Lauren Bartles – Graduate – Hydrology 
What Drives Cities to Adopt Groundwater Banking? A Cross-Case Analysis of U.S. Cities

​As climate change continues to increase the variability and decrease the reliability of water supplies, urban water utilities must adopt and implement innovative strategies to enhance water security and promote system sustainability. Groundwater banking, which includes managed aquifer recharge and in-lieu recharge methods, is becoming an increasingly common water management strategy in response to these challenges. As more states and cities turn to groundwater banking, there is a need to better understand factors contributing to the adoption and implementation of groundwater banking as a long-term water management strategy, as well as its impacts on broader urban water sustainability.

Using a two-stage comparative case study design, this research investigates 16 large-scale urban water systems in the United States to understand various drivers of and barriers to groundwater banking. Then, a longitudinal comparison of two cases of water-stressed cities, Phoenix, Arizona and San Antonio, Texas is conducted to identify patterns in groundwater banking development and assess the variables that enable sustainable groundwater banking. Data was collected from utility planning documents, archival reports, and interviews with water managers, among other sources. By systematically analyzing the drivers underlying groundwater banking and comparing the implementation and impacts across cases, this research will elucidate critical factors, and the relationships between factors, that promote or hinder a utility’s use of groundwater banking.

Ryan Harer – undergraduate– Wildlife Ecology & Conservation
Sustainable Groundwater Supply Through Cenotes in the Yucatan Peninsula

The Yucatan Peninsula is located in the eastern part of Mexico and contains an extensive karst aquifer system along with underground sinkholes that contain groundwater which are known as cenotes. Many areas in the Yucatan Peninsula rely heavily on groundwater for their water supply, but due to saltwater infiltration into the aquifers and heavy tourism in the area many of their water resources are contaminated. Many areas are considering cenotes as a sustainable water supply for the local cities and communities. This project addresses what is being done to deal with the introduction of contaminants into cenotes in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico and how these measures could influence the sustainability of domestic and municipal water supplies. Cenotes are popular tourist destinations, but the exposure to recreational activities has increased contaminants into these freshwater systems. Looking at the major contributors of contaminants into these systems is the first step in addressing this issue, and from there researching ways to manage the resource to limit the introduction of the contaminants. This project also addresses some of the tradeoffs and controversies associated with managing cenotes for water supplies.

Allison Hinkle -  Undergraduate- Environmental Science
Drinking Water in Africa: How Can it Become More Reliable?

​Water availability to the sub-Saharan African countries has become an increasingly important issue for villagers and policy-makers alike in recent years. At any given time, nearly one-third of the sub-Saharan water infrastructure is broken, including both hand pumps and solar-powered systems. Various approaches have been put into place to provide water to these villagers in a reliable fashion, but the water infrastructure itself has made this difficult. Recent studies have demonstrated that villagers are now prepared to pay up to five times the usual cost of their water if it were to mean that the local pumps would indeed be repaired in the span of three days, compared to the original 27 days it used to take. More so, even for those pumps that are actively dispersing water, there is a lack of revenue to maintain their upkeep. Projects sponsored by charities like eWater are actively finding solutions to this problem through a variety of projects like the “Pay as you drink” initiative, where villagers have the option to pay for their water through their smartphones. Not only does this make water access easy and convenient for the user but helps to incentivize the protection of water after it is pumped as villagers are paying for it directly.

James Phillips – Graduate- Hydrology
Challenges, Perceptions, and Potential Effectiveness of Potable Water Reuse in South Africa

Four billion people currently experience water stress at least one month out of the year, and over 500 million are under severe chronic water stress. With a steep decline in current water resources and aquifer subsidence due to climate change and anthropogenic factors, these populations experiencing water stress are well-suited to increase in number unless effective water management strategies are implemented. Specifically, South Africa has experienced frequent droughts and significant declines in groundwater levels, contributing to severe water stress in more densely populated areas such as Cape Town and Durban. Wastewater treatment for potable reuse offers a potential solution to the growing South African water crisis; however, there are certain technical and social barriers to the implementation of potable reuse schemes. This paper evaluates the possible technical, cultural, and religious barriers to potable reuse in South Africa through a systematic literature review. Preliminary results from this study showed that a lack of trust in the wastewater treatment infrastructure and the water services authorities from both affluent and low-income areas highlights potential resistance to wastewater reclamation strategies. Additionally, low-income populations are willing to reject potable reuse on the grounds that it creates even more inequitable and unjust water allocation patterns than already exist. Although these concerns of inadequate infrastructure and injustices exist among residential populations, agricultural and commercial industries strongly embrace the idea of wastewater reclamation. This study is important to determine the feasibility of potable reuse in South Africa.