Abstract Submission: Urban lakes experience substantial interactions with people, and the lakes’ ecological and social services are of high value to urban populations. However, urban lakes are vulnerable, as they may receive significant quantities of pollution from diverse sources in highly populated urban areas. Polluted lakes pose threats to human health, well-being, and quality of life, and this is particularly the case in underserved communities. One example of such lakes is Lake Munson located in Leon County, Florida, which received municipal wastewater effluent from the City of Tallahassee (the Capital City of Florida, located upstream of the lake) between 1934 and 1984. These discharges, combined with ongoing stormwater runoff, resulted in over seven decades of harmful blue-green algae blooms. In addition, elevated contaminant concentrations were confirmed in lake sediment from commercial and industrial releases. Residents in proximity to the lake have reported a myriad of health issues, from respiratory and skin problems to suspected instances of more severe ailments such as cancer and neurological disorders. We propose to use Lake Munson as a study site, in comparison with Lake Jackson (another lake in Leon County that receive a small amount of urban wastewater and runoff) for developing cutting-edge, multidisciplinary research that is practically applicable to other urban lakes. The goal of the project is to develop a three-pillar socio-health-environmental (TPSHE) framework for effective and efficient assessment of cumulative impacts of polluted lakes on environmental and human health in underserved communities. The TPSHE framework will be based on social-health-environmental approaches for data collection, analysis, and modeling to advance our understanding of the dynamic interrelations among social and ecological factors. We specifically separate the ecological factors into health and environmental factors for accurate, effective, and efficient assessment of cumulative impacts of polluted lakes on environmental and human health in underserved communities.
