eco-leadership in practice, specifically among community groups in Virginia’s New River Valley. This paper describes relationships between community groups’ leadership style and other factors while also highlighting an intricate mixed method design that ultimately led to a deep, rich understanding of these relationships. There were five research objectives: (1) Characterize the community groups’ leadership culture; (2) Assess each group’s cohesiveness; (3) Assess the groups’ community project involvement; (4) Determine if relationships exist between the variables; and (5) Highlight the role of mixed methods in the emergence of findings. The study has implications for carrying forward the concept of eco-leadership in research and practice.
Sustainable management is a complex process that involves balancing the competing interests of the human, plant, and animal communities that depend on watershed resources. It involves developing and implementing plans, programs, and projects that sustain and enhance watershed functions while taking into account the natural, social, political, economic, and institutional factors operating within the watershed and other relevant regions. Examples of such factors include crosscutting mandates by different levels of government, conflicting objectives across sectors, and the constraints and uncertainty of the availability and accessibility of the resources within the watershed. One way to address these complexities is with public participation processes designed to share knowledge among disciplinary experts, policy-makers, and local stakeholders and provide outcomes, which inform the creation of sustainable watershed management plans. Serious games (i.e., games played for purposes other than pure entertainment) are an example of such processes. Here, we present a case study of how a serious game, called the multi-hazard tournament, was used to facilitate watershed management by promoting social learning, cross-sectoral dialogue, and stakeholder participation in the planning process.
Freshwater mussel populations in North America have been declining over the past two centuries due to a variety of land-use changes and anthropogenic water quality degradation. The Tippecanoe River, located in northcentral Indiana, was once home to the world’s largest population of clubshell mussels. Currently, the river supports six federally listed species. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) partnered with Purdue University to design and implement an outreach and education campaign to raise awareness about and promote protection of these imperiled species. This article details how researchers used the principles of community-based social marketing to create and evaluate the campaign. Lessons learned and recommendations for future campaigns are provided.
This paper presents the case of a voluntary watershed project that addressed the need for improving water quality by reducing agricultural nutrient loss. The Beargrass Creek Watershed Approach Project in Wabash County, Indiana aimed to demonstrate that it is possible to achieve ambitious water quality goals and maximize the effectiveness of conservation funding through locally-led efforts that bring together multiple stakeholders throughout the process. The project focused on implementing the “right practices” in the “right places” through a goal-oriented, science-based, and locally-adapted approach to voluntary conservation. We examine and evaluate all three phases of the project and discuss successes and lessons learned from the point of view of both agricultural producers and agency staff from the local Soil and Water Conservation District and the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
This paper describes how in-depth interviews and content analysis of water-related policies and plans were used to assess good governance principles (transparency, effectiveness, equity, accountability, and appropriate scale) for Lake Wausau in central Wisconsin. The purpose of the research was to support and inform development of a lake management plan. One of the key findings was that the existing system of water governance lacked transparency. In addition, responsibility for and benefits from potential improved lake conditions were distributed unevenly and inequitably among stakeholders. Local and county plans were vague and lacked strong language (e.g., “should” vs. “must” comply) to indicate which actions were required. Both barriers to and opportunities for creating a more effective system were identified. This paper offers suggestions for improving the governance system, discusses the limits of local watershed planning for overcoming watershed management issues, and provides suggestions for anyone wishing to undertake governance analyses to support water resources management.
Seasonal runoff from montane uplands is crucial for plant growth in agricultural communities of northern New Mexico. These communities typically employ traditional irrigation systems, called acequias, which rely mainly upon spring snowmelt runoff for irrigation. The trend of the past few decades is an increase in temperature, reduced snow pack, and earlier runoff from snowmelt across much of the western United States. In order to predict the potential impacts of changes in future climate a system dynamics model was constructed to simulate the surface water supplies in a montane upland watershed of a small irrigated community in northern New Mexico through the rest of the 21st century. End-term simulations of representative concentration pathways (RCP) 4.5 and 8.5 suggest that runoff during the months of April to August could be reduced by 22% and 56%, respectively. End-term simulations also displayed a shift in the beginning and peak of snowmelt runoff by up to one month earlier than current conditions. Results suggest that rising temperatures will drive reduced runoff in irrigation season and earlier snowmelt runoff in the dry season towards the end of the 21st century. Modeled results suggest that climate change leads to runoff scheme shift and increased frequency of drought; due to the uncontemporaneous of irrigation season and runoff scheme, water shortage will increase. Potential impacts of climate change scenarios and mitigation strategies should be further investigated to ensure the resilience of traditional agricultural communities in New Mexico and similar regions.
Facing an anticipated shortage declaration on the Colorado River and reductions in surface water for agricultural use, rural stakeholder groups are concerned about how water cutbacks will affect their local economies. Local farm groups and county governments often lack the analytical tools to measure such impacts. While one can learn much from large-scale hydro-economic models, data, cost, and time limitations have been barriers to such model development. This article introduces three basic modeling approaches, using relatively low-cost and accessible data, to examine local economic impacts of water reallocations from agriculture. An empirical application estimates the effect of agricultural water reductions to Pinal County, Arizona, the county that would be most affected by a Colorado River Shortage Declaration. Water cutbacks to agriculture are modeled using two variants of a “rationing” model, which assumes that farmers will fallow their acres that generate the lowest gross returns (Rationing Model I) or the lowest net returns (Rationing Model II) per acre-foot of water. Rationing models have modest data requirements given that crop and region specific data are available. Building off these simpler rationing models, an input-output (I-O) model provides more detailed information about the impacts on different rural stakeholder groups as well as the impacts to non-agricultural sectors and the local tax base. Given imminent water cutbacks, access to low-cost data and information that are easy to interpret is essential for effective community dialogue.
Current and predicted drought and population growth challenge the longevity of irrigation systems of northern New Mexico. Irrigation ditches, also known as acequias, draw runoff directly from rivers without use of storage reservoirs, so it is important to understand the effects of changing river flow on irrigation flow. This study sought to examine river-ditch relationships in an agricultural valley of the region. A first order linear model was used to fit the river-ditch flow relationship on which daily river flow was the explanatory variable and daily ditch flow the response variable. A strong positive relationship between river and ditch flow was observed for all but one of the ditches. Using a statistical model approach that addressed serial autocorrelation, heteroscedasticity, as well as outlier observations, statistical evidence at 5% significance level was found in all ditches but one. The ditch without a positive relationship was at a downstream location, subject to upstream flow diversion that may have influenced river-ditch flow relationships. Results from this study can be used to evaluate the potential effects of changing socioeconomic dynamics and climate change projections in the operations of these irrigation systems to better understand and manage their water resources.
Understanding people’s perceptions of the environment, drinking water issues, and protecting and preserving water resources is of great importance. This study aims to assess and compare the perceptions of the general public (n = 414), post-secondary students (n = 103), and water professionals (n = 104) in Oklahoma on water issues in the state. To address these goals, a 53-item paper questionnaire was first administered to a randomly sampled mailing list of Oklahoma residents. As a follow up to the initial survey, post-secondary students at Oklahoma State University were sampled in addition to Oklahoma water professionals at regional conferences. Respondents ranged from 18 to over 65 years old, with all three demographics agreeing the top water priority to be clean drinking water. The majority were satisfied with their home water supply and felt it was safe to drink, while they were not sure of the quality of ground and/or surface water. Age was a key factor in information delivery and learning preferences as the older participants favored print material versus the younger demographic interest in technology. Data collected via this study provide insight into the perceptions, priorities, and learning preferences of these three populations. Despite our finding that clean water is a priority in Oklahoma, regardless of demographic, results suggest more education and outreach is needed to provide additional information regarding water in Oklahoma.
Maintaining access to sufficient amounts of clean water for human and environmental needs is a global challenge requiring education and community engagement. We developed a curriculum integrating field experiences with online modules focusing on the water cycle, water quality, and human impacts. This year-long curriculum connected nine public high schools in Kentucky with ten private, English-language schools in eastern India. Curriculum design was informed by the Next Generation Science Standards (the new U.S. education standards for science) and utilized freely available, open-access technology. Each instructional module included a narrated slideshow with general information and examples from Kentucky and India, exercises involving online data sets, and guidelines for class projects. Students developed creative products (e.g., posters and dramatic performances) for community outreach on water issues. Class projects involved literature reviews of local water bodies, collection of data using water-quality test kits, and submission of a research proposal, which was evaluated by scientific professionals with a background in hydrology. The highest-rated team from each country traveled to the other country to present their findings at a professional meeting or workshop. Eight of the Indian schools prepared video summaries of their projects, which were reviewed by an undergraduate class at the University of Kentucky. The curriculum and examples of student work are available on a publicly accessible website. Challenges faced during project implementation included difficulty in assessment of student products and, particularly for Kentucky schools, integrating activities into existing curricula. Nonetheless, the proposals, final papers, and other products indicated that students understood hydrologic concepts and were aware of water-quality issues.
Geographers have long played an important role in water resources scholarship; however, academic literature has not focused on the teaching contributions of geographers in this area. To address this gap, we cataloged courses taught and faculty interests for geography departments in the United States with a stated focus on water resources. We identified 129 departments with both courses and faculty having water resources expertise. The majority of water-related courses focused on climatology or climate change, suggesting that students are regularly provided opportunities to learn about water topics primarily through the lens of climatology and water resources. We also summarize a panel organized at the 2017 American Association of Geographers Annual Conference that focused on water resources curriculum in geography programs. The panel discussed curriculum and pedagogical approaches, concluding that a water resources course syllabi repository would be beneficial for creating new and refining existing water resources courses. The panel also recommended that faculty consider incorporating water resources topics into their general education classes to concurrently enhance student learning opportunities and positively impact recruitment and interest in geography programs. Additionally, online education represents a substantial change in higher education that presents new challenges and opportunities for geographers. We hope these data and the summary of the panel session stimulate greater discussions of curricular needs across all disciplines that offer water resource focused courses.
The complex relationship between precipitation and soil moisture plays a critical role in land surface hydrology. Traditionally, the analysis of this relationship is restricted by the spatial coverage of both soil moisture and precipitation data that are collected through in-situ observations at limited locations. In this study, we utilized the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)’s remote sensing products of soil moisture (SMAP: Soil Moisture Active Passive) and precipitation (TRMM: Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission), which provide near-global coverage, to investigate the co-variation of precipitation and soil moisture regionally, as a function of ecosystem types and climate regimes. We apply information on land cover and climate regimes to provide insight about correlation strength of soil moisture and precipitation. The results indicate that most of the globe has a moderate to strong positive correlation of SMAP soil moisture and TRMM precipitation data during the study period. In relation to land cover, soil moisture and precipitation have the strongest correlations in regions of limited vegetation, whereas forests and densely vegetated regions have weaker correlations. As for climate regimes, they have the strongest correlations in arid or cold regions, and weaker correlations in humid, temperate locations. While remotely sensed soil moisture data are less reliable in dense vegetation, these results confirm that drier, less vegetated climates show a highly linear relationship between soil moisture and rainfall.
The confluence of the Little Colorado and Colorado Rivers is an Indigenous socio-ecological landscape, revolving in large part around water resources. Substantial surface and groundwater use within the Little Colorado River (LCR) basin threatens the water sources of the confluence, springs in the LCR basin, and specifically the Hopi Sipapuni—a sacred site of cultural emergence. To address concerns about diminished flows of sacred springs, we engaged in praxis through collaborative, reciprocal, community-based research processes. Through the lens of anticolonial theory, we ask: Can federal policies be employed in an anticolonial pursuit of water and sacred site protection? How do Indigenous grassroots organizers envision protection and work to re-Indigenize water management? Semi-structured interviews with Indigenous community organizers and federal land managers were coupled with policy analysis of the National Historic Preservation Act/Traditional Cultural Properties, the ongoing LCR Adjudication, and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Findings point to multifaceted, complex, and contradictory themes that elucidate the continued influence of colonization on water governance and the degree to which protection solutions can be anticolonial. Criteria were generated for anticolonial protective pathways that highlight the centrality of reciprocal relationships, Indigenous Knowledges, and meaningful inclusion. While details about protection pathways for the confluence and Sipapuni are many, the salient finding is that the struggle for water protection in the LCR is the struggle for protection of inherent Indigenous rights.
Parts of the Southwestern United States report arsenic levels in water resources that are above the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s current drinking water limits. Prolonged exposure to arsenic through food and drinking water can contribute to significant health problems including cancer, developmental effects, cardiovascular disease, neurotoxicity, and diabetes. In order to understand exposure risks, water sampling and testing have been conducted throughout Arizona. This information is available to the public through often non-overlapping databases that are difficult to access and in impracticable formats. The current study utilized a systemic compilation of online databases to compile a spreadsheet containing over 33,000 water samples. The reported arsenic concentrations from these databases were collected from 1990-2017. Using ArcGIS software, these data were converted into a map shapefile and overlaid onto a map of Arizona. This visual representation shows that arsenic levels in surface and ground water exceed the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s drinking water limits for many sites in several counties in Arizona, and there is an underrepresentation of sampling in several tribal jurisdictions. This information is useful for water managers and private well owners throughout the State for determining safe drinking water sources and limiting exposure to arsenic.
Concentrations of dissolved uranium (U) and arsenic (As) above drinking water standards in unregulated water sources pose various human health risks. Although high natural background concentrations may occur in some environments (Runnells et al. 1992), anthropogenic contamination concerns are especially troublesome on the Navajo Nation (NN), where past U mining activity may have contaminated water supplies. This research investigated U and As groundwater contamination issues in unregulated wells in the western portion of the NN. Objectives of this research were to provide insights to human health risks by assessing the spatial extent and seasonal variability of U and As concentrations while effectively communicating the potential contamination risks to the local Navajo people. Eighty-two unregulated wells were sampled in 2018; nine of these sources exceeded the maximum contaminant level (MCL) for drinking water standards for U (30 µg/L), and 14 exceeded the MCL for drinking water standards for As (10 µg/L). U and As levels were highest in the southwest portion of the study area and seasonal variability was observed in a subset of wells, especially shallower hand dug wells and hand pumps. The results were compiled into a report that was presented to NN chapters included in the study as well as the Navajo Department of Water Resources and the NN Environmental Protection Agency. Implications for regional water quality patterns can help to direct policy recommendations for well monitoring, water use, and remediation targets.
It is well established that climate change is already causing a wide variety of human health impacts in the United States and globally, and that for many reasons Native Americans are particularly vulnerable. Tribal water security is particularly threatened; the ways in which climate changes are damaging community health and well-being through impacts on water resources have been addressed more thoroughly for Tribes in coastal, arid, and sub-arctic/arctic regions of the United States. In this article, Crow Tribal members from the Northern Plains describe the impacts of climate and environmental change on local water resources and ecosystems, and thereby on Tribal community health and well-being. Formal, qualitative research methodology was employed drawing on interviews with 26 Crow Tribal Elders. Multiple determinants of health are addressed, including cultural, social, economic, and environmental factors. The sense of environmental-cultural-health loss and despair at the inability to address the root causes of climate change are widespread. Yet the co-authors and many other Tribal members are actively prioritizing, addressing, and coping with some of the local impacts of these changes, and are carrying on Apsáalooke [Crow] lifeways and values.
This study focuses on water quality and quantity impacts from natural resource development on watersheds originating on Crow tribal lands in southeastern Montana. Field research analysis will focus on the surface water quality in three adjacent watersheds. This study will determine impacts to water quality from reclaimed coal mine spoils surface runoff and produced water discharge from coal bed methane wells within the watersheds. A secondary research objective is to determine a baseline assessment of surface water in watersheds prior to proposed mine development, particularly on tribally owned and allotted tracts. Historical data from state agencies will also be compared to data collected within watersheds on tribal lands. Water quality impacts from mining development may be more pronounced than that of coal bed methane as the reclaimed mining sites have demonstrated lasting impacts on the nearby surface water quality in the study area. Historical and current samples have demonstrated increased sodium absorption ratio and sodium levels downstream of a mine site in a tributary to the primary watershed. A sample from a pond in another reclaimed mine site contained the highest sodium adsorption ratio levels of all surface water samples. Coal bed methane development impacts may have been transient in the primary watershed surface water based on sample results. Historical oil and gas development appears to be impacting surface water quality within the southernmost watershed. Analysis has shown the increasing degradation of water quality in watersheds downstream and across the state boundary of Montana into Wyoming where natural resource development has occurred.
Emerging contaminants in Tribal water have been unexplored until implementation of the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR) campaigns, which mandated the analysis of up to 30 new contaminants in drinking water every five years. As additions to the Safe Water Drinking Act (SDWA), the UCMR1 – 3 were created to assess contaminants which have not yet been assigned a maximum contaminant level (MCL) but may be regulated in the future to protect human health. While a handful of Tribes (n = 6) participated in UCMR1, public water systems (PWS) within reservation boundaries were intentionally included in representative nation-wide sampling beginning with UCMR2 after a period of Tribal consultation. Still, less than 3% of Tribal PWS were surveyed. The results from UCMR2 revealed that samples from all surveyed Tribal PWS fell below the method detection limits. Target analytes shifted to metals, perfluorinated chemicals, hormones, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), dioxane, and chlorate under UCMR3. Detectable levels of metals (chromium, hexavalent chromium, strontium, and vanadium), chlorate, and dioxane were observed, and in some cases, at concentrations greater than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) recommended health reference limit (HRL). The presence of elevated levels of vanadium, strontium, 1,4-dioxane, perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS), and chlorate defines a new set of emerging contaminants that needs to be considered with regards to risk, reporting and monitoring, and water treatment in Tribal drinking water.
The Portage Waterway in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula supports traditional Anishnaabe walleye (or ogaawag in the Anishnaabe language) spear-harvesting for the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC). Through reserved Indian treaty fishing rights, KBIC is highly involved in the waterway’s stewardship and annual community spear-harvest. Tribal leadership and fisheries personnel have long documented that annual harvests are far below sustainable quotas. The objectives of this research were to 1) understand the values and concerns of KBIC tribal members on Anishnaabe walleye (ogaawag) spear-harvesting, 2) examine water temperature patterns during the spring 2018 harvest to seek insight on how harvests may be optimized, and 3) integrate Anishinaabe gikendaasowin or traditional knowledge with science and education. We conducted an online survey in February 2018, containing 27 questions, to gain preliminary insight on KBIC’s perspectives of the annual walleye (ogaawag) spear-harvest. Nearly all respondents highly value the spear-harvest tradition personally and on behalf of the community. Similarly, nearly all agreed that it is important for the KBIC to manage its own fishery resources, and that the Tribe’s Natural Resources Department effectively does so. Respondents also expressed concerns about factors that could impact their harvests, including environmental changes and confrontations with non-Native residents. From May 1 to May 19, 2018, we deployed 13 Onset HOBO Pro V2 temperature dataloggers across the Portage Waterway to measure spring warming patterns in locations popular for spear-fishing. This period encompassed the entire KBIC spear-harvest season, with dataloggers recording water temperature every two hours. Temperature data show that management of the harvest season may need revision, as embayments and sloughs where spear-fishing largely occurs warmed significantly earlier than other parts of the waterway. As the presence of walleye (ogaawag) in shallow waters depends on temperature, some parts of the waterway should be opened for harvesting earlier. Our findings will be prepared in a formal recommendation for KBIC leadership in efforts to increase harvests for the Tribal community that rely on walleye (ogaawag) as a sacred and traditional food source
In Arivaca, Arizona, groundwater isotope measurements (stable O and H, tritium, and carbon-14) were made in conjunction with water level measurements and climate data. Recharge is predominantly young (post-1950) and is mainly from summer monsoon precipitation. Following a five-month period of unusually low δ18O and δ2H in precipitation in 2014-2015, corresponding shift in groundwater δ18O and δ2H was observed only at a site with recently built gabions. Water levels near the basin outlet increase in summer following periods of high storm frequency. Water levels also rebound in winter, possibly because of cessation of transpiration. The young groundwater is vulnerable to climate change, e.g., to protracted periods with summers that are drier or hotter than normal. Rapid assessment of groundwater and its connection to climate can provide valuable information to local water managers and citizens for whom more expensive studies are not feasible. Such assessments, based on relatively inexpensive isotope analyses and groundwater level data collected by volunteers, engage the community in management of its water resources. In Arivaca, the community responded to the results of the assessment with heightened interest in managing their water for sustainability and the construction of gabions to increase recharge from stormwater.
Freshwater systems worldwide are increasingly facing complex environmental issues. In the Laurentian Great Lakes region, harmful algal blooms are one example spanning agriculture, municipal drinking water, science and monitoring, water quality, and human health. Addressing these challenges and working across stakeholder interests requires sound science and additional skills that are not necessarily taught to graduate students in the apprentice research model. Effective stakeholder engagement and science communication are two areas consistent with emphases on broader impacts from the National Science Foundation, information and dissemination of the National Institutes of Health, and community engagement of the National Institutes of Health’s Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. The lack of training in these areas creates a gap for outreach, engagement, and science communication training to help enable researchers to translate important science to influential stakeholders, policy makers, and members of the public. To address this gap, we held a Community-Engaged Scholarship Workshop for graduate students and early career faculty. The workshop used an established community-engagement framework and was tailored to address the complex environmental issue of harmful algal blooms. It addressed four community-engagement competencies, including community-engaged partnerships, community-engaged teaching and learning, community-engaged research, and science communications. Here, we report evaluation results on changes in these four competencies and participant satisfaction. We conclude with a discussion of potential improvements and next steps for those seeking to host similar community-engaged trainings.
Cesspools as onsite sewage disposal systems (OSDS) are widespread in the Hawaiian Islands and of concern due to their lack of primary treatment and direct discharge of pathogens and nutrients into groundwater. Approximately 88,000 cesspools in Hawai‘i release nearly 55 million gallons per day (mgd) of sewage into the ground. Here, we review the status of wastewater pollution, with an emphasis on cesspools, and associated impacts to water resources, nearshore ecosystems, and human health. We present evidence supporting the creation of a cesspool conversion plan, highlighting the need to upgrade cesspools. Knowledge gaps in areas such as hydraulic/hydrologic modeling and technological limitations in identifying specific wastewater sources present barriers to addressing cesspool challenges. We show many of these constraints can be diminished. For example, limitations in identifying specific sources from wastewater indicators using %N and δ15N can be reduced with available land-use information and potential pollution sources to clarify concentration and isotopic data. Resource management presents many challenges, including recognition of diverse societal views and values. To overcome discrepancies in available data, and varying societal values, the use of transparent, adaptable framework methods such as “structured decision making” offers approaches for problem solving. Such frameworks are consistent with a holistic management approach to OSDS that couple the natural and social sciences in identifying and addressing barriers to reduce negative impacts. Maintaining momentum through adoption of clearly articulated short-, medium-, and long-term achievement benchmarks associated with such a management approach is recommended.
In a globalized world, universities are forming partnerships to solve today’s water-related challenges, such as increasing water scarcity and diminished water quality. Over the past 20 years, international university-led water research partnerships have been growing in number, including between the U.S. and countries in the Global South. While there are several examples of guidelines and best practices for executing collaborations, none focus on this type of partnership. Additionally, many international collaborations are formed between universities that have little previous experience in developing these types of partnerships. Often, critiques of partnerships happen after initiation and point to structural barriers and best practices for future collaborations, but few offer practical guidance on overcoming obstacles early on, amid an imperfect partnership. In this paper, we created a flexible collaboration framework which can be used as an evaluative tool. To model this, we conducted an internal evaluation of the Sustainable Water Management team of the Arequipa Nexus Institute, a collaboration designed to build research capacity at the Universidad Nacional de San Agustín to address local issues related to agriculture, natural resource management, and environmental change. Results highlighted project strengths and weaknesses and offered strategies to address challenges that many collaborations face. This strategy identification can serve as a guideline for improving the implementation of new or existing international university-led water research partnerships and help partners as they confront challenges at every stage of the partnership. The evaluation shows the effectiveness of using a collaboration framework as an assessment tool for international university-led water research partnerships.
Spanish Translation
La creación de un marco de colaboración para evaluar las asociaciones internacionales de investigación del agua dirigidas por universidades
Resumen: En un mundo globalizado, las universidades están formando asociaciones para resolver algunos desafíos actuales relacionados con el agua, como el aumento de la escasez de agua y la disminución de su calidad. Durante los últimos 20 años, las asociaciones internacionales de investigación del agua dirigidas por universidades han ido creciendo en número, incluso entre los Estados Unidos y los países del Sur Global. Aunque hay varios ejemplos de directrices y prácticas recomendadas para ejecutar colaboraciones, ninguna se centra en este tipo de asociación. Además, se forman muchas colaboraciones internacionales entre universidades que tienen poca experiencia previa en el desarrollo de este tipo de asociaciones. A menudo, las críticas de las asociaciones ocurren después de su inicio y apuntan a barreras estructurales y mejores prácticas para futuras colaboraciones, pero pocas ofrecen una orientación práctica sobre cómo superar los obstáculos desde el principio, en medio de una asociación imperfecta. En este documento, creamos un marco de colaboración flexible que se puede utilizar como una herramienta de evaluación. Para modelarlo, realizamos una evaluación interna del equipo de Gestión Sostenible del Agua del Arequipa Nexus Institute, una colaboración diseñada para desarrollar la capacidad de investigación en la Universidad Nacional de San Agustín para abordar cuestiones locales relacionadas con la agricultura, la gestión de los recursos naturales y el cambio ambiental. Los resultados destacaron las fortalezas y debilidades del proyecto y ofrecieron estrategias para abordar los desafíos a los que se enfrentan muchas colaboraciones. Esta identificación de estrategias puede servir como guía para mejorar la implementación de asociaciones internacionales de investigación del agua, dirigidas por universidades internacionales nuevas o existentes, y ayudar a los socios a enfrentar los desafíos en cada etapa de la asociación. La evaluación muestra la eficacia de utilizar un marco de colaboración como herramienta de evaluación para asociaciones internacionales de investigación del agua dirigidas por universidades.
Hydrometeorological monitoring of weather, streamflow, and water quality is essential for understanding available water resources, protecting populations from hazard, and identifying changes in environmental conditions over time. To meet such competing goals, monitoring networks require representative parameters, uniform sampling protocols, and stable locations, selected to reliably measure the phenomenon of interest. However, budgets are always limited, and immediate operational needs and short-term decisions often influence monitoring decisions. Here, the hydrometeorological monitoring systems in Arequipa, Peru, are examined with respect to established criteria for their ability to support these competing goals. The Arequipa Department in Peru has a well-established, stable, weather monitoring program, although reliance on manual observers results in variable data quality. The lack of observations in high altitude areas limits estimation of water availability, and high temporal resolution, automatic stations are needed to improve flash flood warnings. The streamflow monitoring system is designed to quantify water transfers throughout this heavily managed system. Twenty-one discharge monitoring stations were identified to serve as Historic Hydrologic Reference Stations, but many were only operational in the 1960s and 1970s and cannot be used to evaluate environmental trends. Twelve stations are identified that should be maintained for establishment of a future reference network. State sponsored water quality monitoring in the Department is fairly new, and a stratified sampling method has been used to maximize sample locations. Uniform sampling in fewer locations along intermediate sized tributaries, at least two times per year, would improve the reliability of the system and allow better detection of change over time.
Spanish Translation
Evaluación de la Infraestructura de Monitoreo Hidrometeorológico de Arequipa para Apoyar las Decisiones de Gestión del Agua
Resumen: El monitoreo hidrometeorológico, el flujo de los arroyos y la calidad del agua es esencial para comprender los recursos hídricos disponibles, proteger a las poblaciones de peligros e identificar cambios en las condiciones ambientales a lo largo del tiempo. Para cumplir con estos objetivos considerados, las redes de monitoreo requieren parámetros representativos, protocolos de muestreo uniformes y ubicaciones estables, seleccionadas para medir de manera confiable el fenómeno de interés. Sin embargo, recursos económicos siempre son limitados y las necesidades operativas inmediatas y las decisiones a corto plazo a menudo influyen en las decisiones de seguimiento. Aquí, los sistemas de monitoreo hidrometeorológico en Arequipa, Perú, se examinan con respecto a los criterios establecidos para su capacidad para respaldar estos objetivos considerados. El departamento de Arequipa en Perú tiene un programa de monitoreo meteorológico estable y bien establecido, aunque la utilización de monitoreos manuales da como resultado una calidad de datos variable. La falta de observaciones en áreas de gran altitud limita la estimación de la disponibilidad de agua, y se necesitan estaciones automáticas de alta resolución temporal para mejorar las alertas de crecidas repentinas. El sistema de monitoreo de caudal está diseñado para cuantificar las transferencias de agua. Se identificaron veintiuna estaciones de monitoreo de descargas para que sirvan como Estaciones de Referencia Hidrológica Histórica, pero muchas solo estaban operativas en las décadas de 1960 y 1970 y no se pueden utilizar para evaluar las tendencias ambientales. Se identifican doce estaciones que deben mantenerse para el establecimiento de una futura red de referencia. El monitoreo de la calidad del agua patrocinado por el estado en Arequipa es bastante nuevo y se ha utilizado un método de muestreo estratificado para maximizar las ubicaciones de las muestras. Un muestreo uniforme en menos ubicaciones a lo largo de afluentes de tamaño intermedio, al menos dos veces al año, mejoraría la confiabilidad del sistema y permitiría una mejor detección de cambios a lo largo del tiempo.
With growing developments in the technology of cloud storage and the Internet of Things, smart systems have become the latest trend in major agricultural regions of the world. The Arequipa and Caylloma provinces of Peru are highly productive agricultural areas that could benefit from these technologies. This region has low precipitation, generally less than 100 mm per year. Electricity is not available in most of the agricultural fields, limiting the types of irrigation methods and technologies that can be supported. Currently, 20 ponds supplied by water runoff from the Andean glaciers are used for irrigating approximately 545 hectares of land in the Majes district (Caylloma province). In order to develop optimal techniques for water irrigation in Arequipa and improve the infrastructure, there is a need for development of a smart water irrigation system applicable to the existing conditions in the region. The current study proposes a pilot smart water irrigation framework comprised of a drip irrigation module, wireless communication module, and a sensor network for intelligently regulating water flow from the cloud. In this study, a TEROS 12 soil moisture sensor is connected to a Digi XBee wireless module for collecting measurements of volumetric water content, temperature, and electrical conductivity, which are sent through a secure IP gateway to the cloud. A user-friendly web interface is available for end-users to access and analyze real-time data. The proposed framework is easily implementable, low-cost, and is predicted to conserve water through optimization of irrigation cycles based on a set moisture threshold.
Spanish Translation
Desarrollo de un Sistema Piloto de Riego Inteligente para la Sierra Peruana
Resumen: Con los recientes avances tecnológicos de procesamiento en la Nube y el Internet de las cosas, los sistemas inteligentes se han convertido en la última tendencia, y son cada vez más populares alrededor del mundo. Las regiones Peruanas de Arequipa y Caylloma son áreas agrícolas productivas que se podrían beneficiar de éste tipo de tecnologías. La región cuenta con poca precipitación, usualmente menos de 100 mm anuales. La mayoría de los campos agrícolas no cuentan con electricidad, limitando las técnicas de riego y tecnologías que se pueden implementar. Actualmente, 20 reservorios alimentados por agua de escorrentía proveniente de los glaciares de los Andes son usados para regar alrededor de 545 hectáreas en el distrito de Majes (Provincia de Caylloma). Para desarrollar técnicas de riego optimas en Arequipa y mejorar la infraestructura, se requiere el desarrollo de un sistema de riego inteligente adaptado a las condiciones actuales de la región. El presente estudio propone un sistema piloto de riego inteligente compuesto por un módulo de riego por goteo, un módulo de comunicación inalámbrica y una red de sensores para regular de manera estratégica y remota el caudal desde la Nube. En este estudio se emplea un sensor de humedad de suelo TEROS 12 conectado a un módulo inalámbrico Digi XBee para capturar medidas de contenido volumétrico de agua en el suelo, temperatura y conductividad eléctrica, las cuales son luego enviadas a través de una puerta de enlace IP a la Nube. Una interfaz amigable permite a los usuarios acceder y analizar la información en tiempo real. El esquema de trabajo propuesto es fácil de implementar, de bajo costo y se espera que reduzca el consumo de agua mediante la optimización de los ciclos de riego de acuerdo con un contenido de humedad objetivo.
The increased incidences of pipe breaks worldwide are posing a serious threat to potable water security in urban communities. The consequences may involve water loss and service interruptions, compromised water quality, infrastructure disruptions, and loss of revenue. Thus, creating failure assessment models is quite crucial to sustain water distribution networks (WDNs) and to optimize maintenance spending. This research paper aims at developing an assessment framework for water systems, as well as modeling the failure phenomena toward sustainable management of underground infrastructure. The city of El Pedregal in Peru was chosen to exemplify the methodology of the research due to the rapid pace of urbanization and growing economic activities in the region, which make water infrastructure even more critical. The framework is based on the application of modeling techniques stemming from statistical regression analysis (RA) and 3D schematic representation. First, the influential factors that lead to the deterioration of the WDNs are determined. Second, the RA technique is leveraged to evaluate and model the failure rate through consecutive simulation operations and a 3D surface plot. Finally, the efficacy of the model is investigated using different performance metrics, in conjunction with a residual analysis scheme. The validation results revealed the robustness of the model with R-squared (R2) and the sum of squares error (SSE) of 0.9767 and 0.0008, respectively. The developed model is a predictive tool that can be used by municipal engineers as a preemptive measure against future pipeline bursts or leaks.
Spanish Translation
Modelado Interactivo 3D de Fallas de Tuberías en Sistemas de Abastecimiento de Agua
Resumen: El aumento de la incidencia de roturas de tuberías en todo el mundo representa una grave amenaza para la seguridad del agua potable en las comunidades urbanas. Las consecuencias pueden incluir pérdida de agua e interrupciones del servicio, calidad del agua comprometida, interrupciones de la infraestructura y pérdida de ingresos. Por lo tanto, la creación de modelos de evaluación de fallas es crucial para mantener las redes de distribución de agua (WDNs) y optimizar el gasto de mantenimiento. Este trabajo de investigación tiene como objetivo desarrollar un marco de evaluación para los sistemas de agua, así como modelar los fenómenos de falla hacia la gestión sostenible de la infraestructura subterránea. La ciudad de El Pedregal en Arequipa, Perú fue elegida para ejemplificar la metodología de la investigación debido al rápido ritmo de urbanización y al crecimiento de las actividades económicas en la región, que hacen que la infraestructura del agua sea aún más crítica. El marco se basa en la aplicación de técnicas de modelado derivadas del análisis de regresión estadística (RA) y la representación esquemática 3D. En primer lugar, se determinan los factores influyentes que conducen al deterioro de las WDNs. En segundo lugar, se aprovecha la técnica RA para evaluar y modelar la tasa de fallas a través de operaciones de simulación consecutivas y un gráfico de superficie en 3D. Finalmente, la eficacia del modelo se investiga utilizando diferentes métricas de desempeño, junto con un esquema de análisis residual. Los resultados de la validación revelaron la robustez del modelo con R-cuadrado (R2) y la suma de errores cuadrados (SSE) de 0,9767 y 0,0008, respectivamente. El modelo desarrollado es una herramienta predictiva que los ingenieros que laboran en la municipalidad pueden utilizar como medida preventiva contra futuras explosiones o fugas de tuberías.
Analysis of historic and contemporary high-resolution imagery can help to fill knowledge gaps in land cover and management history in locations where documentation is non-existent or records are difficult to access. Historic imagery dating back to the 1960s can be used to structure quantitative investigation and mapping of land use and land cover change across space and time to enhance earth science, policy, and social science research. Imagery can further inform municipal planning and implementation in areas of natural resource allocation, infrastructure, and hazard mitigation. For management and public education, historic imagery can help people to understand environmental processes and the impacts of human activity in the local environment. Here we emphasize the value of high-resolution historic satellite imagery from the Corona and Keyhole satellite programs to inform environmental research, public education, and environmental management. Within the Region of Arequipa in southern Peru we highlight examples of urban development, agricultural expansion, river channelization, and glacial retreat via comparison of historic and modern satellite imagery. By incorporating these types of historic imagery data in formats accessible to non-professionals, public engagement as well as research into human-environmental investigations will be greatly enhanced.
Spanish Translation
Uso de la sensibilidad remota para descubrir contextos históricos de la dinámica del recurso hídrico en ambientes antropogénicos
Resumen: El análisis de imágenes históricas y contemporáneas de alta resolución puede ayudar a llenar las brechas de conocimiento en cobertura del suelo e historial de gestión en lugares donde la documentación es inexistente o los registros son de difícil acceso. Imágenes históricas que se remontan a la década de 1960 se pueden utilizar para estructurar la investigación cuantitativa y mapeo del uso de la tierra y el cambio de la cobertura de la tierra en el espacio y tiempo para mejorar la investigación en ciencias de la tierra, políticas y sociales. Las imágenes pueden promover información para el planeamiento e implementación municipal en áreas de distribución de recursos naturales, infraestructura y mitigación de riesgos. Para la administración y educación pública, las imágenes históricas pueden ayudar a comprender los procesos ambientales y los impactos de la actividad humana en el ambiente local. Aquí nosotros enfatizamos el valor de las imágenes de satélite históricas de alta resolución de los programas satelitales Corona y Keyhole para informar la investigación ambiental, la educación pública y manejo ambiental. En la Región Arequipa, al sur del Perú, destacamos ejemplos de desarrollo urbano, expansión agrícola, canalización de ríos y retroceso de los glaciares al comparar imágenes satelitales históricas y modernas. Al incorporar este tipo de datos de imágenes históricas en formatos accesibles para ciudadanos no profesionales, se mejorará enormemente la participación pública, así como la investigación sobre la interacción humana-ambiental.
Seated at the foot of the Misti volcano in an area prone to intense seasonal rains and earthquakes, the city of Arequipa is highly vulnerable to natural disasters. During the rainy season, intense storms create large volumes of runoff that rush through the city’s ephemeral streams, known locally as torrenteras. Episodic flows in these torrenteras have caused flooding, damage to bridges, homes, and other infrastructure, and caused many deaths. In recent years, while unprecedented rain events have caused extreme disasters, the city’s population has continued to expand into these channels by creating informal or illegal settlements. Currently, detailed hazard maps of flood-prone areas surrounding the torrenteras are not available to stakeholders in Arequipa. In this study, hydrologic and hydraulic models were combined to assess flash flood hazards, including inundation, velocity hazards, and slope instability hazards. Hydrologic models were created using satellite precipitation data and terrain-sensitive, gridded climate maps to characterize flow within six torrenteras in Arequipa. These flows were used in conjunction with elevation data and data collected in the field using an online mobile application system to develop a hydraulic model of these flood events. Hydraulic model outputs were used to determine flood hazards related to inundation, velocity affecting human stability, and slope instability in case study areas of the torrenteras. We then discuss how this information can be used by disaster risk management groups, water authorities, planners and municipalities, and community groups.
Spanish Translation
El análisis hidrológico e hidráulico de peligros de torrenteras en Arequipa, Perú
Resumen: Sentada a los pies del volcán Misti en una zona propensa a intensas lluvias estacionales y terremotos, la ciudad de Arequipa es altamente vulnerable a los desastres naturales. Durante la temporada de lluvias, las intensas tormentas crean grandes volúmenes de escorrentía que se precipitan a través de los arroyos efímeros de la ciudad, conocidos localmente como torrentras. Los flujos episódicos en estos torrentes han causado inundaciones, daños en puentes, hogares y otras infraestructuras, y han causado muchas muertes. En los últimos años, si bien los eventos de lluvia sin precedentes han causado desastres extremos, la población de la ciudad ha continuado expandiéndose a estos canales mediante la creación de asentamientos informales o ilegales. Actualmente, las partes interesadas en Arequipa no disponen de mapas detallados de peligros de las zonas propensas a inundaciones que rodean las torrenteras. En este estudio, se combinaron modelos hidrológicos e hidráulicos para evaluar los peligros de inundaciones repentinas, incluidos los peligros de inundación, velocidad e inestabilidad de la pendiente. Los modelos hidrológicos se crearon utilizando datos de precipitación por satélite y mapas climáticos cuadriculados sensibles al terreno para caracterizar el flujo en seis torrentes en Arequipa. Estos flujos se utilizaron junto con los datos de elevación y los datos recopilados sobre el terreno utilizando un sistema de aplicación móvil en línea para desarrollar un modelo hidráulico de estos eventos de inundación. Las salidas del modelo hidráulico se utilizaron para determinar los peligros de inundación relacionados con la inundación, la velocidad que afecta a la estabilidad humana y la inestabilidad de la pendiente en las áreas de estudio de caso de las torrenteras. A continuación, analizamos cómo esta información puede ser utilizada por grupos de gestión del riesgo de desastres, autoridades de agua, planificadores y municipios, y grupos comunitarios.
Coproduction is a process that involves scientists and citizens engaging throughout the production of knowledge, decisions, and/or policies. This approach has been widely applied in an international context for addressing global environmental issues. It is customary for scientists to travel to rural communities, where both scientists and local knowledge holders work together and jointly design solutions to pressing problems. Such collaboration, however, often involves high costs for both residents and scientists, which can reduce project effectiveness. This study examines the challenges associated with coproduction in the context of changing rural livelihoods in beneficiary communities. We specifically conduct a self-analysis of the coproduction process led by our own university team, where scientists designed tools for water and crop management together with community members in Peru’s Caylloma province. We collected qualitative data on the coproduction challenges in five local districts in Caylloma, using focus groups and semi-structured interviews. Our results indicate that changing socioeconomic conditions in rural communities undermined the long-term sustainability and effectiveness of the coproduction efforts and deliverables. These included increased migration, market integration, and reliance on regional institutions for water and crop management.
Spanish Translation
Desafíos asociados con la coproducción en el contexto de cambios en los medios de vida rurales
Resumen: La coproducción es un proceso que involucra a científicos y ciudadanos en toda la producción de conocimientos, decisiones y/o políticas. Este enfoque se ha aplicado ampliamente en un contexto internacional para abordar los problemas ambientales globales. Es costumbre que los científicos viajen a comunidades rurales, donde tanto los científicos como los poseedores de conocimientos locales trabajen juntos y diseñen conjuntamente soluciones a los diversos problemas. Sin embargo, esta colaboración a menudo implica altos costos tanto para los residentes como para los científicos, lo que puede reducir la eficacia del proyecto. Este estudio examina los desafíos asociados con la coproducción en el contexto de cambios en los medios de vida rurales en las comunidades beneficiarias. Realizamos específicamente un autoanálisis del proceso de coproducción liderado por nuestro propio equipo universitario, donde los científicos diseñaron herramientas para el agua y manejo de cultivos junto con miembros de la comunidad en la provincia de Caylloma, Perú. Recolectamos datos cualitativos sobre los desafíos de la coproducción en cinco distritos locales de Caylloma, utilizando grupos focales y entrevistas semiestructuradas. Nuestros resultados indican que las condiciones socioeconómicas cambiantes en las comunidades rurales socavaron la sostenibilidad a largo plazo y la eficacia de los esfuerzos de coproducción y los entregables. Estos incluyen en la mayor migración, la integración al mercado y la dependencia de las instituciones regionales para el agua y manejo de cultivos.
There are well-established methods for working in interdisciplinary natural resource management settings, but place-based cultural differences are often poorly integrated into interdisciplinary projects. Intercultural adequacy is necessary to ensure that water management strategies are acceptable within the local contexts of water users. In this study we followed four cohorts of graduate students from Canada, Chile, Cuba, and the United States that participated in an international graduate-level water resource management course hosted at the Universidad de Concepción in Chile. The North American students participated in post-experience surveys and interviews to assess changes in their interdisciplinary and intercultural comfort levels. The interviews and survey identified factors that enhanced or detracted from their progress towards integrating disciplinary and cultural differences into their work. Though course material promoted interdisciplinary collaborations across various disciplinary cultures, participants noted that traditional methods of integrating did not adequately bridge differences in place-based cultural worldviews. We propose a framework developed during the experience to integrate place-based cultural differences into all phases of the interdisciplinary research and natural resource management processes.
Building resilience to flooding is a commitment of several universities; however, student interest in flood education programs is unclear. The goals of this research are three-fold: 1) to determine the origin of flood messaging on the Old Dominion University (ODU) campus, 2) to assess on-campus flood awareness, and 3) to evaluate the interest in additional flood education. This study evaluates student awareness of flooding via a survey of ODU students and contextual analysis of University warning messages. Many students experienced reduced access to campus as a result of flooding and expressed an interest in additional flood information. Some students reported receiving flood-related information through in-class instruction or orientation-based programming. However, the content varies in detail, and ODU could formally integrate additional resources into outreach and flood education programming. These findings could support the development of a campus wide flood awareness program at ODU and other universities.
All 54 km of the West Fork of the White River (WFWR) were on Arkansas’s 303(d) list of impaired waterbodies for turbidity, total dissolved solids (TDS), and sulfate for many years. This study identifies which river segments fail to meet applicable water quality standards (WQS) and investigates possible anthropogenic or natural sources of pollutants. We also evaluated a larger dataset of 119 sites in the Boston Mountains and Ozark Highlands ecoregions, compiled from the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality online database. In the WFWR, water samples were collected once or twice a month at nine sites from June 2014 through June 2018. Median values for turbidity, TDS, sulfate, and chloride ranged from 1.8 to 10.8 NTU, 40.8 to 151.3 mg/L, 3.5 to 27.9 mg/L, and 3.2 to 5.5 mg/L, respectively, and generally increased from upstream to downstream (p < 0.05). Violations of the water quality standard for the parameters of interest varied by site, but generally occurred in the downstream portion of the WFWR, where land use, riparian soils, and underlying geology change. In the larger dataset, turbidity, TDS, sulfate, and chloride concentrations were all significantly greater in the Ozark Highlands than the Boston Mountains ecoregion (p < 0.05). Anthropogenic activities influence dissolved ion concentrations across these study sites, while geology and riparian soils may be important factors for differences in sulfate and turbidity.
Water resources in historically water scarce regions such as Arequipa, Peru are vulnerable to changing conditions. Population growth and climate change are projected to be major threats to water availability in the region, while urban growth, informal mining, and agriculture threaten water quality. To address these concerns and others, the Arequipa Nexus Institute for Food, Energy, Water, and the Environment (the Arequipa Nexus Institute) was formed as a collaboration between Purdue University and the Universidad Nacional de San Agustín to address key challenges to a sustainable future for Arequipa through research. In this work, a vision for water-related extension programming in Arequipa was developed through three phases of data collection. Phases 1 and 2 involved semi-structured interviews and focus groups with agency personnel, community leaders, and farmers in Arequipa. The water education needs of stakeholders that could be addressed by water and environmental extension programming were identified. In Phase 3, a workshop of researchers from the Arequipa Nexus Institute used the data and their knowledge of institutional capacity to identify opportunities for the Institute to serve as a boundary organization facilitating communication and collaboration between scientists and stakeholders to support water extension and engagement in Arequipa. Water resources extension services provided by this boundary organization would include education about water quality, water allocation, and water use, as well as providing resources to improve public participation in water management. Water extension services could be part of a cross-cutting extension initiative within the Arequipa Nexus Institute, which would be responsible for accumulating research data and connecting them to both formal and informal stakeholders. The dual training nature of the boundary organization will serve to both increase public understanding of water concerns and the capacity of information generators in the university and agencies to engage with the public. This study is unique in combining both sides of the boundary (community needs and scientists’ perspectives) in developing the vision for this extension programming.
Spanish Translation
Abordar las Necesidades de Programación de Recursos Hídricos y Calidad Ambiental en Arequipa, Perú
Resumen: Los recursos hídricos en regiones históricamente escasas de agua como Arequipa, Perú, son vulnerables a las condiciones cambiantes. Se proyecta que el crecimiento de la población y el cambio climático serán las principales amenazas para la disponibilidad de agua en la región, mientras que el crecimiento urbano, la minería informal y la agricultura amenazan la calidad del agua. Para abordar estas preocupaciones y otras, el Instituto Nexus de Arequipa para alimentos, energía, agua y medio ambiente (el Instituto Nexus de Arequipa) se formó como una colaboración entre la Universidad de Purdue y la Universidad Nacional de San Agustín para abordar los desafíos clave para un futuro sostenible para Arequipa a través de la investigación. En este trabajo, se desarrolló una visión para la programación de extensión relacionada con el agua en Arequipa a través de tres fases de recolección de datos. En la Fase 1, las entrevistas semiestructuradas y la Fase 2, los grupos focales con personal de la agencia y líderes comunitarios en Arequipa, demostraron las necesidades de educación sobre el agua de las partes interesadas que podrían abordarse mediante la programación de extensión del agua y el medio ambiente. En la Fase 3, un taller de investigadores del Instituto Nexus de Arequipa utilizó los datos y su conocimiento de la capacidad institucional para identificar oportunidades para que el Instituto sirva como una organización fronteriza que facilite la comunicación y la colaboración entre científicos y partes interesadas para apoyar la extensión y el compromiso del agua en Arequipa. Los servicios de extensión de recursos hídricos proporcionados por esta organización fronteriza incluirían educación sobre la calidad del agua, la asignación del agua y el uso del agua, así como proporcionar recursos para mejorar la participación pública en la gestión del agua. Los servicios de extensión de agua podrían ser parte de una iniciativa de extensión transversal dentro del Instituto Nexus de Arequipa, que se encargaría de acumular datos de investigación y conectarlos con partes interesadas formales e informales. La naturaleza de capacitación dual de la organización fronteriza servirá tanto para aumentar la comprensión pública de las preocupaciones sobre el agua como la capacidad de los generadores de información en la universidad y las agencias para interactuar con el público. Este estudio es único en la combinación de ambos lados de la frontera (necesidades de la comunidad y perspectivas de los científicos) en el desarrollo de la visión de esta programación de extensión.
Unsustainable human activities are rapidly depleting freshwater resources in many parts of the United States. Public policy surrounding water conservation is arguably one of the most essential strategies for targeting the preservation of water. Increased public engagement in environmental policy may bolster sustainable consumption of water resources if nuances in human behavior are targeted through communication messages. A quantitative research design using an online survey of the general United States public was used to explore if political affiliation and political ideology predicted how respondents prepared to vote on a policy that impacts water. The study revealed that respondents neither agreed nor disagreed on the level to which they would take specific actions to become prepared to vote on a policy that impacts water, indicating there is room for improvement. Results from a multiple linear regression revealed political affiliation and political ideology significantly predicted how respondents prepared to vote on a policy that impacts water; however, they accounted for a small amount of variance in the models. Future studies should identify additional predictors to determine how respondents prepare to vote on a policy that impacts water since political affiliation and political ideology were not a major influence on how respondents prepare to vote. Environmental communicators should focus their outreach efforts on increasing public preparedness to vote on polices that impact water.
Across the United States, groundwater springs adjacent to roadways have been developed as unregulated drinking water sources. We attempted to address two basic questions: 1) why do people collect water at these springs; and 2) is the water safe to drink? We conducted a study during 2015-2019 of seven springs in central New York State that included a survey of 199 users and analysis of the water for common dissolved constituents and bacteria. The survey of water users showed that over 70% of respondents use the springs at least multiple times per month for drinking water and the majority collect more than five gallons per visit. More than 80% of the users live farther than three miles from the springs and a recurring reason for drinking the spring water is that the taste is better than the water available at their homes. However, all the springs at some point tested positive for total coliform bacteria and all but one tested positive at least once for fecal coliform bacteria, meaning that 86% of the springs at some point did not meet U.S. municipal drinking water standards. None of the measured dissolved constituents exceeded drinking water standards, but one spring that exhibited elevated nitrate is downslope from a small cattle operation which may be affecting nutrient values in the water. Most of these springs appear to be fed by shallow, unconfined aquifers that are susceptible to contamination from nearby land uses that are not readily apparent from the roadside collection locations.
Lake Champlain is a treasured resource for recreation, tourism, and drinking water situated in New York, Vermont (U.S.), and Québec (Canada). Because its shores span two states and two countries, management strategies for the lake require strong cross-boundary partnerships and cooperation. In recent decades, increased prevalence of harmful cyanobacteria blooms has impacted public health and recreation. A lake-wide cyanobacteria monitoring program was established in 2001 with an emphasis on water sample collection and analysis to inform management strategies. In 2012, this program transitioned from laboratory-based analyses at a limited number of locations to a visual assessment protocol validated by water samples. This transition opened the door to more effective and widespread monitoring, communication, and inclusion of a greater number of monitoring locations and stakeholders. Today, through a unique partnership of community scientist volunteers, public beach managers, nonprofit organizations, and state and federal agencies, a comprehensive network of trained cyanobacteria monitors generates timely data on water quality conditions to relay critical public health information. The majority of these reports are provided by trained community scientist volunteers, strengthening the geographic coverage of the program and the environmental literacy of lake users. This program now trains hundreds of community scientists, documents thousands of water quality condition reports annually, and communicates cyanobacteria conditions to the public via an online Cyanobacteria Tracker map. In this article, we describe the evolution of this successful program, discuss key findings from analysis of these volunteer-collected data, and suggest how similar programs could be effectively developed in other regions.
Community science projects offered in urban areas may be particularly effective at addressing environmental problems and engaging people in science, especially individuals whose identities have historically been underrepresented in the field. In this project, we worked with individuals from a racially diverse, low-income community in San Diego, California to conduct community science to: 1) test a conceptual program model aimed at engaging diverse communities in science, and 2) contribute to scientific knowledge about the inputs and accumulations of trash in an urban watershed. While the program model did well at bolstering environmental stewardship, recruitment, and short-term retention of community members as project participants, it was not as effective at building science understanding, interest in science, and awareness of doing science, indicating a need for a mindset approach. Despite this, the data collected by the community between 2014-2018 revealed in-depth information about the spatial and temporal distributions of trash, including the identification of three main debris inputs: encampments, illegal dumping, and storm drain flows, as well as the validation of global trends of a predominance of plastics across waterways and through time. In a few instances, community stewards became community scientists—the quantity and quality of data collected improved, and community members presented results to authorities who responded with concordant management actions (e.g., help with cleanups, outreach to unhoused communities). Based on project outcomes, our revised community science program model includes a focus on strengthening a science mindset, in which even short-term science interventions that improve the recognition of science, a sense of belonging, and access to mentorship may have meaningful long-lasting effects on increased participation in science.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality facilitates the Clean Rivers Program where many of Texas’ waters are monitored for various parameters. A common approach to address water quality impairments is to develop and implement Watershed Protection Plans, where a key management measure is to increase the adoption of best management practices through existing government programs that provide technical and financial assistance. A key role for watershed managers during implementation is to raise awareness that technical and financial resources are available to assist producers with adoption. Outreach approaches thus far have included in-person education programs, attendance at local Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) meetings, newsletters, and other efforts that have only had minimal reach. As a result, we initiated a mass mailing campaign where 4,921 landowners within Lavaca County, Texas were reached four times in approximately six months with the same message. Partnering with the local SWCD and United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service offices, the number of individual best management practices were acquired for the current and previous five federal fiscal years to measure changes. Results suggest directly mailing educational materials to landowners is an effective outreach approach to increase the adoption of best management practices. Model results indicate a significant 300% increase in adoption of practices compared to historic levels.
Society’s use of plastic is increasing, while the ability to properly manage plastic waste is decreasing. In response, improved waste management systems and the adoption of reusable products made from sustainable materials are needed. Municipal governments in the United States are beginning to institute policies reducing unlimited free access to plastic products such as bags, straws, and Styrofoam. However, some state governments in the Great Lakes region, and elsewhere, have responded by making these pro-environmental policies illegal. Such policies shift the onus of using less plastic to local businesses and conscious consumers. In response, this project sought to determine the effectiveness of a plastic bag ban, supported by targeted education and outreach, at several local businesses in northeast Ohio. Results suggest that the initial implementation and non-enforcement phase of the bag ban did not lead to a reduction in the use of plastic bags. However, survey respondents indicate they are supportive of policies reducing accessibility and unlimited availability of plastic bags. Results further show most people have access to their own reusable bags and support businesses who charge for, or no longer offer, plastic bags. In conclusion, voluntary reduction of bag use by customers is not effective and store policies or legislation is needed to reduce the use of plastic bags.
As water funds and other watershed investment programs expand around the world, there is growing interest in designing equitable programs that provide both upstream and downstream benefits. While research demonstrates that diverse values underlie upstream participation, existing communication and outreach materials from non-governmental organizations (NGOs), governments, development banks, and others tend to highlight the goals of downstream actors (e.g., improving water supply for cities), with little attention to upstream perspectives. We present a case study in response to this gap, where we collaborated with a water fund and a river users association in Colombia to co-produce a website entitled “Putting Suppliers on the Map” in which interviews and photography illuminate the perspectives of upstream participants and the intermediary organization. The website offers multiple lessons for communication and environmental education in water funds by shifting focus to the motivations of upstream participants, including trust-building among upstream and downstream participants via intermediary actors, and informing downstream water users of the essential role of these processes for program success. Analyzing the website testimonials, we show that the vast majority of participants were motivated not only by overlapping instrumental and relational values associated with conservation, but also by a variety of personal and community goals. We found that the largest barrier to participation over time was the need to build trust between the water fund and rural communities and to align water fund goals with participants’ motivations. By making visible the motivations and challenges of upstream actors, the website reverses the standard direction of environmental education (in which high-level actors or downstream groups educate upstream residents). In-so-doing, the website aims to help downstream actors envision more productive and equitable ways of interacting with upstream participants.
It is important for stakeholders, scientists, industry, lawyers, and decision-makers to understand the varying approaches to regulating drinking water contaminants. To increase awareness and understanding among stakeholder audiences of the legal framework for drinking water protection, the National Sea Grant Law Center (NSGLC) at the University of Mississippi School of Law has developed and implemented research and extension projects for lead, nitrates, and per-and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS). The NSGLC’s mission is to encourage a well-informed constituency by providing legal information and analysis to the Sea Grant community, policy makers, and the general public through a variety of products and services. For each contaminant, the NSGLC conducted legal research to identify relevant laws, regulations, policies, and court decisions to gain an in-depth understanding of the existing legal framework. The NSGLC then translated its information on the current legal framework, identified gaps, and potential solutions into a variety of outreach programming. For each of the relevant drinking water contaminants, the NSGLC has taken different outreach approaches. For lead, the NSGLC has worked with an interdisciplinary academic team to conduct community-based research and outreach directly to families. With nitrates, the NSGLC has focused more on professional development for attorneys, natural resource managers, and other policy makers. With PFAS, the NSGLC is proposing a hybrid approach, drawing on lessons learned from its previous projects and the COVID-19 pandemic, to disseminate information to both professionals and communities. This case study will synthesize key findings on the legal overview, potential legal issues, and outreach efforts for lead, nitrates, and PFAS.
Since 2006 the Watershed Game, a role-playing simulation and serious game focused on managing nonpoint source pollution at the watershed scale, has been used across the U.S. to improve understanding of, commitment to, and involvement in watershed-scale management. Stakeholder or student participants manage a fictitious watershed to meet a “Clean Water Goal.” Designed for freshwater watersheds, the game is available in local leader and classroom versions, and play is led by trained facilitators or educators. To inform the expansion of the Watershed Game to include coastal watersheds, a needs assessment was conducted to identify water quality and management challenges in coastal regions, using the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic as a case study. Several methods for assessing critical coastal management challenges and key land uses to prioritize in the game were employed: a review of reports, expert focus group, survey of Gulf and South Atlantic regional experts, second survey of coastal experts from the National Sea Grant Network to verify widespread applicability, and finally pilot tests of the draft game. Results showed high agreement among assessment methodologies regarding the most critical coastal challenges and important land uses to feature in the game. As a result, the Coast Model of the Watershed Game focuses on three primary nonpoint source pollutants, excess nitrogen, excess phosphorus, and excess sediment. Additionally, results indicated a need to integrate a new game element, resilience to flooding, which has been added to the challenge of winning the game by meeting the Clean Water Goal.
Many of today’s water resources challenges are wicked problems, demanding innovative solutions across the science-policy-management nexus. Simultaneously, early-career researchers in water resources face a shifting professional landscape in which academic career paths are sparse but where versatile skill sets relevant to water resources issues in governments, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector are in high demand. Here, we describe an adaptable fellowship model that has proven to be a “win-win-win” for early-career researchers, government agencies, and universities tackling wicked water resources challenges in Wisconsin, USA. The fellowship program recruits post-masters and post-doctoral fellows to lead research on a water resources challenge identified as a high priority by a government agency partner. Fellows receive mentorship from both academic and agency mentors and co-produce actionable knowledge. Costs and administrative responsibilities are shared by the university (Sea Grant/Water Resources Institute) and the host agency. Since its inception in 2015, this program has trained 24 fellows across 11 host programs on issues that range from highly quantitative water quality and hydrogeological questions to qualitative assessments of fisheries management and coastal hazards. In this arrangement, fellows receive collaborative and cross-disciplinary training that prepares them well for diverse career paths, government agencies benefit from new knowledge targeted at pressing water resources management questions, and university institutions accomplish their missions of training researchers and developing actionable knowledge. We describe this model’s applicability to other regions and institutions. Ultimately, this type of program benefits society by building long-term capacity for collaboration which addresses wicked water problems.
The University of Minnesota Water Resources Center (UMN WRC) in collaboration with the Minnesota Stormwater Research Council (MSRC) has developed a robust program to advance urban stormwater management and policy through the completion of research. Through this unique collaboration, stormwater professionals and researchers across Minnesota are engaged in multi-sector research to prevent, minimize, and mitigate urban stormwater impacts by studying existing and innovative structural and non-structural practices, policies, and management techniques. The center and the council have evolved a comprehensive approach by:
-Obtaining diversified funding resulting in an annual average $1M budget.
-Coordinating and building partnerships at local, regional, state, and federal levels to leverage stormwater research resources.
-Using the council to engage with stormwater researchers, professionals, policymakers, and stakeholders.
-Identifying strategic priorities through assessments of needed research (i.e., the Minnesota Stormwater Research Roadmap).
-Providing a process for prioritizing, soliciting, submitting, approving, and implementing stormwater-related research proposals.
The program also invests in technology transfer seeking the effective and efficient dissemination of research results to those who can best benefit from it. The council is an organization of stormwater professionals, practitioners, managers, engineers, researchers, and others established in 2016 to work with the center to facilitate relevant, applied research and support education and technology transfer. This paper summarizes the efforts of the program, the future outlook, and highlights the collaboration and the connection of the University and the center to agencies, local units of government, and private engineering consulting businesses, who all were integral to the success of the program.
Sea Grant programs, both separately and in collaboration, have supported growth of the off-bottom oyster industry in all five U.S. states in the Gulf of Mexico. Here, we review the history of the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium (MASGC) investments in research and extension to support the growth of this industry (particularly in Alabama and Mississippi). Notably, the integration of applied research with strategic extension efforts was essential to the success of this industry. The MASGC enabled the establishment of commercial off-bottom oyster aquaculture in Alabama and Mississippi using a series of strategic, outcomes-focused investments in applied research and extension efforts through an array of partnerships. In Alabama, the first commercial off-bottom oyster farm was established in 2009. The industry grew to 22 farms by 2020 with a farmgate value of nearly $1.5 million, employing over 30 full time equivalents (FTE). Over 12 farms have been established in Mississippi in the last two years. The MASGC also leveraged additional support from other funding agencies that has multiplied the outcomes and impacts.
Water resources are limited in arid locations such as Tucson Basin. Residential development in the Tucson Mountains to the west of Tucson, Arizona, is limited by groundwater resources. Groundwater samples were collected from fractured bedrock and alluvial aquifers surrounding the Tucson Mountains to assess water quality and recharge history through measurement of stable O, H, and S isotopes; tritium; and 14C. Most groundwater is a mixture of different ages but is commonly several thousand years old. A few sampling locations indicated a component of water recharged after the above-ground nuclear testing of the mid 1950s, and these sites may represent locations near where the aquifer receives present-day recharge. The Tucson Mountains also host sulfide deposits associated with fractures and replacement zones; these locally contribute to poor-quality groundwater. Projections of future climate predict intensifying drought in southwestern North America. In the study area, a combination of strategies such as rainwater harvesting, exploitation of renewable water, and low groundwater use could be used for sustainable use of the groundwater supply.
This study examines the social-psychological drivers of conservation action among landowners in Minnesota. In particular, we apply an integrated norm activation theory to understand landowner conservation behavior. Data were collected through a self-administered mail survey of 3,000 landowners in La Crescent and Reno Watersheds in Southeastern Minnesota and analyzed using structural equation modeling. Study findings show that landowners’ conservation action is driven by their feelings of personal obligation, and beliefs about whether one is capable of taking actions to influence outcomes (i.e., self-efficacy). Landowners who feel a sense of personal obligation and believe that their actions can make a difference are more likely to take conservation actions. Further, landowners who believe it is their personal responsibility to protect water and perceive social expectations are more likely to develop feelings of personal obligation. Importantly, this study highlights the role of self-efficacy as an activator of personal norm, as well as a driver of conservation behavior. Our study suggests that strategies that appeal to landowners’ sense of personal responsibility and self-expectations, promote conservation action as a social norm, and build landowners’ self-efficacy or confidence in their ability to make a difference, are likely to be successful.
In early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic spurred the rapid adaptation of university course delivery to an online format. Though in-person delivery partially resumed in the Fall of 2021, future conditions may favor a return to, or addition of, remote delivery. It is therefore important for instructors, program directors, and institutions to capitalize on this learning opportunity and reflect on adaptation measures’ successes (and failures) to inform future online course design. The reworking of McGill University’s Master of Science Program in Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) provides a case study to evaluate the adaptation of remote teaching of water resource management. Informed by the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework with a focus on preserving transferable skills, a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis was used to evaluate the five core program components. This evaluation framework, which can be applied to most university programs, resulted in several widely relevant insights. For example, remote delivery can create opportunities for greater participation of international students as it eliminates the need for translocation costs. Likewise, a larger variety of guest speakers can participate remotely, giving students greater exposure to different water career paths and research perspectives, ultimately strengthening the program. However, several weaknesses pose threats to online learning. The standard in-person lecture-style format must therefore be amended to maintain engagement and facilitate student-to-student and student-to-instructor learning processes. Course components that can enhance the online experience include breakout rooms, discussion boards, frequent journals/feedback forms, online activities, breaks, virtual office hours, and multi-media presentations.
The Coastal Bend (CB), Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV), and Wintergarden (WG) subregions of south Texas co-exist in similar socio-economic contexts but rely on markedly different water sources (CB: precipitation; LRGV: surface water; WG: groundwater). This has led to unique agricultural practices and municipal policies and reinforced mental models adapted specifically to each subregion, both of which are critical to understanding structural causes behind current water use and future water sustainability. To better stakeholder mental models in each subregion, semi-structured interviews were conducted with individuals with a significant stake in water resource use and management. Results indicated near unanimous consensus among farmers and other stakeholders that water supply is limited and will be increasingly stressed under continued urban population growth. Farmers expressed concern that it will become more difficult to continue farming if additional water resources are not available, while each subregion expressed their own unique concerns: growing bureaucratic oversight and growing population problems (CB), lack of inflows, poor water quality, and international disputes with Mexico (LRGV), and political subdivision, declining groundwater levels, and information technology costs (WG). Mental models were synthesized based on dominant themes expressed by respondents; we synthesized these into two systems thinking archetypes: Tragedy of the Commons and Success to the Successful. Though it is unreasonable to create blanket region-wide policies, the adoption of under-utilized conservation practices coupled to stakeholder outreach remains unexplored leverage points, given most stakeholders are unaware of the feedback processes continuing to threaten south Texas water resources.
Fecal indicator bacteria are routinely used to assess surface water sanitary quality. The State of Texas uses Total Maximum Daily Loads to address water bodies that exceed the allowable fecal indicator bacteria criteria. The effectiveness of these processes in decreasing the fecal indicator bacteria concentrations has been debated due to the diversity and nature of fecal indicator bacteria sources. We assessed actual and flow-adjusted trends in measured Escherichia coli (E. coli) concentrations at 721 freshwater stream sites from 2001 through 2021. We also compared odds of statistical improvement of E. coli concentrations at sites before and after the adoption of Total Maximum Daily Loads (adopted from 2008 through 2014). Results indicate non-significant differences in the odds of statistically detected improvements in E. coli concentration between pre-Total Maximum Daily Load and post-Total Maximum Daily Load sites. Although the State of Texas and numerous watershed stakeholders have made efforts to address water quality impairments, these results join a body of evidence that water quality improvements are stagnating in the state. Furthermore, this study leverages water quality data used for state water quality standards assessment purposes and highlights that robust monitoring program design is needed to effectively assess the progress of water quality planning efforts.
I am pleased to report on the release of the National Institutes for Water Resources (NIWR) Special Issue in the Journal of Contemporary Water Research & Education (JCWRE) that features important water research by researchers and students studying at our collective institutions of higher learning. This JCWRE Special Issue is a partnership between NIWR, which consists of the 54 land-grant university water institutes in the United States, and UCOWR, which represents 63 of the best water research universities in the United States and Canada. This timely water research is supported by Sec. 104b and 104g grants from the Department of Interior and U.S. Geological Survey appropriated by Congress through the 1964 Water Resources Research Act as amended in 1988. This peer-reviewed research includes articles on water quantity and quality from universities that stretch from east to west and from coast to coast that focus on most of the large river basins and watersheds in America. I wish to especially thank Jackie Gillespie and Karl Williard, Co-editors of JCWRE, for pushing this collaboration forward. Upon rereading the articles published in this Special Issue of JCWRE, I am reminded that the future of our field is in good hands to tackle the critical water resources issues of the day as they appear more and more in the headlines and front pages of the news.
The micronutrient iron has been noted to play a crucial role in regulating phytoplankton growth; however, most studies have focused on large lakes with persistent phytoplankton blooms that are known to undergo iron limitation, such as Lake Erie. Iron abundance in boreal lakes is also known to correlate with dissolved organic carbon and increased iron concentrations causing “browning.” To assess the spatial distribution of dissolved Fe (DFe) in lakes throughout Iowa, a landscape once dominated by prairies, DFe was measured in surface waters of 124 lakes distributed across the state over the 2018 summer season. Thirty lakes were selected for 15 weeks of weekly DFe monitoring to assess temporal trends over the summer season. Dissolved Fe concentrations in surface waters ranged from 5 to 1000 μg L-1. Iowan lakes exhibited temporal trends in DFe, with decreasing concentrations from May to mid-July and an increase into August. Unsupervised learning method (k-means) identified three main groups of lakes based on temporal DFe trends. In this study, surface water temperature was associated with DFe trends in some lakes. This study serves as a baseline for DFe in Iowa’s lakes and can provide insights into iron biogeochemical cycling and its role in phytoplankton blooms, which are important to ecosystem and public health.
Sediment transport, erosion, and deposition are primary drivers of river geomorphic processes and ecological services. Suspended-sediment concentration (SSC) is an important parameter for evaluating these processes and is accordingly of significant interest to engineers, scientists, and water resource managers. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) previously operated nine daily SSC gauging stations along the Mississippi River, with operating dates ranging from 1974 to 2018. Currently, there are no USGS gauging stations reporting daily SSC values along the Mississippi River. For this study, regression models were developed to compute the SSC along the Middle-Mississippi River (MMR) and Lower-Missouri River (LMOR) using publicly and freely available Landsat imagery. Surface reflectance data from Landsat satellites were used with USGS-measured SSC to develop regression models for three different Landsat sensors (Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS, Landsat 7 ETM+, and Landsat 4-5 TM). Previous models published for predicting SSC in the MMR and LMOR from Landsat images have a linear-regression form and have provided invalid negative values when extrapolated outside of the dataset used for development. The objectives of this study were to develop reflectance-SSC regression models using a power-function form and demonstrate their extrapolation performance using multiple novel applications in the MMR basin. The reflectance-SSC regression models were applied to the following conditions: 1) mixing at the Mississippi and Missouri River confluence, 2) point-source pollution, and 3) SSC changes along the entire MMR reach for a range of discharges. The regression models were also used to develop sediment rating curves for the four largest tributaries of the MMR.
Oysters are a foundational part of their ecosystem and research has shown they are negatively impacted by exposure to microplastics (MPs). High MP levels have been documented in waters surrounding oyster reefs, and as filter feeders, oysters can ingest MPs along with their food. Here, we determined MPs (>30 μm) in oysters (Crassostrea virginica) from ten sites across the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Further, a subset of these samples was dissected to quantify MPs within specific tissues. Average concentrations ranged from 30.7± 11.5 to 4.7 ± 0.25 putative MPs/g wet weight (ww) of whole tissue, with sites inside bays near population centers displaying higher levels of MPs than those exposed directly to the Gulf. Mantle, gill, and adductor muscle tissues had similar concentrations of putative MPs (15.9 ± 13.4, 11.5 ± 8.6 and 12.8 ± 6.7 MPs/g, respectively), whereas digestive system tissues had lower concentrations (6.8 ± 6.1 MPs/g of tissue). This suggests that most MPs in an oyster likely adhere to external tissues and are not actually ingested. Most of the MPs retained were in the smallest size fraction of 30-90 μm (80%), followed by 125-250 μm (9%), 90-125 μm (8%), and >250 μm (3%). Analysis of samples from Biloxi Bay by μ-FTIR to assess MP composition shows that polyurethane, polyethylene, and polyamide are common, but additional analyses are needed to fully characterize the MP profile across sites. Overall, this work provides much-needed empirical data on the abundances and sizes of MPs in oysters from the Mississippi Sound, as well as the tissues where they reside.
The watershed group H2Ozarks founded the StreamSmart Citizen Science Program to establish baseline and long-term water quality data for the Upper White River Basin, Arkansas. StreamSmart volunteers collect water samples and conduct habitat and macroinvertebrate community assessments at >20 sites across a land use-land cover (LULC) gradient. Since 2020, H2Ozarks has adaptively assessed the program to ensure that the investment in water quality data meets core goals, with particular interest in planning tools and aligning expectations of volunteer effort with the level of training and support. Study objectives were to use StreamSmart data to 1) facilitate understanding of water quality response to stressors in the basin using a range of methods (Spearman rank correlation, non-parametric changepoint analysis, and categorical and regression tree analysis) and 2) explore implications for program design and watershed planning. Water chemistry-LULC relationships were in-line with prior regional studies, as well as global patterns. Detected thresholds and hierarchy provide potential targets for managing LULC change to protect water quality, but further analysis is warranted to refine these relationships. Macroinvertebrate stressor-response was most detectable for sensitive and less sensitive taxa and for habitat index components, suggesting potential to streamline these programmatic elements. Study findings for StreamSmart should also be informative for other small-scale volunteer monitoring programs with limited resources, but which actively evaluate the types of data and program activities that yield a maximum scientific return on investment.
Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cyanoHABs) have been observed across the USA and worldwide, and even locally in Lake Fayetteville (Arkansas, USA) once we started monitoring for total microcystin. The goal of this research note was to present a framework that might help guide cyanoHAB and toxin public health advisories at Lake Fayetteville. We evaluated nonparametric change points (i.e., thresholds) and hierarchical structure (using classification and regression trees) between total microcystin concentrations, chlorophyll, and phycocyanin; chlorophyll-a is a pigment in all algae, while phycocyanin is specific to cyanobacteria. Pigment concentrations and raw fluorescence units (RFUs) all showed significant thresholds with total microcystin concentrations, basically showing that as concentration or RFUs increased above the thresholds that total microcystin was greater at Lake Fayetteville. The regression tree with total microcystin concentrations showed a first split with phycocyanin RFUs at 4524, and then when phycocyanin RFUs were greater there was an optimal range for the phycocyanin to chlorophyll RFU ratio (0.64-1.5). At this recreational lake, total microcystin concentrations were greatest when water samples met these criteria, providing a possible framework for when lake managers might suggest an increased risk for elevated cyanobacterial toxins.
Permeable pavements are a green infrastructure stormwater management practice that can serve as a functional component of the site design. However, previous field studies suggest high uncertainty in the parameters used for performing hydrologic calculations for permeable pavements. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) within the PCSWMM software package was used to simulate the hydrologic dynamics of a parking lot that is 25% covered with permeable interlocking concrete pavers in Auburn, AL. The model was calibrated to field observations of water level at two points where the pavement system outflows to a bioretention basin and rainfall data from a nearby weather station. The use of the Curve Number (CN) method within SWMM resulted in good prediction of pavement outflow by the calibrated model, with R2 and Nash-Sutcliffe model efficiency both greater than 0.8, except where issues with precipitation data coverage occurred. This demonstrates that permeable pavements can be modeled as a land cover type rather than as detention storage. The calibrated value of the runoff CN for permeable pavement was 60, much lower than what is recommended in many design guidelines for the underlying soil type at the research site, which is hydrologic soil group B. Based on evaluation of alternative model scenarios, the permeable pavement reduced runoff by 11-38% across contrasting rain events.
Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) persist in many water bodies around the world and pose adverse health and economic impacts to the affected communities. Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have recently been applied as a cost-effective tool for HABs monitoring. In this study, HABs in two small lakes in Southern Illinois (Carbondale Reservoir and the Campus Lake of Southern Illinois University) were monitored using UAVs and biomass concentrations in lake waters. By analyzing vegetation indices derived from multispectral UAV images and chlorophyll-a concentrations in the two lakes, statistical regression models were established for each waterbody. The model relates spectral characteristics of the lake water to its algae biomass. It was found that normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and blue-to-green band ratio are the best-fit indices to the variation in chlorophyll-a in Carbondale Reservoir and the Campus Lake, respectively. The findings in this study can be used for monitoring HABs using UAVs in these lakes in the future.
Fecal indicator bacteria, Escherichia coli, for primary body contact recreation (PBCR) in Oklahoma waterbodies, is defined as the geometric mean of 10 samples from the recreation season, May 1 to September 30, with an impairment threshold of 126 colony forming units (cfu) per 100 mL. However, the water quality standards provide limited guidance on spatiotemporal and environmental factors that could influence samples collected and analyzed. In this study, two stream cross sections under baseflow conditions in a central Oklahoma urban perennial stream, Spring Creek, were densely sampled to investigate temporal and spatial variability of E. coli concentrations and water quality parameters across the stream channel. Water quality parameters (specific conductivity, temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, turbidity, and total suspended solids (TSS)), stream discharge, and bacteria samples were collected simultaneously at equal intervals across the two cross sections in the morning and afternoon during one summer day with sunny, dry, and hot weather conditions. Results indicate a significant difference between time-of-day samples and water quality parameters and E. coli concentrations. Strong correlations between temperature, dissolved oxygen, and time versus E. coli concentrations were observed, while location, turbidity, and TSS were not significant or correlated to measured values. Furthermore, E. coli concentrations were highly variable spatially across each stream cross section, regardless of time of day or location. Results from this study provide an initial indication that stream water quality, spatial cross section sample location, and diurnal variations may be influencing factors on bacteria concentrations.
Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cyanoHABs) continue to be a monitoring and research focus, particularly on the occurrence of toxins like total microcystins. The objectives of this study were to evaluate sampling and analytical variability in measured total microcystin concentrations and then to evaluate the volume of raw water needed in the freeze thaw cycle to reduce sampling variability. Water samples were collected from a recreational lake with annual cyanoHABs, and then 2 mL was used in freeze thaw cycles before total microcystin analysis. Then, sample volumes used in the freeze thaw cycles varied from 2 to 300 mL for total microcystin analysis. With three separate experiments, we observed a great deal of sampling variability (when using 2 mL in the freeze thaw cycles) while analytical variability was much less. In fact, sampling variability could potentially account for temporal variability observed in the routine monitoring. However, when sample volume used in the freeze thaw cycles increased, total microcystin variability decreased. We recommend at least 20 mL to be used in the freeze thaw cycles when analyzing total microcystins in environmental samples.
In the United States, the lack of diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ) in water governance and management has been identified as a serious problem that affects the validity of decisions. Because water governance and management institutions, processes, and practices at all scales involve dialogue, it is important to understand DEIJ in water dialogues. This paper reports on the results of a systematic literature survey that was undertaken to guide efforts by The University of Arizona Water Resources Research Center to improve diversity and inclusion in its engagement practices and outreach strategies. Three questions are explored: 1) How is DEIJ defined, conceptualized, and measured in water dialogues?, 2) How does a lack of DEIJ in water dialogues affect water-related outcomes and actors?, and 3) What are the approaches that can be used to increase DEIJ in water dialogues, especially with respect to underrepresented groups? The review synthesizes definitions of DEIJ and examines theories and methods from the literatures on discourse, diversity, social learning, and environmental justice. The lens of dialogue focused these disparate literatures on how people with diverse voices can be engaged and enabled to effectively participate in water dialogues. Despite the paucity of DEIJ literature relating to water resources in general, and to water dialogues more specifically, the review identified characteristics of DEIJ, factors that contribute to DEIJ issues, general lessons, and pathways that apply to increasing DEIJ in water dialogue participation. Further, this paper articulates a conceptual framework for understanding and addressing DEIJ failures in water dialogues. A concept of “just water dialogues” emerged that integrates insights from the literature reviewed with notions of environmental justice to help with identifying and resolving “water dialogue justice” (i.e., DEIJ failures). Review results suggest that DEIJ in water resources dialogues depends on the distribution of knowledge resources, and on broader issues that include cultural, political, and other often ignored contextual factors. Importantly, addressing DEIJ problems through the creation and maintenance of just water dialogues requires tackling power imbalances, enhancing individual and organizational capacity, and building bridges through effective engagement of diverse voices, especially those of underrepresented groups. Strategies that have demonstrated effectiveness in other contexts are highlighted, and future research needed to improve practices to enhance DEIJ in water dialogues is outlined.
Several studies have highlighted issues of unreliable access to safe drinking water in the Appalachian region. In some cases, residents turn to roadside springs as a practical, and culturally valuable, drinking water source. However, public reliance on roadside springs for potable use can present concerns, as bacterial contamination of spring water has been documented throughout Appalachia. This study aimed to 1) develop a simple, low-cost protocol using household bleach to inactivate total coliform and E. coli in untreated roadside spring water; 2) provide educational materials at local roadside springs to inform users of this simple treatment strategy; and 3) assess spring user perceptions of the educational materials via a short survey. Laboratory scale trials emulating typical spring water collection and storage conditions investigated the use of household bleach (7.4-7.5% sodium hypochlorite) for total coliform and E. coli bacteria inactivation and free chlorine residual maintenance in spring water over time. Results showed that 2 drops (approximately 0.10 mL) of household bleach from an eyedropper per 1 gallon of spring water provided adequate total coliform and E. coli disinfection, while maintaining free chlorine levels below typical taste thresholds and providing sufficient residual over a 1-month trial period. An infographic communicating the disinfection protocol and a corresponding survey were created and distributed at roadside springs in rural regions of southwestern Virginia and southern West Virginia. The majority of spring user survey respondents (80%) reported that the infographic was generally helpful, and over half of respondents stated that they would use the bleach protocol.
Continued urbanization is likely to reduce human-nature experience, transforming human-dwelt spaces into increasingly artificial environments and removing humans from interaction with non-human living things and their ecosystems. In urban spaces, outdoor experiential educational activities can help students increase their familiarity with the outdoors and get their hands dirty. This case study reports on an environmental field day for middle school students from an urban Kentucky middle school. Students rotated through three activities (picking insects out of leaf packs, testing water quality, and planting trees), then completed a brief survey designed and administered by their faculty. Students rated the tree planting activity more highly than the other two activities (p < 0.0001), suggesting that this activity was more accessible, interesting, and engaging to a broader range of students. However, student qualitative responses to the water quality and leaf pack activities demonstrated an ability to make connections between those activities and the broader world, such as the importance of their stream-water quality for the Gulf of Mexico, or the implications of finding pollution-tolerant insects for understanding stream health. Overall, we recommend planning field days with multiple activities that offer various entry points for students with a range of prior experience of nature. We also emphasize the potential for these sorts of activities to help students develop a sense of awe or wonder in nature—seeing and handling things they never considered before but now experience as profound and interesting. These observations are consistent with the literature demonstrating the need for human-nature experience (especially in urban areas) to support developing a sense of affectivity for the environment and interest in taking environmentally beneficial actions, as well as the role of place-based experiential education in helping students bridge that gap.
Youth have an important role in current and future Great Lakes stewardship. Educating youth and empowering them to be Great Lakes stewards requires educators to be knowledgeable and confident, and therefore more likely to engage in teaching Great Lakes literacy activities in their classroom, thus contributing to a Great Lakes-literate public. The Shipboard Science Workshop (SSW) for educators is a vessel-based professional learning opportunity aboard the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s R/V Lake Guardian. During the week-long SSW, educators learn from professional scientists, Sea Grant staff, and each other about Great Lakes research through the lenses of place-based education (PBE) and Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The goals of the SSW are to (1) enhance understanding of scientific concepts, processes, or techniques; (2) influence changes in teaching practices, curriculum, or personal behaviors; (3) influence communication and promotion of pro-environmental behaviors with others; and (4) establish communities of practice, including educators, scientists, and SSW coordinators. Herein, we present the findings of a 10-month SSW follow-up survey to evaluate the SSW efficacy from 2016-2019. Overall, the SSW appears to have achieved its goals. We discuss the implications of these results within the PBE framework for shifting educators’ classroom approaches and empowering youth inquiry and leadership on complex Great Lakes issues.
Increased water scarcity and drought frequency are creating water management challenges for many communities in the western U.S. In response, the Western Association of Agricultural Experiment Station Directors sponsored a virtual summit in August 2020 to develop a framework for identifying and addressing the most pressing water issues in the western United States (the West). Summit attendees were research scientists, university extension specialists and professionals, and federal/state agency representatives with knowledge and expertise of water management in the West. The summit elicited opinions from 54 experts on pressing water issues and possible methods for addressing them. A follow-on survey of 49 individuals increased the depth and breadth of perspectives collected. Summit and survey results show that water scarcity is a growing concern among water scientists and other experts. Increased water scarcity is leading to overallocated river basins, depleted aquifers, and elevated tensions between water use sectors. Summit and survey participants emphasized the need for increased integration—across research, extension, and education efforts; across the social and physical sciences; across uses (including ecological); and across surface and groundwater systems. These results serve as a sensing of what many of our colleagues believe to be the major western water issues over the next 30 years and, in some cases, possible solutions for addressing them. The expert opinions elicited through the summit and survey informed the creation of the Western Water Network, whose mission is to advance collaborative, proactive, science-based water decision-making that supports dynamic human and natural systems in the West.
The agricultural production in the Mississippi Delta is threatened by the water level declines in the Mississippi River Valley Alluvial Aquifer (MRVAA). This study assesses the growers’ perceptions of the value and availability of water for irrigation based on data collected in a survey in 2012 in the Delta region of Mississippi, USA. The total cooperation rate for this survey was 79.3%. The results showed that 97.39% (448 out of 460) of respondents believed that water is important for farming in the Delta region of the MRVAA. Fifty-two percent of the survey respondents agreed that the major cause of groundwater depletion is agricultural irrigation water use. More than 50% of the survey respondents believed there is sufficient water in the Delta region, but it is not managed properly. The value of water for irrigation ranged from $463 to $690 per ha for corn (Zea mays L.), $399 to $615 per ha for soybean (Glycine max L.), and $223 to $336 per ha for cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.). The majority of the respondents considered that there is a need for regulation of water use to protect the aquifer and ensure water availability in the future.
The adoption of cover crops (CC’s) has gained popularity in the continuous corn (Zea mays L.) production system due to their multiple benefits including scavenging or fixing nitrogen (N) in the soil. However, CC’s ability to develop early cover, scavenge N, and provide N to the following cash crop is species-dependent and affected by environment. A field study was conducted in three diverse environments to determine growth characteristics of nine CC treatments (i.e., monocultures or mixes of grasses, legumes, and brassica), and their effect on following corn crop compared to check (no cover crop, NoCC). Cover crops significantly differed for above-ground biomass, plant tissue carbon (C) and N concentrations, carbon to nitrogen ratio (C/N), and total N uptake (TNU). Among monocultures, grasses had the highest biomass and C/N ratio whereas legumes had the highest N concentrations and TN. Corn grain yield was highest following radish, whereas lowest corn yield was found following cereal rye + crimson clover mix in environment 1. Cover crops varied for C/N ratios in all three environments, but only affected corn PH and grain yield in one environment. Cover crops belonging to the same species also exhibit different responses for characteristics measured depending upon the environment. The expected returns were also variable, especially in CC mixes. The study provides valuable information on the species-specific functionality of CCs in continuous corn under variable environmental conditions. The information will benefit future studies to explore a high diversity mixture of CCs that may outperform across all three environments.
Water withdrawals for irrigation at an unsustainable rate resulted in a decline in the groundwater levels in the Mississippi River Valley Alluvial Aquifer (MRVAA) in the central southern USA. This drawdown of groundwater threatens agricultural production in the Mississippi Delta, an important agricultural region in the state of Mississippi, USA. Effective and efficient use of available resources is important to sustain and enhance agricultural productivity in this area. This study assessed the opinions of farmers on water conservation management practices and technologies that improve irrigation management and save water in the Mississippi Delta region based on data collected in an irrigation survey conducted in 2012. Most landowners believed that water conservation practices were effective in reducing irrigation water use without reducing maximum crop yields and have a positive return on investment. Land forming, tailwater recovery system, on-farm storage, instream weirs to pond surface water, computerized hole selection for furrow irrigation, short irrigation runs, and irrigation scheduling were considered efficient water conservation technologies by landowners. Perceptions about use of different practices also depend upon the crops produced by the respondents. About 20 to 24% and 14.9 to 86% of survey respondents thought that on-farm storage and center pivot, respectively, were inefficient water conservation practices for irrigating crops in the Mississippi Delta. The adoption of these practices may be increased if the landowners know the economic returns of implementing them.
Bioretention practices have become a common way to protect natural waterways in urban and suburban landscapes across the United States. However, optimal design, implementation, operation, and maintenance are still in need of study. A field survey of 52 bioretention practices was conducted in Davidson County, Tennessee, to address research questions related to operation and maintenance. A suite of site conditions were documented, such as size, signs of erosion, and dominant surface cover. Samples were collected from the surface of the engineered media layer and analyzed for organic matter content and bulk density. Vegetation was described in terms of dominant species and canopy cover. On average, the organic matter content of media under plant-based mulch cover was significantly greater than that under rock cover (p = 0.002). Bulk density of the surface media is strongly and inversely correlated to organic matter content; bulk density did not generally vary with bioretention area age and was highly variable within treatments. On average, the bulk density of the media under the plant-based mulch cover was significantly less than that under the rock cover. Media under the composite treatments had similar bulk density to both the plant-based mulch (p = 0.233) and the rock covers (p = 0.132). Plant canopy did not surpass 70% in practices with bulk density values above 1.55 g/cm3. These results suggest that consideration should be made regarding the tradeoffs between utilizing rock coverings and potential for plant establishment impacts.
Elevated concentrations of phosphorus (P) and other nutrients common in wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent have been shown to contribute to the proliferation of harmful algal blooms, which may lead to fish kills related to aquatic hypoxia. Increased understanding of the negative effects associated with elevated P concentrations have prompted more strict regulation of WWTP effluent in recent years. The use of low-cost and potentially regenerative adsorptive phosphate filters has the potential to decrease P concentrations in WWTP effluent released to natural waters. This research focuses on assessing the capacities of recycled concrete aggregate (RCA), expanded slate, and expanded clay to remove phosphate from P-amended WWTP effluent. Results from a flow-through column study indicate that RCA consistently removed an average of 97% of phosphate over 20 weeks of continuous flow at an 8-hour hydraulic retention time (HRT). Expanded clay removed an average of 63% of introduced phosphate but decreased in removal capacity from 91 to 42% over the 20-week duration. Sorption data from batch studies were fitted to Langmuir models and RCA was shown to have the highest maximum sorption capacity (6.16 mg P/g), followed by expanded clay (3.65 mg P/g). RCA and expanded clay are promising options for use in passive filters for further reduction of phosphate from WWTP effluent.
Since 1901, heavy rainfall events have increased in the United States in both intensity and frequency, and human population in the United States has increased, resulting in significant land use changes. Both trends contribute to an increase in observed flood magnitude and frequency. To determine if a relationship exists between land use/land cover and changing stream flows in northwest Arkansas, this study analyzed temporal changes in various flow statistics for 14 stream gages and compared the rates of change in flow statistics from gages on streams with watersheds that have varying land uses, i.e., urban, agricultural, and undeveloped. Mann-Kendall analysis was used to determine statistically significant changes in flow statistics, which were then compared to National Land Cover Dataset (NLCD) watershed land uses from 2001 and 2019. All analyzed gages had one or more flow statistics with at least a moderately significant increase, and all analyzed flow statistics showed at least moderately significant streamflow increases at two or more gages (P < 0.100). There were no decreases of any significance in any flow statistic at any gage. In general, urban land development did not happen on native prairies and forests but on previously agricultural land. Significant positive relationships were found between maximum yearly flow and 2019 urban land use, urban land use change from 2001 to 2019, and 2019 Human Development Index (HDI). A similar relationship was found to exist between yearly minimum flow and 2019 HDI. These results highlight the importance of considering the cost of potential stream bank erosion and flooding in future land use planning, permitting, and zoning.
Undergraduate hands-on research can foster innovation and critical thinking among young scholars to delve into real-world challenges. Specifically, exploring the critical nexus between water usage and agricultural yield, can foster academic growth and holds the key to addressing global food security in an era of increasing environmental constraints, where students can unlock insights crucial to enhancing crop yield and sustainability. Investigating the intricate relationship between water management and crop productivity through undergraduate research is exemplified in this article. Undergraduate students acquired hands-on research experience by collecting, processing, and analyzing destructive (crop biomass samples) and non-destructive (plant height, nodes, and leaf chlorophyll content) cropping system data on soybeans under irrigated and dryland production systems, where they worked closely with the farmer. Identifying the current research problem and study site selection, scientific decision-making during the field study, developing critical thinking while ensuring research communication skills, and quality assurance and quality control through technology during data collection and analysis were learning outcomes. The research highlights the observed distinct performance between irrigated and non-irrigated soybeans using non-destructive plant health and growth indicators with plant biomass, following appropriate quality control and assurance steps. Statistically, irrigated soybeans outperformed non-irrigated soybeans in terms of average plant height at maturity (irrigated: 97.0±1.7 cm vs. non-irrigated: 37.4±0.6 cm; p<0.01) and number of nodes on the mainstem (irrigated: 19.5±1.2 vs. non-irrigated: 12.6±0.8; p<0.01). Findings from this study can help ensure quality control and assurance in future cropping system projects. Through the agroecosystem study, we exhibit the importance and role of undergraduate research opportunities in developing the next generation of problem solvers.
Urban water managers and policymakers have adopted demand management strategies to reduce water use and buffer against short-term water supply shortfalls. This article provides a systematic review of publications from 1978-2022 that examine the effectiveness of residential water use restrictions as the primary demand-side management tool. Our results indicate the significant overall effect of restrictions on reducing water consumption, with an average reduction of 12.3% from the 23 studies reviewed in this article. When evaluating effect strength by restriction type (mandatory versus voluntary), voluntary restrictions have a significantly lower effect than mandatory restrictions on water use. We also find an inverse correlation between the number of irrigation days allowed and the estimated effect strength.
The use and the share of water applied from several irrigation water sources correlate with the irrigation practices in use by the peers of Arkansan farmers. From a sample of producers from an irrigation survey in Arkansas, a bivariate sample selection model accounts for how peer use of numerous irrigation practices affects the use and the share of irrigation that comes from a water source. The bivariate sample selection model controls for the bias in the statistical estimates that occur because producers who volunteer for an irrigation survey are likely to know about and use irrigation more than the population. We find that peer influence operates through multiple irrigation practices, and peer influence through an irrigation practice depends on an irrigator’s location and current farm practices. For example, peer use of a tail-water recovery system and peer use of alternate wetting and drying both increase the probability of surface water use alone.
This study presents the first report of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in water samples collected in the Arroyo Colorado (n = 15), irrigation canals (n = 6), stormwater and wastewater retention ponds (n = 7), as well as drinking waters (n = 2) across the Arroyo Colorado watershed. Of the 30 PFAS monitored in this study, 14 were detected in the samples in various combinations. Short-chain PFAS (less than 8 carbon atoms) were observed in most samples. Water collected from the Arroyo Colorado showed significant spatial variabilities, with high total PFAS concentrations observed near possible point sources – a municipal airport and wastewater treatment facilities. PFAS concentrations were generally higher in water samples collected in stormwater and wastewater retention ponds than in the Arroyo Colorado and irrigation canals. PFAS in stormwater retention ponds likely came from roadway runoff. Short-chain PFAS were observed in the two municipal water samples, but they were below the current U.S. EPA regulation limits or are not currently regulated. This study provides useful information for water quality in this region and provides insights into PFAS occurrence in a rapidly urbanizing area.
In recent years, there has been much focus on the use of wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) in urban centers, particularly for SARS-CoV-2 monitoring. However, less is known about the application of WBE in rural settings or in areas of limited resources. Most WBE programs in low-resource communities have occurred outside the United States. To reap the benefits, WBE would need to be tailored to better reflect the socioeconomic challenges, technical barriers, communication limitations, and variable wastewater infrastructures associated with rural communities. The objective of this review is to evaluate the potential opportunities and challenges of deploying the current SARS-CoV-2 monitoring methodologies in small, rural communities, with a particular focus on rural Texas. For this, we conducted an inventory of rural communities in the state of Texas and their wastewater infrastructure. Based on specific rural examples, we evaluated the potential of current WBE methodologies used in urban settings to monitor for emerging biological agents of concern such as SARS-CoV-2. Our findings include an overview of rural wastewater capacity across rural Texas, a look at current WBE efforts to detect SARS-CoV-2, and recommendations for future implementation in two cities in rural counties, Kerrville and Valentine. WBE is a rapidly evolving public health tool with several notable advantages associated with cost, access, and adaptability. It is of particular use in resource-limited communities that often exhibit healthcare disparities. This study presents the first overview of the feasibility of implementing WBE in the rural settings of Texas. We provide several recommendations and suggest alternatives that may be of use when planning an expansion of WBE into these areas.
Algae, an important foundation of aquatic ecosystems, can become a nuisance or harmful when
it grows in excess. Many government agencies have a role in monitoring, responding to, and confirming
a harmful algal bloom (HAB). HAB scientists have important information to share, however, given the
complexities of HABs, which often involve decoupled drivers from observed impacts, presents challenges
to outreach and engagement. Understanding key audience information needs can help scientists prioritize
key science communication and engagement opportunities to maximize the impact of such efforts. Scientists
may need additional science communication training or support for scientist-community partnerships. This
will be evermore important into the future with the likely range expansion of HABs due to climate change.
In developing countries in Africa and Asia, meeting challenges of water scarcity and pollution
has often been hampered by shortcomings in higher education, including insufficient research productivity
and funding, lack of opportunity for university graduates, and a mismatch between university activities and
societal needs. To address these issues, we developed novel programs integrating technical instruction
and preparation for professional practice in hydrology for cohorts of graduate students from Morocco
and Egypt (2012–2013) and from Türkiye and Indonesia (2013–2014). Students participated in an initial
online course and a follow-up workshop featuring geographic information systems (GIS), remote sensing,
and hydrologic modeling with internet-based data sets. Field activities in the USA (first cohort) and in the
students’ home countries (second cohort) included stream gauging, measurement of water levels in wells,
water sampling, and measurement of hydrochemical parameters. A subsequent online course focused on
research ethics, preparing proposals and publications, and presenting findings to technical audiences and
the public, culminating in presentations at conferences in the USA. Participants mentored other students at
their home institutions and at K-12 schools in Türkiye and Indonesia. Participant feedback during and after
the programs tended to be strongly positive, and participants have continued to engage with project leaders
and mentor students in their home countries and the USA. Our modular, hybrid approach offers a template
for students in hydrology and related fields to develop relevant skills and engage internationally.
1231 Lincoln Drive, Mail Code 4526
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Carbondale, IL 62901
UCOWR is grateful for the ongoing support from Southern Illinois University Carbondale!
For information, visit SIU online: www.siu.edu
Member Institutions
