Research Projects

CURRENT PROJECTS

Urban Flooding, Infrastructure, and its Link to Social Vulnerability and Mobility: A Place-Based Study in Washington, D.C. 

This study explores infrastructure, flooding, and its connection to social vulnerability and mobility in Washington, D.C. We use secondary flood and infrastructure data to model flood risks and exposures and subsequent infrastructure failures to understand the extent to which flooding reduces the quality and serviceability of infrastructure, including public transit, schools, energy, and community facilities that provide essential services. We also use primary interview data to further contextualize flood impacts and whether repeated flooding creates a negative cycle that prohibits social mobility, particularly among socially vulnerable populations.


Using the Internet of Things (IoT) and Sensor Technology to Improve Stormwater Management

The goal of this project is to use an Internet of Things (IoT) framework along with smart sensors to monitor and improve stormwater management on the University of Maryland Campus. This project would provide real-time and continuous data that can inform both short-term responses and longer-term restoration retrofits to treat stormwater surface runoff.  More and better data are needed to protect our natural waterbodies, address stormwater runoff issues, establish best management practices, and inform sustainable development. Internet of things (IoT), sensor technology, big data analytics, and real-time event monitoring are among the myriad ways that communities are getting “smarter” to improve stormwater management.


Water Emergency Team (WET)

Exposure to raw sewage from failing infrastructure can lead to negative health outcomes, distress, and feelings of disenfranchisement, particularly in marginalized urban communities. Sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs), the release of untreated sewage from a municipal sewer system, affect several cities around the world, with as many as 75,000 occurring each year in the United States. Baltimore experiences frequent SSOs and household basement backups due to aging and failing sewer and stormwater infrastructure. As a result, communities are persistently exposed to raw sewage, likely containing waterborne pathogens and possibly antibiotic-resistant (AR) bacteria. While AR bacteria have been identified in wastewater at wastewater treatment plants, no studies have comprehensively evaluated exposure to these pathogens from SSOs or backups, nor the impact of physical damage to the home and infrastructure on communities. This project addresses these knowledge gaps by developing a community-driven rapid response Water Emergency Team (WET) to respond to SSOs and backups in underserved African American communities in Baltimore and the surrounding region. WET will complete visual household inspections, conduct residential surveys and interviews about impacts and experiences with these events, collect water and surface swab samples from impacted indoor areas, and analyze samples for AR bacteria, reporting results back to the community. WET will work directly with community organizations and neighborhood associations throughout the project, including translating research findings into an outreach program with the goal of empowering affected communities and informing local policymakers. Climate change will only continue to stress the U.S.’s crumbling infrastructure, disproportionately impacting marginalized communities exposed to raw sewage. The Water Emergency Team has the expertise, experience, and community partnerships to address these issues, bringing national attention and visibility for the university and communities alike.

 

PAST PROJECTS

Maryland Animal Waste Technology Assessment and Strategy Planning

The project goal is to create the strategic information needed to guide future Animal Waste Technology Fund awards based on the completion of a Maryland Animal Waste Assessment and Strategy Plan. The proposed work will research and evaluate animal wastes generated in Maryland (by county), animal processing waste, and relevant food wastes that are generated in Maryland, transported across state lines, or generated outside of Maryland but land applied or processed in Maryland to the greatest extent possible. The project will also research and evaluate the feasibility of animal waste technologies, including anaerobic digestion, gasification, pyrolysis, composting, and other waste technologies currently utilized in Maryland or proposed for use in Maryland and/or surrounding states. The greenhouse gases associated with these technologies, barriers to adoption, and market assessments of their feasibility and implementation in Maryland will be detailed. Environmental justice will be evaluated and incorporated throughout the project, with an environmental justice specialist and a post-doctoral associate dedicated to working on this aspect. Finally, recommendations will be made that incorporate nutrient management to improve public health, reduce nitrogen and phosphorus transport, address MD climate change goals, and preserve the viability of the agricultural industry. We will provide strategies for animal waste management and give guidance on how to incorporate environmental justice into the selection and siting of future Animal Waste Technology projects. The recommendations will include how manure management strategies, and greenhouse gas emissions, and nutrient management reduction goals for the state of Maryland can be incorporated into future selection of Maryland Animal Waste Technology Fund awards. 


A Multi-Method Approach to Assess Sanitary Risks and Pathways to Waterborne Microbial Exposures Associated with Vulnerable Infrastructure in Baltimore, Maryland

This study uses a multi-method approach to assess sanitary sewer overflow (SSO), among other sanitary risks and exposure to bacteria from contaminated surfaces within the built environment across Baltimore neighborhoods. The study will use SSO incident data, waste and trash data, land use data, and American Community Survey Data to map and statistically model incident risks, along with environmental sampling data, stakeholder interview data, and household surveys to understand exposure and impacts.


Citizen Science for Infrastructure Monitoring at the Neighborhood Level

In the pursuit of safe and reliable infrastructure systems, monitoring data are collected to assess the condition, usage, and in-service performance of these systems. This research pursues to design and test protocols and techniques for collecting infrastructure monitoring data at the neighborhood level by volunteer citizen scientists. This project will contribute to understanding the factors that influence the reliability and validity of citizen-generated infrastructure monitoring data, with a focus on stormwater infrastructure. Successful implementation of protocols and techniques for collecting infrastructure monitoring data by residents would accelerate the production of high-quality data at the neighborhood level.


A Partnership for Advancing Participatory Methods and Technologies in Stormwater System Management in Disadvantaged Communities

The aims of this work is to design and field test new methods and digital technologies to enable citizens to provide data for and participate in the decision-making processes pertaining to managing stormwater systems, including both housing and neighborhood infrastructure. The ultimate purpose of these methods and technologies is to improve the resilience of disadvantaged communities to flood and stormwater-related hazards in ways that also empower them to advocate for equitable and prudent use of public resources. These participatory methods and tools could help build trust and facilitate engagement between the residents and their local government, a challenge commonly found in minority and disadvantaged communities.