An Ex Post Evaluation of Ohio’s Great Miami Water Quality Trading Program1

Newburn, David A. and Richard T. Woodward, 2011. An Ex Post Evaluation of Ohio’s Great Miami Water Quality Trading Program. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 48(1): 156‐169. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2011.00601.x Abstract: Market‐based approaches to address water quality problems have resulted in only limited success, especially in trading programs involving both point and nonpoint sources. We analyze one of the largest point‐nonpoint trading programs – the Great Miami Trading Program in Ohio, administered by the Miami Conservancy District (MCD). Our evaluation focuses on the economic and institutional aspects of the program, including cost effectiveness, efficiency of bidding, transaction costs, trading ratios, and innovation. We use a unique dataset consisting of all bids from agricultural nonpoint sources and interviews of soil and water conservation district (SWCD) agents in the watershed. We find that the MCD’s reliance on county‐level SWCD offices to recruit and advise farmers has been essential to achieve relatively high rates of farmer participation. Additionally, the MCD is able to partly free ride on the administrative costs that SWCD offices receive to assist federal conservation programs, which is helpful to lower costs for a fledgling trading program. However, the involvement of SWCD offices reduced the potential cost savings from the reverse auction structure because some agents were able to learn about the threshold price over the six rounds of bidding and help farmers bid strategically. Overall, the program structure serves as an effective model for future trading programs in other regions that seek to involve agricultural nonpoint sources.     

System Dynamics to Sustainable Water Resources Management in the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer Under Water Supply Uncertainty1

Abstract: Water supply uncertainty continues to threaten the reliability of regional water resources in the western United States. Climate variability and water dispute potentials induce water managers to develop proactive adaptive management strategies to mitigate future hydroclimate impacts. The Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer in the state of Idaho is also facing these challenges in the sense that population growth and economic development strongly depend on reliable water resources from underground storage. Drought and subsequent water conflict often drive scientific research and political agendas because water resources availability and aquifer management for a sustainable rural economy are of great interest. In this study, a system dynamics approach is applied to address dynamically complex problems with management of the aquifer and associated surface‐water and groundwater interactions. Recharge and discharge dynamics within the aquifer system are coded in an environmental modeling framework to identify long‐term behavior of aquifer responses to uncertain future hydrological variability. The research shows that the system dynamics approach is a promising modeling tool to develop sustainable water resources planning and management in a collaborative decision‐making framework and also to provide useful insights and alternative opportunities for operational management, policy support, and participatory strategic planning to mitigate future hydroclimate impacts in human dimensions.     

Genetic engineering of cyanobacteria to enhance biohydrogen production from sunlight and water

To mitigate global warming caused by burning fossil fuels, a renewable energy source available in large quantity is urgently required. We are proposing large-scale photobiological H(2) production by mariculture-raised cyanobacteria where the microbes capture part of the huge amount of solar energy received on earth's surface and use water as the source of electrons to reduce protons. The H(2) production system is based on photosynthetic and nitrogenase activities of cyanobacteria, using uptake hydrogenase mutants that can accumulate H(2) for extended periods even in the presence of evolved O(2). This review summarizes our efforts to improve the rate of photobiological H(2) production through genetic engineering. The challenges yet to be overcome to further increase the conversion efficiency of solar energy to H(2) also are discussed.     

New methodological improvements in the Microtox® solid phase assay

The classic Microtox® solid phase assay (MSPA) based on the inhibition of light production of the marine bacteria recently renamed Aliivibrio fischeri suffers from various bias and interferences, mainly due to physico-chemical characteristics of the tested solid phase. To precisely assess ecotoxicity of sediments, we have developed an alternative method, named Microtox® leachate phase assay (MLPA), in order to measure the action of dissolved pollutants in the aqueous phase. Two hypotheses were formulated to explain the observed difference between MSPA and MLPA results: a real ecotoxicity of the solid phase or the fixation of bacteria to fine particles and/or organic matter. To estimate the latter, flow cytometry analyses were performed with two fluorochromes (known for their ability to stain bacterial DNA), allowing correction of MSPA measurements and generation of new (corrected) IC50. Comparison of results of MLPA with the new IC50 MSPA allows differentiating real ecotoxic and fixation effect in classic MSPA especially for samples with high amount of fines and/or organic matter.