The Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV) of South Texas contains an extensive stormwater conveyance canal system supported by culverts and crossings. This project examined representative canal segments in this system to determine the effects of stormwater conveyance structures and crossings as well as surrounding land use on water quality and the ability of the canal system to meet Texas freshwater surface water standards. Data collected for 18 physiochemical and nutrient parameters was used to generate summary statistics and perform analyses of variance and correlation analyses. The results of the analyses suggested that conveyance structures and crossings and land use significantly affected 12–13 water quality parameters. Box culverts in the canal system are more likely to affect water quality than bridge crossings or culverts placed above and below the water surface. Agricultural and residential land, roads, and trees and bushes planted on the canal boundaries effected water quality similarly, whereas the maintained, vegetated edges of canals had the greatest influences on water quality. Overall, water quality in the LRGV canal system meets federal and state standards and aquatic life criteria. The findings of our water quality survey provide significant information that could assist with municipal, county, and regional environmental compliance management.

Environmental Practice 18: 6–17 (2016)

This report describes the field demonstration of a near-remote sensing method to measure water turbidity over large areas, in a high-resolution, spatial context. Our interdisciplinary method used a novel multispectral imaging sensor deployed by a hand-launched small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS). The measurement of turbidity is a useful indicator of water quality. Current turbidity measurement tools, such as the Secchi disc, are labor-intensive and often limit coverage such that available samples are extrapolated unrealistically when representing large water resources. This handicaps computer models’ ability to predict run-off, and these models produce the best results if supplied with high-resolution, fine time-increment measurements. This first study of the method developed operated the sUAS below 200 m over the surface of a 9.3-ha lake, capturing visible and near-infrared imagery at resolutions of ~0.2 m/pixel and capturing spectral bands matching those captured by the Landsat 4-5 satellites. The study established the spectral sensitivity and spatial coverage of the instrumentation and correlated turbidity estimates against traditional Secchi disc readings taken across the lake. This study also differentiated turbidity contribution from suspended organics vs. suspended sediments. To manage glare, this new technique required strategically positioned sunlight, thus sharing some operational limitations with the Secchi disc method. Plans have been made to extend the technique to be suitable for deeper, clearer lakes. The technique represents an improved monitoring tool for environmental scientists, watershed managers, and civil engineers.

Environmental Practice 18: 18–31 (2016)

Public participation is commonly advocated for as part of policy responses to climate change. This study examines the prospects for inclusive approaches to climate change adaptation, drawing particularly on studies of long-term climate change adaptation in a coastal region in Bangladesh. It has been suggested that public perception, knowledge, and participation are important goals in the process of formulating response to climate change risks. This study found that local people as well as other stakeholders who participated in the study were more or less familiar with the term “climate change.” However, the participants’ understanding of what the term means and climate change’s causes varied widely. The results also showed that a large number of the participants were uncertain about the solution to the climate change problems they are already experiencing, due to lack of accessible information from different governmental and non-governmental sources. It is notable that, despite being a country with a high level of political commitment to dealing with climate change, supported by plans, programs, and interventions, the people of Bangladesh are largely unaware of these efforts. This study explores the Social Ecological Inventory (SEI) tool as a means of managing the governance system for climate change adaptation in order to explore the public’s perception of, knowledge about, and participation in developing adaptation plans. In this study, we used the SEI tool to systemically map the values, motives, activities, knowledge, and experiences of different actors over time and in different networks in order to prepare the ground for participation in developing climate change adaptation plans by helping identify and select the most appropriate set of actors to work with; build trust between these different actors; and, finally, reach a consensus among actors on how to enhance a region’s sustainability and resilience.

Environmental Practice 18: 32–43 (2016)

Existing studies have demonstrated a lack of consensus on the relationships between what the public sees when viewing a river, the actual ecological quality of that river, and a perceived need for management measures for that river. More specifically, there is insufficient information available about public perceptions of high-quality rivers. Therefore, this study, conducted in North Carolina, assessed public perceptions of a high-quality river, including links between perceptions of how attractive or how natural the river appeared and perceptions of specific ecological conditions on the river. The study also assessed the public’s perceived need for flood protection or river rehabilitation. The study’s results show that public perception of the river studied is complex and, in some ways, aligns well with available monitoring data collected from that river, but simultaneously reflects the public’s lack of knowledge about what constitutes a high-quality river, which influenced a perceived need for flood control and rehabilitation.

Environmental Practice 18: 44–52 (2016)

Shale gas exploration involving hydraulic fracturing (fracking) has been on South Africa’s energy agenda since 2010 as a potential alternative to coal. Internationally, the desirability of fracking has been under debate, due to increasing evidence of associated environmental and health risks. There is limited research related to the public’s knowledge and risk perceptions of fracking, and none whatsoever from South Africa. This cross-sectional study explored, through a household survey, knowledge of, health risk perceptions of, and information sources related to fracking of 102 Central Karoo residents. Our results indicated that 40% of the participants do not know what fracking is or the potential risks and benefits thereof. The media is participants’ main information source (59.8%), and only half of the participants trust their information sources. Those with more trust in their information sources perceived fracking as posing a greater risk. Those believing fracking poses a low risk were more likely to trust the government and oil and gas companies. More than half of the participants (52.9%) believe that fracking poses an extreme health risk, and 78% think that fracking will harm their health. Despite this, 45% of the participants indicated a willingness to work in the fracking industry. The most commonly listed reasons for why fracking would make Karoo residents sick included water pollution (47.4%) and air pollution (19.6%). This study found high levels of risk uncertainty related to fracking among Central Karoo residents.

Environmental Practice 18: 53–68 (2016)

Federal water resources development planning and the associated environmental assessment processes have been very complex and expensive. Federal water resource agencies are reassessing approaches to planning, with the support of our leadership and legislators, which encourages National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) practitioners to apply the Council on Environmental Quality guidance to improve NEPA and to work with regulating agencies to streamline efforts and provide reasonable levels of information adequate for risk informed decision making.

Environmental Practice 18: 69–71 (2016)