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沟通的进展，从最近的灾害中吸取教训清洁水的供应是科学和工程的一个巨大挑战。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害的影响，但每年仍有许多小规模的污染物泄漏到美国水域。根据对有毒物质释放清单数据库的分析，能源生产州（即前15个能源生产州）的化学物质泄漏到地表水的比例不成比例。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）发生的两起前所未有的灾害突出了人们对水资源和饮用水系统的安全性和弹性的关注。因此，有必要扩大全国和能源生产州的研究能力，特别是在水资源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的团队在与水资源相关的工程、水生生态学和风险沟通/社会科学的界面上进行研究。这些团队将受益于整合从最近两次灾难中吸取的教训，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/风险通报方面的关键研究需要，并允许扩大有能力处理这些研究领域的研究界。促进水资源保护需要多个群体和利益的代表，包括学术和联邦研究人员、联邦管理机构和水务公司。通过让不同的团体参与研讨会活动，我们将为研究思想的交叉交流提供机会，从而形成跨学科的研究团队。讲习班将为这些多学科小组提供一个论坛，以便有意义地巩固在国家重要领域的经验教训和研究需要。本次研讨会还将提供培训研究生研究人员和博士后学者传播研究成果的机会。本次研讨会的目标是：1)召集研究人员调查最近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沟通方面的经验教训；3)确定未来的研究需求；4)确定跨学科的研究团队来调查这些研究需求。如果没有拟议的研讨会，从最近的灾难中吸取的关键教训就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，通过研究思想的相互交流，确定在水资源方面具有国家重要性的领域的研究需要。该研讨会还旨在让研究人员有机会组成多学科合作的研究团队。通过在提议的研讨会期间促进的活动，与会者将帮助确定国家重要性的未来研究议程，并确定潜在的多学科合作研究团队。这些便利的活动将从研讨会前调查和现场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泄漏事件开始。讲习班结束后，预计将有多个机构和研究人员使用经同行评议的论文来设计更好的灾害反应计划，用于预先规划以减少灾害发生的可能性，以及用于确定适当的危机沟通方法。

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.