Principal Investigators and Department:
Arthur Stoecker, Agricultural Economics, Oklahoma State University

Project Abstract/Summary:
This project will develop a decision support system (DSS) to determine the optimal number, location, and size of drinking water treatment plants and distribution lines in the planning area (Washington, Rogers, and Wagoner counties). This will address long-term planning needs for drinking water supplies such as whether it is more efficient to serve a large area with a few, centralized treatment systems or a group of small, decentralized systems. The researchers will determine water demand through the year 2060, the location, capacity, and condition of existing water treatment infrastructure, the cost of improvements, and the minimum-cost infrastructure that will meet future demands.

Principal Investigators and Department:
Berton Fisher and Bryan Tapp, Geosciences; Ken Roberts, Chemistry; Bill Porter, Biochemistry; and Harrington Wells, Biological Sciences, University of Tulsa

Project Abstract/Summary:
This project will create a model linking chemical and algal changes in the Eucha-Spavinaw reservoirs to surrounding land use. The researchers will investigate historic changes in land use and land cover through aerial photos and other remote sensing data, historic water quality changes from water testing in the basin (data provided by TMUA, OWRB, ADEQ, & USGS), and changes in sediment loads and sources using sediment cores. This will be linked in a predictive model to investigate catastrophic shifts in the nutrient levels in the water and whether there are significant lag-times between land use changes and shifts in water quality.

Principal Investigators and Department:
Beth Schaefer Caniglia, Sociology, Oklahoma State University

Project Abstract/Summary:
This is the continuation of a study that follows the impact of a scientific study being conducted by the Oklahoma Water Resources Board. The project has already assembled baseline public opinion data from newspaper articles, public comment letters, and in-depth semi-structured interviews to account for public opinion toward the Arbuckle-Simpson aquifer prior to the release of scientific findings by the OWRB. These baseline data will be compared to subsequent data to measure the change in public opinion over time. The results will provide important insights into the role of science in the adjudication of Oklahoma groundwater.

Principal Investigators and Department:
Joseph Bidwell, Zoology, Oklahoma State University

Project Abstract/Summary:
Recent studies indicate the presence of antibiotics, other pharmaceuticals, and residues of hormones (or hormone-mimicking compounds) in effluent from wastewater treatment plants and livestock producing facilities. Some of these chemicals can cause significant reproductive impairment of fish and amphibians. A study by the USGS found such compounds in the waters of the Illinois and Lower Neosho Rivers. This study will investigate the presence of these compounds in the caves in this area and their potential impacts on the cave animals which include threatened and endangered species. Passive sampling devices will be deployed in six caves and corresponding surface water sites for 2 months and then retrieved and analyzed. Water will be collected from these same sites for a bioassay using fathead minnow larvae.