A Web-based Spatial Decision Support System of Wastewater Surveillance for COVID-19 Monitoring: A Case Study of a University Campus

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has produced substantial impacts on our society. Wastewater surveillance has increasingly been introduced to support the monitoring, and thus mitigation, of COVID-19 outbreaks and transmission. Monitoring of buildings and sub-sewershed areas via a wastewater surveillance approach has been a cost-effective strategy for mass testing of residents in congregate living situations such as universities. A series of spatial and spatiotemporal data are involved with wastewater surveillance, and these data must be interpreted and integrated with other information to better serve as guidance on response to a positive wastewater signal. The management and analysis of these data poses a significant challenge, in particular, for the need of supporting timely decision making. In this study, we present a web-based spatial decision support system framework to address this challenge. Our study area is the main campus of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. We develop a spatiotemporal data model that facilitates the management of space-time data related to wastewater surveillance. We use spatiotemporal analysis and modeling to discover spatio-temporal patterns of COVID-19 virus abundance at wastewater collection sites that may not be readily apparent in wastewater data as they are routinely collected. Web-based GIS dashboards are implemented to support the automatic update and sharing of wastewater testing results. Our web-based SDSS framework enables the efficient and automated management, analytics, and sharing of spatiotemporal data of wastewater testing results for our study area. This framework provides substantial support for informing critical decisions or guidelines for the prevention of COVID-19 outbreak and the mitigation of virus transmission on campus.

Spatial Decision Support System for Efficient School Location-Allocation

In Greece, a lack of a planning strategy was identified in the context of allocating students to schools. Particularly, the Secondary Educational Management of Lesvos Prefecture along with school Principals decide upon student allocation based on empirical knowledge and approximation techniques. As a consequence, during the school season of 2018-2019 capacity and proximity limitations were violated. This study introduces a Spatial Decision Support System (SDSS) to assist school location-allocation decisions in future seasons. The objective of the proposed SDSS is to minimize commute-to-school distance concerning capacity and proximity limitations. For this purpose, a capacitated P-median approach is adopted and formulated as a mixed-integer linear problem. The SDSS is further evaluated using actual data for students' transition from primary to secondary education in the city of Mytilene, Greece. Evaluation of current allocation practices carried out and further compared to those obtained by the SDSS. The results indicate a decrease of 8% in total distance whereas proximity and capacity constraints were respected accordingly. The results may be potentially useful for school planners to assist the allocation decisions in the city of Mytilene.

A spatial decision support system for municipal solid waste landfill sites (case study: The Mazandaran Province, Iran)

Landfilling is an inevitable step for the municipal solid waste (MSW) management system in developing countries. This article presents a Spatial Decision Support System (SDSS) that was developed for the monitoring of municipal landfills and siting the new places for waste disposal at Mazandaran province, south of Caspian Sea, Iran. The effective criteria and evaluation constraints were chosen according to the Iran waste management law. The ArcGIS 10.4.1 software was used for creating a geospatial database and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was used for ranking the criteria. By integrating the criteria, a suitability map was generated into four categories: high suitability, moderate suitability, low suitability and illegal areas. Using ArcGIS online, the maps were shared on a website that was specifically designed for this purpose. The decision-makers can check online the laws, the effective criteria and the results of spatial analysis for optimal siting. Also, the results of environmental evaluations for active landfills have been provided. Given the characteristics of active landfills and the optimal sites for the possible development, the SDSS can provide a mutually beneficial relationship between the experts, decision-makers and stakeholders to decide about the priority of actions required for the relocation of landfills, site closure or emergency care.

A Simple Method for Identifying Appropriate Areas for Onsite Wastewater Treatment

Onsite Domestic Wastewater Treatment Systems (ODWTS) are increasingly important for treating domestic wastewater in metropolitan contexts, especially in suburban sectors isolated from sewer networks and centralized treatment plants. When ODWTS are not correctly planned and located in suitable places, or are not properly designed, they can cause groundwater contamination and generate risks for human health. This work presents a Spatial Decision Support System (SDSS) to zone specific areas based on a few simple parameters. The proposed tool can be easily adapted to different contexts, even where institutional capacities are low. Results obtained in the metropolitan area of the Lerma Valley (Salta, Argentina) show strong contradictions between our zoning and current urbanization features in the study area. As a result, environmental impacts and health hazards are likely to manifest in the short or medium term. The sectors with the best receptivity conditions were found in the southern sector of the study area. We argue that ODWTS can be safely implemented in many areas as long as this concept is embedded in urban planning initiatives, which usually also require the consolidation or development of appropriate institutions and control systems.

A spatial decision support system for traffic accident prevention in different weather conditions

Natural conditions play an important role as determinants and cocreators of the spatiotemporal road traffic accident Hot Spot footprint; however, none of the modern commercial, or open-source, navigation systems currently provides it for the driver. Our findings, based on a spatiotemporal database recording 11 years of traffic accidents in Slovenia, proved that different weather conditions yield distinct spatial patterns of dangerous road segments. All potentially dangerous road segments were identified and incorporated into a mobile spatial decision support system (SLOCrashInfo), which raises awareness among drivers who are entering or leaving the predefined danger zones on the street network. It is expected that such systems could potentially increase road traffic safety in the future.

GEOSPATIAL ASSESSMENT OF HUMAN-WILDLIFE-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTIONS FOR SPATIAL DECISION SUPPORT

Human-Elephant Conflict (HEC) is a global concern that requires geospatial data collection, analysis and geovisualization for decision support and mitigation. Bull African elephants, (Loxodonata africana), are often responsible for breaking fences, raiding crops and causing economic hardship in local communities in Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia. Methods for monitoring and understanding elephant movements are needed to mitigate conflict, find ways for coexistence and secure the future of Africa’s elephant populations. Researchers from academia and conservation organizations are partnering with decision makers and scientists of the Zimbabwe Department of National Park and Wild Life Management (PWMA) to track the movement of 15 bull elephants in the general area of Victoria Falls to analyse spatio-temporal patterns of elephant behaviour related to climatic factors, habitat conditions and changing land uses. Spatial decision support for local famers, resource managers and planners will assist in avoiding agricultural expansion and urban development that coincides with elephant corridors and access to water resources.