Fostering Advances in Water Resource Protection and Crisis Communications, Lessons Learned from Recent Disasters

1523448 Weidhaas标题：促进水资源保护和危机通信的进步，从最近的灾难中吸取教训确保清洁水的供应对科学和工程来说是一个巨大的挑战。尽管人们越来越关注保护水资源和基础设施免受大规模灾难的影响，但每年仍有许多小规模的污染物泄漏到美国水域。根据对有毒物质排放清单数据库的分析，能源生产国(即生产能源最多的15个州)收到了不成比例的地表水化学品泄漏。2014年1月(西弗吉尼亚州埃尔克河)和2月(北卡罗来纳州丹河)发生的两起史无前例的灾难突出了人们对水资源和饮用水系统的安全性和复原力的关切。因此，有必要扩大全国和能源生产州的研究能力，特别是在水研究和协调应对影响水资源的泄漏方面。这项研究将需要跨学科团队在工程学、水生生态学和与水资源有关的风险传播/社会科学领域开展研究。这些小组将受益于综合从最近两次灾难中吸取的经验教训，以便更明智地设计研究议程。拟议的讲习班包括确定水资源保护和危机/风险沟通方面的主要研究需要，并允许扩大能够处理这些研究领域的研究界。推进水资源保护需要多个团体和利益的代表，包括学术和联邦研究人员、联邦管理机构和自来水公司。通过让不同的群体参与研讨会活动，我们将提供一个交流研究想法的机会，从而形成跨学科研究团队。讲习班将为这些多学科小组提供一个论坛，以便有意义地巩固所吸取的经验教训和国家重要领域的研究需要。该讲习班还将为培训研究生研究人员和博士后学者传播研究成果提供机会。拟议讲习班的目标是1)召集研究人员社区调查最近发生的两起影响水资源的灾害，2)巩固和传播在这些灾害和其他影响水资源的灾害的科学和风险交流方面的经验教训，3)确定未来的研究需求，以及4)确定跨学科研究小组，以调查这些研究需求。如果没有拟议的讲习班，从最近的灾难中吸取的主要教训不太可能传达给利益攸关方。讲习班将提供一个独特的机会，通过相互交流研究思想，确定在水资源方面具有国家重要性的领域的研究需要。研讨会还旨在让研究人员有机会组建多学科、协作的研究团队。通过在拟议的讲习班期间促进的活动，与会者将帮助确定未来具有国家重要性的研究议程，并确定潜在的多学科协作研究小组。这些促进的活动将通过研讨会前的调查和面对面的小组讨论最近影响西弗吉尼亚州和北卡罗来纳州水资源的两起漏油事件而迅速启动。研讨会结束后，预计多个机构和研究人员将使用经同行评审的论文(S)来设计更好的灾害应对计划，为减少灾害发生的可能性进行预先规划，并确定适当的危机沟通办法。

1523448WeidhaasTitle: Fostering Advances in Water Resource Protection and Crisis Communications, Lessons Learned from Recent DisastersEnsuring supplies of clean water is a grand challenge for science and engineering. Despite increasing focus on securing water resources and infrastructure from large-scale disasters, there are still numerous small-scale spills of contaminants into US waters annually. Energy producing states (i.e., the top 15 states producing energy) receive a disproportionate share of chemical spills to surface water based on an analysis of the toxic release inventory database. Two unprecedented disasters in January (Elk River, WV) and February 2014 (Dan River, NC) highlight concerns regarding the safety and resiliency of water resources and drinking water systems. Therefore, there is a need to expand the research capabilities across the nation and in energy producing states in particular with respect to water research and coordinated responses to spills impacting water resources. This research will require interdisciplinary teams conducting research at the interface of engineering, aquatic ecology, and risk communications/social sciences associated with water resources. These teams would benefit from consolidation of lessons learned from two recent disasters for more informed design of research agendas. The proposed workshop includes identification of key research needs in water resources protection and crisis/risk communication and allows for the expansion of the research community capable of addressing those research areas. Representation of multiple groups and interests are needed for advancement of water resources protection including academic and federal researchers, federal management agencies, and water utilities. By engaging diverse groups in the workshop activities we will provide an opportunity for cross fertilization of research ideas leading to the formation of interdisciplinary research teams. The workshop will provide these multidisciplinary groups a forum for meaningful consolidation of lessons learned and research needs in an area of national importance. This workshop will also offer the opportunity for training graduate researchers and post-doctoral scholars in the dissemination of research results.The objective of the proposed workshop is to 1) convene the community of researchers investigating two recent disasters impacting water resources, 2) consolidate and disseminate lessons learned on the science and risk communications of these and other disasters impacting water resources, 3) identify future research needs, and 4) identify cross disciplinary research teams for investigating these research needs. Without the proposed workshop, the key lessons learned from the recent disasters are unlikely to be communicated to stakeholders. The workshop will foster a unique opportunity to identify research needs in areas of national importance in water resources through cross fertilization of research ideas. The workshop is also designed to allow researchers the opportunities to form multi-disciplinary, collaborative research teams. Through facilitated activities during the proposed workshop, attendees will help define future research agendas of national importance and identify potential multi-disciplinary collaborative research teams. These facilitated activities will be jump started by pre-workshop surveys and in-person panels discussing the two recent spills affecting water resources in West Virginia and North Carolina. After the workshop, the peer-reviewed paper(s) generated are anticipated to be used by multiple agencies and researchers to design better disaster response plans, in pre-planning to reduce the likelihood of disasters from occurring, and in determining appropriate crisis communication approaches.