Publications & Presentations

Publications

Below are a few recent peer-reviewed publications produced by lab members.

• Rubio, R., Grineski, S., Collins, T., Adkins, D., and McDonald, Y.J. (2025). Micro-level inequalities in plumbing completeness along the US – Mexico borderlands. Nature Water.
• Gunda, T., Cantor, A., Grubert, E., Harris, A., and McDonald, Y.J. (2024). The water-climate nexus: Toward an integrated, multi-sectoral approach. WIREs Water. 12:e1759.
• Caiola, M., McDonald, Y.J., Manners, J., Wyman, S., Crone, E., Robbins, N., and Sabogl, R. I. (2024). Statewide Water System Maps: An Important Public Health Effort to Improve Drinking Water Justice. Journal of Environmental Health. 87(1), 38-41.
• McDonald, Y.J. (2023). Uneven benefits of infrastructure spending among ethnoracial groups. Nature Water, 1, 24–25.
• Ding, K.J., Hornberger, G.M., Hill, E.L., and McDonald, Y.J. (2022). Where you drink water: An assessment of the Tennessee, USA public water supply. Water, 14(16), 2562.
• Caballero, M. D.*, Gunda, T., & McDonald, Y. J. (2022). Pollution in the press: Employing text analytics to understand regional water quality narratives. Frontiers in Environmental Science.
• Paxton, C.*, Anderson, K.M.*, and McDonald, Y.J. (2022). The water sector industry workforce: A quantitative case study, Tennessee, USA. Utilities Policy, 76, 101356.
• McDonald, Y. J., Anderson, K. M.*, Caballero, M. D.*, Ding, K. J., Fisher, D., Hill, E., and Morkel, C*. (2022). A systematic review of geospatial representation of United States community water systems. AWWA Water Science, e1266.
• McDonald, Y. J. and Jones, N. E. (2018). Drinking water violations and environmental justice in the United States, 2011-2015. American Journal of Public Health, 108(10), 1401-1407.

To see a complete list of all lab publications, click here.

*Student contributors.

Presentations

Below are a few recent presentations given by lab members.

• *Caiola, M., *Wyman, S., *Crone, E., Robbins, N., McDonald, Y.J. (2023). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Environmental Health Capacity, Tennessee Grantees Monthly Meeting. Lessons learned: Constructing community water systems estimated service area boundary project. Virtual.
• McDonald, Y.J., (2023). Where’s the health: The Safe Drinking Water Act, New Horizons in Conservation Conference, Yale School of the Environment, Yale University, Virtual.
• Caballero, M. D.*, Anderson, K. M.*, and McDonald, Y. J. (2022). Crude oil production and regulation of BTEX in drinking water in the United States. (Oral Presentation); American Association of Geographers Conference, virtual.
• McDonald, Y. J., Anderson, K. M.*, Caballero, M. D.*, Ding, K. J., Fisher, D., Hill, E., and Morkel, C*. on behalf of the Vanderbilt Drinking Water Justice Lab. (2021). Where are the community water systems? A systematic review of geospatial representation of United States community water system service areas. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Geography & GIS Virtual Colloquium, virtual.
• Anderson, K. M.* and McDonald, Y. J. (2021). Operators know best: Utilizing public water system operators to understand technical, managerial, and financial challenges facing community water systems in Tennessee. In K. M. Anderson* and Y. J. McDonald, From Theory to Practice: Addressing Evidence Gaps and Applications of the Drinking Water Disparities Framework [Paper presentation] American Association of Geographers Annual Conference, virtual.
• Kim, A.*, Manapat, A.*, Caballero, M. D.*, Semenov, D.*, and McDonald. Y. J. (2021). So exactly where are community water systems located? In K. M. Anderson* and Y. J. McDonald, From Theory to Practice: Addressing Evidence Gaps and Applications of the Drinking Water Disparities Framework [Paper presentation] American Association of Geographers Annual Conference, virtual.

To see a complete list of all lab presentations, click here.

*Student contributors.

Public Scholarship

Below are examples of public scholarship conducted by lab members.

• McDonald, Y.J. (2024). Everything you need to know about water filtration. This is Nashville. WPLN, Nashville Public Radio.
• Caiola, M.*, and Anderson, K. M.* on behalf of the Vanderbilt Drinking Water Justice Lab (March 2022). Tennessee Community Water System Estimated Service Area Boundary Project [Presentation]. Annual Tennessee Association of Utility Districts Technology Conference, Knoxville, TN.
• Paxton, C.*, Anderson, K. M.*, and McDonald, Y. J. on behalf of the Vanderbilt University Drinking Water Justice Lab (Spring 2021). The Tennessee Public Water Operator Survey. Tennessee Utility News: Technology Issue,(35), 36–39.
• Allison, K.*, Anderson, K. M.*, Caballero, M. D.*, and McDonald, Y. J. (2020, July 21). Professionals who keep our water safe deserve recognition. The Tennessean.

To see a complete list of public scholarship, click here.

*Student contributors.