Linking Land Cover and Water Quality in New York City’S Water Supply Watersheds

The Catskill/Delaware reservoirs supply 90% of New York City’s drinking water. The City has implemented a series of watershed protection measures, including land acquisition, aimed at preserving water quality in the Catskill/Delaware watersheds. The objective of this study was to examine how relationships between landscape and surface water measurements change between years. Thirty-two drainage areas delineated from surface water sample points (total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and fecal coliform bacteria concentrations) were used in step-wise regression analyses to test landscape and surface-water quality relationships. Two measurements of land use, percent agriculture and percent urban development, were positively related to water quality and consistently present in all regression models. Together these two land uses explained 25 to 75% of the regression model variation. However, the contribution of agriculture to water quality condition showed a decreasing trend with time as overall agricultural land cover decreased. Results from this study demonstrate that relationships between land cover and surface water concentrations of total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and fecal coliform bacteria counts over a large area can be evaluated using a relatively simple geographic information system method. Land managers may find this method useful for targeting resources in relation to a particular water quality concern, focusing best management efforts, and maximizing benefits to water quality with minimal costs.The United States Environmental Protection Agency through its Office of Research and Development funded and managed the research described here. It has been subjected to Agency’s administrative review and approved for publication as an EPA document.     

Declines in organochlorines in eggs of red-breasted mergansers from Lake Michigan, 1977–1978 versus 1990

From 1977–1978 to 1990, concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and most organochlorine pesticides declined in eggs of red-breasted mergansers (Mergus serrator) nesting on islands in northwestern Lake Michigan. Total PCBs decreased 60% (from 21 ppm in 1977–1978 to 8.5 ppm in 1990) and p,p-DDE decreased 66% (from 6.5 to 2.2 ppm). Dieldrin decreased only 16% (from 0.82 to 0.69 ppm). In 1990, 79.1% of incubated eggs hatched, which was not significantly different from the 83.5% that hatched in 1977–1978.The U.S. Government right to retain a non-exclusive, royalty free licence in and to any copyright is acknowledged.     

Fate in soil of 14C-sulfadiazine residues contained in the manure of young pigs treated with a veterinary antibiotic

The fate of ¹⁴C-labeled sulfadiazine (¹⁴C-SDZ) residues was studied in time-course experiments for 218 days of incubation using two soils (A_p horizon of loamy sand, orthic luvisol; A_p horizon of silt loam, cambisol) amended with fresh and aged (6 months) ¹⁴C-manure [40 g kg^?1 of soil; 6.36 mg of sulfadiazine (SDZ) equivalents per kg of soil], which was derived from two shoats treated with ¹⁴C-SDZ. Mineralization of ¹⁴C-SDZ residues was below 2% after 218 days depending little on soil type. Portions of extractable ¹⁴C (ethanol-water, 9:1, v/v) decreased with time to 4–13% after 218 days of incubation with fresh and aged ¹⁴C-manure and both soils. Non-extractable residues were the main route of the fate of the ¹⁴C-SDZ residues (above 90% of total recovered ¹⁴C after 218 days). These residues were high immediately after amendment depending on soil type and aging of the ¹⁴C-manure, and were stable and not remobilized throughout 218 days of incubation. Bioavailable portions (extraction using CaCl₂ solution) also decreased with increasing incubation period (5–7% after 218 days). Due to thin-layer chromatography (TLC), 500 μg of ¹⁴C-SDZ per kg soil were found in the ethanol-water extracts immediately after amendment with fresh ¹⁴C-manure, and about 50 μg kg^?1 after 218 days. Bioavailable ¹⁴C-SDZ portions present in the CaCl₂ extracts were about 350 μg kg^?1 with amendment. Higher concentrations were initially detected with aged ¹⁴C-manure (ethanol-water extracts: 1,920 μg kg^?1; CaCl₂ extracts: 1,020 μg kg^?1), probably due to release of ¹⁴C-SDZ from bound forms during storage. Consistent results were obtained by extraction of the ¹⁴C-manure-soil samples with ethyl acetate; portions of N-acetylated SDZ were additionally determined. All soluble ¹⁴C-SDZ residues contained in ¹⁴C-manure contributed to the formation of non-extractable residues; a tendency for persistence or accumulation was not observed. SDZ's non-extractable soil residues were associated with the soluble HCl, fulvic acids and humic acids fractions, and the insoluble humin fraction. The majority of the non-extractable residues appeared to be due to stable covalent binding to soil organic matter.     

Contaminated area instability along Ångermanälven River,northern Sweden

Industrially utilized river basins are frequently exposed to contaminants originating from polluting activities. However, the physical instability and probability of mass movement mobilization of contaminated soil into rivers have only received little attention. In this study, we present a GIS-based method to produce a regional overview of where and how contaminated areas are potentially exposed to slope instability. A landslide susceptibility-index was used to study the degree and distribution of overlap between contaminated sites and unstable ground. A contaminated area instability hazard classification was produced integrating slope instability and contamination risk classification. Our results indicate that mass movement can be tied mainly to a slope gradient ≥16°, a proximity to the river that is <500 m, a distance of <500 m from roads, concave surface curvature, and sand- and silt soils. Forty-six (22%) of all considered contaminated sites are located within areas with a non-negligible slope instability, of which a majority, 30 sites (14%) are situated on ground with a low or moderate instability. Three sites with a class 2 contamination risk (the 2nd highest class) are located on ground with a very high slope instability.     

Watershed vulnerability predictions for the Ozarks using landscape models

Forty-six broad-scale landscape metrics derived from commonly used landscape metrics were used to develop potential indicators of total phosphorus (TP) concentration, total ammonia (TA) concentration, and Escherichia coli bacteria count among 244 sub-watersheds of the Upper White River (Ozark Mountains, USA). Indicator models were developed by correlating field-based water quality measurements and contemporaneous remote-sensing-based ecological metrics using partial least squares (PLS) analyses. The TP PLS model resulted in one significant factor explaining 91% of the variability in surface water TP concentrations. Among the 18 contributing landscape model variables for the TP PLS model, the proportions of a sub-watershed that are barren and in human use were key indicators of water chemistry in the associated sub-watersheds. The increased presence and reduced fragmentation of forested areas are negatively correlated with TP concentrations in associated sub-watersheds, particularly within close proximity to rivers and streams. The TA PLS model resulted in one significant factor explaining 93% of the variability in surface water TA concentrations. The eight contributing landscape model variables for the TA PLS model were among the same forest and urban metrics for the TP model, with a similar spatial gradient trend in relationship to distance from streams and rivers within a sub-watershed. The E. coli PLS model resulted in two significant factors explaining 99.7% of the variability in E. coli cell count. The 17 contributing landscape model variables for the E. coli PLS model were similar to the TP and TA models. The integration of model results demonstrates that forest, riparian, and urban attributes of sub-watersheds affect all three models. The results provide watershed managers in the Ozark Mountains with a broad-scale vulnerability prediction tool, focusing on TP, TA, and E. coli, and are being used to prioritize and evaluate monitoring and restoration efforts in the vicinity of the White River, a major tributary to the Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico.     

Assessing Landscape Condition Relative to Water Resources in the Western United States: A Strategic Approach

The Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP) is proposing an ambitious agenda to assess the status of streams and estuaries in a 12-State area of the western United States by the end of 2003. Additionally, EMAP is proposing to access landscape conditions as they relate to stream and estuary conditions across the west. The goal of this landscape project is to develop a landscape model that can be used to identify the relative risks of streams and estuaries to potential declines due to watershed-scale, landscape conditions across the west. To do so, requires an understanding of quantitative relationships between landscape composition and pattern metrics and parameters of stream and estuary conditions. This paper describes a strategic approach for evaluating the degree to which landscape composition and pattern influence stream and estuary condition, and the development and implementation of a spatially-distributed, landscape analysis approach.