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The theme of my research is the conflict between expanding demand for freshwater resources to provide drinking water for the growing population and irrigation water for agriculture, and simultaneous pressures to prevent pollution and leave enough water for natural ecosystem functions. These combined pressures define the need for sustainable water resource management.
Protection and management of water resources requires the assessment of ecosystem degradation resulting from human activities, and the implementation of measures for the reduction and amelioration of current impacts. Hydrologic systems of particular interest include surface water bodies such as rivers, lakes, and wetlands whose ecological integrity has been compromised by water withdrawals and/or excess nutrient loading, and groundwater resources that are threatened by uncontrolled releases of anthropogenic contaminants such as petroleum hydrocarbons and chlorinated solvents.
Our group has attracted millions of dollars of external funding from various agencies at both the state and national levels that address each of these objectives. At the national level, we have been supported by the US Environmental Protection Agency, the US Department of Defense, the National Science Foundation, the US Geological Survey, the US Department of the Interior-National Park Service, and the US Department of Agriculture. At the state level, we have worked with the South Florida Water Management District, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the City of Orlando, the Palm Beach County Water Utility District, and the Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance.
