Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Water Quality Analysis Of Ecoroof Runoff In Portland, Pranoti P. Deshmukh

Civil and Environmental Engineering Master's Project Reports

Portland, Oregon is internationally recognized for its implementation of sustainable stormwater management technologies. Ecoroof is one of the sustainable solutions to reduce stormwater runoff which also provides multiple environmental benefits. However, very little is known about the impact of ecoroofs on water quality of roof runoff. Stormwater runoff carries a significant amount of pollutants, which, if it directly enters a stream or river, degrades water quality and severely harms aquatic life.

This study evaluates the trends in the long-term water quality data from ecoroofs and conventional roofs in the Portland area. Mann Kendall trend test was used to detect the …

Methodology Of Management Monitoring For Flow Rivers Issue Issue, Toshtemir Khojakulov

Bulletin of TUIT: Management and Communication Technologies

The article reviewed the development of the all the goals of the UzB are “... shaped in the form of global aspirations, and each government sets its own national goals, in cases where several states are monitoring a single trans boundary watershed, efforts should be made to agree on targets for all countries. Water quality comparison.

Improved Estimates Of Tributary Nitrogen Load To Casco Bay, Maine, Whitley J. Gray

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Over the past two decades, total nitrogen (TN) concentrations have increased in Casco Bay (CBEP 2015). The sources of the increased nitrogen are poorly understood but occur with simultaneous population growth and land use changes. The total riverine nitrogen load to Casco Bay was previously estimated by Liebman and Milstead (2012) using the United States Geologic Survey’s (USGS) SPAtially Referenced Regression On Watershed attributes (SPARROW) model. The SPARROW model uses watershed characteristics, regional monitoring data and nitrogen source data to estimate nitrogen loading but was not validated using measurements of nitrogen in the Casco Bay watershed. This study attempts to …

An Urban Karst Aquifer Resource Evaluation And Monitoring Toolbox, Rachel Anne Kaiser

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

In urban karst areas, such as the City of Bowling Green, Kentucky and the Tampa Bay Metropolitan Area, groundwater quality faces a variety of threats. The development of residential, commercial, and industrial landuse types allows for a wide variety of groundwater pollutants to enter the karst groundwater systems. Various different models and indices have attempted evaluative approaches to identify issues in urban karst areas, but the methods vary by location and lack a focus on urban karst groundwater quality. There also exists a lack of a data-driven approach that is able to capture short- and long-term changes in threats to …

Water Quality Assessment Of Deer Lakes County Park Before, During And After Unconventional Shale Gas Drilling, Daniel Robinson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, signed a lease to allow unconventional natural gas extraction from Marcellus Shale beneath Deer Lakes County Park in 2014. The park has three man-made lakes and four waterways that eventually flow into the Allegheny River. Drilling commenced in early 2016, and there are now five producing wells. The park has an extensive abandoned coal mine network and several abandoned oil and gas wells. Thus, an independent water quality study was undertaken beginning in July 2015. Samples from seven different sites in the park were used to establish a water quality baseline prior to the drilling. Monthly sampling …

Unconventional Gas Extraction In Southwestern Pennsylvania: Complaints, Production, And Water Quality, Dannielle Pratt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The dramatic rise in unconventional oil and gas extraction in Pennsylvania has presented a challenge to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection in managing regulatory required data, and the uniformity of public access via their online databases. This study analyzed over a decade of all the oil and gas complaints and unconventional gas production in Washington County. Of the 1,811 wells drilled between 2004 and 2018, 1,683 are producing, 74 are plugged, 52 regulatory inactive, and 2 abandoned. The PADEP received 10,389 complaints from 2004 to 2018. Only 2,420 of 4,489 water quality complaints were resolved within the legally required …

The Presence Of Above Standard Levels Of Commonly Tested Contaminants In Communiites On Long Island, New York: The Impact Of Income On Untreated Water Quality, Amy Catalano, Michael A. Marino Ed.D.

Faculty Works: Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Studies

Water quality is a pressing issue in many communities. Long Island (LI), New York, rests on a system of aquifers created by prehistoric glacial activity. These aquifer systems are the only source of drinking water for LI. Water quality issues are pervasive in the region due to nitrate pollution, caused by antiquated septic systems in much of the Island, as well as the prevalence of environmental clean-up sites. Using the Watertraq database, we searched for levels of select compounds that were present in wells above acceptable levels on LI. We then collected demographic data from the U.S. Census, including income, …

Rating Curve Development For The Upper James Fork, Lower James Fork And Hinkle Jones Creek In The Upper Poteau River Watershed In Arkansas, Meagan O'Hare

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Stream discharge is necessary to estimate loads and calibrate and validate watershed models. Access to long-term water quality data and discharge measurements allows for modeling of water quality changes across a watershed over time. However, discharge monitoring stations are often expensive to install and maintain, particularly in small rivers. A more cost-effective method for monitoring streamflow has been implemented in the Upper Poteau River Watershed (UPRW) in Arkansas. This method consists of an SonTek acoustic doppler instrument for measuring storm stream flow, with is combined with manual baseflow discharge measurements. The combined stormflow and baseflow measurements are combined with a …

Ecological And Economic Implications Of Increased Storm Frequency And Severity For Boreal Lakes, Kathryn Warner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In boreal regions, increased precipitation events have been linked to increased concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), however less is known about the extent and implications of these events on lakes. We assessed the effects of precipitation events on six drinking water lakes in Maine, USA to better understand how DOC concentration and quality change in response to precipitation events. Our results revealed three types of responses: (1) an initial spike in DOC concentrations and quality metrics; (2) a sustained increase in DOC concentrations and quality metrics and; (3) no change during all sampling periods. Lake residence time was a …

Optimal Algorithms For Deriving Estimates Of Phytoplankton Biomass In Lakes From Landsat Satellite Imagery, Michael A. Dallosch

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The frequency, intensity, and geographical distribution of harmful phytoplankton blooms are on the rise globally. There is a scientific need for estimates of historical and current phytoplankton data. This research develops mathematical algorithms for accurate assessment of surface chlorophyll-a (chl-a), a proxy for phytoplankton biomass, within freshwater lakes. Landsat satellite images (4-5 TM, 7 ETM and 8 OLI) were used to create predictive models (from 1984 to 2017) for seven ecoregions (ranging from the tropics to arctic). Correlation tests for 82 algorithms were conducted to establish the best fit models (linear, exponential, logarithmic, power) for chl-a …

Character And Water Quality Of Sandpiper Pond: A Coastal Pond Assessment, Fifteen Years After Restoration, Nicholas E. Workman

Honors Theses

Sandpiper Pond is a coastal pond at Huntington Beach State Park, South Carolina. Originally a tidal inlet surrounded by marshland, it was isolated in 1989 and rechanneled in 2004-2005 under a community-based wetland restoration project. The project was designed to restore the pond to a tidal inlet to improve water quality and biodiversity. Since then, the tidal connection with the ocean has been severed once more and the main influx of seawater occurs from the marsh during spring high tides. In this three-month study, the current state of Sandpiper Pond is evaluated using fundamental biogeochemical indicators that are indicative of …

Balancing Act: Water Quality Protection And Flood Resilience, Samatha Becker

Virginia Coastal Policy Center

Flood resilience efforts and laws designed to protect water quality may not always be compatible under current Virginia law. This paper will discuss two examples in particular. First, there can be tensions between the water quality goals under the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act and efforts to conduct flood resilience projects within 100 feet of the shoreline in Tidewater Virginia. Second, there are significant challenges faced by localities seeking to comply with the Virginia Stormwater Management Program, while also continuing to mitigate the impacts of flooding. These two examples stem from the larger question facing Virginia: as flooding increases, how does …

Water Scarcity In The Face Of Hurricanes: Improving The Resilience Of Potable Water Supplies In Selected Florida Counties, Fautemeh Sajadi Bami

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Severe storms can threaten the reliability and accessibility of drinking water supplies. The state of Florida is frequently impacted by hurricanes and is often struck more than once a year. An example of this can be found in 2017 when hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria caused much damage. Compromised utilities, well contamination, and shortages in bottled water and ice are just some of the problems that may threaten peoples’ drinking water.

Faced with these issues, preparation and response efforts must be effective in order to promote human health. Recent events like Hurricane Irma caused shortages in potable water which suggest …

Water Quality In An Unnamed Branch Of Pungoteague Creek, Bobtown Road And Hollies Church Road, Va., Richard A. Snyder, Paige G. Ross

Reports

Previous sampling of the stream crossing Bobtown Road (Rt 178) near the intersection of Hollies Church Road (Rt. 620), had indicated high levels of nitrogen in the stream flow (Snyder and Ross, 2019). During a dry period, total nitrogen was determined as 21.932 mg/L, at the end of a rain event 9.56 mg/L was recovered, and during an extended wet period without major rainfall, a value of 18.26 mg/L was found. The lower value associated with the rain event suggested dilution of a ground water source. The proximity of the retired Accomack County Landfill upstream of the site triggered a …

Solute Fluxes Through Restored Prairie And Intensively Managed Critical Zones In Nebraska And Iowa, Ashlee L. Dere, Andrew W. Miller, Amy M. Hemje, Sara K. Parcher, Courtney A. Capalli, E. Arthur Bettis Iii

Geography and Geology Faculty Publications

Agricultural activities in the Midwestern United States have potentially altered geochemical fluxes within the critical zone (CZ) compared to native prairie systems that previously dominated the region. To quantify the impact of agricultural land use on soil and stream solute behavior, we are studying two watersheds in the region: Glacier Creek Preserve (GCP) in eastern Nebraska and the Intensively Managed Landscapes Critical Zone Observatory (IML-CZO) in eastern Iowa. Both watersheds were initially under agricultural land use for over 100 years, but part of each watershed was restored to prairie 20 – 50 years ago. Soils at both sites formed in …

Water Quality In Southern Accomack County Watersheds, Richard A. Snyder, Paige G. Ross

Reports

Expansion of poultry grow out houses in Accomack County, VA has raised concerns for water quality impacts both seaside and bayside where harvesting marine resources and aquaculture operations may be affected. The dust and litter from the poultry houses are potential sources of nitrogen, phosphorous, and fecal contamination to watersheds and receiving waters. Siting regulations, storm water controls, and management of litter storage and handling are designed to limit these impacts, yet no analysis has been implemented to verify the efficacy of these protective measures. This investigation sampled watersheds after a 2 week dry period prior to a storm event …

Constituent Loads And Trends In The Upper Illinois River Watershed And Upper White River Basin: 2015 October Through 2018 September, Erin E. Scott, Brian E. Haggard

Technical Reports

The Arkansas Natural Resources Commission (ANRC) identified two priority hydrologic unit code (HUC) 8 watersheds, the Upper White River Basin (UWRB; HUC 11010001) and the Upper Illinois River Watershed (UIRW; 11110103), in northwest Arkansas. Nonpoint source (NPS) pollution is a concern in these watersheds, such as excess nutrients from agriculture and sediment from changes in land uses. Several NPS pollution projects have been funded by ANRC, including streambank restoration on Sager Creek and best management practices (BMP) to control urban sediment in Fayetteville. The purpose of this project was to collect water samples at 15 sites in the UWRB and …

Moses Lake Algae Monitoring Project 2018 Final Report, Robin A. Matthews, Joan Pickens, Eric J. Lawrence

Moses Lake

Moses Lake is a shallow, hypereutrophic lake in Grant County, Washington (Carroll and Cusimano, 2001), with a surface area of 6,800 acres (27.5 km2 ), total volume of 130,000 acre-ft (160.4 × 106 m3), average depth of 19 ft. (5.8 m), and maximum depth of 38 ft. (11.6 m; Dion, et al., 1976). The lake is situated adjacent to the city of Moses Lake and drains into Crab Creek, a tributary of Columbia River. The lake is a popular recreational destination for fishing, boating, swimming, and camping.

Moses Lake develops nuisance blooms of cyanobacteria during the summer and fall. The …

1994 - Water Resources Data California - Pacific Slope Basinswater Year 1993, Vol. 2

Miscellaneous Documents and Reports

Volume 2 of the annual hydrologic data report of California is one of a five volume series of annual reports that document hydrologic data gathered from the U.S. Geological Survey's surface- and ground-water data-collection networks in each State, Puerto Rico, and the Trust Territories. These records of streamflow, ground-water levels, and water quality provide the hydrologic information needed by Federal, State, and local agencies, and the private sector for developing and managing the Nation's land and water resources.

Water resources data for the 1993 water year for California consist of records of stage, discharge, and water quality of streams; stage …

2003 - Geohydrologic Framework Of Recharge And Seawater Intrusion In The Pajaro Valley, Santa Cruz And Monterey Counties, California

Miscellaneous Monterey and San Luis Obispo County Documents and Reports

The Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency (PVWMA) must deal with issues of both water supply and water quality. Managing water resources for agricultural and municipal users requires maintaining a reliable water supply to meet growing demands while preventing ground-water overdraft and the related degradation of water quality. Important regional water-quality concerns include increased nitrate concentrations and seawater intrusion. To protect the quantity and quality of the ground-water supplies, the PVWMA has implemented a plan to prevent further seawater intrusion. In order to evaluate how these activities can be conducted most effectively, it is necessary to improve the understanding of the …

2001 - Hydrogeologic Investigation Of Salinas Valley Basin In The Vicinity Of Fort Ord And Marina Salinas Valley, California - Final Report

Monterey County Water Resources Agency Engineering Reports

This report evaluated the then current state or potential for seawater intrusion in the city of Marina and the former Fort Order area. Groundwater from this area primarily supplied drinking water wells as opposed to agricultural wells. Aquifers evaluated in this study area include the perched zone or A-aquifer, the Pressure 180-Foot Aquifer (180-Foot Aquifer), the Pressure 400-Foot Aquifer ( 400-Foot Aquifer), the Deep Aquifer, and aquifers within the Purisima and Santa Margarita Formations. The I80-Foot and 400-Foot Aquifers are the focus of this study because both aquifers outcrop along the canyon walls of Monterey Bay where they interface with …

2002 - North Monterey County Comprehensive Water Resources Management Plan

Monterey County Water Resources Agency Water Reports

North Monterey County experiences severe water supply and quality problems including falling water levels, seawater intrusion, and nitrate contamination. The region is in a significant state of overdraft where current demands greatly exceed the annual level of recharge. Without increased supplies, dramatic changes need to occur to the North County land use pattern to reduce demand. The Comprehensive Water Resources Management Plan combines water conservation, water supply, water quality, and land use actions into comprehensive policy alternatives. It is clear, however, that capital facilities are necessary if the problem is to be solved.

The study area overlies a portion of …

1997 - Water Resources Data Report, Water Year 1994-1995

Monterey County Water Resources Agency Water Reports

California State legislation outlines the objectives and purposes of the Monterey County Water Resources Agency (MCWRA) and states that the MCWRA is to “carry on technical and other necessary investigations, make measurements, collect data, make analyses, studies and inspections pertaining to water supply, water rights, control of flood and storm waters and use of water both within and outside of the agency ...” The MCWRA is responsible for the managing, planning and engineering of the water resources of the Salinas Valley. This report was prepared in part to fulfill that responsibility.

Edge-Of-Field Hydrology And Nutrient Fluxes Within Northeastern Agroecosystems: Evaluation Of Alternative Management Practices And Water Quality Models, Cameron Robert Twombly

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Agricultural runoff is one of largest contributors of phosphorus (P), nitrogen (N), and sediment affecting freshwater systems in watersheds across the Northeastern U.S., including the Lake Champlain Basin in Vermont. Agricultural cropping systems, such as corn silage and haylands, used for dairy feed production have been shown to impact watershed hydrology and water quality. Agricultural best management practices (BMPs) have the potential to decrease runoff volumes and flow rates and the associated export of nutrients and sediment from agricultural fields. Many states in the Northeastern U.S., including Vermont, are beginning to require farmers to implement water quality BMPs and further …

Using Bayesian Networks To Predict Risk To Estuary Water Quality And Patterns Of Benthic Environmental Dna In Queensland, Scarlett E. Graham, Anthony A. Chariton, Wayne G. Landis

Institute of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry Publications

Predictive modeling can inform natural resource management by representing stressor-response pathways in a logical way and quantifying the effects on selected endpoints. This study demonstrates a risk assessment model using the Bayesian network-relative risk model (BNRRM) approach to predict water quality and; for the first time, eukaryote environmental DNA (eDNA) data as a measure of benthic community structure. Environmental DNA sampling is a technique for biodiversity measurements that involves extracting DNA from environmental samples, amplicon sequencing a targeted gene, in this case the 18s rDNA gene which targets eukaryotes, and matching the sequences to organisms. Using a network of probability …

Shining Light On The Storm: Using High-Frequency Optical Water Quality Sensors To Characterize And Interpret Storm Nutrient And Carbon Dynamics Among Contrasting Land Uses, Matthew Ch Vaughan

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Elevated nutrient concentrations present significant challenges to surface water quality management globally, and dissolved organic matter mediates several key biogeochemical processes. Storm events often dominate riverine loads of nitrate, phosphorus, and dissolved organic matter, and are expected to increase in frequency and intensity in many regions due to climate change. The recent development of in situ optical sensors has revolutionized water quality monitoring and has highlighted the important role storms play in water quality. This dissertation focuses on improving the application of in situ optical water quality sensors and interpreting the high-frequency data they produce to better understand biogeochemical and …

Three Essays On Water Economics, Fahad Alzahrani

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This dissertation consists of three essays that explore the impacts of changes in public water quality, reliability, and raw water source. The first essay explores the relationship between episodes of contaminated drinking water and health care expenditures in the United States. Using panel data from 48 contiguous states from 2000 to 2011 and spatial econometrics modeling methods, the results indicate that there is positive and statistically significant impact on per capita health care expenditures from the percentage of a state’s population exposed to contamination episodes. The second essay examines the problem of water supply reliability due to aging infrastructure of …

Governing Water Quality Limits In Agricultural Watersheds, Courtney Ryder Hammond Wagner

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

The diffuse runoff of agricultural nutrients, also called agricultural nonpoint source pollution (NPS), is a widespread threat to freshwater resources. Despite decades of research into the processes of eutrophication and agricultural nutrient management, social, economic, and political barriers have slowed progress towards improving water quality. A critical challenge to managing agricultural NPS pollution is motivating landowners to act against their individual farm production incentives in response to distant ecological impacts. The complexity of governing the social-ecological system requires improved understanding of how policy shapes farmer behavior to improve the state of water quality. This dissertation contributes both theoretically and empirically …

The Impacts Of Land Use And Land Cover Change On Water Quality In The Big Sioux River: 2007-2016, Dinesh Shrestha

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Between 2006 and 2012, conversion of 485,000 acres of grassland to cropland in eastern South Dakota was reported. In 2012, the Big Sioux River (BSR) running through most of eastern South Dakota was listed among the dirtiest rivers in the nation. This rating convinced state authorities to study trends of land cover changes in the BSR watershed and its association with BSR water quality with respect to increases in nitrate levels. This research i) quantifies spatial and temporal changes in the land cover types within the BSR watershed, and ii) identifies any correlation between these changes and changes in BSR …

An Assessment Of Fecal Water Contamination In The Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, Daniel Paul Pendergraph 5024527

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Wilderness water sources are often defined as pristine or high quality due to the lack of point source pollution. Non-point source pollution from recreation to water resources can be extensive and is well-studied in protected areas globally. Bacterial contamination, specifically fecal bacteria, poses a significant threat to human health because of the risk for outbreaks of illness and disease. Water sources in designated Wilderness areas are particularly vulnerable to fecal water contamination due to high volume of backpackers and lack of backcountry waste facilities. To estimate the occurrence of fecal water contamination in Wilderness water resources, an exploratory analysis was …