Journal of Contemporary Water Research & Education最新文献

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 21^st 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 21^st 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.

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.