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Lake Padden Monitoring Project 2012 Final Report, Robin A. Matthews, Joan Vandersypen, Laura Junge

Lake Padden

The Lake Padden monitoring project was initiated in 2011 by the citizens group, People for Lake Padden (P4LP), to provide an intensive water quality study of Lake Padden. Water samples were collected between June and December 2011 by AndrewMajeske, a student intern working with the Institute forWatershed Studies (IWS) and the Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association (NSEA). The results from this project were summarized by Majeske et al. (2012). The water quality monitoring was funded for a second year by P4LP, which provided funding for IWS student intern Laura Junge. Additional funding was provided by the City of Bellingham to identify …

Assessment Of Natural Resource Conditions In And Adjacent To Biscayne National Park. Natural Resource Report Nps/Bisc/Nrr—2012/598, Peter Wayne Harlem, Joseph N. Boyer, Henry O. Briceño, James W. Fourqurean, Piero R. Gardinali, Rudolph Jaffé, John F. Meeder, Michael S. Ross

SERC Research Reports

This report is an assessment of the conditions of natural resources in Biscayne National Park (BNP) based on the compilation, review and evaluation of existing information on the Park’s natural resources. This review evaluates threats and stressors, and is intended to improve understanding of BNP resources to help guide Park management to address the identified threats, which are supported by enhanced data collection, research and assessment efforts.

The report is focused on broad resource components, namely terrestrial resources and aquatic systems including: wetlands, canals, bay waters, marine/reef areas and ground waters. Biotic and abiotic resource components are considered in the …

A Watershed Scale Evaluation Of Selected Second Generation Biofeedstocks On Water Quality, Gurdeep Singh

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study compares a novel simulation approach to the conventional Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) modeler's approach for targeting biofuel crop production on marginal lands. In conventional SWAT modeling approach, non-spatial definition of hydrological response units (HRUs) results in the simulation of biofuel crops on both marginal and non-marginal land. This study provides an alternative approach in which a marginal-land raster was integrated into the land use and land cover (LULC) raster in such a way that the land uses were divided into marginal and non-marginal components. This modified LULC was used for model setup which resulted in marginal …

Comment: Emerging Epa Regulation Of Pharmaceuticals In The Environment, Gabriel Eckstein

Faculty Scholarship

The May 25, 2012, report — entitled EPA Inaction in Identifying Hazardous Waste Pharmaceuticals May Result in Unsafe Disposal — disapproved of EPA’s lack of progress in determining whether certain pharmaceuticals found in surface, ground, and drinking water qualify as hazardous waste, as well as in establishing an evaluation and regulatory process for pharmaceutical wastes. As a result of the report, EPA is now considering mechanisms for assessing and regulating the presence of certain pharmaceutical products in the environment as hazardous wastes under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

The Abundance And Distribution Pattern Of Quagga Mussels In The Las Vegas Bay Of Lake Mead, Nevada And Potential Correlation With Environmental Parameters, Scott Rainville

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The non-native quagga mussel [Dreissena bugensis (Andrusov, 1897)] was initially discovered in Boulder Basin of Lake Mead, Nevada-Arizona on January 6, 2007. This occurrence marked the first biological invasion of dreissenid mussels in the Western U.S., following a significant North American range expansion of invasive quagga mussels from populations that invaded and colonized the Great Lakes Region in the Northeastern U.S. during 1991. This nonindigenous mollusk species quickly spread from Boulder Basin and became established throughout the entire reservoir by the end of 2007, with the exception of the inner Las Vegas Bay. There was an apparent absence of settled …

Slides: Routes To Sustainability: Natural Gas Development And Air And Water Resources In The Rocky Mountain Region, Mark Williams

Monitoring and Protecting Groundwater During Oil and Gas Development (November 26)

Presenter: Mark Williams, University of Colorado Boulder

14 slides

Slides: Colorado Law: Protecting Water Quantity And Quality, Alan E. Curtis

Monitoring and Protecting Groundwater During Oil and Gas Development (November 26)

Presenter: Alan E. Curtis, White & Jankowski, LLP

23 slides

Slides: Colorado’S Groundwater Protection Program, Andrew Ross

Monitoring and Protecting Groundwater During Oil and Gas Development (November 26)

Presenter: Andrew Ross, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment

22 slides

Agenda: Monitoring And Protecting Groundwater During Oil And Gas Development, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center. Intermountain Oil And Gas Bmp Project, Colorado Water And Energy Research Center

Monitoring and Protecting Groundwater During Oil and Gas Development (November 26)

This workshop is cosponsored by the Intermountain Oil and Gas BMP Project and the Colorado Water and Energy Research Center, with financial support from the Environmentally Friendly Drilling Project and the CU-Boulder Outreach Committee.

The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) recently initiated a rule making process to develop new, statewide regulations for baseline sampling and monitoring of groundwater near new oil and gas wells. COGCC’s first rule making hearing was held November 14; the rule is expected to be finalized December 10. This workshop will discuss oil and gas development procedures that can impact groundwater, the current rules …

Judy Reservoir Monitoring Project 2012 Final Report, Robin A. Matthews, Joan Vandersypen

Judy Reservoir

The purpose of this study was to identify and count the phytoplankton and measure chlorophyll, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus levels in water samples collected from Judy Reservoir. Water quality and algal data have been collected on a weekly basis since October 2006; annual reports have been sent to the Skagit Public Utility District No. 1 in 2007, 2008, 2010 (January and December), and 2011.

Point Source And Non-Point Source Pollution In A Secondary Stream: Nutrient Concentration And Fecal Microbe Counts In Tates Creek, Madison County, Kentucky, Walter S. Borowski, Krisopher H. Carroll, Bethany Gabbard

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Nutrient concentration and fecal microbe counts are elevated in Tates Creek, a stream that emanates from the town of Richmond, KY, passes by a conventional sewage treatment plant that discharges into the stream, and winds for 13 miles through pastureland and a series of small communities on septic systems before entering the Kentucky River. The sewage treatment plant shut-down operations during our study and we monitored dissolved nutrients (ammonium, nitrate, and phosphate), fecal microbes (total coliform and Escherichia coli), and stream biota before and after treatment operations ceased. Sampling occurred 4 times in both 2011 and 2012 between May …

The Anthropogenic Influence On Cuejdi River Water Quality, Andreea Ghiurcă, Andreea Lămășanu, Florin C. Mihai

Florin C MIHAI

Water pollution is caused in rural areas, especially by uncontrolled waste deposits located in river bed and in urban areas is discharged, irregular, untreated sewage. The Cuejdiu River is a tributary of the Bitriţa River in the left side, with a total length of 24 km. Evaluation of water quality of the Cuejdiu River was achieved by processing the results obtained from tests analyzed for 30 samples, taken on March 17, 2012, between the mouth of the River Bestriţa and up to the exit of the village Cuiejdi. Analysis of water samples were performed in the laboratory of the Department …

Using Extension Phosphorus Uptake Research To Improve Idaho's Nutrient Management Planning Program, Steven Hines, Amber Moore, Brad Brown, Mireille Chahine, Richard J. Norell, Mario De Haro Marti, Christi Falen, Tianna Fife, Stuart C. Parkinson, James A. Ippolito

The Journal of Extension

Irrigated silage corn is the main crop used for P removal in southern Idaho; however, little is known about the actual amounts of P removed under southern Idaho growing conditions. The study surveyed P removal by irrigated silage corn in primarily manured southern Idaho fields and wide-ranging soil test P. Whole plant corn tissue P concentrations ranged from 0.116 to 0.307% total P and averaged 0.208%—lower than Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) estimates used prior to 2007 (0.26%P) but higher than estimates used since 2007 (0.185%). The study was used to update the OnePlan.org© Nutrient Management planning online program.

Equine Owner Knowledge And Implementation Of Conservation Practices, Jennfier M. Marriott, Amy Shober, Paul Monaghan, Christine Wiese

The Journal of Extension

Various outreach programs promote best management practices (BMPs) for small farms, including equine farms; however, many horse owners may fail to get this information. A survey was completed by 230 people who owned and/or managed an equine facility to examine the current level of knowledge about nutrient (manure) management and awareness of extension services available. Results show that less than half of respondents use conservation techniques on their farms; 93% of Florida and 73% of non-Florida respondents, respectively, had never spoken with a conservation agency. Results of the survey have implications for educating equestrians about nutrient management and conservation techniques.

Fecal Indicator Bacteria In Knitting Mill Creek With A Comparison Of Methods Used To Enumerate E. Coli, Manju Nagarajan

OES Theses and Dissertations

This research seeks to evaluate the impact of an urban, multi-use neighborhood on the bacteriological quality of water in Knitting Mill Creek, a blind arm of the Lafayette River, a sub-estuary of the lower Chesapeake Bay. A principal objective was to determine the effects of rainfall, a surrogate for run-off, on water-column concentrations of fecal-indicator bacteria (FIB). I collected water samples weekly (September 2009-December 2010) and biweekly (January 2010-December 2011) at a storm-sewer outfall and a nearby marina and quantified their E. coli and enterococci concentrations using Colilert-18 and Enterolert, most-probable-number assays. In addition, I took monthly samples for these …

Nutrient Dynamics In A Headwater Stream : Use Of Continuous Water Quality Sensors To Examine Seasonal, Event, And Diurnal Processes In The East Fork Jemez River, Nm, Lauren R. Sherson

Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

Stream water quality can change substantively over seasonal, event, and diurnal scales. Multiple biogeochemical processes operate on a 24-hour timescale, and also may be influenced by local weather and precipitation events. Increased sampling frequency, made possible by recent developments in continuous water quality monitors, allows us to better understand biogeochemical responses to these events. Continuous water quality sensors were deployed in the East Fork Jemez River (located in northern New Mexico) from 2010 – 2011 to investigate the temporal variability of nutrient concentrations and biogeochemical parameters and the controls on this variation. This thesis is split into two chapters representing …

Evaluation Of The Hydrologic Impact, Potential Forest Biomass Production, And Sensitivity Analysis Of The Upper Pearl River Watershed Using Swat Model, Sunita Khanal

Theses and Dissertations

The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was used to quantify the potential impacts of clearcutting on hydrologic and water quality components, and assess potential forest biomass production and perform sensitivity analysis of crop parameters to predict forest biomass in the Upper Pearl River Watershed. Results based on clearcutting indicated that the hydrologic and water quality components increases with increase in percentage of forest area harvested. The most significant effect was observed from 55% and 75% harvesting scenarios. The results based on SWAT’s performance to simulate potential forest biomass production showed satisfactory performance and revealed that the watershed has the …

Analysis Of Aerial Multispectral Imagery To Assess Water Quality Parameters Of Mississippi Water Bodies, Shane Adison Irvin

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this study was to demonstrate the application of aerial imagery as a tool in detecting water quality indicators in a three mile segment of Tibbee Creek in, Clay County, Mississippi. Water samples from 10 transects were collected per sampling date over two periods in 2010 and 2011. Temperature and dissolved oxygen (DO) were measured at each point, and water samples were tested for turbidity and total suspended solids (TSS). Relative reflectance was extracted from high resolution (0.5 meter) multispectral aerial images. A regression model was developed for turbidity and TSS as a function of values for specific …

Water Quality Trends And Nutrient Loads For The Watershed Research And Education Center In Northwest Arkansas, 2009-2012, John Metrailer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment transport is a concern for Northwest Arkansas due to high exports through riverine discharge. Urban, agricultural, and pastured watersheds have been associated with increased N, P, and sediment concentrations when compared to forested catchments. The objective of this study was to evaluate discharge and nutrient loads associated with a small urban, agricultural (row crop), wetland influenced, and pasture/farmland sub-catchment within four ephemeral drainages and located at the Watershed Research and Education Center in Fayetteville, AR. Samples were collected during base flow conditions and periodic storm flow conditions from 2009-2012. Flow adjusted concentration trends were used to …

Sp740-A Good Agricultural Practices Series: Testing Water For Fruit And Vegetable Production, Susannah Amundson, Grant Mccarty, Faith Critzer, Annette Wszelaki

Commercial Horticulture

No abstract provided.

Sp740-A Good Agricultural Practices Series: Testing Water For Fruit And Vegetable Production, Susannah Amundson, Grant Mccarty, Faith Critzer, Annette Wszelaki

Commercial Horticulture

No abstract provided.

Controls And Improvements Of Molecular Assays For Microbiological Water Testing, David R. Wanless

Open Access Theses

The monitoring of recreational waters is important to gauge risks to human health. The methods currently used are time-intensive (18-24 hours to test results) and because of this, results may be inaccurate. There are now molecular techniques capable of delivering faster results on multiple microbiological targets, including source tracking markers. However, these techniques cannot be utilized most effectively until extraction efficiencies of environmental DNA are known. Earlier studies of bacterial indicators in recreational beach waters using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) showed variation in the DNA extraction efficiency of filtered marine water samples. Silica-based binding matrix micro-columns used in DNA …

Assessing Sustainability Of Sanitation Technologies Recommended For Rural Settings: A Case Study Of Morogoro District, Tanzania, Amour Seleman

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The objectives of this study were to: assess the sanitation conditions and sustainability of sanitation technologies, using a comprehensive framework of sustainability indicators. A survey of 500 households and focus group discussions of 40 key informants were conducted in five villages. Ninety-six percent of the households had toilets, with only 9.4% having improved toilets. A strong relationship existed between the percent of sanitation coverage and the diarrhea incidence rates. Education and family wealth were the two significant determinants of sanitation coverage. On the basis of the sustainable development index, SanPlat and VIP latrine were the top two probable sustainable technologies. …

Sp740-B Good Agricultural Practices Series: Interpreting Water Quality Results, Susannah Amundson, Grant Mccarty, Faith Critzer, David Lockwood, Annette Wszelaki, Elizabeth Bihn

Commercial Horticulture

No abstract provided.

Risk-Based Water Quality Management In An Integrated Urban Wastewater System Under Climate Change And Urbanisation, Maryam Astaraie-Imani, Zoran Kapelan, David Butler

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Climate change and urbanisation are key factors potentially affecting thefuture of water quality and quantity in urbanised catchments and are associatedwith significant degrees of uncertainty. Maintaining or even improving urbanrecipient water quality under this uncertain future will be a major challenge. Thestudy reported in this paper explores the potential for managing water quality withina novel risk-based framework in the context of an Integrated Urban WastewaterSystem (IUWS) comprised of a sewer system, wastewater treatment plant and therecipient. In the study, we explore the potential for managing water quality failurerisk by optimising the operational control and/or design of the wastewater system.Water quality …

Designing A Measurement Network In A Meso-Scale Catchment To Provide Data For Modelling, Manfred Fink, Marcel Wetzel, Holm Kipka, Daniel Varga, Sven Kralisch, Wolfgang-Albert Flügel

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

In many cases, water-quality models have a poor basis of calibration and validation due to inadequate or sparse input data. Water-quality monitoring is often limited to a few sites within the stream network where samples are collected and analyzed at some intermittent frequency (e. g. monthly). In particular, this limited temporal sample coverage causes problems in modelling water-quality variables such as phosphorous that are mainly transported during short-term events.In order to address this problem, a meso-scale catchment was equipped with a measurement network for obtaining spatially and temporally higher-resolution data of water quality, meteorological data, and soil moisture data. The …

Sustainability Indicators For River Water Quality Management In Urban Areas, C. Gualtieri, P. Amparo López-Jiménez

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

In developed countries, the main problem of water management is the incompatibility between the average water quality, on the one hand, and the needs for ecosystem protection and the desirable water use or uses (i.e. recreation, water supply, agriculture, etc.), on the other. To achieve qualitative levels compatible with these two objectives, engineering controls are devised; such water quality criteria are often expressed by acceptable values of the parameters which represent health condition for the ecosystem. This is also taken into account in European and National legislations. These parameters could be easily linked to the concept of sustainability. Sustainable water …

Water Quality Assessment In The Venice Lagoon Watershed With Multiple Modelling Approaches, Carlo Giupponi, Arianna Azzellino, Roberta Salvetti, Paolo Parati, Marta Carpani

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Over the last 20 years a series of research projects analysed water quality issuesof the Venice Lagoon and its watershed (VLW). The policy framework was relatedto the implementation of the Italian special law for the safeguarding of Venice anda series of European regulations, including the Nitrate and the Water Frameworkdirectives and the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The main focus was ondiffuse pollution from agricultural sources - nitrogen and phosphorous in particular -with the aim of assessing the impacts of current and alternative cultivation andlivestock practices. Many different modelling approaches were adopted, rangingfrom cognitive mapping for expert knowledge elicitation, to deterministicmechanistic …

Analysis Of Water Resource Allocation And Water Quality For Low Flow River In Mediterranean Watershed: Hydrological Simulation Model Overview, Rubab Fatima Bangash, Ana Passuello, Marta Schuhmacher

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Global change impacts on water availability, water quality and ecosystemservices in Mediterranean river basins of the Iberian Peninsula, as well as theirimpacts on the human society and economy makes it a key issue on the EUagenda. It is likely that Mediterranean countries could suffer ever-more frequentregional water shortages due to the twin problems of climate change and risingdemand. Simulation with hydrological model provides insight into the nature andstructure of connections between water resources and socio-economic andenvironmental changes. The general aim of this study is to provide a better overallunderstanding of water scarcity and results of loss of quality in low …

Incorporation Of Uncertainty In Decision Support To Improve Water Quality, Nele Schuwirth, Christian Stamm, Peter Reichert

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Decisions in environmental management can be challenging, amongst other things, due to two major sources of uncertainty. Predictions of consequences of different management alternatives can be very uncertain. Furthermore, uncertainty exists regarding the subjective preferences of decision makers and stakeholders. For a transparent decision process it is important to disentangle these different elements and the related sources of uncertainty by separating the prediction of consequences from their valuation. Predictions of consequences should be estimated as objectively as possible based on the current state of knowledge; the preference functions which are used to valuate these consequences must be elicited carefully to …