scholarly journals Stream Health Estimation for the Plum Creek Watershed

Hydrology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
Narayanan Kannan
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Assessment Method ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Quality Data ◽  
Stream Health ◽  
Statistical Parameters ◽  
Water Quality Data ◽  
Daily Streamflow ◽  
Creek Watershed

Overall health of a stream is one of the powerful indicators for planning mitigation strategies. Currently, available methods to estimate stream health do not look at all the different components of stream health. Based on the statistical parameters obtained from daily streamflow data, water quality data, and index of biotic integrity (IBI), this study evaluated the impacts on all the elements of stream health, such as aquatic species, riparian vegetation, benthic macro-invertebrates, and channel degradation for the Plum Creek watershed in Texas, USA. The method involved the (1) collection of flow data at the watershed outlet; (2) identification of hydrologic change in the streamflow; (3) estimation of hydrologic indicators using NATional Hydrologic Assessment Tool (NATHAT) before alteration and after alteration periods; (4) identification of the most relevant indicators affecting stream health in the watershed based on stream type; (5) preliminary estimation of the existence of stream health using flow duration curves (FDCs); (6) the use of stream health-relevant hydrologic indices with the scoring system of the Dundee Hydrologic Regime Assessment Method (DHRAM). The FDCs plotted together for before and after the alteration periods indicated the likely presence of a stream health problem in the Plum Creek. The NATHAT–DHRAM method showed a likely moderate impact on the health of Plum Creek. The biological assessments carried out, the water quality data monitored, and the land cover during pre- and post-alteration periods documented in a publicly available federal document support the stream health results obtained from this study.

scholarly journals Nontuberculous Mycobacterial Disease and Molybdenum in Colorado Watersheds

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (11) ◽  
pp. 3854
Author(s):  
Ettie M. Lipner ◽  
Joshua French ◽  
Carleton R. Bern ◽  
Katherine Walton-Day ◽  
David Knox ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Linear Models ◽  
Disease Risk ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Quality Data ◽  
Source Water ◽  
Water Quality Data ◽  
Unit Increase ◽  
Discrete Responses ◽  
Environmental Bacteria

Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are environmental bacteria that may cause chronic lung disease. Environmental factors that favor NTM growth likely increase the risk of NTM exposure within specific environments. We aimed to identify water-quality constituents (Al, As, Cd, Ca, Cu, Fe, Pb, Mg, Mn, Mo, Ni, K, Se, Na, Zn, and pH) associated with NTM disease across Colorado watersheds. We conducted a geospatial, ecological study, associating data from patients with NTM disease treated at National Jewish Health and water-quality data from the Water Quality Portal. Water-quality constituents associated with disease risk were identified using generalized linear models with Poisson-distributed discrete responses. We observed a highly robust association between molybdenum (Mo) in the source water and disease risk. For every 1- unit increase in the log concentration of molybdenum in the source water, disease risk increased by 17.0%. We also observed a statistically significant association between calcium (Ca) in the source water and disease risk. The risk of NTM varied by watershed and was associated with watershed-specific water-quality constituents. These findings may inform mitigation strategies to decrease the overall risk of exposure.

scholarly journals Assessing the Impact of Site-Specific BMPs Using a Spatially Explicit, Field-Scale SWAT Model with Edge-of-Field and Tile Hydrology and Water-Quality Data in the Eagle Creek Watershed, Ohio

Water ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Merriman ◽  
Prasad Daggupati ◽  
Raghavan Srinivasan ◽  
Chad Toussant ◽  
Amy Russell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Cover Crops ◽  
Best Management Practices ◽  
Swat Model ◽  
Monitoring Data ◽  
Quality Data ◽  
Field Scale ◽  
Water Quality Data ◽  
Creek Watershed ◽  
The Impact

The Eagle Creek watershed, a small subbasin (125 km2) within the Maumee River Basin, Ohio, was selected as a part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) “Priority Watersheds” program to evaluate the effectiveness of agricultural Best Management Practices (BMPs) funded through GLRI at the field and watershed scales. The location and quantity of BMPs were obtained from the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources Conservation Service National Conservation Planning (NCP) database. A Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model was built and calibrated for this predominantly agricultural Eagle Creek watershed, incorporating NCP BMPs and monitoring data at the watershed outlet, an edge-of-field (EOF), and tile monitoring sites. Input air temperature modifications were required to induce simulated tile flow to match monitoring data. Calibration heavily incorporated tile monitoring data to correctly proportion surface and subsurface flow, but calibration statistics were unsatisfactory at the EOF and tile monitoring sites. At the watershed outlet, satisfactory to very good calibration statistics were achieved over a 2-year calibration period, and satisfactory statistics were found in the 2-year validation period. SWAT fixes parameters controlling nutrients primarily at the watershed level; a refinement of these parameters at a smaller-scale could improve field-level calibration. Field-scale modeling results indicate that filter strips (FS) are the most effective single BMPs at reducing dissolved reactive phosphorus, and FS typically decreased sediment and nutrient yields when added to any other BMP or BMP combination. Cover crops were the most effective single, in-field practice by reducing nutrient loads over winter months. Watershed-scale results indicate BMPs can reduce sediment and nutrients, but reductions due to NCP BMPs in the Eagle Creek watershed for all water-quality constituents were less than 10%. Hypothetical scenarios simulated with increased BMP acreages indicate larger investments of the appropriate BMP or BMP combination can decrease watershed level loads.

scholarly journals Estimating nitrogen inputs, storage, and exports for a small watershed in the upper Mississippi river basin, USA

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. 229-237
Author(s):  
Joe Magner
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Mississippi River ◽  
Fertilizer Application ◽  
Quality Data ◽  
Storm Event ◽  
Water Quality Data ◽  
Hypoxic Zone ◽  
Creek Watershed ◽  
Nitrogen Inputs ◽  
Upper Mississippi River Basin

Nitrogen contributions to the Gulf of Mexico hypoxic zone from agriculture watersheds are well documented. Beargrass creek watershed a 5,985hectare agriculturally dominated watershed in northern Indiana was instrumented to collect water quality data. A nitrogen budget was developed to account for net input and export of nitrogen from the watershed. Inputs consisted of fertilizer application, soil mineralization, and atmospheric deposition. Exports consisted of nitrogen removal in grain and stream exportation. Water quality testing at two gage stations, fourteen access tubes, and nine drainage tiles determined where excess nitrogen was stored. Nitrogen inputs was estimated at 1,004,213kg/year or 168 kg/ha/year in 2015. Total nitrogen exports accounted for 860,250kg/ha or 144kg/ha/year: with 30% of the applied nitrogen removed by Beargrass Creek through baseflow, tile flows, and storm event runoff.

scholarly journals Water Quality Modeling of Mahabad Dam Watershed–Reservoir System under Climate Change Conditions, Using SWAT and System Dynamics

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 394 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Nazari-Sharabian ◽  
Masoud Taheriyoun ◽  
Sajjad Ahmad ◽  
Moses Karakouzian ◽  
Azadeh Ahmadi
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Quality ◽  
System Dynamics ◽  
Water Conservation ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Swat Model ◽  
Water Quality Modeling ◽  
Quality Data ◽  
Livestock Farming ◽  
Water Quality Data

The total phosphorus (TP) concentration, as the primary limiting eutrophication factor in the Mahabad Dam reservoir in Iran, was studied, considering the combined impacts of climate change, as well as the scenarios on changes in upstream TP loadings and downstream dam water allocations. Downscaled daily projected climate data were obtained from the Beijing Normal University Earth System Model (BNU-ESM) under moderate (RCP4.5) and extreme (RCP8.5) scenarios. These data were used as inputs of a calibrated Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model of the watershed in order to determine the effects of climate change on runoff yields in the watershed from 2020 to 2050. The SWAT model was calibrated/validated using the SUFI-2 algorithm in the SWAT Calibration Uncertainties Program (SWAT-CUP). Moreover, to model TP concentration in the reservoir and to investigate the effects of upstream/downstream scenarios, along with forecasted climate-induced changes in streamflow and evaporation rates, the System Dynamics (SD) model was implemented. The scenarios covered a combination of changes in population, agricultural and livestock farming activities, industrialization, water conservation, and pollution control. Relative to the year 2011 in which the water quality data were available, the SD results showed the highest TP concentrations in the reservoir under scenarios in which the inflow to the reservoir had decreased, while the upstream TP loadings and downstream dam water allocations had increased (+29.9%). On the other hand, the lowest TP concentration was observed under scenarios in which upstream TP loadings and dam water allocations had decreased (−18.5%).

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