ERI: Analyzing the Impact of Outdoor Water-Use Restrictions and the COVID-19 Pandemic on Water Consumption in Massachusetts

ERI：分析户外用水限制和 COVID-19 大流行对马萨诸塞州用水量的影响

• 批准号: 2138539
• 负责人: Katherine Schlef
• 金额: $ 11.43万
• 依托单位: Western New England University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-01-15 至 2024-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2138539&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: ERI; Analyzing; Impact; Outdoor; Water

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2).This Engineering Research Initiation (ERI) project will provide critical understanding of the impacts of outdoor water-use restrictions on water consumption in Massachusetts. Despite relatively abundant rainfall and regulations on water withdrawal, Massachusetts’ water supplies are stressed. Consequently, public water suppliers are often required to implement outdoor water-use restrictions by the regulatory authority. These restrictions are complex, non-uniform, and contentious, and the COVID-19 pandemic is yet another confounding factor. This project, the first of its kind to be implemented at a state-wide scale anywhere in the United States, will (a) provide new insights to facilitate integrated water resources management at the scale of major river basins, (b) provide comprehensive analysis to inform regulatory action, and (c) empower public water suppliers with improved understanding of the factors influencing restriction effectiveness. Furthermore, this project will identify the impact of the pandemic, thus providing knowledge about the resilience of Massachusetts’ water supply systems and revealing important lessons for ensuring water supply under future unforeseen conditions. Lastly, this project will provide meaningful research experiences for undergraduate and master students, including those in minority/underrepresented groups, resulting in valuable benefits such as increased independence and intrinsic motivation to learn.The project consists of developing a panel regression model, complemented by interviewing public supply water managers. The panel regression will be based on 11 years of monthly data across all Massachusetts’ public water suppliers, with water consumption as the dependent variable and drivers of consumption as the independent variables. The consumption drivers fall into three main categories: hydrometeorological conditions (e.g., precipitation, temperature, and drought status), consumer characteristics (e.g., income, household size, and political affiliation), and public water supplier management decisions (e.g., restriction severity and timing, promotion of water conservation, and pricing). Additional independent variables will be used to represent impervious or green area and to address the presence and severity of the pandemic. The interviews with water managers will be used to create storylines that guide the development and interpretation of the panel regression. The interview questions focus on demand and drought management and on how the pandemic has affected water consumption. The project will provide the first state-wide assessment of water-use restrictions to be performed anywhere in the United States, will generate insight on the effectiveness of both drought-based and permanent restrictions, and will identify the impacts of the pandemic on water consumption.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

该奖项的全部或部分资金根据《2021 年美国救援计划法案》（公法 117-2）提供。该工程研究启动 (ERI) 项目将提供对户外用水限制对水消耗的影响的批判性理解。马萨诸塞州尽管降雨量相对充沛，而且对取水有严格规定，但公共供水商经常被监管机构要求实施室外用水限制。这些限制复杂、不统一且存在争议。 ，以及COVID-19 大流行是另一个令人困惑的因素，该项目是第一个在美国全州范围内实施的项目，它将 (a) 提供新的见解，以促进大规模的水资源综合管理。主要河流流域，(b) 提供全面分析，为监管行动提供信息，(c) 使公共供水商更好地了解影响限制有效性的因素。此外，该项目将确定大流行的影响，从而提供有关该流行病的知识。马萨诸塞州供水系统的复原力并揭示了确保供水的重要经验教训最后，该项目将为本科生和硕士生（包括少数民族/代表性不足群体的学生）提供有意义的研究经验，从而带来宝贵的好处，例如增加独立性和内在学习动机。该项目包括开发一个小组。回归模型，辅之以对公共供水管理人员的访谈。面板回归将基于马萨诸塞州所有公共供水商 11 年的月度数据，以水消耗量为因变量，消耗量驱动因素为自变量。主要类别：水文气象条件（例如降水、温度和干旱状况）、消费者特征（例如收入、家庭规模和政治派别）以及公共供水商管理决策（例如限制严重程度和时间、促进节水和定价） ）。其他自变量将用于代表不渗透或绿化区域，并解决流行病的存在和严重性，将用于创建指导小组回归的发展和解释的故事情节。专注于该项目将在美国任何地方首次对全州范围内的用水限制进行评估，并将深入了解基于干旱和干旱管理的有效性。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。