Research Focus
HydroCommunity Lab
Our research is focused on better understanding urban and human-water systems using interdisciplinary approaches including hydrology, ecology, anthropology, political ecology, and critical geography. My current and past research are briefly discussed below. If interested, please feel free to reach out directly.
Hydrosocial Impacts of Militarized Ecologies -
PFAS Contamination in St Mary's County, MD
Per - and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are newly emerging pollutants of concerns that have been linked to long-term health effects and present in countless consumer and household products, like non-stick coatings on cooking pots and pans. Additionally, PFAS are deemed to be "forever chemical" which once released into the environment, are very difficult to completely remove and remediate. Military bases commonly use aqueous film-forming foam (or AFFF) in fire-fighting exercises and in the fire suppression systems on base for training and emergency purposes. These AFFFs are known to contain high levels of PFAS and PFAS on military bases are not regulated, nor are they regulated federally or in the state of Maryland. As a result, the hydrosocial impacts of the frequent and widespread use of AFFFs and release of PFAS into the environment and surrounding communities around military bases are frequently under researched. ​
In St Mary's county, Maryland, the Naval Air Systems Command Patuxent River, or NAS Pax River, represents the largest employer within the county along with being one of the largest naval bases in the country. As a result, NAS PAX River has profound impacts on economic development and political dynamics of the county and larger region. NAS PAX River has been known to frequently use AFFFs and, in 2021, NAS PAX River released a report stating that 2,500 gallons of this AFFF went down a St. Mary’s County metropolitan drain into a holding tank where it would “be cleaned up”. Following this release, community groups and individuals became increasingly concerned about the impacts of PFAS release into their community. Subsequently, NAS PAX River released a report detailing the extent of PFAS contamination on-base, but stated that impacts of PFAS off-base were minimal. Despite this report, community members throughout the region remained concerned about the long-term impacts of PFAS release on the Chesapeake Bay, St Mary's river, and their groundwater which is source of drinking water for many. The goal of this research is to assess the hydrosocial realities of PFAS contamination within the St Mary's region including the power dynamics involved between the local community, the local government, and NAS PAX River.
Water Conservation and Household Xeriscaping in the Southwest
There have been multiple studies in the Southwest focused on the transition from turfgrass lawns to more xeric residential landscaping. Collectively, these studies highlight that rebate and incentive programs towards turfgrass removal can successfully decrease water use and be economically efficient, but the transition to xeric landscapes from turfgrass lawns is highly influenced by social and cultural drivers and it is unclear how effective these programs are at overcoming these social and cultural concerns. In addition, there is currently a lack of knowledge on the impact of these rebate and incentive programs at shaping and influencing perspectives and behaviors towards water conservation, more generally. Through semi-
structured interviews and participant observation our research will use the Grass to Xeriscape Landscape Incentive program in Mesa, AZ as a platform to engage with individuals and explore the relationship between individuals, residential yards, and water conservation in the urban desert of the central valley of Arizona. The overall goal of this project is to better understand what drivers (social, physical, cultural, economic, political) most influence individuals’ behavior towards turfgrass removal, what barriers are faced by individuals when engaging with these programs, and how do programs, like the Grass to Xeriscape Landscape Incentive program, influence perspectives and behaviors towards water conservation. This goal will be addressed by exploring the following research questions:
1. What is the primary driver for individuals to become engaged with the Grass to Xeriscape Landscape Incentive program?
2. What barriers are faced by individuals when engaging or prevent individuals from engaging with the Grass to Xeriscape Landscape Incentive program?
3. How do government-led water conservation programs, like the Grass to Xeriscape Landscape Incentive program, influence individuals’ perspectives and behaviors towards water conservation and residential yard design?
Understanding the Hydrologic Consequences of Urban Irrigation across the U.S.
Through in-situ measurements of evapotranspiration and irrigation of turfgrass lawns, we conducted an intra and inter-city comparison of residents lawn water fluxes in three urban regions: Los Angeles (semi-arid; irrigation has been declining due to drought response policy), Salt Lake City (semi-arid but still heavily irrigated), and Tallahassee Florida (mesic with very high urban tree cover). These contrasting ecohydrologic conditions allow us to address the following questions:
-
What controls the spatial and temporal distribution of soil moisture and evaporative demand within and across cities?
-
To what extent does water supply, evaporative demand, and density of vegetation constrain urban ET within and across cities?
-
How does urban VPD and ET respond to variations in irrigation and soil moisture?
Using these measurements, we wish to advance a mechanistic and predictive understanding of how urbanization and irrigation alters local hydrology especially within and because of residential turfgrass lawns. We aim to use this research to reconsider residential lawn practices towards improving water conservation, but also rethink and reimagine what residential lawns can, should, and will provide in the future.
​
Shifting Paradigms in Stormwater Management:
Hydrosocial Relations and Stormwater Hydrocitizenship
Through semi-structured interviews and Q-methodology within two urban watersheds in Maryland and Washington DC, we assessed changes in the hydrosocial relationships between stakeholders and stormwater.
Using these insights, we discuss the potential for alignment and cooperation among these diverging hydrosocial relationships and continuing the shift towards decentralizing stormwater management. Arising from this holistic and critical analysis, we seek to provide actionable recommendations focused on how, where, and who manages stormwater to reach more sustainable, resilient, and equitable outcomes. Additionally, we aim to demonstrate the effectiveness of these frameworks and methodologies to better attend to political and power dynamics involved in water governance and management, more broadly.
Matthew Wilfong, Debasmita Patra, Mitchell Pavao-Zuckerman & Paul T. Leisnham (2022) Diffusing responsibility, decentralizing infrastructure: hydrosocial relationships within the shifting stormwater management paradigm,Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, DOI: 10.1080/09640568.2022.2133687
Matthew Wilfong, Michael Paolisso, Debasmita Patra, Mitchell Pavao-Zuckerman & Paul T. Leisnham (2023) Shifting paradigms in stormwater management – hydrosocial relations and stormwater hydrocitizenship, Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning, DOI: 10.1080/1523908X.2023.2169262
Applied Anthropology of Water - Human Organization Special Issue -
Co- Guest Editors: Matthew Wilfong, Jeremy Trombley, Michael Paolisso
The anthropological study of water and its multiplicity of uses and meanings in human life has a long and rich history, and anthropology continues to play an important role in the study of water as a basic human right. Recent approaches, including socio-hydrology and hydrosocial research, demonstrate the ways that water leaves a trace of its historical, political, cultural, economic, and social influence as it flows over the landscape. Within these approaches, researchers have
​
developed many different conceptual frameworks that can be deployed to make sense of the political dimensions of water management and governance and their broader implications for society and the natural environment. In this special issue, we focus on efforts to grapple with and apply these theories in practical contexts where questions about water quantity and quality prevail. In particular, we seek to address the opportunities and obstacles in the applied anthropology of water This special issue engage with and further develop the ever-growing and evolving field of anthropology of water, especially the implication and application of these holistic and critical approaches.
Wilfong, Matthew, Michael Paolisso, and Jeremy Trombley. "INTRODUCTION: APPLYING ANTHROPOLOGY TO WATER." Human Organization 82.3 (2023): 197-208.
Special Issue Guest Editors: Michael Paolisso, Matthew Wilfong, and Jeremy Trombley. To see the entire special issue:
Rethinking Stormwater : Analysis using the Hydrosocial Cycle
Water management and governance continues to rely on the scientific and engineering principles decision-making overlooking the political, social, cultural, and economic factors that shape water-society relationships. We utilize the hydrosocial framework to analyze stormwater management in the United States. The insights and implications from these case studies are then applied to stormwater management by formulating key questions that arise under the hydrosocial framework. These key questions are significant to progressing stormwater management to more sustainable, resilient, and equitable outcomes for environmental and public safety and health.
Wilfong, Matthew, and Mitchell Pavao-Zuckerman. "Rethinking stormwater: Analysis using the Hydrosocial Cycle." Water 12.5 (2020): 1273.
Investigating the Hydrologic Performance of Decentralized Stormwater Best Management Practices at the Treatment Train Scale
Using stormwater monitoring methodology, we analyzed how effectively treatment trains can hydrologically manage stormwater and the effects of precipitation dynamics on the ability of these treatment trains to manage stormwater. This research suggested that these treatment trains are generally highly effective at managing stormwater volumes across a host of storm events throughout the monitoring period. We also demonstrated that precipitation intensity was the most influential precipitation dynamic on the performance of each treatment train suggesting that designing these treatment trains with the potential higher prevalence of higher intensity storm events due to climate change.
Commercially available soil amendments were assessed to improve bioretention Cu removal. The ability of biochar, greensand, and zeolite to improve Cu removal was evaluated in laboratory column studies. Additionally, the performance of zeolite as an underlayer amendment was evaluated in bioretention planter boxes treating stormwater from a picnic shelter with a partitioned copper roof. Cu was measured in the planter box influent and effluent. Total Cu in composite samples of the influent waters ranged from 445 to 1683 μg L−1 and had a median concentration of 934 μg L−1. Total Cu in the effluent from the control planter boxes ranged from 10 to 64 μg L−1, with a mean of 29 μg L−1. Total Cu in effluent from the zeolite amended planter boxes ranged from 4 to 44 μg L−1 with a mean of 18 μg L−1.
Wilfong, Matthew T., Ryan E. Casey, and David R. Ownby. "Performance of commercially available soil amendments for enhanced Cu attenuation in bioretention media." Journal of Environmental Management 295 (2021): 113047.