Grantee Research Project Results
2014 Progress Report: Sustainable Community Oriented Stormwater Management (S-COSM): A Sensible Strategy for the Chesapeake Bay
EPA Grant Number: R835284Title: Sustainable Community Oriented Stormwater Management (S-COSM): A Sensible Strategy for the Chesapeake Bay
Investigators: Leisnham, Paul
Current Investigators: Leisnham, Paul , Wilson, Sacoby M. , Davis, Allen , Montas, Hubert , Chanse, Victoria , McCoy, John , Foster, James , Rockler, Amanda , Shirmohammadi, Adel , Lipton, Douglas
Institution: University of Maryland - College Park
Current Institution: University of Maryland - College Park , Anacostia Watershed Society , Columbia Association , Maryland Sea Grant
EPA Project Officer: Packard, Benjamin H
Project Period: July 1, 2012 through June 30, 2017
Project Period Covered by this Report: July 3, 2013 through August 3,2014
Project Amount: $691,674
RFA: Sustainable Chesapeake: A Community-Based Approach to Stormwater Management Using Green Infrastructure (2012) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Watersheds , Pollution Prevention/Sustainable Development , Sustainable and Healthy Communities , Water
Objective:
The goal of this project is to efficiently improve urban stormwater conditions by increasing Best Management Practice (BMP) adoption, specifically on targeted hot spots, via a Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) process. Objectives are to: (1) identify barriers to BMP adoption; (2) spatially target stormwater hot spots with appropriate BMPs, filtered by adoption likelihood; and (3) lower BMP adoption thresholds.
Progress Summary:
Stakeholder interviews and Photovoice, a youth-based photographic analysis of water resources, have been conducted in the two study watersheds to provide detailed information on community perceptions of the barriers and solutions to effective storm water management. These data have informed the development of a large scale survey that was deployed in Year 2 of the project which quantified resident knowledge and attitudes of storm water Best Management Practices (BMPs). Biodynamic hydrologic models have been built and calibrated for the two study watersheds using environmental data. The framework of a Diagnostic Decision Support System (DDSS) that will help watershed managers prescribe the appropriate BMP for given environmental and social conditions has been developed and applied to the two study watersheds. It awaits inclusion of the model of BMP adoption likelihood based on the social data, which will be a focus of Year 3 of this project. Watershed Stewardship Academies (WSA) have been launched in each study watershed as key CBPR interventions aimed at improving resident knowledge and attitudes of water resources and storm water management and lower BMP adoption thresholds. A Community Watershed Advisory Committee (CWAC), comprised of community leaders and outside experts met for a second time in March 2014 for bidirectional information sharing with the project investigators. It reviewed project progress and advised the interdisciplinary investigator team on all aspects of the study. In summary, DDSS development is progressing well to satisfy the objectives of the proposed study and help to achieve the mission of the U.S. EPA regarding stormwater management in urban/suburban watersheds. The results will help communities to develop educational material and to implement proper BMPs in order to prevent negative consequences of storms in their communities.
Future Activities:
In Year 3 of this project, a follow-up knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) survey will be deployed to households that were sampled in a baseline survey in Year 2. Resultant data from the baseline survey will be included into the Diagnostic Decision Support System along with hydrological models to better prescribe the appropriate (BMP) under both social and environmental conditions. After the baseline survey in Year 2, homes were offered either passive education print material on water resources and local BMP rebate schemes, or given the opportunity for a yard audit to assess BMP suitability by Watershed Stewards. In Year 3, resident awareness and behaviors towards water resources and stormwater management will be assessed before and after the two education interventions to identify barriers and drivers to BMP adoption. Survey data will also help structure focus groups that will be administered by OpinionWorks, a social marketing research firm, in Year 3. Focus group data will help interpret survey data as well as yield more detailed information on BMP social marketing.
Journal Articles on this Report : 1 Displayed | Download in RIS Format
| Other project views: | All 33 publications | 3 publications in selected types | All 3 journal articles |
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Wang Y, Montas HJ, Brubaker KL, Leisnham PT, Shirmohammadi A, Chanse V, Rockler AK. Impact of spatial discretization of hydrologic models on spatial distribution of nonpoint source pollution hotspots. Journal of Hydrologic Engineering 2016;21(12):04016047. (12 pp). |
R835284 (2014) R835284 (2015) R835284 (2016) R835284 (Final) |
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Supplemental Keywords:
Pollution prevention, socio-economic, integrated assessment, stormwater managementProgress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.