Browsing by Subject "Municipal"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3

Identification and quantification of municipal water sources contributing to urban streamflow in the Austin, Texas area
(2013-05) Snatic, Jonathan Wells; Banner, Jay L.; Sharp, John Malcolm, Jr., 1944-
Previous studies have shown that municipal water can provide a substantial surface water and groundwater recharge source for the Edwards aquifer in central Texas. Knowledge of how water sources to urban watersheds change with urbanization is essential for sustainable water resource management. The range for 87Sr/86Sr values for Austin municipal water (0.7086–0.7094) is distinct from that of naturally occurring phreatic groundwater (0.7076-0.7079) and stream discharge in many rural watersheds (0.7077– 0.7084). Many streams in urbanized Austin watersheds have elevated 87Sr/86Sr values (0.7085–0.7088) relative to these rural streams. These differences demonstrate the potential for Sr isotopes to serve as a tracer of municipal water inputs to urban streamflow. A few urban streams and springs, however, have 87Sr/86Sr values higher than those of municipal water. Soil is the likely source of these elevated values. Spatial variability in the distribution of high 87Sr/86Sr soil and temporal variability in soil-exchangeable Sr contributions to groundwater may result in naturally high streamflow 87Sr/86Sr values, making the identification and quantification of municipal water as a streamflow source using Sr isotopes unreliable in some instances. Temporal variability in climatic conditions and resulting changes in effective moisture can result in distinct natural groundwater 87Sr/86Sr and Mg/Ca ratio variations, due to differences in overall groundwater residence times and water-rock interaction. Unlike natural water sources, municipal water inputs to urban watersheds peak during the summer (and periods of drought) when natural recharge inputs (precipitation) are minimal or nonexistent. Thus, proportions of natural vs. municipal water sources in the streamflow of some highly urbanized streams vary seasonally, resulting in distinct 87Sr/86Sr and Mg/Ca temporal trends, based on the recharge source. In some urban watersheds, municipal water appears to be a significant streamflow component during dry periods. However, temporal variation in natural Sr inputs to vadose and phreatic groundwater may result in the overestimation of municipal water contributions to streamflow and groundwater recharge during relatively wet periods.
Municipal economic growth through green projects and policies
(2012-05) Lindner, Harry Dreyfus; Gamkhar, Shama
Cities generally need economic growth. Green policies and projects are environmentally beneficial, desirable, expected by the public, and pragmatic in the long term. However, there is insufficient research on what, if any, municipal green projects and policies generate economic growth. To address this question, the author created a database of green and economic indicators, and modeled the green indicators to predict the economic indicators. The database included carbon usage, transportation metrics, water usage, the number of green jobs, and the gross domestic product (GDP) for the 100 largest cities, defined by metropolitan statistical area (MSA), in the U.S. To gather data on green indicators, existing green rankings, indices, and reports were evaluated for methodology and usability for this paper. The results of the data-gathering step show the need for more and better data collection. That means an increased number of green indicators should be collected, and data should be collected at the MSA (or county) level for more of the largest cities. Specifically to name some green indicators, data collection on energy usage, buildings, waste, land use, air quality, and food could be improved. Those green indicators would likely be included in a model that uses green indicators to predict green jobs or GDP. However, those were not included for the regressions in this paper. The results of the regressions in this paper show two indicators with promise for predicting economic growth as defined by GDP and number of green jobs: (1) percent of people using public transportation, biking, or walking to work, and (2) public water consumption per person. The first explanatory variable indirectly measures the adoption of policies that promote public transportation, biking, and walking. The results suggest that these policies have a positive effect on GDP and number of green jobs. This means the results suggest that as the percent increases, so does GDP and number of green jobs. The second explanatory variable measures the water conservation policies. The results suggest this variable has a negative, albeit weaker relationship with GDP per person. This means the results suggest as water conservation increases (less water usage per person), the GDP per person increases. This paper offers a methodology and some of the groundwork for building a model to show which, if any, municipal green projects and policies predict economic growth.
Residential water conservation in Austin, Texas
(2009-12) Sires, Luke Abrams; Moore, Steven A., 1945-; Butler, Kent S.
This study explores the social, technological economic, and environmental development of single-family residential water conservation programs at the Austin Water Utility and asks: What makes a conservation program successful? I hypothesize that water conservation programs will be successful if both institutional-producer goals and citizen-consumer goals are satisfied. While the findings suggest that this may be partially true, it also has become clear that my original actor-network model was too simple to predict the various types of influences on program success. Not only did I find other significant ‘actors’ involved in water conservation, I also found that utility and participant groups themselves represent a wide variety of interests. This study seeks to answer the research question by creating a series of narratives that critically explore water infrastructure and water conservation programs in Austin, Texas. Through a methodological lens referred to as ‘critical constructivism,’ I use mixed methods to analyze and interpret historic documents, interviews, and quantitative data as primary sources. Literature from Science and Technology Studies (STS) are used as secondary sources. This study will add to a body of knowledge that describes how and why we manage our environmental resources. The subject of conservation is especially relevant as urban growth continues with fewer affordable opportunities to increase regional water supplies. As we enter an era of expected water conflict, knowing how to conserve water effectively will help provide more opportunities for sharing a common resource amongst communities, industry, agriculture, and the environment.