Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

The North Platte River Valley: The Intersectionality Between Water Quality And People, Anni Poetzl

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The North Platte River (NPR) Valley of western Nebraska is a semi-arid watershed with row crop production, livestock production, and urban land use activity and has a population of diverse stakeholders. These land use activities contribute to the enrichment of surface waters, such as streams, which can affect human and ecosystem health, as well as economic development and recreational activities. The project objectives are to: (1) quantify the movement of dissolved inorganic nutrients from the land within the NPR Valley to the NPR via tributaries and canals, (2) identify spatiotemporal variability of nutrient limitation of periphyton growth within the NPR, …

Using Diatoms To Reconstruct Eutrophication In Lake Carmi, Vt, Margaret Polifrone, Sarah Wasserman, Ismar Biberovic, Kaleb Jones, Andrew Schroth, Andrea Lini, Ana Morales-Williams

Lake Champlain Sea Grant Institute

No abstract provided.

Charting A Course To Conserve 30% Of Freshwaters By 2030, Sandra B. Zellmer

William & Mary Law Review

One of President Biden’s earliest executive orders established an ambitious national goal to conserve at least 30 percent of U.S. lands, waters, and oceans by 2030. The Biden administration is not alone; over 100 countries support this goal as a means of combating climate change and slowing the pace of species extinction, both of which are accelerating at a rate that is unprecedented in history.

Despite its vow to pursue a wide-sweeping, all-of-government approach, Biden’s 30 by 30 initiative overlooks a critical component of the conservation goal—it pays virtually no attention to freshwater. Freshwater ecosystems are among the most endangered …

Defining Critical Or Hydrologic Conditions As Sampled During The Joint Study, Brian E. Haggard, Erin Grantz, J. T. Scott

Technical Reports

The “Joint Study” was conducted to fulfill the obligations of the second “Statement of Joint Principles and Actions” agreed to by the states of Arkansas and Oklahoma. The “Joint Study” affirmed the magnitude of Oklahoma’s Scenic River total phosphorus (TP) criteria (i.e., 0.037 mg/L), but it added the new caveat of applying the criteria to “critical conditions.” The primary purpose of this paper was to define “critical conditions” based on the range in base flow proportions (BFP) of total streamflow on days that were sampled in the “Joint Study,” where BFP is base flow discharge divided by total stream flow …

Sewer System Infrastructure And Stressors On Water Quality In Streams Within The Alplaus Watershed In Upstate Ny, Camryn Ragland

Honors Theses

Healthy aquatic ecosystems require clean water, but many creeks and streams may be impaired by human activity. This study is focused on surface water quality of the Alplaus, and Indian Kill streams located within the Alplaus Watershed in Schenectady and Saratoga Counties (NY). The primary goal of this study is to understand the extent of water quality impairment within the Alplaus and Indian Kill using a range of indicators to understand the impacts of failing infrastructure and stressors to surface water. Sixty-five water samples were collected in the fall of 2021 from six locations in the Alplaus and Indian Kill …

Floating Treatment Wetlands For Brackish Waters: Plant Selection And Nutrient Uptake Potential., Andrea Landaverde

All Theses

Brackish water bodies in coastal regions provide critical ecosystem services that support human and environmental health. Anthropogenic activities such as agricultural and industrial activities, construction, urban settlements, and tourism contribute to increased inputs of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in brackish coastal ecosystems. Excess nutrients can lead to impaired water quality and affect marine organisms. Floating treatment wetlands (FTWs) are a vegetated-base technology used to remove contaminants from water column, that has been mainly studied and applied in freshwater systems. Application of FTWs in brackish systems requires further investigation, as high salinity in brackish waters could result in toxicity to …

Cyanobacterial And Microcystin Response To Nutrient Additions At Lake Fayetteville Throughout The 2021 Growing Season, Lillie Haddock

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) are becoming a global concern due to their increasing distribution, frequency, intensity, and the occurrence of toxins. While it is known that eutrophication influences algal blooms, there is less known about what triggers these HABs to produce toxins, especially microcystin. In this study, we conducted 21 community bioassays at Lake Fayetteville, a hypereutrophic reservoir in Fayetteville, Arkansas, from April-November 2021 to examine how the addition of phosphorous and nitrogen influence cyanobacteria concentrations, microcystin concentrations, and microcystin toxin production. These experiments included a control, nitrogen (1.0 mg/L as KNO3), low phosphorus (0.025 mg/L as K2HPO4), high phosphorus …

Identifying Associations Between Human-Environmental Factors And Water Quality Trends Observed At Perennial Headwater Streams Of The San Bernardino National Forest, California, Anna Frey

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Anthropogenic factors related to landscape activities, infrastructure, and alterations, coupled with severe climatic fluctuations (i.e., droughts and extreme hydrological events) are increasingly impairing the quality of surface water resources across multiple geographic scales, warranting the need for comprehensive investigations of the cumulative effects of human-environmental stressors at multiple scales within a watershed. This study assessed three perennial headwater streams of the San Bernardino National Forest, California. The streams were tested for one year from October 2019 to September 2020 for conductivity, dissolved oxygen (DO), pH, turbidity, temperature, ammonium (NH₄+), nitrate (NO₃-), total coliform (TC), Escherichia coli …

Logging Impacts On Aquatic Ecosystem Quality In Michaux State Forest, Pennsylvania, Sara Baran, Timothy J. Bell, Erick R. Seager

Student Publications

Logging can affect freshwater streams around logging sites, even years after the logging has occurred. In this study, we looked into how sustainable logging in Michaux State Forest (in Adams County, Pennsylvania) has affected two streams within the state park: Mountain Creek and Birch Run. Six sites were selected along each stream, with three upstream and three downstream from the logging area. We hypothesized that the water quality would be lower at the stream sites downstream from the logged areas as compared to the upstream sites. At each site, water samples were collected, including pH, water temperature, and turbidity, as …

Pack It Out Utah: Usu Water Quality Extension Leads Utah’S Statewide Trails And Waterways Cleanup, Lauren Houskeeper, Hope Braithwaite

Outcomes and Impact Quarterly

Utah’s public lands have experienced a surge in outdoor recreation which has led to an increase in garbage on trails, parks, neighborhoods, and eventually, in our waterways. In response, Utah State University Water Quality Extension initiated an annual statewide cleanup to raise awareness and facilitate the proper disposal of litter. During the cleanup events in 2020 and 2021, over 11,000 pounds of trash were removed from our public lands and waterways.

Quality Control: Potomac Riverkeeper V. Wheeler & Standards For Qualitative Citizen Water Quality Data In Virginia, Jacqueline Goodrum

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

This Article explores the issue of quality of citizen data through the lens of Potomac Riverkeeper v. Wheeler, a recent impaired waters listing case concerning the Shenandoah River in Virginia. Part I of this Article provides a brief overview of citizen science data in regulation and policymaking under the CWA. Part II discusses Potomac Riverkeeper v. Wheeler, examining Virginia’s water quality-related data standards and DEQ’s use (and non-use) of citizen water quality-related data and information in that case. Finally, Part III argues that Virginia should establish clear, reasonable, and specific data quality standards for qualitative citizen data so …

Phosphorus And Metal Cycling In A Drinking Water Source, Amanda Modica

Senior Theses and Projects

This project sought to investigate the cycling of phosphorus and metals in Lake Auburn, a drinking water source, specifically to analyze the impacts of an alum treatment on the lake for the purpose of decreasing concentrations of eutrophication-promoting phosphorus. The alum addition was performed in the summer of 2019 in two phases. Water samples were collected from the surface to the deepest point at five sites around the lake from February 2019 to November 2021. Data showed that the added alum slowly sank to the bottom of the lake. Total and dissolved metals data showed increased metals concentrations at sampling …

Can Common Carp Removal Reduce Algal Bloom Intensity In Utah Lake?, Cristina Chirvasa

Research on Capitol Hill

USU sophomore Cristina is an Honors student, Undergraduate Research Fellow, and Community Engaged Scholar studying fisheries and wildlife. Cristina theorizes that removing over-populous carp from Utah Lake will allow larger zooplankton to thrive, which in turn will consume more algae and reduce algal bloom intensity. Her tests so far have proven the first part of her theory, as zooplankton size went up when she removed carp. Next, Cristina will test if bigger zooplankton eat more algae. Cristina credits her love of nature to growing up without enough wilderness in urban Romania. She moved to Utah both for access to our …

Best Lawn Care Practices, Lake Champlain Sea Grant

Lake Champlain Sea Grant Institute

Lawn care practices that contribute to a healthy lawn and better water quality are described.

Programs in Burlington, Vermont, are described.

Stormwater Subsurface Gravel Wetlands In Vermont: Permitting, Performance, And Chloride Concerns, Watershed Consulting Associates, Llc, University Of Vermont

Lake Champlain Sea Grant Institute

Subsurface gravel wetlands (SGW) are water treatment practices that utilize a saturated bed of gravel and (sometimes) wetland vegetation to filter incoming water and remove pollutants through a combination of physical filtration, adsorption, biological uptake, and microbial transformation. Water level is controlled by an outlet structure to retain a permanent subsurface pool, providing retention of stormwater volume in addition to pollutant removal. SGW are becoming increasingly popular tools for stormwater treatment in Vermont.

A varied group of partners including academic researchers, municipal stormwater managers, and consulting designers and engineers, have identified questions around stormwater gravel wetland performance as significant in …

Arkansas Bulletin Of Water Research - Issue 2021-2022, Erin Grantz, Lillie Haddock, Brian E. Haggard

Arkansas Bulletin of Water Research

The Arkansas Bulletin of Water Research (Bulletin) is a publication of the Arkansas Water Resources Center (AWRC). We publish the Bulletin to communicate the major findings of research funded by the Water Resources Research Act Section 104(b) in Arkansas. This research is relevant to Arkansas water stakeholders, and the Bulletin provides an easily searchable and aesthetically engaging access option.

This is the fourth publication of the Bulletin. This issue contains final reports from research projects that were funded by the 104(b) program in fiscal years 2019 and 2020. The articles in this issue can be cited as an AWRC publication. …

Evaluating Remote Economic Benefits Of Watershed-Scale Acid Mine Drainage Restoration, Rachel E. Pell

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

In 2011, the West Virginia Abandoned Mine Lands and Reclamation Program (WVAML) implemented a watershed-scale restoration project in Three Fork Creek, a 103 square-mile watershed in rural West Virginia impaired by acid mine drainage (AMD). This was accomplished through the installation of four in-stream lime dosers in 2011. Due to the great capital investment in the restoration of Three Fork Creek and an interest in applying this watershed-scale approach to other watersheds throughout West Virginia, it is of great interest to demonstrate the successes of this remediation. It has already been demonstrated that the watershed has visibly improved and is …