Thesis (Ph. D.)--George Mason University, 2008. / Vita: p. 179. Thesis director: Lee M. Talbot. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental Science and Public Policy. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed July 18, 2008). Includes bibliographical references (p. 148-149). Also issued in print.

<p> This study assessed the effect of an application of mycorrhizal fungi to stormwater filter media on urban bioswale soil and stormwater in an infiltration-based bioswale aged 20 years with established vegetation. The study tested the use of commercially available general purpose biotic soil blend PermaMatrix^&reg; BSP Foundation as a treatment to enhance Earthlite&trade; stormwater filter media amelioration of zinc, copper, and phosphorus in an ecologically engineered structure designed to collect and infiltrate urban stormwater runoff before it entered the nearby Willamette River.</p><p> These results show that the application of PermaMatrix^&reg; BSP Foundation biotic soil amendment to Earthlite&trade; stormwater filter media contributed to the reduction of extractable zinc in bioswale soil (-24% and -26%), as compared to the control, which received a treatment of Earthlite&trade; stormwater filter media only, and experienced an increase in extractable zinc levels (23% and 39%). The results presented also show evidence that after establishment mycorrhizal treatment demonstrated lowered levels of phosphorus in bioswale soil (-41%) and stormwater (-100%), in contrast to the control, which had increased phosphorus levels. The treatment contributed to reductions between 67% and 100% in every metric detected in stormwater after an establishment period of 17 weeks, while the bioswale with no mycorrhizal treatment had increases between 50% and 117%. Treatment also appeared to enhance the reduction of ammonium and nitrates, while contributing to a greater increase in soil pH. </p>

<p> Water quality has evolved legislatively from protection of navigation routes and quantity of sources to more emphasis on impairments on water quality for surface and groundwater sources. Nonpoint or diffuse sources of impairments represents a major challenge for management due to the complexity of its sources and difficulty in tracking.</p><p> The most cited sections on public policy analysis focuses on the overall process agencies employ to understand the results the program yields. Often overlooked are finer details and mechanisms, such as decision-making and priority setting, which have a great impact on the overall process. To investigate these factors, we need to analyze the decision-making process used by managers.</p><p> This study focuses on using information from those with direct involvement in the establishment and implementation of the Total Maximum Daily Load program for the state of Florida. This study used decision-making analysis models from Rational-Decision-Making and Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis concepts to construct questionnaires that looks to develop priorities as seen by managers&rsquo; preferences for several presented options. This methodology allowed us to structure the viewpoints and processes water quality managers use to breakdown decisions.</p><p> The analyzed results show water quality managers prefer strong management options, involvement from stakeholders with scientific knowledge, and data collected from the source or point of impact. Interestingly, opinions in the group show that urban best management practices are considered more effective than their agriculture counterparts with a disfavor for volunteer derived data.</p><p> Ultimately, the survey highlights the need for more robust enforcement and reliable measurement of non-point source of impairments. Continued public outreach and education, especially through workshops, are denoted as important tasks to completing successful TMDLs and should be expanded and strengthened by both the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and its boundary programs.</p>

<p> The Lawn to Garden Program incentivizes replacing front yard turf grass with California Friendly gardens in Long Beach, CA. The Long Beach Water Department introduced the program in 2009 as a means of water conservation and since that time 2% of the City&rsquo;s single-family homes have successfully completed the program. As of the end of 2014, 3,461 applications had been submitted, but only 1,849 Lawn to Garden projects had been completed, a success rate of 53% and withdrawal rate of 47%. This study seeks to identify some of the factors that contribute to the program&rsquo;s high withdrawal rate, exploring the resources available to participants as well as the barriers to success. Methods used include geographic analysis in the form of density mapping, analysis of survey responses submitted by participants who withdrew from the program, and my professional observations. This study considers which neighborhoods display greater rates of success and withdrawn applications as well as what resources would have most aided those who did not complete their projects. </p>

The purpose of this study is to develop a deeper understanding of the formation and performance of the international water management institutions operating in the Orange-Senqu basin shared between Lesotho, South Africa, Botswana, and Namibia. The research examines the influence of interstate interaction on adaptive capacity and the allocation of water and related benefits within the Orange-Senqu basin and provides explanations for how and why particular cooperative arrangements emerged and produce differential effects. By applying a structure-agent approach to regime analysis, this study draws attention to four key factors underpinning the formation and performance of the Orange-Senqu water governance regime: power asymmetry, problem structure (i.e., the combination of interest asymmetry and uncertainty), expert networks, and political context. The study demonstrates that each of these four factors provides important and complementary insight into the process of interaction of and the positive and negative effects produced by international water management institutions in the basin and opportunities for generating change. Among these factors, the study argues, power asymmetry and problem structure are critical for understanding transboundary water governance dynamics and identifying strategies for challenging the status quo.

<p> This research advances a water infrastructure vulnerability index (WIVI) in order to assess levels of susceptibility within the water sector and its respective infrastructure system(s). WIVI provides an assessment tool that can assist decision makers and policymakers in making better investment decisions supported by a prudent data-driven instrument. The index is dependent upon individual water utility data that are publically available, making it a transparent process that is repeatable and reproducible. Normalization of the data was used to establish baselines, and indicators were developed to represent the different levels of a functional water utility. WIVI provides a quantifiable snapshot of a water utility&rsquo;s past and present state of vulnerability. WIVI is a supportive tool that assists in data-driven decision management, which will determine the direction and allocation of financial infrastructure upgrades pertaining to a water system&rsquo;s need to rehabilitate, replace, or abandon current water system infrastructure.</p>

<p> Dwindling freshwater resources are one of the largest challenges facing countries worldwide. For regional and local governments the task of managing fresh water resources falls the hardest. Reduced water quantity directly impacts water quality and thus preventing further depletion of freshwater levels is necessary for meeting existing and forth coming water quality regulations. Thus, finding effective ways to better understand water use at the local or regional level and better ways of communicating pressing water management issues with water users is imperative to the longevity of freshwater resources. Environmental communication campaigns are one way of reaching water users. Understanding water users personal relationship with water resources and nature in general can inform environmental campaigns in multiple ways. </p><p> This research provides insight into the ways in which environmental campaigns can be framed to effectively reach the target audience. Two methods of assessing stakeholder perceptions of water resources are also explored. First, systems thinking is used to compare the mental models of water managers and members of the development sector in order to find areas of common interest and importance regarding the management of freshwater resources in the Spokane-Coeur d'Alene Corridor of northeast Washington and northern Idaho. Second, a survey is used to evaluate characteristics of water use for residents in Spokane County, Washington. </p><p> This dissertation is centered on three primary research questions: (1) How are environmental communication campaigns framed?; (2) How do stakeholder groups who may appear to have very different values for a shared resource perceive a shared that resource?; (3) How do people's perceptions of nature, environmental issues, and their ability to impact those issues influence the way that they use water? Results of this research show that there are key areas of shared interest between water managers and developers suggesting that long-term water management goals do not have to conflict with the goals of local development. This research also suggests that residents who are willing to perform behaviors to reduce their water use are not necessarily doing so, pointing toward further research questions to bridge the gap between willingness and action.</p>

These (Ph.D.)--Walden University, 2007. / Title from PDF title page. Available through UMI ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 139-151). Also issued in print.

The basic theme of this study is that determination of the economic value of water resources is a necessary condition for rational decision-making and management of these environmental assets, and their associated public goods, in developing countries. The research particularly evaluates the contingent valuation (CV) method as a technique for evaluating increments and decrements in environmental and natural resource service flows, and estimates households' evaluations for improvements in river water quality and connections to piped water supply for domestic uses. The study objectives were to (a) estimate the economic value of piped water supply and improved water quality in the Nzoia River Basin, Kenya, (b) evaluate the feasibility of using the CV technique to value an environmental amenity and its related quasi-public service in rural settings where respondents have limited education and monetary resources, (c) examine the role of temporal dimensions of bid payments (i e, frequency of payments) in contingent values for environmental commodities, (d) empirically investigate embedding effect bias in contingent valuation of improvements in river water quality improvement in a less developed economy, and (e) evaluate the role of water connection charges in households' willingness to hook onto piped water supply in Webuye Division, Kenya. Empirical analysis and estimates of the non-market value which local people assign to water quality in the Nzoia River and a private household water connection is based on a detailed survey of a representative sample of 311 households in Webuye Division of Bungoma District, Kenya. In an on-site survey carried out in May through September 1995, contingent markets were developed for the two goods, (1) improved river water quality, and, (2) provision of a private connection to water supply. The corresponding willingness to pay (WTP) values are explained using Ordinary Least Square regression models. Whatever the good, the WTP is seen to increase with income. However, the effects of other factors are more specific to the contingent good. In order of strength, the other determinants of WTP &quot;quality&quot; are sex, age, household ranking of status of domestic water source, distance from river to household residence, the other factors affecting WTP &quot;connections&quot; are existing source of water supply, household size, ranking of river water quality, and age of household head. On the whole, residents accepted the exercise of contingent valuation and were willing to pay important amounts (Ksh 459 and Ksh 386 on average per household per year, respectively, for goods 1 and 2). Discussion issues include policy significance of the resulting WTPs in terms of the demand for river pollution control and individual household water connections, the effect of the goods upon the CV evaluation process, the &quot;Third World&quot; impacts of frequency of payments in contingent valuation, including perceived-frequency and income-smoothing routes, the embedding effect in WTP values for water pollution abatement in the Nzoia River basin, the importance of pricing influences, specially payment profiles for initial connection charges, on household decisions to connect to piped water systems, and limitations of the study.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Texas Christian University, 2009. / Title from dissertation title page (viewed July 8, 2009). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references.