The use of residential water consumption as an urban planning tool: a pilot study in Adelaide

This paper examines the water consumption patterns for different types of residential dwellings and areas in Adelaide, Australia. The method uses datasets regularly collected and maintained by a number of organizations to allow water consumption patterns to be analyzed and examined over time. The results suggest that water consumption varies between different types of residential dwellings, and areas, and that using metropolitan averages to measure national consumption patterns can be misleading. Importantly, the results suggest that per capita consumption is not significantly different between different types of dwellings. The ability to analyze water consumption patterns at the local level would enable planners and managers to better target initiatives aimed at reducing water consumption, and would also give planners a new tool to assess planning and environmental policies.     

A Regional‐Scale Habitat Suitability Model to Assess the Effects of Flow Reduction on Fish Assemblages in Michigan Streams1

Zorn, Troy G., Paul W. Seelbach, and Edward S. Rutherford, 2012. A Regional‐Scale Habitat Suitability Model to Assess the Effects of Flow Reduction on Fish Assemblages in Michigan Streams. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 48(5): 871‐895. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2012.00656.x Abstract: In response to concerns over increased use and potential diversion of Michigan’s freshwater resources, and the resulting state legislative mandate, an advisory council created an integrated assessment model to determine the potential for water withdrawals to cause an adverse resource impact to fish assemblages in Michigan’s streams. As part of this effort, we developed a model to predict how fish assemblages characteristic of different stream types would change in response to decreased stream base flows. We describe model development and use in this case study. The model uses habitat suitability information (i.e., catchment size, base‐flow yield, and July mean water temperature) for over 40 fish species to predict assemblage structure in an individual river segment under a range of base‐flow reductions. By synthesizing model runs for individual fish species at representative segments for each of Michigan’s 11 ecological stream types, we developed curves describing how typical fish assemblages in each type respond to flow reduction. Each stream type‐specific, fish response curve was used to identify streamflow reduction levels resulting in adverse resource impacts to characteristic fish populations, the regulatory standard. Used together with a statewide map of stream types, our model provided a spatially comprehensive framework for evaluating impacts of flow withdrawals on biotic communities across a diverse regional landscape.     

Suburbanization and drought: A mixed methods vulnerability assessment in rainy Massachusetts

This paper presents evidence that water restrictions in suburbanizing eastern Massachusetts towns are becoming more common, controlling for climate. We then assess the relationship between these suburban droughts and residential development. Focusing on the suburbs of Boston, seven towns independent of the Boston water supply system were selected to represent differing levels of sprawl-style growth. Water restrictions are becoming more frequent in all of the towns studied, and models demonstrate that restrictions are increasing in duration, independent of climate. Interviews suggest that residential development is playing a central role in this increasing sensitivity to suburban drought, though other factors are also important. Long-term planning and integration of land-use planning and water management emerged as two key paths for attenuating the impacts of development.     

Irrigated mountain meadow fertilizer application timing effects on overland flow water quality

Nonpoint-source pollution from agricultural activities is currently the leading cause of degradation of waterways in the United States. Applying best management practices to flood-irrigated mountain meadows may improve agricultural runoff and return flow water quality. Prior research has focused on fertilizer use for increased hay yields, while few studies have investigated the environmental implications of this practice. We examined the effects of fertilizer application timing on overland flow water quality from an irrigated mountain meadow near Gunnison, Colorado. Application of 40 kg phosphorus (P) and 19 kg nitrogen (N) ha(-1) using monoammonium phosphate (11-52-0, N-P-K) fertilizer to plots in the fall significantly reduced concentrations of reactive P and ammonium N in irrigation overland flow compared with early or late spring fertilization. Reactive P loading was 9 to almost 16 times greater when fertilizer was applied in the early or late spring, respectively, compared with in the fall. Ammonium N followed a similar trend with early spring loading more than 18 times greater and late spring loading more than 34 times greater than loads from fall-fertilized plots. Losses of 45% of the applied P and more than 17% of the N were measured in runoff when fertilizer was applied in the late spring. These results, coupled with those from previous studies, suggest that mountain meadow hay producers should apply fertilizer in the fall, especially P-based fertilizers, to improve hay yields, avoid economic losses from loss of applied fertilizers, and reduce the potential for impacts to water quality.     

Climate change,Atlantic storm activity and the regional socio-economic impacts on the Caribbean

Forecasting the likely economic losses arising from North Atlantic hurricanes is high on the agenda of both Caribbean and North American stakeholders. This paper develops a general equilibrium framework to conduct an impact assessment of climate change and hurricane formation. General equilibrium analysis accounts for not only primary effects but also feedback effects. The model simulations suggest that output losses occurring due to hurricanes are likely to have economy-wide effects. However, the rural economies of the region are likely to suffer the greatest (relative) effects. The findings of this study suggest that rural livelihoods should be mainstreamed in any adaptation initiatives adopted by the region. Ignoring these neighbourhood features in adaptation plans could negatively impact on poverty and unemployment in rural areas.     

Changes in Use of Three Oregon, USA, Wildernesses

/ Several studies have suggested that use of wildernesses within national forests is declining. Data from three wildernesses in Oregon (based on mandatory permits and voluntary registration) indicate that between 1976 and 1991 in two areas and between 1980 and 1993 in another area the number of recreational visitor days (RVDs) has declined between 23% and 63%. However, the number of visits has remained roughly stable in one area and more than doubled in the other two. The disparity between the two measures of use may be the result of shifts from mainly overnight to mainly day use in these wildernesses. Day use has increased from about 30% to over 60% of all visits. Trends are different enough in each wilderness to warrant independent analyses over time. Management implications of using different measures of use as well as observed trends are discussed.KEY WORDS: Wilderness management; Wilderness use; Trends     

Sociodemographic effects on place bonding

Patterns of amenity migration and recreational home development in much of the USA since the 1990s are changing the local sociodemographic make-up and the relationships formed among people and place. We use the psychological constructs of place attachment, place identity, and place dependence to assess differences in these relationships among new and long-time residents and absentee and local residents in three rural counties in the Inland Northwest. We measured place bonding using data from a mail survey of local (n = 531) and absentee (n = 239) property owners. We compared structural models suggested in the literature on the psychology of place, and found that a two-dimensional model representing place attachment and place identity was appropriate for both local and absentee property owners. Local owners exhibited stronger place attachment and place identity than absentee owners. Place bonding constructs were also substantially less impacted by the total number of years a property owner had resided on his or her property than by the number of months per year they lived on the property. The findings indicate that sociodemographic changes such as those manifested in second-home development may lead to a population that is less emotionally, behaviorally, and cognitively connected to the places in question, while sociodemographic changes from permanent in-migration may have a substantially smaller effect on place bonding.     

Optimizing remediation strategies for a former dry‐cleaner site

Residual tetrachloroethene (PCE) contamination at the former Springvilla Dry Cleaners site in Springfield, Oregon, posed a potential risk through the vapor intrusion, direct contact, and off‐site beneficial groundwater uses. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality utilized the State Dry Cleaner Program funds to help mitigate the risks posed by residual contamination. After delineation activities were complete, the source‐area soils were excavated and treated on‐site with ex situ vapor extraction to reduce disposal costs. Residual source‐area contamination was then chemically oxidized using sodium permanganate. Dissolved‐phase contamination was subsequently addressed with in situ enhanced reductive dechlorination (ERD). ERD achieved treatment goals across more than 4 million gallons of aquifer impacted with PCE concentrations up to 7,800 micrograms per liter prior to remedial activities. The ERD remedy introduced electron donors and nutrient amendments through groundwater recirculation and slug injection across two aquifers over the course of 24 months. Adaptive and mass‐targeted strategies reduced total remedy costs to approximately $18 per ton within the treatment areas. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Assessing the price effects of flood hazard disclosure under the California natural hazard disclosure law (AB 1195)

This study uses hedonic analysis to estimate the effects of flood hazard disclosure under the 1998 California Natural Hazard Disclosure Law (AB 1195) on property values throughout California. It finds that the average floodplain home sold for 4.2% less than a comparable non-floodplain home following AB 1195 while before that law there was no significant price differential. The introduction of interaction terms indicates that the magnitude of the price reduction due to AB 1195 varies positively with Hispanic population share. An average floodplain home in a half-Hispanic neighbourhood saw a $12 324 negative capitalization due to AB 1195, while that amount was only $2191 for a neighbourhood with 10% Hispanic residents. Results suggest that, in particular, homebuyers in Hispanic communities are better disclosed to under AB 1195 than they were under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which was the primary policy regulating flood disclosure in California prior to passage of AB 1195.