Treatise (Ed. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

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Current transportation methods within the Central Arizona region revolve primarily around automobiles. In order for the region to become more economically resilient and environmentally sustainable, alternative transportation methods must be considered. One such alternative that has shown great promise in other regions of the United States is rail transport. Rail transport, including commuter rail or high speed rail, has proven to not only be an effective alternative to automobile transport, but also as a more environmentally sustainable transportation option. The I-11 Super Corridor study, a part of the University of Arizona’s Sustainable City Project 2014, applied next generation urban planning design ideas to the planned Interstate 11 corridor, a major transportation artery that will connect Mexico and Canada. This study inspired this project’s focus on the concept of identifying suitable routes for new transportation infrastructure within the central and southern Arizona regions. Through the incorporation of commuter or high speed rail within central and southern Arizona, a more resilient regional economy and environment can be created. The previous I-11 Super Corridor study presented the incorporation of different regional factors, including population density and economic statistics, to determine suitable routes for future transportation corridors. This project integrates the utilization of specific local and regional data and advanced GIS analysis to determine suitable routes for new rail transport corridors within Maricopa, Pinal and Pima Counties.

The purpose of this research is to quantify how macro-scale factors such as weather, crop prices, and land conversion affect agricultural water use at the irrigation district level in central Arizona and to understand what constraints and considerations district managers face when making water-sourcing decisions. A conceptual model is developed and econometrically estimated finding that much of the annual variation in total water use for agriculture can be explained by differences in precipitation, cotton prices, and alfalfa prices. Further, results from empirical analysis support the notion that total water use for agriculture has been greatly affected by land conversion from agriculture to other uses. Irrigation district manager interviews indicate that the water sourcing process is very similar across districts in central Arizona and has varied little since 1995, due to common constraints. This research lays an important foundation for future models designed to forecast agricultural water use in central Arizona.

Thesis (M.S. - Hydrology and Water Resources)--University of Arizona, 1986. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 164-170).

Thesis (M.S. - Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences)--University of Arizona. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 107-111)

abstract: This study was devised to elucidate key information concerning the potential risk posed by Legionella in reclaimed water. A series of biological experiments and a recharge basin soil column study were conducted to examine the survival, growth, and transport of L. pneumophila through engineered reclaimed water systems. A pilot-scale, column study was set up to measure Legionella transport in the columns under Arizona recharge basin conditions. Two columns, A and B, were packed to a depth of 122 cm with a loamy sand media collected from a recharge basin in Mesa, Arizona. The grain size distribution of Column A differed from that of Column B by the removal of fines passing the #200 sieve. The different soil profiles represented by column A and B allowed for further investigation of soil attributes which influence the microbial transport mechanism. Both clear PVC columns stand at a height of 1.83 m with an inner diameter of 6.35 cm. Sampling ports were drilled into the column at the soil depths 15, 30, 60, 92, 122 cm. Both columns were acclimated with tertiary treated waste water and set to a flow rate of approximately 1.5 m/d. The columns were used to assess the transport of a bacterial indicator, E. coli, in addition to assessing the study's primary pathogen of concern, Legionella. Approximately, 〖10〗^7 to 〖10〗^9 E. coli cells or 〖10〗^6 to 〖10〗^7Legionella cells were spiked into the columns' head waters for each experiment. Periodically, samples were collected from each column's sampling ports, until a minimum of three pore volume passed through the columns. The pilot-scale, column study produced novel results which demonstrated the mechanism for Legionella to be transported through recharge basin soil. E. coli was transported, through 122 cm of the media in under 6 hours, whereas, Legionella was transported, through the same distance, in under 30 hours. Legionella has been shown to survive in low nutrient conditions for over a year. Given the novel results of this proof of concept study, a claim can be made for the transport of Legionella into groundwater aquifers through engineering recharge basin conditions, in Central Arizona. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Civil and Environmental Engineering 2014

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