Devin Alston– Undergraduate– Environmental Science
The Pharaohs Runoff: Exploring Wastewater Reuse in the Greater Nile Region of Egypt
Mediterranean African Countries, also known as MACS, are facing severe water shortages, with each country having its own individual circumstances and perspectives on the issue. Egypt, with its thriving culture and steadily growing population, has begun exploring new methods to keep up with a growing demand for water. One way to access decent quality water may be through reusing treated wastewater, particularly given that Egypt has recently opened the world’s largest wastewater treatment plant. Given the emergence of new technologies and research, the question this paper focuses on is how might wastewater provide a sustainable and economic approach to address water demand shortages in the Nile region of Egypt? Untreated wastewaters can pose significant consequences if dumped (intentional or not) into other bodies of water, including prompting major disease outbreaks and ecosystem failures. To be more specific, Egypt faces a complex set of consequences stemming from wastewater disposal because most untreated wastewater in the country ends up in the Nile Delta, which is the region's main source of water and near the epicenter of its population. By examining the implications and complexities of wastewater reuse in the Greater Nile region of Egypt, the paper seeks to understand if and how wastewater reuse might be a large-scale, sustainable approach to address increasing water demand for agriculture and urban water supplies in a way that is also economically feasible to implement.
Sonoma Danse - Undergraduate- Atmospheric Science
Examination of Non-Point Source Pollution Due to Precipitation Runoff in Hangzhou and Xi’an, China
In this paper I evaluate the introduction of nitrogen compounds and other non-point source pollutants into surface water as a result of precipitation runoff in urban environments. The aim is to understand the dispersal of nitrogen and its compounds, which are some of the most common pollutants introduced by runoff, along with other urban contaminants. This will be done by identifying sources and evaluating environmental and social impacts through examining two cases in China. This paper intends to increase understanding of nitrogen concentration, in particular nitrates found in road and roof runoff, within urban Hangzhou, China as well as look at chemical differences between roof and road runoff in Xi’an China. While there is focus on N pollution, details on additional pollutants present in urban runoff will also be addressed. Although both cases are in China, they represent very different climates: Xi`an is semi-arid and Hangzhou is subtropical. Combined, these studies should provide a basis for understanding some of the mechanisms, variety, and problems associated with urban water runoff that are generated from roads and roofs. Both studies are motivated by better understandings about non-point source pollutants in urban environments that can facilitate more sustainable urban development.
Audrey Groenlykke - Undergraduate - Environmental Science
Wastewater in Lebanon
As climate change worsens and their population grows, Lebanon has been encouraged to upgrade their access and quality of water. While they have eight wastewater treatment plants along the coast, and 17 on the inland, only 8% of their population is served by this infrastructure. By implementing more sustainable, widespread, and effective wastewater treatment plants, Lebanon could possibly increase their access to clean, safe water for residents of Lebanese cities. Lebanon currently lacks systematic means to dispose of wastewater and so untreated water ends up in the oceans, causing health and environmental concerns. These issues, including a limited supply to water and complaints about the quality of the available water, might be taken care of with a more systematic and comprehensive wastewater treatment plant program. Lebanon’s government and other investors have invested in several wastewater projects since 1992, but this has not been enough to solve the problems surrounding wastewater, as maintenance and other issues have not been addressed due to an overall lack of funding. Projects, like a wastewater treatment plant in the Greater Beirut area and added reservoirs onto their wastewater treatment plants, have the potential to improve Lebanon’s water infrastructure. In this paper, I examine the issues with water quality and quantity in Lebanon by focusing on increasing wastewater treatment infrastructure along with greater attention to operation and maintenance of existing facilities.
Robert Miller- Undergraduate - Environmental Science
Impacts of Anthropogenic Activities in the Andean Alpine and Efforts to Improve Hydrologic Function
The high-altitude wetlands of the Andean Alps are critical zones for precipitation retention, potable water supply, biodiversity, migration corridors, soil building, and carbon sequestration. As such, alpine wetlands are invaluable for their numerous ecosystem services, while supporting of millions of people who rely on the water. These landscapes can also provide a promising regional tool for mitigation and adaptation to the increasing threats of global climate change. In many regions of the Andes mountains, through centuries of anthropogenic use such as livestock grazing, mining, and water extraction, alpine wetland environments have been severely degraded, and their hydrologic function greatly compromised. Because of their high ecological values and buffer potential, much attention is being drawn to wetland function, health, and restoration. I will explore the ways in which various restoration techniques have been applied to high alpine wetlands in the Ecuadorian, Peruvian, Columbian, and Bolivian Andes and evaluate how these techniques have influenced hydrologic function (i.e., standing water increase or decrease, subsurface water storage, soil drainage or soil water retention, riparian vegetation growth). In some cases, indigenous peoples and their traditional knowledge were utilized, these interactions and outcomes will be explored as well. Examining the various techniques and strategies of wetland restoration can help guide local and regional decision-makers moving forward. This study may also offer broader insights into successful approaches to restoration techniques that can aid in reversing decades of degradation and identify ways that alpine wetlands can help us mitigate and adapt to an increasingly warming planet.
