<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>

The main goal of this research is to develop and test a groundwater recharge estimation method that can address some of the key research priorities in groundwater. In this context use is made of various modelling tools including ArcGIS, field data (in situ observations of soil temperature and soil moisture), and soil physics as represented by a physically based vadose zone hydrologic model (HYDRUS-1D). The research is conducted in a pilot watershed in north Okanagan, Canada. The public version of HYDUS-1D and another version with detailed freezing and thawing module are first used to investigate seasonal distribution of heat and water movement in the vadose zone. Model performance is evaluated in different scales by using field data, the gradient-based optimization algorithm of HYDRUS-1D, and ROSETTA derived prior information about soil hydraulic parameters. The latter are fitted to statistical distributions and used in Monte-Carlo experiments to assess the potential uncertainty in groundwater recharge due to model parameters. Next, the significance of the recharge estimation method for catchment scale transient groundwater modelling is demonstrated by applying uniform and variable flux boundary condition to a saturated zone transient groundwater model, MIKESHE. The results showed that the traditional uniform recharge assumption can lead to misleading decisions related to water resources management and pumping well network design. The effect of pumping well network and the provincial Water Act on water resources sustainability are further examined in an evolving climate. The results suggest potential water resource problem in the basin, which can possibly be attributed to the previously installed pumping well network (depth and screen level), and the provincial water use policy. The findings of this study demonstrate that such problems related to inappropriate well network and water resource management can greatly be minimised with the use of the recharge estimation method developed in this study.

The main goal of this research is to develop and test a groundwater recharge estimation method that can address some of the key research priorities in groundwater. In this context use is made of various modelling tools including ArcGIS, field data (in situ observations of soil temperature and soil moisture), and soil physics as represented by a physically based vadose zone hydrologic model (HYDRUS-1D). The research is conducted in a pilot watershed in north Okanagan, Canada. The public version of HYDUS-1D and another version with detailed freezing and thawing module are first used to investigate seasonal distribution of heat and water movement in the vadose zone. Model performance is evaluated in different scales by using field data, the gradient-based optimization algorithm of HYDRUS-1D, and ROSETTA derived prior information about soil hydraulic parameters. The latter are fitted to statistical distributions and used in Monte-Carlo experiments to assess the potential uncertainty in groundwater recharge due to model parameters. Next, the significance of the recharge estimation method for catchment scale transient groundwater modelling is demonstrated by applying uniform and variable flux boundary condition to a saturated zone transient groundwater model, MIKESHE. The results showed that the traditional uniform recharge assumption can lead to misleading decisions related to water resources management and pumping well network design. The effect of pumping well network and the provincial Water Act on water resources sustainability are further examined in an evolving climate. The results suggest potential water resource problem in the basin, which can possibly be attributed to the previously installed pumping well network (depth and screen level), and the provincial water use policy. The findings of this study demonstrate that such problems related to inappropriate well network and water resource management can greatly be minimised with the use of the recharge estimation method developed in this study.