Coast Day 2021: Water Security
Another focus of not only the College of Earth, Ocean and Environment but also many experts across the University of Delaware is water security, “defined as the capacity of society to safeguard adequate, sustainable quantities of high-quality water” by the UD-led Project WiCCED, standing for Water in a Changing Coastal Environment in Delaware. Hear from two researchers involved with the project in the first video below, then learn about other aspects of water security in the remaining two videos.
Water Security Overview
As coastal regions face increasing challenges from sea level rise, more frequent and intense storms, groundwater pollution and more, scientists and policy makers need to understand how the environment is changing and what people can do about it. Holly Michael and Leah Palm-Forster, faculty members at the University of Delaware, share some of what they and colleagues have learned as part of a multi-year effort to learn how these environmental changes could affect the security of water supply, in both its quality and quantity.
Dead Zone in the Delaware River
Areas of low oxygen in the water create spaces where most aquatic life cannot survive, areas colloquially known as dead zones. Such areas occur in summer in vital waterbodies throughout the country, including the Gulf of Mexico, the Chesapeake Bay and the Delaware Bay. In this talk, hear from CEOE professor emeritus David Kirchman, who just released a book on dead zones for general audiences, and Jerry Kauffman, director of the Water Resources Center at the University of Delaware Biden School for Public Policy.
Water Quality Impacts from our Wastewater
Scott Andres of the Delaware Geological Survey and Bill Ullman, professor at the University of Delaware’s School of Marine Science and Policy, discuss how wastewater from communities and private residences affect water quality and how the environment handles pollution that isn’t addressed through wastewater treatment.