Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Project Final Report Watershed Plan For Crafts Colly, Sand Lick, And Dry Fork, Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute

KWRRI Research Reports

The North Fork: Whitesburg Tributaries Watershed Plan, developed under this project, provides a path to improve waterbodies impacted by poor wastewater treatment, coal mining, and encroachments on floodplain by housing and roadways. Crafts Colly, Sand Lick, and Dry Fork are tributaries to the North Fork of the Kentucky River. They are located just north of the City of Whitesburg, in Letcher County, which is in the coalfields of southeastern Kentucky. The three watersheds encompass 18 square miles of primarily forested lands and about 30 miles of streams, most of which are entrenched. Because of the steep mountain terrain, most of …

Project Final Report Watershed Center Of Excellence, Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute

KWRRI Research Reports

With the goal of providing a structured foundational background for watershed management to Kentucky’s watershed coordinators and other water quality professionals, the Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute developed the Kentucky Watershed Academy, a six-module series of core training content. The modules address the following subject areas:

• Module 1: The Clean Water Act & Related Water Quality Laws

• Module 2: Water Quality Basics

• Module 3: Dealing with Data

• Module 4: Land Use Impacts & Related Best Management Practices

• Module 5: Likely Partners

• Module 6: Effective Communications

As a result of this project, a total of …

2021 Kentucky River Watershed Watch: Annual Report, Malissa Mcalister, Steven Evans

Kentucky River Watershed Watch

No abstract provided.

A Literature Review Of Wetland Treatment Systems Used To Treat Runoff Mixtures Containing Antibiotics And Pesticides From Urban And Agricultural Landscapes, Emily R. Nottingham, Tiffany L. Messer

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Wetland treatment systems are used extensively across the world to mitigate surface runoff. While wetland treatment for nitrogen mitigation has been comprehensively reviewed, the implications of common-use pesticides and antibiotics on nitrogen reduction remain relatively unreviewed. Therefore, this review seeks to comprehensively assess the removal of commonly used pesticides and antibiotics and their implications for nitrogen removal in wetland treatment systems receiving non-point source runoff from urban and agricultural landscapes. A total of 181 primary studies were identified spanning 37 countries. Most of the reviewed publications studied pesticides (n = 153) entering wetlands systems, while antibiotics (n = 29) had …

2020 Kentucky River Watershed Watch: Annual Report, Malissa Mcalister, Steven Evans

Kentucky River Watershed Watch

No abstract provided.

Occupancy And Abundance Of Stream Salamanders Along A Specific Conductance Gradient, Jacob M. Hutton, Steven J. Price, Simon J. Bonner, Stephen C. Richter, Christopher D. Barton

Forestry and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

In the Central Appalachians (USA), mountaintop-removal mining accompanied by valley fills often leads to streams with elevated specific conductivity (SC). Thus, the ionic composition of freshwaters in this region is hypothesized to be a driver of the distribution and abundance of freshwater taxa, including stream salamanders. We examined the association between SC and stream salamander populations by conducting salamander counts in 30 southeastern Kentucky streams across a continuous gradient of SC that ranged from 30 to 1966 μS/cm. We counted 2319 salamanders across 5 species and, using a hierarchical Bayesian version of the N-mixture model, found a negative association between …

North Fork: Whitesburg Tributaries Watershed Plan, Letcher County, Ky, Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute

KWRRI Research Reports

Crafts Colly, Sandlick, and Dry Fork are tributaries to the North Fork of the Kentucky River. The three tributaries are located immediately north of the North Fork of the Kentucky and flow southward into the river within or near the City of Whitesburg in Letcher County, Kentucky. Letcher County is found in the Appalachian coalfields of southeastern Kentucky.

To improve water quality in the Kentucky River, water quality impairments in the upper reaches of the watershed must be addressed. In focusing efforts in Crafts Colly, Sandlick, and Dry Fork, three headwater tributaries of the North Fork Kentucky River, pollution loading …

2019 Kentucky River Watershed Watch: Annual Report, Malissa Mcalister, Steven Evans

Kentucky River Watershed Watch

No abstract provided.

Using Watershed Pour-Point Elevations To Evaluate The Base Of Fresh Groundwater In The Cumberland Plateau Of Eastern Kentucky, Ethan S. L. Davis, Thomas M. Parris, Jerrad Grider

Report of Investigations--KGS

Horizontal drilling with hydraulic fracturing at shallow depths (less than 2,200 ft) in the Devonian Berea Sandstone oil and gas play, along with the potential for high-volume hydraulic fracturing in the nascent Cambrian Rogersville Shale gas play, have generated a renewed interest in protecting groundwater quality in eastern Kentucky. A critical component of protection is an accurate understanding of the distribution of fresh water in the subsurface. The “Fresh-Saline Water Interface Map of Kentucky” by H.T. Hopkins, published by the U.S. Geological Survey and Kentucky Geological Survey in 1966, has been a critical reference for assessing the maximum depth of …

2018 Kentucky River Watershed Watch: Annual Report, Malissa Mcalister

Kentucky River Watershed Watch

No abstract provided.

Improving In-Stream Nutrient Routines In Water Quality Models Using Stable Isotope Tracers: A Review And Synthesis, Alexandria K. Jensen, William I. Ford, James F. Fox, Admin Husic

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Water quality models serve as an economically feasible alternative to quantify fluxes of nutrient pollution and to simulate effective mitigation strategies; however, their applicability is often questioned due to broad uncertainties in model structure and parameterization, leading to uncertain outputs. We argue that reduction of uncertainty is partially achieved by integrating stable isotope data streams within the water quality model architecture. This article outlines the use of stable isotopes as a response variable within water quality models to improve the model boundary conditions associated with nutrient source provenance, constrain model parameterization, and elucidate shortcomings in the model structure. To assist …

Kentucky River Watershed Watch: Summary Of 2017 Sampling Results, Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute

Kentucky River Watershed Watch

No abstract provided.

Recent Advances On Iron Oxide Magnetic Nanoparticles As Sorbents Of Organic Pollutants In Water And Wastewater Treatment, Angela M. Gutierrez, Thomas D. Dziubla, J. Zach Hilt

Superfund Research Center Faculty Publications

The constant growth in population worldwide over the past decades continues to put forward the need to provide access to safe, clean water to meet human needs. There is a need for cost-effective technologies for water and wastewater treatment that can meet the global demands and the rigorous water quality standards and at the same maximizing pollutant efficiency removal. Current remediation technologies have failed in keeping up with these factors without becoming cost-prohibitive. Most recently, nanotechnology has been sought as the best alternative to increase access to water supplies by remediating those already contaminated and offering ways to access unconventional …

A Summary Of The Kentucky River Watershed Watch 2016 Water Sampling Results, Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute

Kentucky River Watershed Watch

No abstract provided.

Adjustment And Optimization Of The Cropping Systems Under Water Constraint, Pingli An, Wei Ren, Xiliin Liu, Mengmei Song, Xuemin Li

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

The water constraint on agricultural production receives growing concern with the increasingly sharp contradiction between demand and supply of water resources. How to mitigate and adapt to potential water constraint is one of the key issues for ensuring food security and achieving sustainable agriculture in the context of climate change. It has been suggested that adjustment and optimization of cropping systems could be an effective measure to improve water management and ensure food security. However, a knowledge gap still exists in how to quantify potential water constraint and how to select appropriate cropping systems. Here, we proposed a concept of …

Comparison Of Protein Phosphatase Inhibition Assay With Lc-Ms/Ms For Diagnosis Of Microcystin Toxicosis In Veterinary Cases, Caroline E. Moore, Jeanette Juan, Yanping Lin, Cynthia L. Gaskill, Birgit Puschner

Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory Faculty Publications

Microcystins are acute hepatotoxins of increasing global concern in drinking and recreational waters and are a major health risk to humans and animals. Produced by cyanobacteria, microcystins inhibit serine/threonine protein phosphatase 1 (PP1). A cost-effective PP1 assay using p-nitrophenyl phosphate was developed to quickly assess water and rumen content samples. Significant inhibition was determined via a linear model, which compared increasing volumes of sample to the log-transformed ratio of the exposed rate over the control rate of PP1 activity. To test the usefulness of this model in diagnostic case investigations, samples from two veterinary cases were tested. In August …

Graphene Oxide Quantum Dots Covalently Functionalized Pvdf Membrane With Significantly-Enhanced Bactericidal And Antibiofouling Performances, Zhiping Zeng, Dingshan Yu, Ziming He, Jing Liu, Fang-Xing Xiao, Yan Zhang, Rong Wang, Dibakar Bhattacharyya, Timothy Thatt Yang Tan

Chemical and Materials Engineering Faculty Publications

Covalent bonding of graphene oxide quantum dots (GOQDs) onto amino modified polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane has generated a new type of nano-carbon functionalized membrane with significantly enhanced antibacterial and antibiofouling properties. A continuous filtration test using E. coli containing feedwater shows that the relative flux drop over GOQDs modified PVDF is 23%, which is significantly lower than those over pristine PVDF (86%) and GO-sheet modified PVDF (62%) after 10 h of filtration. The presence of GOQD coating layer effectively inactivates E. coli and S. aureus cells, and prevents the biofilm formation on the membrane surface, producing excellent antimicrobial activity and …

Heterogeneous Oxidation Of Catechol, Elizabeth A. Pillar, Ruixin Zhou, Marcelo I. Guzman

Chemistry Faculty Publications

Natural and anthropogenic emissions of aromatic hydrocarbons from biomass burning, agro-industrial settings, and fossil fuel combustion contribute precursors to secondary aerosol formation (SOA). How these compounds are processed under humid tropospheric conditions is the focus of current attention to understand their environmental fate. This work shows how catechol thin films, a model for oxygenated aromatic hydrocarbons present in biomass burning and combustion aerosols, undergo heterogeneous oxidation at the air–solid interface under variable relative humidity (RH = 0–90%). The maximum reactive uptake coefficient of O₃(g) by catechol γ_O3 = (7.49 ± 0.35) × 10^–6 occurs for …

Summary Of The Kentucky River Watershed Watch 2015 Water Sampling Results, Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute

Kentucky River Watershed Watch

No abstract provided.

Kentucky Nutrient Model Calibration Tutorial, Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute

KWRRI Research Reports

This tutorial has been developed to illustrate how to calibrate the KYNM using two different example watersheds: 1) the Upper Chenoweth Run watershed and 2) the Middle Chenoweth Run watershed. Both models are provided with the KYNM Users Manual. The Upper Chenoweth Run does not contain any significant point sources, while the Middle Chenoweth Run watershed contains several point sources. Calibrating a model of a dynamic system is often not a simple linear process but an iterative one. The following discussion outlines “steps” in calibrating a model, but it must be understood that the phenomena being modeled are interconnected and …

The Kentucky Nutrient Model (Kynm), Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute

KWRRI Research Reports

The Kentucky Nutrient Model (KYNM) was developed in 2014 to provide the Kentucky Division of Water (KYDOW) with a simplified tool for use in developing nutrient based TMDLs and in evaluating different nutrient management strategies. This report provides a brief overview of the KYNM along with a discussion of the validation of the model against observed hydrology and water quality data, and a comparison of the model results against the results obtained by the LSPC model developed by Tetra Tech for the Floyds Fork Watershed.

Community Visions For Nutrient Management For The Floyds Fork Watershed, Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute

KWRRI Research Reports

This report presents the results of a stakeholder engagement process for the Floyds Fork Watershed in north central Kentucky. The report is meant to inform the local citizens of the watershed, as well as US EPA and the Kentucky Division of Water as part of ongoing watershed management activities within the watershed. The process implemented in this study are intended to provide insights into a range of perspectives and community preferences related to possible nutrient management strategies for use in the Floyds Fork Watershed.

A Summary Of The Kentucky River Watershed Watch 2014 Water Sampling Results, Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute

Kentucky River Watershed Watch

No abstract provided.

A Summary Of The Kentucky River Watershed Watch 2013 Water Sampling Results, Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute

Kentucky River Watershed Watch

No abstract provided.

Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute Center Of Excellence For Watershed Management Watershed Summit Summary Report, Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute, University Of Kentucky

KWRRI Research Reports

No abstract provided.

Development And Deployment Of A Bioreactor For The Removal Of Sulfate And Manganese From Circumneutral Coal Mine Drainage, C. B. Mastin, J. D. Edwards, Christopher D. Barton, Anastasios D. Karathanasis, Carmen T. Agouridis, Richard C. Warner

Forestry and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Surface mining, in the form of contour mining and mountain-top removal, is a common means for retrieving coal in the Appalachian Coal Belt region of Kentucky. Overburden or excess spoil generated by these two methods is placed in valley fills. Traditionally Constructed fills have been shown to adversely impact headwater ecosystems via stream burial and through alterations to the hydrology, sediment supply, water quality and biological composition of downstream reaches. Mine drainages emanating from the toe of valley fills often contain elevated levels of total dissolved solids and heavy metals. Drainage chemistry from Guy Cove, a valley fill located in …

Summary Report: Kentucky River Watershed Watch 2012 Water Sampling Results, Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute

Kentucky River Watershed Watch

No abstract provided.

Bankfull Hydraulic Geometry Relationships For The Inner And Outer Bluegrass Regions Of Kentucky, Carmen Agouridis, Ruth Roseann Brockman, Stephen R. Workman, Lindell E. Ormsbee, Alex Fogle

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Bankfull hydraulic geometry relationships relate bankfull stream dimensions, such as cross-sectional area, width, mean depth, mean velocity, width to depth ratio, and slope to bankfull discharge. These relationships can assist in determining a design discharge for stream restoration and management projects. This study assessed 27 stable streams located in the Inner Bluegrass and Outer Bluegrass regions of Kentucky. Reaches were selected based on the presence of a U.S. Geological Survey gage, as well as other conditions such as presence of readily identifiable bankfull indicators, stability indices, and site accessibility. Bankfull channel dimensions and discharges were determined, and hydraulic geometry relationships …

Summary Of Kentucky River Watershed Watch 2011 Water Sampling Results, Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute

Kentucky River Watershed Watch

No abstract provided.

Kentucky River Watershed Watch: A Summary Of Volunteer Water Quality Sampling Efforts In The Kentucky River Basin From 1999 To 2009, Malissa Mcalister, Madhu Akasapu, Ben Albritton, Lindell Ormsbee, Dan Carey

Kentucky River Watershed Watch

No abstract provided.