About

Priscila B. R. Alves is the Assistant Research Professor at the Urban Studies & Planning Program and Lab Manager of the Stormwater Infrastructure Resilience and Justice (SIRJ) Lab at the University of Maryland. She holds a PhD in Engineering from the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom and a MSc in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the Federal University of Campina Grande (UFCG) in Brazil. Priscila is a civil engineer with experience in water resources, environmental engineering, and urban planning. Her professional work combines hydrological modeling and GIS tools to understand the built environment, along with conducting participatory approaches for stakeholder engagement, leading research projects, teaching, and supervising students. She has teaching experience in Brazil and the UK, and her diverse cultural background from growing up in Brazil and living in the US and UK informs her understanding of disaster risk rooted in vulnerabilities and political-institutional conditions. Her main research interests include the use of spatial tools with participatory approaches for disaster risk reduction, particularly for water-related hazards such as floods, water shortages, and sewage overflows. Her previous publications focus on mitigation strategies for disaster risk reduction, social vulnerability and infrastructure, understanding sewage backup events, risk perception, coping capacity of residents, and mapping vulnerable areas for flood and water shortage disasters.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Computer Security
• Geography
• Environmental resource management
• Business
• Environmental planning
• Environmental science
• Ecology
• Engineering
• Cartography
• Risk analysis (engineering)
• Economics
• Water resource management
• Psychology
• Operations research
• Environmental engineering

Selected publications

• An environmental sampling and community-driven methodology to understand and address risks from sanitary sewer overflows and basement backups

  Journal of Water and Health · 2025-09-15

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  The release of untreated sewage from failing wastewater systems occurs globally, exposing residents to a range of negative physical and mental health outcomes. These circumstances might be particularly prevalent in underserved populations that often have inadequate infrastructure due to structural disinvestment. These communities face scenarios of persistent exposure to raw sewage in their homes, often containing waterborne pathogens and antibiotic-resistant (AR) bacteria. While most studies focus on understanding sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) and backups at the watershed scale, we provide a transdisciplinary and comprehensive approach that assesses SSOs and basement backups, including social aspects, infrastructure burdens, and pathways of AR bacteria at the household level. Through our 40 home pilot studies, we implemented this study in Baltimore, Maryland (2022). We developed a five-step environmental sampling and community-driven methodology that combines urban planning, engineering, and public health, including (1) resident survey, (2) visual household inspection, (3) environmental sample collection and processing, (4) household and microbiological lab analysis, and (5) sharing results with participants. Our current efforts have utilized this framework to expand into three counties in Maryland. This study highlights the need to explore the impact of the built environment on public health and potential solutions to SSOs in underserved communities.

  PublisherDOI

• Internet of Things‐Based Framework Application at a University Campus Scale: Linking Smart Monitoring Systems and Stormwater Management

  Advanced Intelligent Discovery · 2025-06-04 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  Urban stormwater management is increasingly a challenge due to land use change, aging infrastructure, and climate‐driven precipitation variability. Likewise, maintaining regulatory compliance for stormwater permits is becoming more difficult. This study develops and deploys stormwater sensors using an Internet of Things‐based monitoring framework on the University of Maryland campus, a spatially compact but land use diverse testbed, designed to support both compliance and adaptive planning. Across three campus outfalls for stormwater quantity and quality data collection, the study investigates how hyperlocal precipitation and catchment characteristics affect stormwater flow and identifies key patterns in stormwater flow and quality through continuous monitoring. Findings reveal correlations between runoff behaviors and catchment characteristics (i.e., imperviousness) and highlight site‐specific associations between runoff flow and water quality indicators (pH, turbidity, conductivity, and dissolved oxygen). These associations can be leveraged as indicators of flood and pollution risk for management and planning purposes. This study also explores the role of campus stakeholders in guiding a “smart” system design, deployment, and big data use and outlines adaptive and preventive strategies for mitigating field deployment challenges and optimizing system performance that is a practical, compliance‐oriented model for smart stormwater monitoring in complex urban settings at various scales.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• A peek at leaks and basement backups: a pilot survey exploring the impacts and outcomes of untreated sewage in homes

  Environmental Research Communications · 2025-04-01 · 4 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract This study explores the outcomes and impacts of sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) and basement backups in underserved communities in Baltimore, Maryland. The larger effort is an environmental and community-driven mixed-methods project, however, the research in this manuscript focuses on the household survey portion with residents who have experienced SSOs or sewage backups. Based on the snowball sampling method applied, the resulting residents engaged are predominantly African-American individuals, females, homeowners, and residents between the ages of 50 and 69. Strikingly, 70% of respondents reported that their frequency of SSOs is between moderate to frequent. The findings reveal that SSOs are a pervasive issue affecting residents’ physical and mental health and overall quality of life. Despite residents’ perceptions that their household infrastructure is in good condition, the recurring nature of SSOs highlights systemic problems within the city’s aging sewer systems, urging a deeper understanding of the social and structural vulnerabilities involved. This research calls attention to the importance of comprehensive interventions, including effective risk communication strategies and substantial investment in infrastructure rehabilitation, to mitigate the risks posed by SSOs and promote long-term resilience in urban environments. Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of community-driven research in addressing engineering, urban planning, and public health challenges with particular support for the most affected populations.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Antibiotic-resistant bacteria detected in homes impacted by sewage

  PLOS Water · 2025-06-05 · 2 citations

  articleOpen accessCorresponding

  Antibiotic-resistant (AR) bacterial infections are disproportionately experienced by Black communities in the U.S. Exposure to AR bacteria could occur when untreated sewage enters homes through sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) or basement sewage backups (“backups”). Through a community-engaged pilot study in Baltimore, Maryland, which has a large Black population where many live below the poverty line, we evaluated the presence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA), coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS), methicillin-resistant CoNS (MR-CoNS), and E. coli in homes experiencing sewage events. We collected surface (n = 41) and standing water (n = 6) samples from 40 homes in neighborhoods where SSOs or backups frequently occur. Samples were processed using modified standard membrane filtration. A subset of isolates underwent whole genome sequencing (WGS). Among participants, 95% (38/40) identified as Black and 95% (38/40) self-reported having an SSO or backup. Over 72% (29/40) of participants had a sewage event within six months of sampling, and 42.5% (17/40) had an event less than one month prior. Nearly 17% (1/6) of water samples were positive for MRSA and MR-CoNS and 66.7% (4/6) positive for CoNS and E. coli . No MRSA was found on sampled surfaces, but multidrug-resistant (MDR) MSSA, MR-CoNS, CoNS and E. coli were detected on 2.4% (1/41), 12.2% (5/41), 80.5% (33/41), and 26.8% (11/41) of surfaces, respectively. Detection of target bacteria differed significantly between homes with events that occurred less than one month compared to those where events occurred more than one month prior to sample collection ( p = 0.046). Five of six isolates analyzed by WGS for ARGs were MDR and 85 distinct virulence genes were identified among isolates analyzed for VFGs (n = 3). Our results suggest that SSOs or backups could be a source of AR bacteria exposure in underserved communities, and therefore a critical research area for public health and urban planning.

  PublisherDOI

• Water security evaluation in small-sized cities in Paraíba, Brazil

  Water Science & Technology Water Supply · 2025-06-25

  articleOpen access

  ABSTRACT Water security remains a major challenge in semiarid regions, where infrastructure investments do not always guarantee reliable water access. This study assesses water security challenges in small municipalities of Paraíba, Brazil, analyzing local impacts of the São Francisco River Integration Project (PISF). A multi-method approach, structured through the Driving force–Pressure–State–Impact–Response (DPSIR) model, integrated primary data from 413 household surveys conducted in five municipalities (2021 and 2024) with secondary data from official sources. Surveys evaluated water supply infrastructure, service reliability, community adaptation strategies, and cumulative economic impacts. Results showed a disconnect between infrastructure availability and effective water delivery. In 2024, despite increased reservoir storage, 69.08% of households reported weekly water shortages. Communities coped through cisterns, informal markets, and public water sources, disproportionately affecting low-income groups and amplifying social inequalities. However, economic indicators showed positive trends, with 61% of municipalities reporting sustained growth in cattle herds for 4–5 consecutive years and 28.57% experiencing continuous industrial growth for four years. The study concludes that ensuring long-term water security requires improvements in infrastructure maintenance, governance, and the implementation of participatory and adaptive water management policies. These insights are valuable for other semiarid regions experiencing similar water scarcity challenges.

  PublisherDOI

• Navigating the definition of urban flooding: A conceptual and systematic review of the literature

  Water Science & Technology · 2024-10-23 · 13 citations

  reviewOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Urban flooding is a pervasive global risk, posing a great challenge to urban planners, policymakers, and particularly communities. This paper reviews the literature to analyze how urban flooding is defined across scientific disciplines. Our objectives are to uncover the elements used to define urban flooding and evaluate how these elements can impact future research and practice. A key difficulty is the lack of a consistent, comprehensive definition that captures both physical and social dimensions of urban flooding. Current definitions often focus solely on physical aspects (e.g., rainfall, infrastructure) or social impacts, rarely integrating both. This fragmentation hinders effective flood risk management and interdisciplinary collaboration. Our contribution is a multifaceted definition incorporating spatial and social concerns, including water origins, built environment characteristics, and local community aspects. We introduce the 'Urban Water Transect' concept to illustrate the continuum of flood risk across urban zones, addressing a gap in the literature. The analysis reveals that many papers discuss flooding causes without providing an explicit definition. Urban flooding is predominantly defined based on water source, imperviousness, and drainage infrastructure. Future research should adopt an interdisciplinary perspective considering both physical and social aspects, potentially transforming urban flood risk management.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• GIS-based spatial approaches to refining urban catchment delineation that integrate stormwater network infrastructure

  Discover Water · 2024-05-13 · 7 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Rapid urbanization and escalating climate change impacts have heightened stormwater-related concerns (e.g., pluvial flooding) in cities. Understanding catchment dynamics and characteristics, including precise catchment mapping, is essential to accurate surface water monitoring and management. Traditionally, topography is the primary data set used to model surface water flow dynamics in undisturbed natural landscapes. However, urban systems also contain stormwater drainage infrastructure, which can alter catchment boundaries and runoff behavior. Acknowledging both natural and built environmental influences, this study introduces three GIS-based approaches to enhance urban catchment mapping: (1) Modifying DEM elevations at inlet locations; (2) Adjusting DEM elevations along pipeline paths; (3) Applying the QGRASS plug-in to systematically incorporate infrastructure data. Our evaluation using the geographical Friedman test (p > 0.05) and Dice Similarity Coefficient (DSC = 0.80) confirms the statistical and spatial consistency among the studying methods. Coupled with onsite flow direction validation, these results support the feasibility and reliability of integrating elements of nature and built infrastructure in urban catchment mapping. The refined mapping approaches explored in this study offer improved and more accurate and efficient urban drainage catchment zoning, beyond using elevation and topographic data alone. Likewise, these methods bolster predictive stormwater management at catchment scales, ultimately strengthening urban stormwater and flooding resilience.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Slow violence to disasters: Exploring racialized topographies and contextualizing social vulnerability to flood and other environmental risks

  International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction · 2024-03-23 · 9 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Socially vulnerable people and stormwater infrastructure: A geospatial exploration of the equitable distribution of gray and green infrastructure in Washington D.C.

  Cities · 2024-04-16 · 10 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Analysis of potential nature-based solutions for the Mun River Basin, Thailand

  Water Science & Technology · 2023-02-17 · 20 citations

  reviewOpen access

  Despite the growth in research and applications of nature-based solutions (NBS) within the literature, there are limited applications in South East Asia, moreover studies which quantitatively assess the impacts of NBS could have on hazard reduction are scarce. This paper addresses this gap by developing and validating MCDA-GIS analysis to map how potential nature strategies could mitigate flood hazard if applied within the Mun River Basin, Thailand. Through a literature review, the top three solutions for flood and drought hazards were found: wetlands, re/afforestation, and changing crop types. These strategies were reviewed and validated with a MCDA-GIS methodology, through land use change (LUC) maps to depict different future scenarios. The results found that flood hazard did decrease when NBS were implemented in the catchment, especially for A/Reforestation, and to a greater extent when a combination of NBS were applied. This article provides specific insights into the current gaps of NBS publications, specifically considering the case of the Mun River Basin, Thailand.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Slobodan Djordjević

  University of Exeter

  15 shared

• Iana Alexandra Alves Rufino

  8 shared

• Akbar A. Javadi

  University of Exeter

  7 shared

• Marccus D. Hendricks

  University of Maryland, College Park

  6 shared

• Mukand S. Babel

  Asian Institute of Technology

  5 shared

• Jessica Penny

  University of Exeter

  4 shared

• Rachel Marie Whiteheart

  Baltimore City Health Department

  4 shared

• Minkyu Park

  University of Maryland, College Park

  3 shared

Education

• PhD , Engineering

  University of Exeter

  2021

• Master, Civil engineering

  Universidade Federal de Campina Grande

  2017

• Graduate, Civil Engineering

  Universidade Federal de Campina Grande

  2015