Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Davis, 2008. / Degree granted in Agricultural and Resource Economics.

Drinking water distribution systems are inherently vulnerable to malicious contaminant events with environmental health concerns such as total trihalomethanes (TTHMs), lead, and chlorine residual. In response to the needs for long-term monitoring, one of the most significant challenges currently facing the water industry is to investigate the sensor placement strategies with modern concepts of and approaches to risk management. This study develops a Rule-based Decision Support System (RBDSS) to generate sensor deployment strategies with no computational burden as we oftentimes encountered via large-scale optimization analyses. Three rules were derived to address the efficacy and efficiency characteristics and they include: 1) intensity, 2) accessibility, and 3) complexity rules. To retrieve the information of population exposure, the well-calibrated EPANET model was applied for the purpose of demonstration of vulnerability assessment. Graph theory was applied to retrieve the implication of complexity rule eliminating the need to deal with temporal variability. In case study 1, implementation potential was assessed by using a small-scale drinking water network in rural Kentucky, the United States with the sensitivity analysis. The RBDSS was also applied to two networks, a small-scale and large-scale network, in “The Battle of the Water Sensor Network” (BWSN) in order to compare its performances with the other models. In case study 2, the RBDSS has been modified by implementing four objective indexes, the expected time of detection (Z1), the expected population affected prior to detection (Z2), the expected consumption of contaminant water prior to detection, and the detection likelihood (Z4), are being used to evaluate RBDSS’s performance and compare to other models in Network 1 analysis in BWSN. Lastly, the implementation of iv weighted optimization is applied to the large water distribution analysis in case study 3, Network 2 in BWSN.

Models of land use change fall into two broad categories: pattern based and process based. This thesis focuses on pattern based land use change models, expanding our understanding of these models in three important ways. First, it is demonstrated that some driving variables do not have a smooth impact on the land use transition process. Our example variable is access to water. Land managers with access to piped water do not have any need for surface or groundwater. For variables like this, a model needs to change the way that driving variables are represented. The second important result is that including a variable which captures spatial correlation between land use types significantly increases the explanatory power of the prediction model. A major weakness of pattern based land use models is their inability to model interactions between neighbouring land parcels; the method proposed in this study can be an alternative to account for spatial neighbourhood association. These innovations are applied using the CLUE-S (Conversion of Land Use and its Effects at Small regional extent) system to the Deep Creek watershed in the Southern Interior of British Columbia. The results highlight the challenge of balancing the protection of agricultural land and conserving forest and natural areas when population and economic growth are inevitable. The results also demonstrate the implications of land use change on existing land use policies. The calibrated model was validated using remote sensing data. A series of discriminant functions were estimated for each land use type in the recent period and these functions were then used to classify. The calibrated model was run in reverse, back to the generated land use classification, and results compared. Fit was reasonable with error rates falling below ten percent when radii beyond 2.5 km were considered. Another important contribution is demonstrating the importance of modelling dynamic variables. Some important drivers are changing continuously and others depend on land use change itself. Failure to update these variables will bias model forecasts. Spatial neighbourhood association, an endogenous variable governed by land use change itself, is again used as the example dynamic variable. The study demonstrates the importance of updating all associated information. / Graduate Studies, College of (Okanagan) / Graduate

This study serve as an avenue for people from this community to voice their opinions; to share personal hopes and concerns in light of their urban neighborhood, soon to become a lake.

One of the challenges today ́s planners face with the urbanization is how to adapt the city to the climate changes, with the increasing precipitation that causes flooding. The concept of Sustainable stormwater management aims to prevent flooding and ensure good water quality, which complies with the EU Water Framework Directive. The aim of this thesis is to investigate how Sustainable stormwater management and climate adaption is implemented in municipal planning in the Bothnian Bay Water District and to map the prevailing conditions and obstacles that may occur. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with municipal planners in Luleå, Umeå, Haparanda, Kiruna, Boden, Piteå and Skellefteå. The answers were analyzed using a deductive thematic analysis method. The interview answers were coded at different levels with the research questions as a focus. This resulted in main themes and subcategories. The result shows that five of seven interviewed municipalities are in the process of implementing Sustainable stormwater management. The municipalities are aware of pollution in stormwater and the importance of good water quality, the goal is to achieve a natural flow of stormwater. Most of the municipalities work with the stormwater issue across administrative boundaries in collaboration. The climate adaptation work in the municipalities consists mainly of rainfall mapping and elevation of buildings. The greatest obstacles to the implementation are unclear division of responsibilities, lack of resources and knowledge and the question of land use. Regarding the municipality's size and geographical locations, factors such as terrain, watercourses / recipients, demographics, finances and human resources are of importance. / En av utmaningarna som urbaniseringen för med sig och som dagens planerare måste hantera är hur staden ska anpassas till klimatförändringarna; med den ökande nederbörden som orsakar översvämningar. Konceptet Långsiktigt hållbar dagvattenhantering syftar till att förhindra översvämningar och säkerställa god vattenkvalitet, vilket överensstämmer med EU: s Vattendirektiv. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur Långsiktigt hållbar dagvattenhantering och klimatanpassning implementeras i kommunal planering i Bottenvikens vattendistrikt och att kartlägga rådande förutsättningar och hinder för denna implementering. Semi-strukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med tjänstepersoner i Luleå, Umeå, Haparanda, Kiruna, Boden, Piteå och Skellefteå. Svaren analyserades med hjälp av en deduktiv tematisk analysmetod. Intervjusvaren kodades på olika nivåer med forskningsfrågorna som fokus. Detta resulterade i huvudteman och underkategorier. Resultatet visar att fem av sju intervjuade kommuner arbetar med att implementera Långsiktigt hållbar dagvattenhantering. Kommunerna är medvetna om föroreningar i dagvatten och vikten av god vattenkvalitet, målet är att uppnå ett naturligt flöde av dagvatten. De flesta av kommunerna arbetar i förvaltningsövergripande samverkan med dagvattenfrågan. Klimatanpassningsarbetet i kommunerna består främst av skyfallskartering och höjdsättning av byggnader. De största hindren för implementeringen  är oklar ansvarsfördelning, brist på resurser och kunskap och frågan om markanvändning. När det gäller kommunens storlek och geografiska läge är faktorer som terräng, vattendrag / recipienter, demografi, finansiering och humankapital av betydelse.