MANAGEMENT AND POLICY CHALLENGES IN A WATER-SCARCE WORLD

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: HATCH
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 1020763
• Multistate No.: W-4190
• Project Start Date: Oct 1, 2019
• Project End Date: Sep 30, 2024
• Program Code: [(N/A)]- (N/A)

Recipient Organization
MICHIGAN STATE UNIV
(N/A)
EAST LANSING,MI 48824

Performing Department
Inst of Water Research

Non Technical Summary
This project will use low-cost sensors to collect water related information to provide data to models and a decision support system aimed at helping planners, water managers, decision-makers, and local governments make better and more informed decisions on how they manage their water. Three primary usecases of peak shaving during storm events, human affects on nearshore stressors, and E.coli impacts are being examined through this project.

Animal Health Component

60%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

20%

Applied

60%

Developmental

20%

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
112	0210	2020	100%

Knowledge Area
112 - Watershed Protection and Management;

Subject Of Investigation
0210 - Water resources;

Field Of Science
2020 - Engineering;

Keywords

sensors

decision support systems

water management

dashboards

e.coli

Goals / Objectives
Evaluate and compare coordinated/integrated management of water sources and land use practices. Comments: Intensive agriculture and input use are on the rise, placing pressure on water availability and quality in many locations. Research undertaken in this objective examines the effects of land use change on water quantity and quality. It also explores the feasibility of alternative water sources. Results will provide critical insights and data that will help guide future planning and decision-making as well as the development of management interventions. Evaluate and compare alternative water quantity and quality management strategies and institutions. Comments: Institutions and management strategies to address the allocation of groundwater and surface water and/or deal with water quality measures vary considerably. Efficient and effective policies to reach the goals of water agencies are critical and can be comprised of institutions such as taxes, subsidies, markets, collective action initiatives, and technological innovations. Research undertaken in this objective will assist policymakers in evaluating policies that improve water allocation and water quality institutions and meet policymakers goals.

Project Methods
This project will use:water level sensors depolyed in streams near Oakland, MI to collect stream stage on 5 min intervals and store that data in an SD memory card.Data will be collected monthly and used to inform a groundwater and surface water model to better understand how water moves through the watershedE-coli and nutrient data will be collected and optical brightners and tryptophan will be used and indicators that can be tracked in real time to estimate E-coli countsReponse curves will be developed for both flow and contaminant loads to be used for improved decision making

Progress 10/01/19 to 09/30/20

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audiances during the past year include researchers from various academic institutions and stakeholders (academic/scholars agricultural producers and businesses, conservationists and state and local government officials). Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?There were six students who received training on model development, edge of field research techniques, analysis, and decision support development. Over 100 producers, professionals, and aministrators participated in learning opportunities for professional development through a Water Quality webinar, wetland field trips, drainage workshops, and edge of field workshops. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Information has been presented at American Society of Agricultural Biosystems Engineers conference, through Michigan States' (MSU) Great Lakes Conference, MSU's Water Quality Science webinar, and the Michigan Water and Environment Associations' Watershed Summit. In addition, three edge of field tours, and 1 drainage workshop have been used to reach communities of interest. Information is also being disseminated through Youtube, Facebook, and other social media channels. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The team will continue to work with each other and interacte periodically to monitor goals and track progress. The project lead will reach out between reporting periods to provide reminders and opportunities to capture impacts of the project as they are completed.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The project team has implemented ten water level sensors in watersheds that can help track how water moves through the watershed over time. This information will be made available to to decision-makers and researchers that may conduct futher analysis to see what impacts land use may have. Four edge of field research sites have been created to monitor and track water quality and quantity changes based on land management actions. This information is being presented directly back to state administrators that use the information to inform policy and program goals and objectives.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Under Review Year Published: 2020 Citation: Rasu, R., A. P. Nejadhashemi, F. Couto Alves, B. Saravi, Evaluating the Applicability of a Soil Moisture-based Metrics for Gauging the Resiliency of Rainfed Agricultural Systems in the Midwestern United States, Soil & Tillage Research, in review.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2020 Citation: Nunn, A., Asher, J. 2020. Engaging River Raisin Farmers in a Sub-surface Water Monitoring Program: A look into applicability, efficacy, and need. Water quality science webinar.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2020 Citation: Crank C. Asher J. 2020. Improving Fish Habitat in the Maple River Watershed. Water Quality Science Webinar.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2020 Citation: Wolfson L., Asher, j., Reinhold, D. Using Floating Plants in a Constructed Wetland for Phosphorus Removal from Tile Drain Runoff. Michigan Inland Lakes Convention September 16-18, 2020.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Submitted Year Published: 2020 Citation: Shokrana, MSB, E. Ghane. 2020. Measurement of soil water characteristic curve using HYPROP2. MethodsX. 7, 100840.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Submitted Year Published: 2020 Citation: Thomas M, Asher J., O'Neil G, Allan, J. Measuring Community Vibrancy in Coastal Communties. Journal of Great Lakes Research.