Judges’ Queries (10) Discussion (2)

Judges’ Queries and Presenter’s Replies

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Poster Discussion

  • Icon for: Glenn Page

    Glenn Page

    Evaluator
    May 22, 2012 | 11:46 a.m.

    Greetings all – this looks great – and well presented. Given rain water harvesting requires cultural acceptance and potentially has health impacts – what some time tested solutions for dealing with these and other “acceptance” issues at the community scale?

  • Icon for: Andrew Tirrell

    Andrew Tirrell

    Presenter
    May 23, 2012 | 10:38 p.m.

    Thanks so much for the comments! We are well aware of the challenges of acceptance issues, and it is one of the reasons why an interdisciplinary approach is so crucial to complex problems such as these. It is essential to solve not only the natural science problems (the technical solutions to the hydrological issues) but also the socio-political challenges. In the case of RWH, cultural acceptance can come only through user-driven adoption aided by smart policies, such as economic incentives, partnerships with community organizations, and awareness-raising efforts about the advantages of RWH. The health impacts are, as you note, a serious concern, especially for potable use. We are considering this question carefully, and it may be the case that non-potable use is far more beneficial (and carries far fewer risks) given the limited collection capacity and the high up-front costs to installing a potable-grade system.

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  1. Andrew Tirrell
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  6. Tufts
  1. Meghan Flanagan
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  1. Jory Hecht
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  6. Tufts
  1. Laura Kuhl
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  6. Tufts

Drought in Dixieland: Managing Water Shortage in the ACF Basin

The Apalachicola/Chattahoochee/Flint River Basin, the subject of a tri-state legal dispute between Alabama, Florida, and Georgia, has experienced serious water shortages in recent years. In addition to resolving the ongoing federal court litigation regarding the basin, there are several water management options that may ameliorate these shortage issues and ease tensions between the states. For example, one option that is currently being explored is the use of rain water harvesting, in both residential and industrial settings, in order to limit the amount of water drawn from the basin for potable, personal, and commercial use. Another option for improving water use management during drought is through the Flint Basin Drought Protection Act, which states that Georgia may buy water from farmers in an anticipated drought year. Many research questions arise pertaining to this law, including the range of possible adaptation strategies for farmers and irrigation practices. Our poster will examine several such water management alternatives, and suggests the potential impacts, positive and negative, that they may have on the ecology of the basin and on social and economic factors within these three states. We hope that through our findings we may suggest relevant policy recommendations for water management authorities within the basin.