Water source tracking is a powerful tool being used in natural systems. However, less is known in urban ecosystems regarding water source contributions to urban flooding. Here, our team quantified changes in indicators of water source and water quality to assess their contributions to urban flooding.<br/><br/>It is uncertain if any appropriate model exists for water source contribution in an urban area thus, an End Member Mixing Analysis (EMMA) is one tool which was used to examine water contributions from four end-members sources (marine, groundwater, rainfall, and rainwater). At least three different water source tracers will be used, including stable isotopes (δ18 oxygen and δ2 hydrogen) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC). For DOC, the optical properties of fluorescence index (FI), humifaction index (HI), and specific ultraviolet absorbance 254 (SUVA) were used to determine variation in these chemical attributes with water source. Water samples were collected from different sites across Miami depending on the proximity to the coast and general land-use including the Miami River Basin, C-6 canal, a dense urban watershed.<br/><br/>The EMMA model will be used to assess differences in water source contributions to urban flooding during wet and dry seasons in Miami. This information will be used to determine how urban water source contribution and water quality can be mitigated in low lying coastal cities. After this model is utilized in Miami, the EMMA model can be a useful stormwater management tool that could be adapted for coastal and non-coastal cities in other climate regions (e,g., tropical, semi-arid, desert).

Understanding water source contribution in urban stormwater

255th National Meeting (2018)

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