Poster Abstract Details

Author(s):
Molly D. Otiende

Affiliation:
Auburn University

Presentation Type:
Poster

Topic Area:
Human influences on ecosystems (direct and indirect stressors)

Abstract Text:
Water quality is a crucial factor in both human and environmental health. As locations undergo increasing urbanization, development and other changes in land use are shown to have negative impacts on water quality. Previous research has focused on the use of percent impervious surface to develop a threshold for diminished water quality in urbanized/developed watershed as a result of non-point source pollution from runoff. Although reliance on a percentage at which impervious surface imperils a watershed provides a straightforward measure, it discounts the fact that water quality can vary greatly depending on factors related to stream hydrology, land slopes and soils, and types and configuration of impervious surface. It also fails to address more specific ways that human development and behaviors affect water quality. Our proposal seeks to broaden the understanding of the ways in which human factors impact water quality at the watershed level. In order to do this, we propose to investigate the relevance of socioeconomic factors at the watershed level that predict water quality, controlling for percent impervious surface. These factors include income, property and home value, education level, median age, and length of residency. Our research will allow for a clearer understanding of the relationship between water quality and socioeconomics so that specific target groups can be developed for educational purposes in order to alleviate (mitigate) current (future) water quality problems. The proposed study will focus on the following water quality indicators due to their relationship to human activities: Phosphorus, Nitrogen, Ammonium, Fecal Coliform, and Escherichia Coli (E. Coli). Overall, our research goal is to better understand how human factors affect water quality so that this knowledge can be used at the local and regional level to prevent water quality problems and target changes in human behaviors that negatively impact water quality.