WATER QUALITY IN AGRICULTURAL,URBAN, AND MIXED LAND USE WATERSHEDS1

ABSTRACT: Water quality and nonpoint source (NPS) pollution are important issues in many areas of the world, including the Inner Bluegrass Region of Kentucky where urban development is changing formerly rural watersheds into urban and mixed use watersheds. In watersheds where land use is mixed, the relative contributions of NPS pollution from rural and urban land uses can be difficult to separate. To better understand NPS pollution sources in mixed use watersheds, surface water samples were taken at three sites that varied in land use to examine the effect of land use on water quality. Within the group of three watersheds, one was predominately agriculture (Agricultural), one was predominately urban (Urban), and a third had relatively equal representation of both types of land uses (Mixed). Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), total suspended solids (TSS), turbidity, pH, temperature, and streamflow were measured for one year. Comparisons are made among watersheds for concentration and fluxes of water quality parameters. Nitrate and orthophosphate concentrations were found to be significantly higher in the Agricultural watershed. Total suspended solids, turbidity, temperature, and pH, were found to be generally higher in the Urban and Mixed watersheds. No differences were found for streamflow (per unit area), total phosphorus, and ammonium concentrations among watersheds. Fluxes of orthophosphate were greater in the Agricultural watershed that in the Urban watershed while fluxes of TSS were greater in the Mixed watershed when compared to the Agricultural watershed. Fluxes of nitrate, ammonium, and total phosphorus did not vary among watersheds. It is apparent from the data that Agricultural land uses are generally a greater source of nutrients than the Urban land uses while Urban land uses are generally a greater source of suspended sediment.     

FACTORS AFFECTING FLOODS FROM WATERSHEDS IN HUMID REGIONS OF NORTHEASTERN OHIO1

This paper describes the results of a study of hydrologic factors affecting floods from humid region in northeastern Ohio. Statistical multiple correlation analysis was used to relate floods to hydrologic and basin characteristics. Results of the study emphasize that the characteristics of floods from small and large watersheds are so significantly different that the two problems cannot be combined into one solution. The studies show that the most important hydrologic characteristics in large watersheds were: drainage area size and main channel slope. For small watersheds the most important hydrologic characteristics were: drainage area size, rainfall intensity and soil index. For watershed effect by reservoir storage it was found that: (1) small drainage areas are relatively more affected by storage than large drainage areas; (2) storage of less than 25 acre feet per square mile will not have significant effect on the mean annual flood (for drainage area above 70 square miles).     

Modeling Hydrology in a Small Rocky Mountain Watershed Serving Large Urban Populations1

Abstract: This article describes the development of a calibrated hydrologic model for the Blue River watershed (867 km²) in Summit County, Colorado. This watershed provides drinking water to over a third of Colorado’s population. However, more research on model calibration and development for small mountain watersheds is needed. This work required integration of subsurface and surface hydrology using GIS data, and included aspects unique to mountain watersheds such as snow hydrology, high ground‐water gradients, and large differences in climate between the headwaters and outlet. Given the importance of this particular watershed as a major urban drinking‐water source, the rapid development occurring in small mountain watersheds, and the importance of Rocky Mountain water in the arid and semiarid West, it is useful to describe calibrated watershed modeling efforts in this watershed. The model used was Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). An accurate model of the hydrologic cycle required incorporation of mountain hydrology‐specific processes. Snowmelt and snow formation parameters, as well as several ground‐water parameters, were the most important calibration factors. Comparison of simulated and observed streamflow hydrographs at two U.S. Geological Survey gaging stations resulted in good fits to average monthly values (0.71 Nash‐Sutcliffe coefficient). With this capability, future assessments of point‐source and nonpoint‐source pollutant transport are possible.     

USE OF STAGE DATA TO CHARACTERIZE HYDROLOGIC CONDITIONS IN AN URBANIZING ENVIRONMENT1

ABSTRACT: This paper presents the results of a study on the use of continuous stage data to describe the relation between urban development and three aspects of hydrologic condition that are thought to influence stream ecosystems—overall stage variability, stream flashiness, and the duration of extreme‐stage conditions. This relation is examined using data from more than 70 watersheds in three contrasting environmental settings—the humid Northeast (the metropolitan Boston, Massachusetts, area); the very humid Southeast (the metropolitan Birmingham, Alabama, area); and the semiarid West (the metropolitan Salt Lake City, Utah, area). Results from the Birmingham and Boston studies provide evidence linking increased urbanization with stream flashiness. Fragmentation of developed land cover patches appears to ameliorate the effects of urbanization on overall variability and flashiness. There was less success in relating urbanization and streamflow conditions in the Salt Lake City study. A related investigation of six North Carolina sites with long term discharge and stage data indicated that hydrologic condition metrics developed using continuous stage data are comparable to flow based metrics, particularly for stream flashiness measures.     

HYDRAULIC GEOMETRY RELATIONSHIPS FOR URBAN STREAMS THROUGHOUT THE PIEDMONT OF NORTH CAROLINA1

ABSTRACT: Hydraulic geometry relationships, or regional curves, relate bankfull stream channel dimensions to watershed drainage area. Hydraulic geometry relationships for streams throughout North Carolina vary with hydrology, soils, and extent of development within a watershed. An urban curve that is the focus of this study shows the bankfull features of streams in urban and suburban watersheds throughout the North Carolina Piedmont. Seventeen streams were surveyed in watersheds that had greater than 10 percent impervious cover. The watersheds had been developed long enough for the streams to redevelop bankfull features, and they had no major impoundments. The drainage areas for the streams ranged from 0.4 to 110.3 square kilometers. Cross‐sectional and longitudinal surveys were conducted to determine the channel dimension, pattern, and profile of each stream and power functions were fitted to the data. Comparisons were made with regional curves developed previously for the rural Piedmont, and enlargement ratios were produced. These enlargement ratios indicated a substantial increase in the hydraulic geometry for the urban streams in comparison to the rural streams. A comparison of flood frequency indicates a slight decrease in the bankfull discharge return interval for the gaged urban streams as compared to the gaged rural streams. The study data were collected by North Carolina State University (NCSU), the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC), and Charlotte Storm Water Services. Urban regional curves are useful tools for applying natural channel design in developed watersheds. They do not, however, replace the need for field calibration and verification of bankfull stream channel dimensions.     

MODELING FRAMEWORK FOR MANAGING COPPER RUNOFF IN URBAN WATERSHEDS1

ABSTRACT: A modeling framework was developed for managing copper runoff in urban watersheds that incorporates water quality characterization, watershed land use areas, hydrologic data, a statistical simulator, a biotic ligand binding model to characterize acute toxicity, and a statistical method for setting a watershed specific copper loading. The modeling framework is driven by export coefficients derived from water quality parameters and hydrologic inputs measured in an urban watershed's storm water system. This framework was applied to a watershed containing a copper roof built in 1992. A series of simulations was run to predict the change in receiving stream water chemistry caused by roof aging and to determine the maximum copper loading (at the 99 percent confidence level) a watershed could accept without causing acute toxicity in the receiving stream. Forecasting the amount of copper flux responsible for exceeding the assimilation capacity of a watershed can be directly related to maximum copper loadings responsible for causing toxicity in the receiving streams. The framework developed in this study can be used to evaluate copper utilization in urban watersheds.     

WATER QUALITY TRAP EFFICIENCY OF STORM WATER MANAGEMENT BASINS1

ABSTRACT: While the quality of rivers has received much attention, the degradation of small streams in upland areas of watersheds has only recently been recognized as a major problem. A major cause of the problem is increases in nonpoint source pollution that accompany urban expansion. A case study is used to examine the potential for storm water detention as a means of controlling water quality in streams of small watersheds. The storm water management basin, which is frequently used to control increases in discharge rates, can also be used to reduce the level of pollutants in inflow to receiving streams. Data collected on a 148-acre site in Maryland shows that a detention basin can trap as much as 98 percent of the pollutant in the inflow. For the 11 water quality parameters, most showed reductions of at least 60 percent, depending on storm characteristics.     

THE CONCEPT OF HYDROLOGIC LANDSCAPES1

ABSTRACT: Hydrologic landscapes are multiples or variations of fundamental hydrologic landscape units. A fundamental hydrologic landscape unit is defined on the basis of land‐surface form, geology, and climate. The basic land‐surface form of a fundamental hydrologic landscape unit is an upland separated from a lowland by an intervening steeper slope. Fundamental hydrologic landscape units have a complete hydrologic system consisting of surface runoff, ground‐water flow, and interaction with atmospheric water. By describing actual landscapes in terms of land‐surface slope, hydraulic properties of soils and geologic framework, and the difference between precipitation and evapotranspiration, the hydrologic system of actual landscapes can be conceptualized in a uniform way. This conceptual framework can then be the foundation for design of studies and data networks, syntheses of information on local to national scales, and comparison of process research across small study units in a variety of settings. The Crow Wing River watershed in central Minnesota is used as an example of evaluating stream discharge in the context of hydrologic landscapes. Lake‐research watersheds in Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Nebraska are used as an example of using the hydrologic‐land‐scapes concept to evaluate the effect of ground water on the degree of mineralization and major‐ion chemistry of lakes that lie within ground‐water flow systems.     

STREAM HEALTH AFTER URBANIZATION1

ABSTRACT: Urban development has compromised the quality of physical elements offish habitat in low‐order spawning and rearing streams. In order to identify where priorities should lie in stream rehabilitation, field surveys of a number of streams were conducted near Vancouver, British Columbia. All of the streams were located in watersheds which were urbanized approximately 20 years earlier. The study watersheds ranged from 5 to 77 percent total impervious area (percent TIA). The urban streambeds were found to have less fine material and slightly higher values of intragravel dissolved oxygen than in rural streams. This improved gravel quality is attributed to the higher peak flows generated by impervious areas, and the reduced recruitment of fine material in the urban watersheds. Summer base flow was uniformly low when imperviousness was above 40 percent, evidenced by a decrease in velocity rather than water depth. Large woody debris (LWD) was scarce in all streams with > 20 percent TIA. A healthy buffer zone and abundant LWD were found to stabilize stream banks. The introduction of LWD is considered the most important strategy for stream rehabilitation. Stormwater detention ponds, in contrast, are concluded to have few hydrological benefits if constructed after a stream has reached its urban equilibrium.     

Flood Risk Reduction from Agricultural Best Management Practices

Best management practices (BMPs) play an important role in improving impaired water quality from conventional row crop agriculture. In addition to reducing nutrient and sediment loads, BMPs such as fertilizer management, reduced tillage, and cover crops could alter the hydrology of agricultural systems and reduce surface water runoff. While attention is devoted to the water quality benefits of BMPs, the potential co‐benefits of flood loss reduction are often overlooked. This study quantifies the effects of selected commonly applied BMPs on expected flood loss to agricultural and urban areas in four Iowa watersheds. The analysis combines a watershed hydrologic model, hydraulic model outputs, and a loss estimation model to determine relationships between hydrologic changes from BMP implementations and annual economic flood loss. The results indicate a modest reduction in peak discharge and economic loss, although loss reduction is substantial when urban centers or other high‐value assets are located downstream in the watershed. Among the BMPs, wetlands, and cover crops reduce losses the most. The research demonstrates that watershed‐scale implementation of agricultural BMPs could provide benefits of flood loss reduction in addition to water quality improvements.     

Urbanization and Its Effect On Runoff in the Whiteoak Bayou Watershed,Texas1

Abstract: The capacity of a watershed to urbanize without changing its hydrologic response and the relationship between that response and the spatial configuration of the developed areas was studied. The study was conducted in the Whiteoak Bayou watershed (223 km²), located northwest of Houston, Texas, over an analysis period from 1949 to 2000. Annual development data were derived from parcel data collected by the Harris County Appraisal District. Using these data, measures of the spatial configuration of the watershed urban areas were calculated for each year. Based on regression models, it was determined that the annual runoff depths and annual peak flows depended on the annual precipitation depth, the developed area and the maximum 12‐h precipitation depth on the day and day before the peak flow took place. It was found that, since the early 1970s, when the watershed reached a 10% impervious area, annual runoff depths and peak flows have increased by 146% and 159%, respectively. However, urbanization is responsible for only 77% and 32% of the increase, respectively, while precipitation changes are responsible for the remaining 39% and 96%, respectively. Likewise, an analysis of the development data showed that, starting in the early 1970s, urbanization in the watershed consisted more of connecting already developed areas than of creating new ones, which increases the watershed’s conveyance capacity and explains the change in its response. Before generalizing conclusions, though, further research on other urban watersheds with different urbanization models appears to be necessary.     

DETERMINISTIC-SYSTEMIC RELATIONSHIPS IN OVERLAND FLOW ANALYSIS1

ABSTRACT: An analysis of storm runoff is presented, giving primary attention to deterministic-systemic relationships. So that system aspects can be emphasized, other aspects are kept simple; analysis is made for uniform rainfall on a strip of uniform width, limiting direct applicability to small areas. Two relationships between excess rain and time of concentration, one based on hydraulic parameters, the other on hydrologic characteristics, are combined in a solution for peak discharge. The hydraulic expression gives the interrelationship of time of concentration, excess rain, friction, length, and slope. The hydrologic relationship is achieved by converting ordinary intensity-duration curves to corresponding excess rain intensity-duration curves, thereby interrelating excess rain, time of concentration, and loss characteristics. The resulting solution for peak discharge allows for systemic feedback among both hydraulic and hydrologic parameters.     

EVALUATION OF THE APPLICABILITY OF THE SWAT MODEL FOR COASTAL WATERSHEDS IN SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA1

ABSTRACT: The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) has been used for hydrologic analyses at various watershed scales. However, little is known about the model's performance in coastal watersheds. In this study SWAT was evaluated for its applicability in three Louisiana coastal watersheds: the Amite, Tickfaw, and Tangipahoa River watersheds. The model was calibrated with daily discharge from 1976 to 1977 and validated from 1979 to 1999 for the Amite and Tangipahoa and with daily discharge from 1979 to 1989 for the Tickfaw. Deviation of mean discharge and the Nash‐Sutcliffe model efficiency were used to evaluate model behavior. The study found that Manning's roughness coefficient for the main channel, SCS curve number, and soil evaporation compensation factor were the most sensitive parameters for these coastal watersheds. The Manning's roughness coefficient showed the greatest effect on the response time of surface runoff, suggesting the critical role of channel routing in hydrologic modeling for lowland watersheds. The SWAT model demonstrated an excellent performance, with Nash‐Sutcliffe efficiencies of 0.935, 0.940, and 0.960 for calibrations of the Amite, Tickfaw, and Tangipahoa watersheds, respectively, and of 0.851, 0.811, and 0.867 for validations. The modeling results demonstrate that SWAT is capable of simulating hydrologic processes for medium scale to large scale coastal lowland watersheds in Louisiana.     

THE MISUSE OF HYDROLOGIC UNIT MAPS FOR EXTRAPOLATION,REPORTING, AND ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT1

ABSTRACT: The use of watersheds to conduct research on land/water relationships has expanded recently to include both extrapolation and reporting of water resource information and ecosystem management. More often than not, hydrologic units (HUs) are used for these purposes, with the implication that hydrologic units are synonymous with watersheds. Whereas true topographic watersheds are areas within which apparent surface water drains to a particular point, generally only 45 percent of all hydrologic units, regardless of their hierarchical level, meet this definition. Because the area contributing to the downstream point in many hydrologic units extends far beyond the unit boundaries, use of the hydrologic unit framework to show regional and national patterns of water quality and other environmental resources can result in incorrect and misleading illustrations. In this paper, the implications of this misuse are demonstrated using four adjacent HUs in central Texas. A more effective way of showing regional patterns in environmental resources is by using data from true watersheds representative of different ecological regions containing particular mosaics of geographical characteristics affecting differences in ecosystems and water quality.     

Effects of Changing Forest and Impervious Land Covers on Discharge Characteristics of Watersheds

Effects of changing patterns of forest and impervious land covers on hydrologic regimes of watersheds were evaluated for urban and rural areas of the lower Cedar River drainage near Seattle, Washington. Land cover characterizations were used in a spatially explicit hydrology model to assess effects of land covers on watershed hydrology during presettlement conditions (full forest cover), 1991 and 1998. For the presettlement to 1991 period, urban watersheds showed decreases in forest covers (range 63% to 83%) and increases in impervious surfaces (range 43% to 71%). Rural watersheds showed similar patterns but smaller changes, with forest covers decreasing (range 28% to 34%) and impervious surfaces increasing (range 8% to 15%). For the 1991 and 1998 period, changes in forest covers for urban and rural watershed were <24%, with losses in some watersheds and regeneration in others. Impervious surfaces continued to increase, but increases were larger in rural (range 38% to 60%) than in urban watersheds (range 4% to 27%). Flood-frequency curves indicated that discharge rates (m sec^–1) for all watersheds were higher in 1991 and 1998 than historical and suggested that chances for floods increase because of changing land covers. The largest increases in discharge rates were in urban watersheds, with rates for 2-year, 10-year, and 25-year recurrence intervals being more than two times greater than the rate during historical conditions. Changes in flow regimes were indicated by presettlement discharge levels of less frequent recurrence intervals (10-year and 25-year) occurring in posturbanization times (1991 and 1998) during more frequent intervals (2-year and 10-year). Normalized flows (m yr^–1) of watersheds for 2-year, 10-year, and 25-year recurrence intervals indicate how flow regimes in 1991 and 1998 can change as functions of different areas of land covers. During 1991 and 1998, abrupt increases in flows occurred when forest covers were low (range 17% to 37%) and impervious surfaces were >46%. In contrast, the lowest flows occurred when forest covers were most extensive (range 59% to 81%) and impervious surfaces were <23%. We conclude that our use of spatial characterizations of impervious surfaces and forested covers in a spatially explicit hydrology model provides a robust approach for revealing how variations in different types and spatial distributions of land covers can affect flood regimes and flows of different watersheds.     

Analyses of Urban Drainage Network Structure and its Impact on Hydrologic Response1

Meierdiercks, Katherine L., James A. Smith, Mary Lynn Baeck, and Andrew J. Miller, 2010. Analyses of Urban Drainage Network Structure and Its Impact on Hydrologic Response. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 1-12. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2010.00465.x Abstract: Urban flood studies have linked the severity of flooding to the percent imperviousness or land use classifications of a watershed, but relatively little attention has been given to the impact of urban drainage networks on hydrologic response. The drainage network, which can include storm pipes, surface channels, street gutters, and stormwater management ponds, is examined in the Dead Run watershed (14.3 km²). Comprehensive digital representations of the urban drainage network in Dead Run were developed and provide a key observational resource for analyses of urban drainage networks and their impact on hydrologic response. Analyses in this study focus on three headwater subbasins with drainage areas ranging from 1.3 to 1.9 km² and that exhibit striking contrasts in their patterns and history of development. It is shown that the drainage networks of the three subbasins, like natural river networks, exhibit characteristic structures and that these features play critical roles in determining urban hydrologic response. Hydrologic modeling analyses utilize the Environmental Protection Agency’s Stormwater Management Model (SWMM), which provides a flexible platform for examining the impacts of drainage network structure on hydrologic response. Results of SWMM modeling analyses suggest that drainage density and presence of stormwater ponds impact peak discharge more significantly in the Dead Run subbasins than the percent impervious or land use type of the subbasins.     

Denitrification potential in urban riparian zones

Denitrification, the anaerobic microbial conversion of nitrate (NO3-) to nitrogen (N) gases, is an important process contributing to the ability of riparian zones to function as "sinks" for NO3- in watersheds. There has been little analysis of riparian zones in urban watersheds despite concerns about high NO3- concentrations in many urban streams. Vegetation and soils in urban ecosystems are often highly disturbed, and few studies have examined microbial processes like denitrification in these ecosystems. In this study, we measured denitrification potential and a suite of related microbial parameters (microbial biomass carbon [C] and N content, potential net N mineralization and nitrification, soil inorganic N pools) in four rural and four urban riparian zones in the Baltimore, MD metropolitan area. Two of the riparian zones were forested and two had herbaceous vegetation in each land use context. There were few differences between urban and rural and herbaceous and forest riparian zones, but variability was much higher in urban than rural sites. There were strong positive relationships between soil moisture and organic matter content and denitrification potential. Given the importance of surface runoff in urban watersheds, the high denitrification potential of the surface soils that we observed suggests that if surface runoff can be channeled through areas with high denitrification potential (e.g., stormwater detention basins with wetland vegetation), these areas could function as important NO3- sinks in urban watersheds.     

Coupling of the Water Cycle with Patterns of Urban Growth in the Baltimore Metropolitan Region,United States

Regional municipal water plans typically do not recognize complex coupling patterns or that increased withdrawals in one location can result in changes in water availability in others. We investigated the interaction between urban growth and water availability in the Baltimore metropolitan region where urban growth has occurred beyond the reaches of municipal water systems into areas that rely on wells in low‐productivity Piedmont aquifers. We used the urban growth model SLEUTH and the hydrologic model ParFlow.CLM to evaluate this interaction with urban growth scenarios in 2007 and 2030. We found decreasing groundwater availability outside of the municipal water service area. Within the municipal service area we found zones of increasing storage resulting from increased urban growth, where reduced vegetation cover dominated the effect of urbanization on the hydrologic cycle. We also found areas of decreasing storage, where expanding impervious surfaces played a larger role. Although the magnitude of urban growth and change in water availability for the simulation period were generally small, there was considerable spatial heterogeneity of changes in subsurface storage. This suggests that there are locally concentrated areas of groundwater sensitivity to urban growth where water shortages could occur or where drying up of headwater streams would be more likely. The simulation approach presented here could be used to identify early warning indicators of future risk.     

MULTIVARIATE CLASSIFICATION OF SMALL ORDER WATERSHEDS IN THE QUABBIN RESERVOIR BASIN,MASSACHUSEVFS1

ABSTRACT: A multivariate approach was used to analyze hydrologic, geologic, geographic, and water-chemistry data from small order watersheds in the Quabbin Reservoir Basin in central Massachusetts. Eighty three small order watersheds were delineated and landscape attributes defining hydrologic, geologic, and geographic features of the watersheds were compiled from geographic information system data layers. Principal components analysis was used to evaluate 11 chemical constituents collected bi-weekly for 1 year at 15 surface-water stations in order to subdivide the basin into subbasins comprised of watersheds with similar water quality characteristics. Three principal components accounted for about 90 percent of the variance in water chemistry data. The principal components were defined as a biogeochemical variable related to wet. land density, an acid-neutralization variable, and a road-salt variable related to density of primary roads. Three subbasins were identified. Analysis of variance and multiple comparisons of means were used to identify significant differences in stream water chemistry and landscape attributes among subbasins. All stream water constituents were significantly different among subbasins. Multiple regression techniques were used to relate stream water chemistry to landscape attributes. Important differences in landscape attributes were related to wetlands, slope, and soil type.     

MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS OF WATER QUALITY AND PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF SELECTED WATERSHEDS IN PUERTO RICO1

ABSTRACT: Multivariate analyses were used to develop equations that could predict certain water quality (WQ) conditions for unmonitored watersheds in Puerto Rico based on their physical characteristics. Long term WQ data were used to represent the WQ of 15 watersheds in Puerto Rico. A factor analysis (FA) was performed to reduce the number of chemical constituents. Cluster analysis (CA) was used to group watersheds with similar WQ characteristics. Finally, a discriminant analysis (DA) was performed to relate the WQ clusters to different physical parameters and generate predicting equations. The FA identified six factors (77 percent of variation explained): nutrients, dissolved ions, sodium and chloride, silicacious geology, red ox conditions, and discharge. From the FA, specific conductance, sodium, phosphorous, silica, and dissolved oxygen were selected to represent the WQ characteristics in the CA. The CA determined five groups of watersheds (forested, urban polluted, mixed urban/rural, forested plutonic, and limestone) with similar WQ properties. From the five WQ clusters, two categories can be observed: forested and urban watersheds. The DA found that changes in forest cover, percent of limestone, mean annual rainfall, and watershed shape factor were the most important physical features affecting the WQ of watersheds in Puerto Rico.