There were 24 proposals submitted for funding for FY2008. The breadth of institutions and departments responding to the RFP was broad and topics were multifaceted. The diversity may be due in part to the emphasis on assisting state and local agencies with water-related issues.
The titles, investigators and abstracts for funded projects are listed below:
Principal investigators:
R. Elaine Hallmark, Director, Oregon Consensus Program
Robert Williams, Graduate Research Assistant, Portland State University
Connie Ozawa, Professor, Urban Studies and Planning, Portland State University
Hannah Gosnell, Assistant Professor, Geosciences, Oregon State University
Abstract:
Infrastructure is the skeleton upon which our communities are built. Currently, western states have separate systems for land use planning and for making decisions about the location of water, wastewater and transportation infrastructure. These systems relate to one another on paper but often fail to connect in practice and neglect the relationship between urban and rural water utility systems. We are building and rebuilding urban communities and rural lands without integrated blueprints and, thus, are missing opportunities for smarter growth and more sustainable communities. The Rock Creek Sustainability Initiative (RCSI) in Clackamas County, western Oregon serves as a case study for the development of an adaptive governance model pilot for coordinating land use and water management. The exploratory research in Phase I seeks to assess key barriers to coordination, establish baseline water quality and quantity modeling, and facilitate coordination planning discussions. Methods include interviews, participant observation, and comparative case study research. Phase I will conclude with a “Confluence Meeting” of key investigators and implementers from four watersheds who will vet recommendations for further research and develop a synthesis paper positing a possible replicable pilot project model. This project will lay the groundwork for the formal convening of a RCSI pilot implementation stakeholder group in Phase II which will inform the development of a regional model for coordinating land and water management. Concurrent involvement by local and regional governments in facilitated coordination planning discussions will enhance the likelihood of regionally successful pilot implementation in Phase III. Findings from Phase I will be incorporated into a larger grant proposal to build on this research.
Dr. Jon Lewis, Professor of English and Film Studies, Oregon State University
Filmmaker: Sarah A. Lind (Sheldrick), Master of Arts in English and Communication, Oregon State University
Abstract:
The Umatilla Basin (Oregon) shares a deep basalt aquifer with Washington and Oregon. The groundwater in this region has declined between 400 and 500 feet and the area has been designated as “critical” causing a suspension of additional wells except those needed for drinking water and irrigation (Oregon Water Resources Department 2003). Limited federal, state, and tribal funding for water resources planning prompted a community-based approach to groundwater management. A Task Force was formed to explore new approaches for managing the sustainability of groundwater and surface water resources. The Task Force is a real life example of a community using similar approaches to the collaborative learning process and conflict management. This grant proposal is to make a documentary film that has been requested by the Outreach Subcommittee for Umatilla County. The film will examine the issues of water that are unique to the basin, and the communication process of the community. Water issues are by far not unique to the basin and it is important to take a close examination of communication process and perspectives. As filmmaker to the project, I am concerned with the ethical consideration of the relationship between the filmmaker to the subject. It is the intention of the film to provide the community with a documentation of the collaborative learning process that is reflective, fair and balanced.
Principle Investigator:
Theo W. Dreher, Professor, Department of Microbiology, Oregon State University
Abstract:
Freshwater harmful algal blooms caused by cyanobacteria (principally members of the Microcystis, Anabaena and Planktothrix genera) are a world-wide and increasing problem. They occur in various bodies of slow-moving fresh or brackish water — lakes, reservoirs, estuaries — usually in response to the presence of excess nutrients from sources such as agricultural run-off or septic systems. They are often associated with toxin production, the most potent and common toxins being the hepatotoxic microcystins, which comprise a family of more than 50 variants of cyclic non-ribosomally synthesized peptides. Toxic cyanobacterial blooms have been common in Oregon in Cascades reservoirs such as Detroit Lake and in lakes such as Tenmile Lake inland of coastal sand dunes. They have resulted in advisories against all activities involving water contact (fishing and recreation) spanning months at a time (http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/ph/envtox/maadvisories.shtml) or have forced communities to switch to alternative sources of drinking water (Siltcoos Lake, September-November 2007; http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/ph/envtox/docs/bgaliftsiltcooslake.pdf). Over the last years, Microcystis blooms in two reservoirs on the Klamath River in Northern California have eightened regional interest in these blooms. Microcystin toxin levels reached more than 200 times the WHO ‘safe’ levels, among the highest levels recorded in the US. Global climate changes could bring outbreaks of this magnitude to Oregon in the future.
Contamination of drinking water by cyanobacterial toxins is an emerging concern. The US-EPA is leading an effort for improved measurements of non-coliform microbial contaminants in drinking water, with cyanobacteria and their toxins one target among a list of nine (http://es.epa.gov/ncer/rfa/2007/2007_star_drinkingwater.html). The toxins cannot be inactivated by boiling and their removal requires more expensive water treatment. Despite these concerns, there has been surprisingly little work in the US on genetic identification of the species and strains of cyanobacteria present in blooms; this is certainly true of the Pacific Northwest. Such studies are a prerequisite to modern, rapid identification methods (e.g., PCR, microarrays) and to understanding the potential for toxin production. They will soon be replacing traditional identifications based on microscopic observation, which are known to have limited reliability.
Recently, we have begun adopting to Oregon blooms the methodology for state of the art genetic description of cyanobacteria that are capable of producing toxins. This methodology relies on DNAbased techniques that are accurate and specific, and are amenable to development for economical high-throughput assays. The goal of this project is to begin to apply these techniques to cyanobacterial blooms that occur in bodies of water that are used as drinking water supplies. Samples containing cyanobacteria from such water supplies will be analyzed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based techniques that will enable accurate identification of the bloom organism and sensitive detection of genes involved in the production of microcystin toxin. Detection of toxin biosynthetic genes provides firm evidence regarding the likelihood a bloom is toxic; currently, the cost of direct toxin assays limits their application to infrequent samples.
This proposed project will benefit by being conducted alongside a project on Klamath River toxic cyanobacterial blooms that has been funded by Oregon Sea Grant for two years from March 2008. Similar methodology will be used in both studies; this small project will benefit from the resources available from Sea Grant for methodology development and refinement. We intend to use this USGS/IWW grant to position ourselves with enough preliminary experience in the drinking water arena to be competitive for a repeat call for proposals from US-EPA (see above).
Principal Investigator:
Naomi Hirsch, Ed.M., Professional Faculty, Oregon State University
Abstract:
Across Oregon, the flow and cycle of water has shaped the lifestyles, livelihoods, and life histories of its inhabitants. Education on the protection of Oregon's groundwater resources is critical for the stewardship of this resource. As decisions about water issues continue to increase, all citizens need to have an understanding of groundwater, sources of drinking water, and drinking water regulation.
Hydrologic principles are not controversial. The more that is known about hydrology, the easier it is to judge alternative proposals and to compare their benefits and costs. Sound decisions require an informed citizenry. [Water--Our Common Pleasure and Our Common Responsibility by Luna B. Leopold, Water, Rivers, and Creeks (1997)]
To support building informed citizenry, this project will enable community colleges to create a water quality course using the Hydroville Water Quality (WQ) curriculum as a model. This curriculum, developed at Oregon State University, allows students to experience the nature of real-world science by solving a community drinking water problem based on a real-life occurrence. The WQ curriculum has been successfully used in high schools and has great potential to increase its range and impact through the project partnership with community colleges. This project offers community college students the opportunity to:
The project will create a partnership between Oregon State University’s Environmental Health Sciences Center and Linn-Benton Community College (LBCC) and will progress in three steps.
Principal investigators:
Desiree D. Tullos, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Biological and Ecological Engineering, Oregon State University
John Faustini, Ph.D. Post-doctoral Research Associate, Oregon State University
Abstract:
People have tended to focus on dams and culverts as barriers to fish passage, but the need to evaluate them as barriers to downstream sediment passage and as geomorphological control points is also important. It is currently unclear whether changes in channel morphology that occur upstream and downstream of the former barrier may hinder (e.g. channel incision and disconnection of the channel from its floodplain) or benefit (e.g. increase local scour and deposition thus creating greater geomorphic and habitat diversity) ecological integrity. Therefore, we propose a field-based study to address hypotheses regarding the processes of channel adjustment and success of predictive tools for forecasting likely channel responses to sediment barrier removal. We will compare pre- and post-removal changes through field surveys of the channel, sediments, and habitats before and after a culvert (Oak Creek) replacement and a small dam (Brownsville) removal. By testing hypotheses about the role of changing sediment supply (via dimensionless bedload transport ratio, Shield’s stress, competent median grain size, relative bed stability) on habitat diversity (via SHDI, RBS, grain size variability, EMAP habitat scores, and ODFW habitat scores), recommendations can be made regarding the need for (or redundancy of) structural controls (e.g. large wood, boulders) to encourage channel complexity in future culvert and small dam removals. Thus, results of this project will contribute to knowledge regarding how restoration resources can be balanced for the long term. In addition to training opportunities for undergraduate students, we will be developing baseline information as a long-term teaching resource for Tullos’ River Engineering course. Results will be communicated through a variety of channels, including preparation of a manuscript for submission to a refereed journal, presentation at scientific meetings and informal seminars, and other informal outlets (e.g., online publication of annotated bibliography and project web page).
Principal Investigators:
Brent Steel, Professor, Oregon State University
Karen DuBose, Graduate student, Oregon State University
Abstract:
The State of Oregon supports water reuse through Executive Order 05-04 and Senate Bill 820. However, fear of public outcry over the use of recycled water within state agencies and other wastewater organizations has hobbled state agencies’ ability to remove state-level barriers to water reuse. The City of Corvallis is in the beginning stages of setting up a water reuse program, and serves as an excellent case study for water reuse throughout the state.
Objectives: This research seeks to gauge public knowledge and opinion regarding water reuse, develop a list of end uses preferred by the public, and develop a plan for engaging the public in discussion of water reuse.
Methods: Using the city’s modified Dillman method, randomly selected members of the public will be surveyed about their knowledge and attitudes about water reuse. With this information, we will develop a list of end uses acceptable to the public and critical subjects that city staff must address when communicating with the public. With city goals and public survey responses in mind, a public involvement plan will be developed using existing theory and guidelines.
This research is expected to be valuable across Oregon as an indication of the level of support that state and local agencies can expect when developing and modifying water reuse regulations, and will provide a model public involvement plan that can be used throughout the state.
Principal Investigators:
Stephen T. Lancaster, Associate Professor, Department of Geosciences, Oregon State University
Christine L. May, Faculty Research Associate, James Madison University
Abstract:
The deposition of both coarse and fine sediment may pose a great risk to the survival of gravel spawning fish. Land use practices and wildfires, particularly preceding large storms, can be associated with large influxes of sediment to stream channels. While several studies have investigated the direct effects of fine sediment on the habitat and physiology of salmonids, the effects of coarse sediment deposition have not been established. A critical uncertainty in predicting the effects of accelerated erosion is quantifying the critical depth of sediment that can be penetrated by juvenile fish emerging from subsurface incubation habitat.
The objective of this study is to quantify how the depth and composition of fill affects the emergence success of juvenile salmonids. Our approach uses experimental channels at the Oregon Hatchery Research Center to vary the depth and composition of sediment overlying incubating eggs in a series of two experiments. We hypothesize that increases in coarse sediment depth will result in a linear decrease in survival by entrapping juvenile salmonids in the subsurface environment. We further hypothesize that fine sediment will exponentially decrease the depth at which mortality occurs. The combined effects of fill depth and composition on egg survival and juvenile fish emergence will be analyzed with regression analysis. The resulting regression equation can then be used to infer survival rates from field-based measurements of fill depths and fine sediment concentration, thereby providing a predictive tool that can be used for monitoring and assessment. Without the information gained from this study, the biological implications of sediment deposition will remain uncertain and management targets will continue to lack a scientific basis.
The proposed research addresses a key uncertainty in predicting the effects of increased
sediment loads on fish survival, which is of broad concern through the Pacific Northwest region. The effect of sediment deposition on salmonid habitat also addresses two focus areas important for water resource management identified by the Institute for Water and Watersheds five year report; specifically research that can inform management decisions for the protection of forested streams and identifies the ecological implications of the deterioration and loss of aquatic and riparian habitat. Identification of the impacts of sediment deposition during the period of egg incubation will allow more informed forest and stream management decisions.
Research products will include a peer-reviewed research paper published in a national or international journal, and presentations at local workshops with land managers and scientists. Students will also gain from training and participation in the proposed study. Researchers involved in the study will actively engage in outreach to the general public and school children through tours of the experimental facility.
Principal Investigators:
Denise Lach, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, Oregon State University
Aaron Wolf, Professor, Department of Geosciences, Oregon State University
Abstract:
This project requests funds to support the editorial development of a textbook/workbook developed as the result of an earlier grant from the USGS/IWW to create a water conflict graduate education program. That book, Sharing Water, Building Relations: Managing and Transforming Water Disputes in the US West, has been drafted but requires additional content and editorial refinement including the securing of copyright permission, indexing, and proof-reading. The book is designed to aid students and professionals through collaborative learning and skills-building exercises to learn about a variety of approaches to responding productively to conflict. It is written to be equally relevant for the participant and for the instructor/facilitator. It is designed to stand alone, for basic understanding of the issues and processes involved, or to supplement other
texts.
Over the course of the next year, we will finish the additional text (we estimate 20-25% supplementary text is needed), secure a publishing contract, develop an index, secure copyright permission, and other tasks as needed to complete the book. A penultimate draft will be used and evaluated summer 2008 when the water conflict management course is taught again.
The outcome of this project will be a book manuscript to be published by 2009 and available not only to OSU students but to students around the world interested in transforming water conflict and governance.
