Foreword

Volume 8, Issue 2 of the Journal of South Carolina Water Resources (JSCWR) includes four articles. Three articles focus on the crucial factors of public perceptions and communications across various stakeholder groups. The fourth article examines the hydrologic modeling of a coastal forest watershed. Additionally, an informative guest commentary about the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Water Quality Exchange (WQX) and Water Quality Portal (WQP) was contributed by authors from the EPA and South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC)

The Implementation of Low Impact Development (LID) Stormwater Practices along the South Carolina Coast

2008 S.C. Water Resources Conference - Addressing Water Challenges Facing the State and Regio

The development of a spatially explicit model to estimate

A spatially explicit model of raccoon (Procyon lotor) distribution for the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Savannah River Site (SRS) in west-central South Carolina was developed using data from a raccoon radio-telemetry study and visualized within a Geographic Information System (GIS). An inductive approach was employed to develop three sub-models using the ecological requirements of raccoons studied in the following habitats: (1) man-made reservoirs, (2) bottomland hardwood/ riverine systems, and (3) isolated wetland systems. Logistic regression was used to derive probabilistic resource selection functions using habitat compositional data and landscape metrics. The final distribution model provides a spatially explicit probability (likelihood of being in an area) surface for male raccoons. The model is a stand-alone tool consisting of algorithms independent of the specific GIS data layers to which they were derived. The model was then used to predict contaminant burdens in raccoons inhabiting a riverine system contaminated with radiocaesium (137Cs). The predicted 137Cs burdens were less than if one would assume homogeneous use of the contaminated areas. This modelling effort provides a template for DOE managed lands and other large government facilities to establish a framework for site-specific ecological assessments that use wildlife species as endpoints

Facility Attractiveness and Social Vulnerability Impacts on Spatial Accessibility to Opioid Treatment Programs in South Carolina

Opioid dependence and opioid-related mortality have been increasing in recent years in the United States. Available and accessible treatments may result in a reduction of opioid-related mortality. This work describes the geographic variation of spatial accessibility to opioid treatment programs (OTPs) and identifies areas with poor access to care in South Carolina. The study develops a new index of access that builds on the two-step floating catchment area (2SFCA) method, and has three dimensions: a facility attractiveness index, defined by services rendered incorporated into the Huff Model; a facility catchment area, defined as a function of facility attractiveness to account for variable catchment size; and a Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) to account for nonspatial factors that mitigate or compound the impacts of spatial access to care. Results of the study indicate a significant variation in access to OTPs statewide. Spatial access to OTPs is low across the entire state except for in a limited number of metropolitan areas. The majority of the population with low access (85%) live in areas with a moderate-to-high levels of social vulnerability. This research provides more realistic estimates of access to care and aims to assist policymakers in better targeting disadvantaged areas for OTP program expansion and resource allocation

A Spatially Explicit Model of the Wild Hog for Ecological Risk Assessment Activities at the Department of Energy\u27s Savannah River Site

In North America, wild hogs (Sus scrofa) are both sought after as prime game and despised due to their detrimental impacts to the environment from their digging and rooting behavior. They are also a potentially useful indicator species for environmental health for both ecological- and human-based risk assessments. An inductive approach was used to develop probabilistic resource selection models using logistic regression to quantify the likelihood of hogs being in any area of the Department of Energy’s 805 km2 Savannah River Site (SRS) in west-central South Carolina. These models were derived by using available SRS hog hunt data from 1993–2000 and a Geographic Information System database describing the habitat structure of the SRS. The model’s significant parameters indicated that wild hogs preferred hardwoods and avoided pine and shrubby areas. Further, landscape metric analyses revealed that hogs preferred areas with large complex patch areas and low size variation. These resource selection models were then utilized to better estimate exposure of wild hogs to radionuclides and metals in a disturbed riparian ecosystem on the SRS using two different possible diets based on food availability. Contaminant exposure can be better estimated using these resource selection models than has been previously possible, because past practices did not consider home range and habitat utilization probability in heterogeneously contaminated habitats. Had these models not been used, risk calculations would assume that contaminated areas were utilized 100% of the time, thus overestimating exposure by a factor of up to 25

Considerations for Using a Geographic Information System to Assess Environmental Supports for Physical Activity

The use of a geographic information system (GIS) to study environmental supports for physical activity raises several issues, including acquisition and development, quality, and analysis. We recommend to public health professionals interested in using GIS that they investigate available data, plan for data development where none exists, ensure the availability of trained personnel and sufficient time, and consider issues such as data quality, analyses, and confidentiality. This article shares information about data-related issues that we encountered when using GIS to validate responses to a questionnaire about environmental supports for physical activity

Isolation of Fecal Coliform Bacteria from the American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) in South Carolina

2008 S.C. Water Resources Conference - Addressing Water Challenges Facing the State and Regio

Examining the Role of Churches in Adolescent Girls\u27 Physical Activity

Background: In adults, associations between church attendance and positive health behaviors exist; however, similar evidence among children and youth is lacking. The purposes of this investigation were to examine the associations between physical activity (PA) and church attendance, PA and use of church as a PA facility, and PA and proximity to churches among those who use church as a PA facility (while addressing racial and geographic differences). Methods: High school girls (N=915, age=17.7 ± 0.6 years, 56% African American) completed the 3-Day Physical Activity Recall and surveys including demographics and use of PA facilities. Geographic Information Systems data were used to spatially examine the number of churches within a 0.75-mile street network buffer around girls\u27 homes. Associations were examined using mixed model analyses controlling for demographic factors. Results: For the overall sample, total METs (56 versus 52) and proportion of girls meeting PA guidelines (62% vs. 52%) were significantly higher in church attendees versus nonattendees. Among participants who used facilities, having more churches close to home was associated with more PA. Conclusions: Church attendance and use are correlates of physical activity that should be further explored and addressed in future intervention research with adolescent girls

Model Results and Software Comparisons in Myrtle Beach, SC Using Virtual Beach and R Regression Toolboxes

Utilizing R software and a variety of data sources, daily forecasts of bacteria levels were developed and automated for beach waters in Myrtle Beach, SC. Modeled results are then shown for beach locations via a website and mobile device app. While R provides a robust set of tools for use in forecast modeling, the software has an extensive learning curve and requires skilled statistical interpretation of results. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) created the “Virtual Beach” software package to address these concerns. To evaluate the utility of the more user-friendly Virtual Beach modeling toolbox, predictive models were developed and model results were analyzed using the two software suites. Recommendations were made based on ease of use and several performance measures. Model results indicate the two software toolboxes yield comparable outputs. However, Virtual Beach tends to create more robust model forecasts, while R provides more options for model setup and outputs

Towards an understanding of salient neighborhood boundaries: adolescent reports of an easy walking distance and convenient driving distance

Numerous studies have examined the association between the surrounding neighborhood environment and physical activity levels in adolescents. Many of these studies use a road network buffer or Euclidean distance buffer around an adolescent's home to represent the appropriate geographic area for study (i.e., neighborhood). However, little empirical research has examined the appropriate buffer size to use when defining this area and there is little consistency across published research as to the buffer size used. In this study, 909 12th grade adolescent girls of diverse racial and geographic backgrounds were asked to report their perceptions of an easy walking distance and a convenient driving distance. These two criterions are often used as the basis for defining one's neighborhood