Water Resources Management Programs Research Articles

Evaluation of LoRa Network Performance for Water Quality Monitoring Systems

Conserving water resources from scarcity and pollution is the basis of water resource management and water quality monitoring programs. However, due to industrialization and population growth in Malaysia, which have resulted in poor water quality in many areas, this program needs to be improved. A smart water quality monitoring system based on the internet of things (IoT) paradigm was designed to analyze water conditions in real time and enable effective water management. Long-range (LoRa) application of the low-power, wide-area networking concept has become a phenomenon in IoT smart monitoring applications. This study proposes the implementation of a LoRa network in a water quality monitoring system-based IoT approach. The LoRa nodes were embedded with measuring sensors pH, turbidity, temperature, total dissolved solids, and dissolved oxygen, in the designated water stations. They operate at a transmission power of 14 dB and a bandwidth of 125 kHz. The network properties were tested with two different antenna gains of 2.1 dBi and 3 dBi, with three different spread factors of 7, 9, and 12. The water stations were located on the Sungai Pantai and Sungai Anak Air Batu rivers on the Universiti Malaya campus, Malaysia. Following a dashboard display and K-means analysis of the water quality data received by the LoRa gateway, it was determined that both rivers are Class II B rivers. The results from the evaluation of LoRa performance on the received strength signal indicator, signal noise ratio, loss packet, and path loss at best were −83 dBm, 7 dB, <0%, and 64.41 dB, respectively, with a minimum received sensitivity of −129.1 dBm. LoRa has demonstrated its efficiency in an urban environment for smart river monitoring purposes.

The role of environmental knowledge, policies and regulations toward water resource management: A mediated‐moderation of attitudes, perception, and sustainable consumption patterns

AbstractWater is the lifeblood of our Earth, and sustainable water consumption is the key to preserving this scarce resource for future generations and upholding environmental sustainability. In this study, we investigate the relationship between environmental knowledge (EK), environmental policies and regulations (EPR), attitudes toward water resource management programs (APWRMP), perceived water quality (PWQ), and sustainable consumption (SC), enriching the existing literature by integrating the theoretical framework of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) alongside water management program (WMP) concepts. This integration forms a comprehensive model clarifying the influences on SC. Furthermore, this study investigates these relationships within the specific context of select regions in China, addressing a geographical gap in the current literature. With a sample size of (N = 336) participants, we employ partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS‐SEM) to explore the complex relationships within the proposed model. The finding confirms the hypothesized associations, validating the substantial positive impact of EK and EPR on APWRMP and SC. Additionally, we observe that PWQ notably strengthens the link between the perception and attitude of villagers toward SC of water. Our study explains the multifaceted dynamics underlying individuals' behavior and attitude in making decisions concerning sustainable water consumption.

How State Governments Plan and Integrate Water Resources Management Programs

In the US federal system, state governments play important roles between the federal and local levels in water resources planning, coordination, and regulation. How they coordinate these functions can indicate the degree of integration of their agencies and programs. A database of state programs was used to compile indicators of integration among water quality and quantity and drinking water source quality, as well as the status of comprehensive water planning. In most prior appropriation states and in some states in riparian areas, the management of water withdrawals and water quality remains in separate agencies. Some 35 of 50 states have a version of a “state water plan.” A scattered pattern of institutional arrangements shows that titles and functional coordination evolve in response to contextual situations, although state water management agencies have matured, and many have stable organizational forms. Water rights and regulatory controls for clean water and safe drinking water are firmly in place. Organizational structures are not likely to change much, but integration can be improved through management mechanisms and appropriate uses of planning, particularly at the watershed scale.

Loosely-coupled Collaboration of Policy Implementation in China: A Case Study on the Governance Policy of S River Basin

Successful river basin governance is challenged by actor engagement in the various stages of planning and management. Water governance has been handled as a critical national issue in China since ancient times. Over thousands of years, water governance in China has evolved from flood control, irrigation, and navigation to modern large-scale water supply, water pollution control, and ecological protection, with sustainable water resources management being the major challenge today. Although these issues vary significantly across the country, China has adopted a national, unified approach to manage water resources in a river basin context. In particular, over the last 70 years, China’s water governance has experienced fundamental changes. These commonalities show that designs are fundamental to tackle geographic and sectoral fragmentation of complex systems and catalyze the emergence of adaptive water governance. This study comparatively analyses the advantages of the policy in basin environmental governance, such as clear government responsibility, enhanced coordination among government departments, the accountability mechanism of the one-vote veto system, and the disadvantages of the policy in terms of high costs, information asymmetry, and lack of public participation. Furthermore, this study proposes suggestions on the sustainable development of watershed environmental governance from three aspects: regional characteristics, investment, and institutional innovation of policy implementation. Hence, this research is an important scientific foundation for the authorities to build cooperative water resource management programs in transboundary river basins. In future research, the availability of a more detailed dataset will enable the construction of a more comprehensive water resource management plan for different phases.

Interval Multi-Random Factorial Programming for Coupled Farmland and Water Resources Management -- A Case Study of Songhua River Watershed, China

The Songhua River Watershed (SHRW) in China has been challenged by water shortages, water pollution, water leakage, and soil erosion in recent years. In the next few decades, these problems will continue to exist and even worsen, threatening the quality of the regional ecological environment and socio-economic development. These issues must be alleviated through coupled farmland and water resources management (CFWRM) but are challenged by multiple system complexities. To fill this gap, this study developed an Interval Multi-Random Factorial Programming (IMRFP) to eliminate potential problems in SHRW and improve the reliability of the decision support process. A series of systematic CFWRM measures were applied to promote the harmonious SHRW ecological environ¬ment and social economy. For example, due to the significant contribution of agriculture to the regional economy, planting should always be a priority. As a major commercial crop, rice cultivation should be allocated the most irrigation water, followed by corn, potatoes, and soybeans. Therefore, after fully balancing the trade-off between the environment and the economy, policymakers should adopt the most reasonable proposals. Various support policies are needed to fully implement these measures in SHRW. For example, it is suggested to improve and update the construction of the water supply network in the SHRW area and appropriately change taxes and prices to follow the overall crop planting plan. The modeling solution shows that the IMRFP method can systematically optimize the allocation of water resources and farming patterns so that water shortage, water pollution, water leakage, and soil erosion in the SHRW can be alleviated.

INDICATOR OF SUSTAINABLE WATER RESOURCES USE IN THE TRANSBOUNDARY BASINS

Due to the complex situation of integrated water resources management in transboundary river basins, this research built a set of indicators for sustainable use of water resources by the Delphi method and developed a specific calculation method for 22 indicators of 5 groups. The integrated indicator has 5 assessment levels to demonstrate the magnitude of water use and the renewability of water resources. Using these indicators to evaluate the sustainability of three border provinces in the Mekong transboundary basin which are Kontum, Attapue, and Ratanakiri, this research came to the conclusions that 9/24 districts in three provinces have moderate water use and renewable water resources level; the remaining districts are also using water at a moderate level but with low renewable water resources. Furthermore, research results showed that different governmental policies generated varying impacts on the sustainable use of water resources in three provinces. Hence, this research is an important scientific foundation for the authorities to build cooperative water resource management programs in transboundary river basins. In future research, the availability of a more detailed dataset will enable the construction of a more comprehensive water resource management plan for different phases.

Temporary and Permanent Impacts of COVID-19 on Water Consumption Patterns and Solid Waste Generation

Water resources are limited and many regions worldwide are encountering serious water problems, mainly about quality and quantity. Water is very important in pandemics’ spread for hygienic practices and providing high sanitary level. Many studies have revealed that there has been a substantial change in water consumption rates and the amount of generated solid waste during Covid-19 pandemic, but there has been no evidence if these changes will continue after the pandemic period. Information about the household’s behavior and personal hygiene practices before and after the pandemic have been gathered from different regions in Jordan through an online questionnaire and focused group discussion. It has been found out that there has been an increase in water consumption up to 41% caused by changes in personal and household’s behavior during the pandemic. Changes in water consumptions associated with handwashing 75% and surface cleaning 66% seem to be permanent, and such changes may be considered for future water management programs. Plastic and metals are the most generated solid waste during the pandemic as there have been high consumption rates of protection items (e.g. gloves) and canned food. This study demonstrates magnitude and importance of permanent changes in household’s behaviors and in personal consumption to be taken into account in future strategies for water resources management and solid waste recycling programs.

Nitrate in Groundwater Resources of Hormozgan Province, Southern Iran: Concentration Estimation, Distribution and Probabilistic Health Risk Assessment Using Monte Carlo Simulation

High nitrate concentration in drinking water has the potential to cause a series of harmful effects on human health. This study aims to evaluate the health risk of nitrate in groundwater resources of Hormozgan province in four age groups, including infants, children, teenagers, and adults, based on the US EPA methodology and Monte Carlo technique to assess uncertainty and sensitivity analysis. A Geographic Information System (GIS) was used to investigate the spatial distribution of nitrate levels in the study area. The nitrate concentration ranged from 0.3 to 30 mg/L, with an average of 7.37 ± 5.61 mg/L. There was no significant difference between the average concentration of nitrate in all study areas (p > 0.05). The hazard quotient (HQ) was less than 1 for all age groups and counties, indicating a low-risk level. The HQ95 for infants and children in the Monte Carlo simulation was 1.34 and 1.22, respectively. The sensitivity analysis findings showed that the parameter with the most significant influence on the risk of toxicity in all age groups was the nitrate content. Therefore, implementing a water resources management program in the study area can reduce nitrate concentration and enhance water quality.

Maladaptive learning in Peru’s integrated water resources management

In complex watershed management systems, learning from mistakes and adapting the rules accordingly is important. Our study investigates the interaction between two groups of stakeholders in a government-led Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) program in Peru’s Colca Valley: 1) local water users at the community level and 2) regional water agency officials. We examined how learning and adaptation happened or did not happen for both stakeholder groups. We collected data through 90 semi-structured interviews with local water users in three Colca Valley communities and water agency officials, as well as participant observation during meetings between the two groups. We found that both stakeholder groups learned and adapted to each other’s responses in a dynamic way. Nevertheless, the type of adaptation that occurred was maladaptive because it sustained the program flaws that reinforced the gap between the IWRM policies of regional water agencies and the water management priorities and incentives of local water users. We found that while there was an initial top-down and bottom-up sharing of information, water agency officials generally did not have the capacity to implement lessons learned and often dismissed negative feedback voiced by local water users. At the community level, water users had limited incentives to comply with IWRM requirements because the rules disadvantaged them economically. As a result, they learned to withhold information from water agency officials. We label this phenomenon maladaptive learning and argue that it leads to outcomes that are mutually non-beneficial for both stakeholder groups.

Hydrological modeling in the Upper Blue Nile basin using soil and water analysis tool (SWAT)

Hydrological models are essential to understand the hydrological response of the basin. It is one of the most significant aspects of water resources management and development programs at the small catchment or basin level. A semi-distributed, physical-based hydrologic modeling system, SWAT, was used to model the hydrological responses of the Upper Blue Nile basin. The model was calibrated and validated using the sequential uncertainty fitting (SUFI-2) algorithm in SWAT-CUP. The coefficient of determination (R2), Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE), and percent of bias (PBIAS) were used to measure the performance of the model. The value of R2, NSE, PBIAS was range from 0.81–0.85, 0.68–0.83 and − 10.8 to (− 4.7%) during calibration and 0.89–0.93, 0.88–0.89 and 8.3–9.7% during validation period, respectively. The results indicated a strong correlation between the observed and simulated streamflow during the calibration and validation periods. The overall hydrological water balance analysis showed that 49.5% of precipitation is lost by evapotranspiration, while 22.43% of precipitation is contributed to streamflow as surface flow. Furthermore, the hydrological water balance components of the basin showed a good spatial correlation. Since the water resource planning and management need the temporal and spatial water resource information, the results of this study will be used as a guide for the proposed water resource development projects of the basin.

Distributed AquaCrop simulation-nonlinear multi-objective dependent-chance programming for irrigation water resources management under uncertainty

In the agricultural water resources system, the regional yield is hard to be simulated accurately under the impacts of spatial heterogeneities of soil, weather, and crop types. The optimal water allocation schemes may be not in accordance with actual conditions due to neglecting the actual crop growth process. Meanwhile, the uncertainties in the simulation-optimization models are not easy to be addressed. To deal with the above problems, this paper develops a framework of the distributed AquaCrop simulation nonlinear multi-objective dependent-chance programming (distributed AquaCrop NMOFDCP) for irrigation water resources management under uncertainties. This developed model is applied to a case study of irrigation water resources management in the middle reaches of the Heihe River Basin in China. The 134 homogeneous decision-making units (DMUs) are divided to depict the spatial heterogeneities of the study area, and 472 decision variables (irrigation amount) for 134 DMUs are optimized. Moreover, the model deals with uncertainties expressed as fuzzy goals and tradeoffs relationships between objectives of the yield and water productivity, and measures the satisfactory degrees between objectives and their fuzzy goals. Two groups of Pareto solutions corresponding to the maximum satisfactory degree of the yield, and the maximum satisfactory degree of the water productivity are obtained by the parallel genetic algorithm (PGA) method respectively. In addition, water allocation, satisfactory degree of the yield, and satisfactory degree of water productivity are analyzed at the decision-making unit scale, crop scale, and irrigation-district scale separately. Besides the effects of three weather conditions and four soil types on the system’s outputs are conducted. The results show that weather conditions and soil types have obvious effects on the system’s outputs at three analysis scales, and different water allocation patterns at the growth period affect the yield and water productivity.

Determination of Potential Runoff Coefficient using Geographic Information System for a Small Basin in Balakayety Watershade, Kurdistan Region of Iraq

Runoff coefficient is an index for losses in rainfall required in most hydrological models and water resources projects. Generally, in the Balakayety water shade in Kurdistan region of Iraq, no runoff data are available as almost basins are ungagged. The Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques and available data for a small basin in Balakayety watershed within the Erbil governorate (Kurdistan Region of Iraq) were used to estimate the coefficient of potential runoff coefficient (PRC). The estimated PRC will be then used to calculate the depth of runoff. The Satellite Imagery (Landsat 7 ETM+) for 2015 was procured to create land cover classes, the classifications accuracy equal to 88.4%, and the Kappa index is 83.7%. The slope map developed from the digital elevation model with 30 m resolution. The area’s hydrologic soil map is digitized from the Iraqi soil map. The inverse distance weighting method was used to interpolate the rainfall of the study area into the Arc GIS. It was found that the most study area covered by moderate to high (PRC) values ranged from 55% to 83%, and runoff depth values vary from 398.1 mm to 610.3 mm. The present study indicates that the integration of all obtained thematic maps into GIS provides a powerful tool for calculating the runoff coefficient for catchments lacks streamflow data which can result in flood/drought predictions that will be not accurate. These findings are helpful in identifying flood areas, selecting proper sites for water harvesting, and enhancing water resources management programs.

Sustaining Water-Related Heritage Infrastructures as Part of An Integrated Water Resource Management Program

The history of the water resources development in the world is generally inspired by the physical, climate and socioenvironment conditions such as geographical, culture and civilization at the local level. For many years, humans have spent tremendous efforts and time improving the quality of life through adequate water utilization. This research, therefore, aims to analyze the ancient water-related infrastructures as cultural heritages in creating a functional and adequate design. Data were obtained from the Mataram Canal in Yogyakarta Province which was selected due to the success story and various benefits associated with the Indonesian history of water resources in Central Java provinces. Today, some places along the canal have become tourist destinations, and it is more popular in Yogyakarta due to its architectural history. However, the diversification of water utilization in fishery ponds along the canal and the shift in land utilization from rice field to housings, and government buildings may undermine the function of the canal. The factual condition associated with the periodic decrease in irrigation command does not make the Mataram Canal useless. Therefore, efforts to maintain its function through restoration, and revitalization, can enhance water supply for irrigation and other purposes such as fish ponds and, pollutant dilution. The Strength-Weakness-Opportunity-Threat (SWOT) method with some key performance indicators was adopted to access the necessity of the sustainability program of the Mataram Canal as the heritage infrastructure. Some key performance indicators related to Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) program in Indonesia were introduced and utilized to prioritize the necessary actions. The results showed that the SWOT analysis promotes various actions to support the IWRM-related program of Mataram Canal. Furthermore, the implementation of the promoted actions would contribute to the longer sustainability of the Mataram Canal.

The Impact of Community Based Critical Land and Water Resources Management Program on Community Welfare (Case in Nagari Tanjuang Bonai, Lintau Buo, Tanah Datar, West Sumatera)

Community Based - Critical Land and Water Resources Management Program is a program to handle critical land and poverty alleviation in Indonesia. The objective of this program is to improve the condition of the poor living surrounding critical land forests. Participatory approach is employed in this program by involving multi-stakeholders to improve critical land to become productive land in order to increase income and welfare of the community. The purpose of this study was to analyze the impact of Community Based - Critical Land and Water Resources Management Program on community’s income who were directly involved in managing the critical land. This study uses a case study approach with application of descriptive quantitative and qualitative method in data analysis. Nagari Tanjuang Bonai, Lintau Buo Utara District, Tanah Datar District, West Sumatra Province was purposively selected as research location. The respondents were 32 farmers who are members of Sago Lestari farmer group (Poktan) as program implementers from 2012 to 2016. The primary data were collected using questionnaires from farmers, while interview guide was used to obtain information from key informants. The results of this study indicate that the program has been able to provide benefits to community in form of increasing in farmers’ income. The average income increases by 34.11% of the total farmers’ income participating in the program. This implies that the program has been able to improve the community’s welfare. It indirectly reduces the area of critical land and change it into productive land.

An extended multi-objective mixed integer programming for water resources management through possibility theory

AbstractIn this study, we develop an extended multi-objective mixed integer programming (EMOMIP) approach for water resources management under uncertainty, in which the parameters are fuzzy random variables while the decision variables are interval variables. Furthermore, some alternatives are considered to retrieve the difference between the quantities of promised water-allocation targets and the actual allocated water. Then, the proposed EMOMIP for the problem is solved by a new method using fuzzy random chance-constrained programming based on the idea of possibility theory. This method can satisfy both optimistic and pessimistic decision makers simultaneously. Finally, a real example is given to explain the proposed method.

Reconstruction of sea-land interactions between terrestrial vegetation cover and water quality constituents in the Mattapoisett Harbor area during the 1991 Hurricane Bob event

Hurricane Bob passed over the New England region in August 1991, causing significant damage to life, property, and the environment, making it one of the costliest hurricanes in New England history. The environmental impact of a hurricane of this magnitude warrants careful assessment to devise preventive measures and mitigation strategies to bolster water resources management programs against future events. In this paper, we show the reconstructed simultaneous impacts of Hurricane Bob on the vegetative cover of the Mattapoisett river watershed and the water quality of the Mattapoisett Harbor with the aid of remote sensing for earth observations. The water quality impacts, especially in terms of Total Organic Carbon (TOC) and Sea Surface Salinity (SSS), can be identified from variations of SSS and TOC near coastal estuaries due to the influx of freshwater from the coastal Mattapoisett River to the continent-ocean transition between natural tides and bay waves. Using the Landsat satellite images, the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and water quality constitutes (TOC and SSS) were reconstructed and retrieved for the assessment of the sea-land interactions during the Hurricane Bob event in 1991. Results indicate phenomenal interactive patterns between the harbor and the coastal watershed, as well as the riverine system. TOC and NDVI, especially in the upper watershed region, can be strongly correlated with hurricane impacts according to the singular value decomposition analysis.

BIOMARKERS AS A TOOL TO EVALUATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY OF AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS SUSCEPTIBLE TO PESTICIDE CONTAMINATION

Biomarkers or biological markers are measurable biological responses of living organisms which can indicate the presence of environmental pollutants and, eventually, contamination levels. Usage and development of new environmental contamination biomarkers are increasingly widespread in biological monitoring and water resource management programs in developed countries. Recent studies indicate poor quality of water bodies as a result of pollution from agricultural effluents has increased considerably. Current practices in food production often result in the use of an indiscriminate mixture of classes of pollutants such as organochlorines, organophosphates, carbamates and pyrethroids, among others, which can produce serious impacts to the water environment. Some of these substances are bioaccumulative, that is, they tend to increase in concentration in upper trophic levels. Studies using multiple environmental contamination biomarkers are increasingly relevant. The present work aims to discuss and compare the use of chemical, biochemical and cellular environmental contamination biomarkers in continental freshwater fish species exposed to sublethal concentrations of various contaminants. Among the results, we can highlight a significant increase in the total concentration of CYP450 in carps (Cyprinus carpio) sublethally exposed to the endosulfan, and increased levels of EROD activity in armored catfish (Ancistrus multispinis) exposed to sublethal concentrations of deltamethrin.

Water Management Using System Dynamics Modeling in Semi-arid Regions

Quantitative control and safe exploitation of water resources are crucial components for the sustainable development of any region due to increasing water scarcity, especially in arid and semiarid regions. A proper water resources management program of the Tabriz plain is necessary because of the groundwater excessive exploitation and the surface water limitations. The present study aims to develop a system dynamics (SD) model not only to identify safe groundwater level fluctuations and exploitation but also to determine the amount of supply and deficits of municipal-industry and agricultural uses by considering various water management strategies. The integrated water resources including surface and groundwater resources were included in the analyses. The considered alternatives are the development of sewage collection networks, enhancement of agricultural efficiency, climate changes effects, artificial recharge and changes of the allocation of the surface and groundwater in supplying water needs. SD modeling application showed that if the current management policy was continued, the users will face a crisis of the water supply for various uses in the future. Increase in agricultural efficiency, reducing in groundwater extraction and artificial recharge in Tabriz plain must be considered to prevent the crisis. The current model provides a better understanding of the principal challenge of balancing supply and demand with regards to drastic changes of water resources in arid or semiarid regions.

Overexploitation and cumulative drought trend effect on Ras El Ain karstic spring discharge (Khabour Sub-basin, Syria)

The effects of climate change and overexploitation are being strongly perceived in the studied area and the springs discharge is obviously affected. In this paper, Ras El Ain spring discharge and precipitation were analyzed by normalized methods on an yearly timescale. The deficit of Ras El Ain spring discharge due to overexploitation factors and drought effects was estimated. Cumulative drought analyses were carried out using SPI10 and SQI10. Finally, the decreasing trends of the spring discharge due to the deficiency in rainfall were analyzed. The main results reveal that the annual mean deficit of Ras El Ain spring discharge due to overpumping was between 32 and 45%, whereas, annual mean deficit related to drought was between 22 and 35% on average, during the last 30 years (post-1984). The moving averages of SPI and SQI delineate very well the drought periods during last three decades. The cumulative droughts using SPI10 and SQI10 reveal that wet period (pre-1984) with positive values was characterized by high precipitation and spring discharge. Overexploitation period (1984–1989) is distinguished by decreasing SQI10 values whereas, SPI10 is almost stable. The response of the karst system to the precipitation signal has been changed, during the drought period (1990–2000), and the spring behaviour has been modified due to the first overexploitation period. Finally, overexploitation period (2001–2008) is related to the second phase of groundwater intensive pumping for irrigation purposes. Consequently, this period is completely catastrophic causing the drying up of the spring. The decreasing trends analyzed using DPI and DQI showed annual decreasing rates relative to the mean values of −0.268% and −0.105%, respectively. Thus, the results of theoretical model reveal that precipitation will decrease by about \(\hbox {DPI} = -20.7\)% and the discharge will decline by about −9.2% by 2050. Consequently, the declining discharge due to climatic variation under natural conditions as pre-1984 was about 10%. Whereas, the catastrophic drying up of the spring was probably the consequence of the anthropogenic effects. Accordingly, it requires the development of sustainable water resources management program to reduce long-term drought risks, restore the groundwater reservoir and minimize the overexploitation effects on spring discharge.

Changing Student Conceptions of Arid, Urban Watershed Management

AbstractDespite the central importance of water, few students have the opportunity to study water resources management in secondary education. Even in tertiary education—unless they major in water resources or a closely related field—they are likely to receive only a week or two of instruction about water resources in introductory science courses. Typical instruction in such courses is textbook‐based, with the course instructor lecturing on a broad range of topics. Complicating this, little is known about student preconceptions, which may interfere with—or be used to support—learning. We sought to identify preconceptions in an introductory environmental science course at an urban, research (R1) university in the arid Southwest of the United States. We used a pre/post design to assess student preconceptions about their urban campus watershed and designed a brief, experiential learning exercise. While experiential learning is common in water resources management programs, it is less common in introductory courses. We developed a coding scheme to analyze the pre‐ and post‐test responses; results showed students held normative and non‐normative preconceptions. There was significant growth in students’ conceptual understanding between the pre‐test and post‐test, (t(33) = −2.25, p < .05), with a small to medium effect size, d = −0.393. This finding supports the use of experiential learning as a means to teach students about water resources, even in an introductory course. Understanding students’ preconceptions of arid, urban watersheds can assist in how to better design curriculum. Such improvements in curricular design can empower students to make better decisions about urban watersheds.