Doctoral Dissertations

Keywords and Phrases

Agricultural pollution; Analytic hierarchy process; Land uses; Lower Grand River watershed; Vulnerability; Watershed health assessment

Abstract

"Non-point source pollution is the leading cause of impairment in surface water in the Midwest. In this research, we seek to predict which watersheds are most vulnerable to point source pollution without field sampling using publically available GIS databases. Watersheds with higher vulnerability ratings can then be targeted for water quality monitoring, and funds used to improve watershed health can be distributed with greater efficacy. To better understand and target watershed vulnerability, we used three different approaches. In the first project, 35 sub-watersheds were sampled in the Lower Grand Watershed, which is a highly agricultural watershed in northern Missouri/southern Iowa. Statistical analyses were performed to determine which of these parameters were most correlated with water quality, and predictive relationships of water quality were developed. In the second project, a new methodology for watershed vulnerability to non-point source pollution was developed. Using the results from our first study to guide the weighting of different parameters, a weighted overlay and analytical hierarchy method was used to predict the vulnerability (poor water quality) of watersheds. This new vulnerability prediction method was tested on ten sub-watersheds within the Eagle Creek Watershed in central Indiana, which has a mixture of agricultural, forested, and urban land use. In the last project, the robustness of the new watershed vulnerability assessment method was tested using hydrological modeling. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) modeling program was used to model non-point source pollution in the Eagle Creek sub-watersheds. The results of these models provided a second method for verifying the robustness of the newly developed watershed vulnerability assessment method"--Abstract, page iv.

Advisor(s)

Grote, Katherine R.

Committee Member(s)

Rogers, J. David
Borrok, David M.
Tucker, Robert E.
Niyogi, Dev

Department(s)

Geosciences and Geological and Petroleum Engineering

Degree Name

Ph. D. in Geological Engineering

Sponsor(s)

Iraq. Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research
Iraq. Ministry of Water Resources

Publisher

Missouri University of Science and Technology

Publication Date

Spring 2019

Journal article titles appearing in thesis/dissertation

  • Statistical assessment of nonpoint source pollution in agricultural watersheds in the lower Grand River watershed, MO, USA
  • A novel approach for assessing watershed susceptibility using weighted overlay and analytical hierarchy process (AHP) methodology
  • Evaluation of the predictive reliability of the watershed health assessment method using the SWAT model

Pagination

xiv, 151 pages

Note about bibliography

Includes bibliographic references.

Geographic Coverage

Missouri
Iowa

Rights

© 2019 Fadhil Kassim Jabbar, All rights reserved.

Document Type

Dissertation - Open Access

File Type

text

Language

English

Thesis Number

T 11535

Electronic OCLC #

1105154940

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