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AWRCOralandPosterPresentations
Page 1 2017 Alabama Water Resources Conference
The Alabama Section of THE AMERICAN WATER RESOURCES ASSOCIATION
2017 Alabama Water Resources Conference Presentations
September 2017
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AWRCOralandPosterPresentations
Page 2 2017 Alabama Water Resources Conference
Alabama Section of the American Water Resources Association Symposium Program
Wednesday, September 6, 2017
Theme: Effective Water Resources Communication
Registration Open – (Lobby)
Welcome & Introduction – (Salons E‐H) Kenneth Odom, PE, PhD, Southern Company, AWRA President
Overview of Symposium Eve Brantley, PhD, Alabama Cooperative Extension System, President Elect, AWRA
Influencing Positive Change Barry Fagan, PE/PLS, ENV SP, CPMSM CPESC, Volkert, Inc.
Building Blocks for a Community Watershed Jonika Smith, Jefferson County Dept. of Public Health’s Watershed Protection Program, Education and Outreach
NETWORKING BREAK
Commercials, Songs and Everybody’s an Expert: Thoughts on the communication of science Matt Waters, PhD, Auburn University
Getting Stakeholders to the Table and Keeping Them Engaged Sabra Sutton, CH2M
A Picture is Worth More Than a Thousand Words: Communication through art
Wrap Up and Adjournment Kenneth Odom, PE, PhD, Southern Company, AWRA President
2017 AWRC Sponsors
Alabama A&M University Alabama Cooperative System, SerPIE Program
Samford University Masters of Science in Environmental Management
Alabama Coal Association Hargrove Environmental & Constructors
Alabama Power Company Normandeau Associates
Alabama Pulp and Paper Council Ott Hydromet and Hydrolab
Amec Foster Wheeler PowerSouth Energy
Balch & Bingham, LLP
CH2M Trutta Environmental Solutions
Drummond Company UA SafeState
Eureka Water Probes Flexamat
Kleinschmidt – Energy & Water Resource Consultants
University of Alabama Research and Economic Development Water Policy and Law Institute
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AWRCOralandPosterPresentations
2017 Alabama Water Resources Conference Page 3
AWRC Conference Program Session Topics and Presenters
Thursday, September 7, 2017
Ballroom D – Session One: Watershed Management
Have the local government entities involved in water resources management evolved over the period 1990 to the present day? Have their changing roles influenced the development of water policy in the state? Mary Wallace Pitts, University of Alabama
Growing and Maintaining a Vibrant Watershed Group in North Central Alabama Kevin Jenne, Watershed Coordinator, Choccolocco Creek Watershed
Implementation Assessment for Water Resource Availability, Protection, and Utilization for the Choctawhatchee, Pea and Yellow Rivers Watersheds Barbara Gibson, Choctawhatchee, Pea and Yellow Rivers Watershed Management Authority
What Difference Does a Year Make? The influence of drought periods on low flow statistics and water quality trends Lynn Sisk, TTL, Inc.
Ballroom E – Session One: Aquatic Ecology/Biology
Quantification of Functional Marker Genes for Denitrifying Microbial Populations in the Chandeleur Islands Impacted by the 2010 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Nikaela Flournoy, University of Alabama
Non‐Lethal Estimation of Proximate Body Composition of Channel Catfish Using Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis Julie Sharp, University of Alabama
Estimating Nitrogen Removal Services of Eastern Oyster in Mobile Bay, Alabama Quan Lai, Auburn University
Macroinvertebrate Community Response to Drought Years in Regulated and Unregulated Reaches of the Tallapoosa River, Alabama Kristie Ouellette, Alabama Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
Ballroom F‐H – Session One: Water Quantity
Limits to Water Entrepreneurship and How to Overcome Them: A case analysis Craig Armstrong, University of Alabama
EPA’s Water Conservation & Efficiency Best Practices (formerly Region 4’s Water Efficiency Guidelines) Rosemary (Hall) Calli, Aquatic Ecotoxicologist, EPA Region 4
Updating Low‐Flow Frequency and Flow‐Duration Statistics in Alabama Toby Feaster, U.S. Geological Survey
Hydrologic Classification of Alabama Rivers Based on Cluster Analysis of Dimensionless Signatures Sarah Praskievicz, University of Alabama
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Ballroom D – Session Two: Water Policy/Law
Aftermath: Water policy implications of Florida v. Georgia Bennett Bearden, Water Policy and Law Institute, University of Alabama
Multi‐Decadal Decline of Alabama Streamflow Glenn Tootle, University of Alabama
A Paleohydroclimate Perspective on Alabama Water Policy Matthew Therrell, University of Alabama
Bridging Water Policy and Aquatic Species Conservation: What we have learned from a two‐inch fish Patrick O'Neil, Geological Survey of Alabama
Ballroom E – Session Two: Drought/Climate Issues
Past and Future Predicted Effects of Sea Level Rise and Human Activities on Habitats and Shorelines in Coastal Alabama’s Weeks Bay Watershed Scott Jackson, Ecology and Environment, Inc.
Land‐Atmosphere Coupling and Soil Moisture Memory Contribute to Long‐Term Agricultural Drought Sanjiv Kumar, Auburn University
Development of Bivariate and Multivariate Coastal Drought Index: A comprehensive drought assessment tool for coastal areas, bays and estuaries Subhasis Mitra, Auburn University
Medium Range Forecasting of Reference Evapotranspiration in Continental U.S. Using Numerical Weather Predictions Hanoi Medina, Auburn University
Ballroom F‐H – Session Two: Weeks Bay Session
Creating a Clean Water Future for the Weeks Bay Watershed Roberta Swann, Mobile Bay National Estuary Program
Weeks Bay Watershed Hydrologic and Water Quality Modeling Latif Kalin, Auburn University
Weeks Bay Watershed Management Plan: Overview of watershed conditions and water quality John Carlton, Double J Farms
Ecosystem Review and Analysis for the Weeks Bay Watershed Management Plan Tim Thibaut, Barry A. Vittor & Associates, Inc.
Management Recommendations for the Weeks Bay Watershed Management Plan Michael Eubanks, Thompson Engineering, Inc.
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Ballroom D – Session Three: Modeling in Water Management
Application of AnnAGNPS to Model an Agricultural Watershed in East‐Central Mississippi for the Evaluation of an On‐Farm Water Storage (OFWS) System Ritesh Karki, Auburn University
Implementing a Modified HAND Method for Real‐Time Continental Inundation Mapping Ryan McGehee, Auburn University
Challenges, Perspectives and Understandings Regarding Wetland Function: A comparative case study Rasika Ramesh, Auburn University
Using Drone Images to Capture Channel Geometry for Hydrological Modeling Thorsten Knappenberger, Auburn University
Ballroom E – Session Three: Water Quality
Common Mistakes in Applying Statistics to Water Quality Data and How to Avoid Them Jason Heberling, Heberling Environmental Consulting
Establishing Comprehensive Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Jason Kudulis, Mobile Bay National Estuary Program
Water‐Soluble Carbohydrates Sensing System Using Boronic Acid Modified Poly (amidoamine) Dendrimers Xiaoli Liang, University of Alabama
Reconstructing Sediment Inputs, Water Quality and Phytoplankton Communities in Wolf Bay, Alabama from the Sediment Record Matthew Waters, Auburn University
Ballroom F‐H – Session Three: Restoration/Remediation
Bear Point Bayou: A case study in urban coastal stream restoration Kit Hamblen, CH2M
Update on Grant Funded Comprehensive Steam Restoration Projects in the D'Olive Watershed, Baldwin County, Alabama Paul Lammers, Mobile Bay National Estuary Program
Faunal Habitat Linkages for Alabama Barrier Island Restoration Assessment at Dauphin Island Clint Lloyd, Auburn University
Primum Non Nocere: Fundamentals of ecological‐driven remediation John Schell, TEA, Inc.
Ballroom D – Session Four: Connecting Agencies, Industries and Stakeholders
Examples of Local Municipalities Working with Their Universities Michael Freeman, AWWA
Inland Navigation in Alabama Larry Merrihew, Coalition of Alabama Waterway Associations
Finding and Nurturing Public Support: What cultural rhetorics can contribute to public debates on environmental initiatives and clean water policies? Cindy Tekobbe, University of Alabama
Alabama Oyster Shell Recycling Program: Connecting people to their Coast Mark Berte, Alabama Coastal Foundation
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Ballroom E – Session Four: Stormwater Management
Realizing Our Sustainability Potential: Utilizing urban trees for stormwater management Jeremy Bailey, GreenBlue Urban
The Alabama Clean Water Partnership: Engaging students for clean water Ashley Henderson and Sabrina Wood, Alabama Clean Water Partnership ‐ Alabama and Tallapoosa River Basins
Mapping and Analysis of Sedimentation in a Suburban Lake Bret Webb, University of South Alabama
Stormwater User Fees in Alabama Byron Hinchey, Amec Foster Wheeler
Ballroom F‐H – Session Four: Restoration GIS in Water Management
Evaluating Baseline Watershed Conditions and Identifying Restoration Opportunities Using Mobile Data Collection Software David Bell, CH2M
Using GIS and Story Maps for Watershed Management and Monitoring John Cartwright, Mississippi State University
High Definition Stream Survey of the Duck River: Covering 120 miles in 8 days with only 2 people Brett Connell, Trutta Environmental Solutions
Alabama Dam Safety: Inventory update and beyond Jeff Zanotti, Amec Foster Wheeler
Friday, September 9, 2017
Ballroom D – Session Five: Water Resources Education and Stewardship
How You Can Be a Part of Alabama Dam Safety Wade Burcham, Integrated Science & Engineering
4‐H Alabama Water Watch: Increasing environmental literacy and watershed stewardship through youth‐focused citizen science Mona Dominguez, Auburn University
Establishing a Coastal Alabama Conservation Corps Tom Herder, Mobile Bay National Estuary Program
Accessible County Level Water Resource Fact Sheets: Experiences from your neighbor Vincent White, USGS
Ballroom E – Session Five: Flood Issues
Is the Present a Key to the Past or Is the Past a Key to the Present: A look into the paleoflood record of the Tennessee River in Alabama Lisa Davis, University of Alabama
How Can We Prepare Alabama for the Era of Water Crisis? Jonghun Kam, Princeton University
Gradient‐Based Flood Map: A science‐based policy alternative to the 100‐year flood zone Rachel Lombardi, University of Alabama
Increasing Flood Risk Awareness and Resilience through the Alabama Floodplain Management Program Clay Campbell, Amec Foster Wheeler
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Ballroom F‐H – Session Five: Ground Water Availability/Management
Developing New Groundwater Sources: Science or serendipity? Marlon Cook, Cook Hydrogeology, LLC
Extremophile Relationship to Geologic Setting in the Sulfur Springs Located at Blount Springs, Alabama David Frings, Samford University
Status and Trends of Streamflow Recession in Tennessee from Distributional Properties of Day‐Over‐Day Declines Elena Crowley‐Ornelas, USGS, Texas Water Science Center
Assessment of Groundwater Resources in Nanafalia Aquifer 2010‐2016 Amye Hinson, Geological Survey of AL
Ballroom D – Session Six: Water/Wastewater Systems Management
Disinfection of Liquid Human Waste through Photoelectrochemical Process Qing Peng, University of Alabama
Scope and Impacts of Household Raw Wastewater Discharges in Three Alabama Counties Mark Elliott, University of Alabama
Tracking Wastewater Influence on Oysters (Crassostrea virginica) in a Freshwater Dominated Urbanized Estuary Haley Nicholson, University of South Alabama
Keeping Lagoons EPA Compliant Wade Stinson, Wastewater Compliance Systems
Ballroom E – Session Six: Ecological Flows
Quantifying Streamflow Alteration in Basins Draining to the Gulf of Mexico Brian Breaker, USGS
Hydrologic Alteration and the Clean Water Act: Part I Gerrit Jobsis, American Rivers
Hydrologic Alteration and the Clean Water Act: Part II Randall Haddock, Cahaba River Society
Minimum Streamflow Requirements Necessary for Streambed Inundation Using Graphical and Mathematical Methods for Alabama Streams Claire Rose, USGS
Ballroom F‐H – Session Six: Coastal Issues
Beach Restoration Design and Construction on Dauphin Island, Alabama Beau Buhring, South Coast Engineers
A Multifaceted Approach for Continuous and Near‐Real‐Time Observations of Sediment, Heavy Metals and Nutrient Fluxes into Mobile Bay, Alabama Natasha Dimova, University of Alabama
Going with the Flow: A novel, inexpensive method for collection of suspended sediment in the coastal environment Emily Elliott, University of Alabama
Coastal Marine Planning in Alabama Christian Miller, Mobile Bay National Estuary Program
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Abstracts (alphabetical order by author’s last name)
Oral Presentations
Limitstowaterentrepreneurshipandhowtoovercomethem:AcaseanalysisCraigArmstrong,PaulDrnevic,LouisMarino,JeffreyMartin&TheresaWelbourne,UniversityofAlabamaTheSoutheasternUnitedStates’waterwaysandaquiferssupporttensofmillionsoflivesandarecrucialtotheeconomiesofthisregion.Waterwaysandaquiferssupportshipping,industry,agriculture,andrecreationaluses.Intheseways,waterisaneconomicallyvaluablecommodity,yetwaterissomehowtreateddifferentlybecauseitisbothaprivategoodandapublicgood.Apersonwhoconsumesprivategoods,suchasfood,shelter,andclothing,limitstheavailabilityofthatgoodtoothers.Apublicgood,suchasastatepark,isacommoditythateveryoneshares.Waterisauniquecommoditybecauseitbothaprivateandpublicgood.Forexample,youcanenjoytheviewofthelake(apublicgood)thatprovidesdrinkingwatertoyourmunicipalityorhelprunyourfactory(privategood).Asaprivategood,thepriceofwatervariesdependingonwhoisusingit.Thepriceofresidentialuseofwaterservices(drinkingwater,sewage,andstormwatermanagement)foraround7,500gallonsamonthrangesinpricefrom$10to$60.That’s90,000gallonsayearfor$720forresidentialuse.Incontrast,commercially‐intensivewateruserssuchaselectricutilities,mining,andpulpandpaperprocessing,mayuseontheorderoftensofmillionsofgallonsayearforapermitfeeofafewthousandUSdollars.Likepreciousmineralsandoil,waterisacommoditythatisinfactscarcebut,unlikepreciousmineralsandoil,ispricedasacommoditythatisabundant.Thepriceofwaterasaprivategoodisessentiallyfree.Insummary,wateriscrucialtotheeconomicwell‐beingoftheSoutheasternUnitedStates,hasthecharacteristicsofbeingbothapublicorprivategooddependingonhowitisusedandwhoisusingit,andispricedasthoughitwereanabundantresourcewhenitisinfactscarce.Thesefactorsposesubstantialbarrierstoentrepreneurswhowanttocreatenewtechnologiestotreatandconservewater.Whopaysforthetechnologythatimproveswaterusagebyshippingcompaniesorrecreationalboaters?Whataretheincentivesforindustriestoinvestinnewtechnologiesforwaterconservationandtreatmentifwaterissoinexpensiveasaprivategood?Thisstudydrawsfromacaseanalysisofanentrepreneurwhosuccessfullyidentifiedanichemarketforintroducingawaterconservationproductandisnowattemptingtoexpandhisbusiness.Thekeydimensionsofthisanalysisdrawfromresearchframeworksfortheentrepreneurialprocess:howtoidentifypromisingopportunities,howtocreateauniquevalueproposition,howtoidentifyandenternichemarkets,andhowtoexpandintolargermarketsandapplicationsfortheproductorservice.Framingthesequestionswithinthecontextof“waterentrepreneurship”illuminateswhywehaven’tseengrowthincommerciallyviableinnovationsinwatermanagement.Forexample,anentrepreneurorresearchscientistmayhavedevelopedtheconceptforauniquelyvaluableproductorserviceforwatermanagement,butmaynotbeabletoidentifyanaddressable
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market.Entrepreneurswhodofindaddressablemarketsmaystillfacelimitationstogrowthdependingonthescalabilityoftheproductorserviceintonew,largermarkets.Wefocusonspecifictacticsentrepreneursandscientistscanusetoidentifyandsuccessfullyexploitopportunitiestointroduceuniquelyvaluableproductsorservicesinwatermanagement.Ouranswerstothesequestionsprovideinsightsforentrepreneurs,watermanagementprofessionals,andpolicymakers.RealizingOurSustainabilityPotential:UtilizingUrbanTreesforStormwaterManagementJeremyBailey,GreenBlueUrbanUsingurbantreesasgreeninfrastructureforourcitiesisarguablythemostsustainablestormwatermanagementsolutionavailable.Drainageproblemsarisingfromincreasinglevelsofurbanizationhaveexacerbatedthelimitationsofconventionalsurface‐waterdrainagemeasures.Thepossibilitiestherearetoturnstormwaterrunofffromahindrancetoanopportunityarelimitless.Streettreescanbeessentialcomponentstothemanagementofstormwaterinurbanareas.Liketheirwoodlandforestequivalents,urbantreesdirectprecipitationintothegroundthroughtrunkflowandabsorbrainfallthroughtheirroots–makingthemaninvaluablesustainabilityassetintheurbanenvironment.Traditionaldrainagesystemsforsurfacewaterrunoffhavebeendesignedtotransferrainwaterfromwhereithasfallentoeitherasoak‐awayorawatercourseasrapidlyaspossible.Thismethodincreasestherisksofflooding,environmentaldamage,andurbandiffusepollution;sincerunoffwaterusuallycarriescontaminantsincludingoils,heavymetals,pesticides,fertilizers,chemicalsandotherurbanmatter.Specificallydesignedurbantreepitsystemscaneffectivelyandsustainablymitigatethesechallengesandsignificantlyreducethevelocityandflowrateofsurfacewaterrunoffinurbanareas,contributingtowardsmeetingtherequireddischargerates,whilefilteringoutharmfulpollutantsandcontaminantscarriedinsurfacewater.ThispresentationusesGreenBlueUrban’s25yearsoffieldexperience,inconjunctionwithworld‐renownedresearcherssuchastheUniversityofAbertayDundeeandE2DesignLabs,toexaminetheopportunitiesavailableforintegratingstormwatermanagementintourbantreeplantingfortrulysustainableurbanlandscapes.
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AWRCOralandPosterPresentations
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Aftermath:WaterPolicyImplicationsofFloridav.GeorgiaBennettBearden,WilliamAndreen,&NathanielBroadhurst,TheUniversityofAlabama.In2013,FloridafiledamotionintheU.S.SupremeCourtforleavetofileacomplaintseekinganequitableapportionmentoftheACFbasin.Floridav.Georgia,No.142Orig.(filedSept.25,2013).FloridasoughttocapGeorgia’soveralldepletivewateruses.Alabamawasnotnamedinthelawsuit.TheCourtgrantedFlorida’smotioninNovember2014andappointedRalphLancaster,aPortland,Maineattorney,asSpecialMaster.Inearly2015,GeorgiamovedtodismissthecaseforfailuretojointheUnitedStatesasaparty.GeorgiaarguedthattheUnitedStateshadtobejoinedasapartybecauseFloridacouldnotbegrantedcompletereliefunlesstheUnitedStates,astheoperatorofanumberofdamsintheACFbasin,wasboundbythefinaljudgment.TheSpecialMasterdeniedGeorgia’smotion.TheSpecialMastercontinuallyurgedthepartiestosettlethecase,butnegotiationswereprotracted.Accordingly,hesetatrialdateinthecaseforOctober31,2016.Afterfiveweeksoftrial,concludingonDecember1,2016,theSpecialMasteragainimploredbothsidestonegotiateasettlement.CaseManagementOrderNo.22,January3,2017,Doc.634,specificallyrequiredFloridaandGeorgiatomeetandconferaboutsettlementandtoconsider,interalia,asolutionthatmightinvolvepossibleimportationofwater,viaaninterbasintransfer(IBT)fromoutsidetheACFBasin.Thenegotiations,however,provedfruitless.OnFebruary14,2017Georgiaclaimedamajorvictoryinthislong‐runninglegaldisputewhentheSpecialMasterissuedhis70‐pagereporttotheUnitedStatesSupremeCourt,whichconcludedthatFloridahadfailedtoprovethatnewlimitsonGeorgia’swaterconsumptionwouldprovideFloridawiththereliefthatithadsought.TheReportoftheSpecialMasterinFloridav.GeorgiaraisessomeinterestingwaterpolicyissuesforAlabama.IfAlabamaeverendsupinanoriginalactionagainstGeorgiaoranotherstateoverwaterissues,areviewofSupremeCourtprecedentsuggeststhathavinggooddataonwateravailability,use(withdrawals),andfuturedemand,isimportanttowinningthosecases(Coloradov.NewMexico,467U.S310(1984)).AnothermoreindirecttakeawayfromtheReportisthedangerposedbyunrestrainedagriculturalirrigation.InGeorgia’swaterwithdrawalpermittingsystem,farmersweremadelargelyexemptfromtheregulationsimposedonotherconsumptiveusers,andthisclearlyhashadasignificantimpactonflowsintheFlintRiver—especiallyduringdroughtconditions.Further,analogieshavebeendrawnbetweenthesensitiveMobileBayecosystemsandthoseinApalachicolaBay,aswellassimilaritiesinthetwoareas’seafoodindustries.Thus,itisnotoutofthequestiontobeginplanningnowinordertoavoidasimilarfateforMobileBaythathasdevastatedApalachicola’saquaticlifeandeconomicbase.TheaftermathofFloridav.GeorgiafurtherhighlightstheneedforAlabamatodevelopacomprehensivestatewatermanagementframework.
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EvaluatingBaselineWatershedConditionsandIdentifyingRestorationOpportunitiesUsingMobileDataCollectionSoftwareDavidBell,CH2MSinceSeptember2014,TheNatureConservancy(TNC)‐MississippiChapterhasimplementedaninnovativeconservationprogramknownastheCoastalStreamsandHabitatInitiative.WorkinginpartnershipwiththeMississippiDepartmentofEnvironmentalQuality(MDEQ)andthePascagoulaRiverAudubonCenter,TNCdevelopedanapproachtoaddressimpairedwatershedconditionsfromincreasedurbanization,reducedriparianbuffers,streambankerosionandsedimentationandwaterqualityimpairments.TNC’seffortsincludecoordinatingwithlocalstakeholders,developmentofConservationActionPlans(CAPs),engaginginstreamstewardship,collectingbaselinemonitoringdataanddevelopingdetaileddesignsforfuturewatershedimprovementprojectswithinninesmallcoastalstreamsinallthreecoastalcounties(Hancock,Harrison,andJackson).TheworkwasfundedbytheNationalFishandWildlifeFoundation’sGulfEnvironmentalBenefitFund,utilizingfundsfromtheDeepwaterHorizonoilspillof2010.In2016,aspartofthebaselinemonitoringprogram,sixcoastalwatershedswereidentifiedforanalysisofexistingconditionsaswellasthepotentialtodevelopfuturestreamrestorationorwatershedimprovementprojects.Thosewatershedsinclude,WattsBayou,MagnoliaBayou,CoffeeCreek,OysterBayou,RhodesBayouandChicotBayou.Toaccomplishtheprojectgoals,CH2MwascontractedtoconductdesktopanalysisusingArcGISsoftwareaswellasperformmobilefielddatacollectionusingthecloud‐basedArcGISCollectorapplication.OveraperiodofthreeweeksinAugustthefieldteamsassessedover40milesofstreambankandmarshedge,evaluatingriparianbuffers,erosion,presenceofinvasivespecies,conditionofstormwaterinfrastructure,sedimentdeposition,aswellascollectinginsituwaterqualitymeasurements.ThispresentationwillsummarizetheresultsofthewatershedassessmentaswelldiscussthemethodsandnumerousadvantagesofusingGISsoftwareinconjunctionwithacloud‐basedmobiledatacollectionapplicationduringfieldwork.
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ALOysterShellRecyclingProgram:ConnectingpeopletotheirCoastMarkBerte,AlabamaCoastalFoundationTheAlabamaCoastalFoundation,whichwillcelebrateits25thAnniversarynextyear,improvesandprotectsAlabama'scoastalenvironmentthroughcooperation,educationandparticipation.Lastyear,ACFestablishedtheAlabamaOysterShellRecyclingProgramfromagrantfromtheNationalFishandWildlifeFoundation'sGulfCoastConservationGrantsProgram.ParticipantsinthissessionwilllearnaboutthegenesisoftheAOSRProgram,theprocessusedtoeducaterestaurants,howtheAOSRimplementationplanwasdevelopedandexecuted,aswellasthecurrentstatusofcollection/stewardshipefforts.[PRESENTATIONREVIEWERNOTE:AsofJune19,theProgramisfivemonthsaheadofschedulewithover2.7millionshellscollectedsincetheprogramstartedwhichtranslatestoabout6.8acresofreefortheweightofover56elephants.]Simplyput,theAOSRProgramcollectsoystershellsfromlocalrestaurantsthatusetoconsiderthemastrash.Instead,thatimportantnaturalresourceiscollectedthreetimesaweekfromparticipatingrestaurantsandtakentoasitewheretheycancureforsixmonths.ThoseshellsarethenputbackintoAlabamawaterwheretheycanhelpnewoystersgrowbecausethoseshellsarethepreferredhabitatofoysterbabies(larvae)tosettleonasjuveniles(spat)toformnewreefs.Inadditiontofoodvalueandbeingimportanttoourlocaleconomy,oystersprovidemanyotherecosystemservices,suchas:‐Improvingwaterquality:Anadultoystercanfilter12gallonsofwaterperday.‐Providinghabitat:Oysterreefsprovidehabitatforothershellfish,fish,shrimp,crabs,birdsandotheranimals.‐Limitingerosion:Oysterreefsarenaturalbreakwatersthatprotectshorelines.ThisAlabamaOysterShellRecyclingProgramisbeingledbytheAlabamaCoastalFoundationwhichusesaninclusiveenvironmentalstewardshipapproach.Toensurethesuccessofthisproject,ACFhascreatedanAdvisoryCommitteeofrestaurantowners,managersandchefsinadditiontorepresentativesfromtheAlabamaDepartmentofConservationandNaturalResources,TheNatureConservancy,Mississippi‐AlabamaSeaGrantConsortiumandtheMobileBayOysterGardeningProgram.TheAOSRProgramisembeddedintoallofACF'seducationandstewardshipprogramsandthepositiveimpactofthisnewprogramistakingplacenowandwillcontinuetogrowinthefuture.
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QuantifyingstreamflowalterationinbasinsdrainingtotheGulfofMexicoBrianBreaker,U.S.GeologicalSurveyAlterationofthehydrologicregimeoftributariestotheGulfofMexicohasbeenidentifiedasacrucialcomponentaffectingthehealthofestuariesintheGulfofMexico.Hydrologicalterationcanoccurasaresultofseveralanthropogenicactivitiesincludingimpoundment,surface‐waterwithdrawalandreturn,changestothelandscapeofwatersheds(e.g.urbanizationandagriculturalactivities),channelization,anddiversion.Theseactivitiescanaffectcharacteristicsoftheflowregimeofastreamincludingthemagnitude,frequency,duration,timing,andrateofchangeofstreamflow(OldenandPoff,2003).In2017,theU.S.GeologicalSurveybeganananalysisofhydrologicalterationofstreamsflowingtotheGulfofMexicofromthefiveGulfStates(Alabama,Florida,Louisiana,Mississippi,andTexas)toquantifytheextentofhydrologicalterationandcreateatooltoassistwaterresourcemanagersinmeasuringthepotentialimpactstothehealthofestuariesintheGulfofMexicowhenevaluatingdifferentsurface‐waterusescenarios.Hydrologicalterationwillbequantifiedthroughoutthestudyareausingmachine‐learningalgorithms(i.e.models).Thesemodelswilluseexistingstreamflowrecordsforabout1400streamgageslocatedincurrent(altered)andreference(unaltered)basins,andwillprovidethetoolsnecessarytoestimateanalteredandunalteredvalueforagivenstreamflowcharacteristicatgagedandungagedlocations.Whencomplete,thisanalysiswillsupportrestorationeffortsbyidentifyingandprioritizingthemostandleastalteredstreamsthroughouttheregion.Spatialpatternsandtrendsinstreamflowcharacteristicswillberelatedtoestuaryhealth.Informationfromthemodelswillalsobeusedtoconductnetwork‐optimizationanalysistoidentifyprioritylocationsfornewstreamgageinstallation.Inaddition,anonline‐mappingtoolwillbecreatedtoprovideinformationonspatialandtemporalpatternsofhydrologicalteration.OldenandPoff,2003,Redundancyandthechoiceofhydrologicindicesforcharacterizingstreamflowregimes,RiverRes.Applic.19:101‐121
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BeachRestorationDesignandConstructiononDauphinIsland,AlabamaBeauBuhring,SouthCoastEngineersThebeachesofDauphinIslandhavebeenrapidlyerodingforyears,someasmuchas700feetinrecentdecades,threateningavaluablemaritimeforestandfreshwaterlakehabitatinanAudubonBirdSanctuary.TheEastEndBeachandBarrierIslandRestorationProjectwasconstructedbetweenOctober2015andMarch2016toprotectandpreservethishabitat,restoreerodingbeachesanddunes,providestormprotectiontootheruplandresources,andenhanceanexistingrecreationalbeach.Itwasthefirstmajorengineeredbeachrestorationprojectintheisland'shistory.The0.92milelongprojectinvolvedthedredgingandplacementofabout320,000cubicyardsofgoodqualitysandonthesoutheasternDauphinIslandbeaches.Sandfortherestorationproject,sourcedfromaborrowsite4.5milesoffshore,wasidentifiedafteranexhaustivesandsearchandanalyzedforcompatibilitywiththenativebeach.Constructionincludedtherehabilitationofeightrockgroinsintothreenew,nearshore,segmentedbreakwaterstohelpretainsand.Theprojectincreasedthewidthoftherestoredbeachesbyabout200feetonaverageandpermanentlyaddedsandtoDauphinIsland’sEastEndbeaches.ThisuniquerestorationprojectwasnamedoneofAmerica’sBestRestoredBeachesin2017bytheAmericanShoreandBeachPreservationAssociation(ASBPA).Thispresentationwilldescribethecoastalengineeringdesignandanalysisthatmadethisprojectasuccess,includingnavigationofachallengingpermittingprocess,theactualconstructionphase,andnewlyavailablemonitoringdataoneyearafterconstruction.HowyoucanbeapartofAlabamaDamSafetyWadeBurcham,IntegratedScience&EngineeringTherearemanyagingdamsacrossthecountry,andAlabamahasitsfairshare.Someofthesedamshavelongsincebeenforgotten‐thisdespitetheirpotentialtocauseseveredamage,andinmanycases,lossoflife.AsAlabamaWaterResourceProfessionals,wearesometimesbydefaulttaskedwithbeingthevoiceforthepublicregardingDamSafety.Thispresentationaimstoequipparticipantswithhelpfulinformationforcommunicatingrisktothosewhomayhavealackofawareness,ormayevenbeindifferenttothesubject.Informationaboutpastdamfailures,pastattemptsatastatedamsafetyprogram,aswellascurrenteffortsthatareunderwaywillbepresented.ComelearnaboutnewresourcesonhowyoucanbefurtherequippedinregardstoDamSafety,andhelpbuildavenuestoraisepublicawarenessofthiscriticaltopic.
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IncreasingFloodRiskAwarenessandResiliencethroughtheAlabamaFloodplainManagementProgramClayCampbell,AmecFosterWheeler&WandaErvin,ADECAOfficeofWaterResourcesOverthelast15plusyears,theAlabamaOfficeofWaterResources(OWR)hasupdatedtheFederalEmergencyManagementAgency(FEMA)FloodInsuranceRateMaps(FIRM)forall67countiesinAlabama.AsoneofFEMA’sCooperatingTechnicalPartners(CTP),OWRcontinuestoupdatefloodmapsunderFEMA’sRiskMapping,Assessment,andPlanning(RiskMAP)program.Inrecentyears,morefocushasbeenplacedonstrengtheningcommunityengagement,betteringcommunication,andimprovingtheunderstandingoffloodriskamonglocalstakeholders.TheOWRapproachistotailorthefederalguidelinestoenhancestateandlocalfloodriskmanagementandmitigationinitiatives.OWRhasdevelopedaseriesoftoolsandtrainingsthatgobeyonddiscussingtraditionalfloodplainmapstohelpcommunitiesbetterrecognizetheirfloodrisksandeducatelocalstakeholdersonhowtobestinvestinsustainablemitigationactions.Toassistwithcommunityengagementandoutreach,OWRhasdevelopedawebsitethatprovidesanaudienceofcommunityofficials,propertyowners,andotherstakeholderstheabilitytoviewanddownloadpreliminaryandeffectivefloodinformation.Thewebsitecurrentlycontainsregulatoryandnon‐regulatoryproductsdevelopedduringeachRiskMAPproject,includingFIRMs,ChangesSinceLastFIRM(CSLF),depthandprobabilitygrids,andpotentialflooddamages.Futureplansforthewebsiteincludetheoptiontodownloadnewlyeffectivehydraulicmodels.Thiswebsiteprovidesamoreefficientmeansofreviewingpreliminarydataandretrievingeffectivedataaswellasdeterminingareasforpotentialmitigationactions.OWRhascompletedseveralwatershedRiskMAPprojectsandhavemanyothersunderway.ForeachRiskMAPproject,datahasbeenorwillbemadeavailableonthenewwebsite.However,OWRalsoprovidesothertoolsandtrainingonasuiteofrisk‐basedproductsthatcanbeutilizedbycommunitiestomitigatefloodriskandincreasefloodriskawarenessandresilience.Thesetrainingsincludethewell‐receivedRiskMAPToolsTraining,anin‐persontutorialforlocalstakeholdersontheRiskMAPdatabase,aswellasotherproducts,thatalsoaimtoassisttheminidentifyingfloodriskchangeandareasofmitigationinterestwithintheircommunity.OWRalsohostsaYouTubechannelthatcontainspre‐recordedtutorialsonmanyoftheRiskMAPproducts.OWRaimstoaddmoretutorialsinthefuture.EachofthesetrainingsandtutorialsaremeanttoincreasetheabilityofaCommunityOfficialtocommunicatefloodriskandencourageactionstoreducerisktolifeandproperty.ThegoalofthispresentationistodemonstrateOWR’scommitmenttotakingactiontoreducefloodriskinAlabamabyprovidingcommunityofficialsandotherstakeholderswithmultipleresourcesbeyondtraditionalfloodriskproductstohelpthemincreasefloodriskawarenessandresilienceatthelocallevel.
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WeeksBayWatershedManagementPlan‐OverviewofWatershedConditionsandWaterQualityJohnCarlton,DoubleJFarms;MikeEubanks&EmeryBaya,ThompsonEngineeringOneofthetasksinpreparationoftheWeeksBayWatershedManagementPlan(WBWMP)wastoassesswatershedconditions,withparticularemphasisonwaterquality.Section3.0oftheplanprovidesadetailedreviewofthewaterqualityprogramsandwaterqualitystandardsapplicableintheWeeksBaywatershed,andpresentsavailablewaterqualitydata.Becauseofthesizeofthewatershedandbudgetaryconstraints,collectionofnewwaterqualitydatawasnotpartoftheproject.Over40scientificreportsorsourcesofdatarelatingtowaterqualitywereidentified,themorecomprehensiveonesbeingusedtoprovideanassessmentofwatershedconditions.Additionally,theSoilandWaterAssessmentTool(SWAT)modelwasdevelopedandcalibratedforbothFishandMagnoliaRiversandutilizedtoestimatecurrentandfuturesedimentandnutrientloadingsfromapproximately235subwatershedsandover2,000HydrologicalResponseUnits.(Dr.KalinwithAuburnUniversityperformedthistaskandwillpresentitseparately.)TheentireWeeksBaywatershediscomprisedoffour12‐digitHydrologicUnitCodes(HUCs)draininganareaapproximately27mileslongand12mileswide,orroughly130,000acres.EachofthefourHUC‐12watershedsarediscussedseparatelyintheWBWMP.ThelowerreachesareintheGulfCoastFlatwoodsecoregionandtheupperriverineportionsareintheSouthernPinePlainecoregionwithagriculturallanduses,includingsilviculture,predominatingthelandscape.Theclimateishumidsubtropicalwithabundantrainfall(~67in/yr)andtheareaisfrequentlyinfluencedbytropicalcyclones.AssessingwaterqualitywascomplicatedbybothtoolittledataandtoomuchdataandthedatasourcesarediscussedinthePlan.Generally,thebayandmainstemofeachriverappeartobemeetingtheADEMwaterqualitystandardsmostofthetime,withwaterqualityinFishRiverbeingratedbyAlabamaDepartmentofEnvironmentalManagement(ADEM)asGOODandMagnoliaRiverbeingratedasFAIRasrecentlyas2011.However,thereare4segmentslistedonthe2016ADEM303(d)listasimpairedduetofishconsumptionadvisoriesrelatedtomercury(FishRiver,CowpenCreek,PolecatCreekandMagnoliaRiver)andonesegmentlistedasimpairedduetoorganicenrichment(BakerBranch).Thesourceofmercuryisthoughttobeatmosphericdepositionandthesourceoforganicenrichmentisthoughttobecattlegrazingoperations.Itisalsoevidentthatpathogenlevelsfrequentlydonotconformtothewaterqualitystandards,particularlyfollowingrainfalleventsandtheADEMpathogenTotalMaximumDailyLoad(TMDL)callsfora68%loadreductionfromnon‐pointsourcesintheFishRiverwatershed.Todate,effortstoidentifythesourceofpathogensbytype(human,wildlife,orlivestock)andlocationhavebeeninconclusive.Waterqualityissuesrelatedtopathogens,dissolvedoxygen,sediment,turbidityandnutrientloading(nitrogenandphosphorus)arealsoevidentinthedatareviewedforanumberoftributariesthroughouttheWatershed.Althoughoccasionalwaterqualityissueswerereportedformostalltributariesthathavebeensampled,themostprominentwaterqualityimpactshavebeendocumentedinCornBranch,PensacolaBranch,BakerBranch,CowpenCreek,WaterholeBranchandTurkeyBranch(lower)inFishRiverwatershed,andWeeks
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CreekandanunnamedtributaryintheMagnoliaRiverwatershed.Theimpactsappeartobeassociatedwithbothincreasingurbandevelopmentaroundtheperimeterofthewatershedandpervasivehistoricalandon‐goingagriculturalactivities.AlthoughclassifiedbyADEMasanOutstandingNationalResourceWater,WeeksBayproperisconsideredbyallaccountstobeeutrophic,withhighnutrientloadsfromFishandMagnoliaRiversfrequentlytriggeringincreasedalgalactivityandassociatedlowdissolvedoxygenlevels.BecausetheBayisshallow,theselowdissolvedoxygenandstratificationeventsareusuallyshort‐lived,beingovercomebywindaction.UsingGISandStoryMapsforWatershedManagementandMonitoringJohnCartwright,MississippiStateUniversity
AcollaborativeeffortatMississippiStateUniversityhasproducedtheCatalpaCreekWatershedRestorationandProtectionProject.Theeffortinvolvesover30facultyandadministratorsfromMSUand10staffmembersfromfouragencies.DuringthefirsttwoyearsoftheprojectacomprehensiveWatershedResourceManagementPlanandanImplementationPlanforPhase1oftheprojectweredeveloped.AninitialeffortofPhase1involvescharacterizingthewatershed.Multipleresearchershavebeeninvolvedingatheringexistingdata,collectingnewdata,andformulatinghydrologicandhydraulicmodelsforthewatershed.Asameansoftransferringthisinformationbetweencollaborators,stakeholders,andothersassociatedwiththeeffortwehaveimplementedEsri’sStoryMaps.StoryMaps(builtuponArcGISOnlineresources)areinteractive,web‐basedapplicationsthatcombinegeographicinformationwithtextandmultimediacontent.UtilizationofStoryMapsimprovesdataaccessibilityacrossmultipleplatforms,improvingdatamanagementandinformationtransfer.BybringingStoryMapsintothisprojectwearebuildingafoundationthatwillprovideaseamlesstransitionfromresearchtoeducationandoutreachasthisprojectcontinuestodevelopacrossmultiplephases.
HighDefinitionStreamSurveyoftheDuckRiver,covering120milesin8dayswithonly2people.BrettConnell,TruttaEnvironmentalSolutionsTheHighDefinitionStreamSurveyoftheDuckRiverisourlongestsurveytodateandcovered120continuousmilesin8dayswithonly2people.TheTennesseeDept.ofEnvironmentandConservation,TennesseeValleyAuthority,ColumbiaPowerandWater,andtheSouthCentralTennesseeDevelopmentDistricthaveallfundeddifferentportionsofthesurveyandisanexampleofhowpartnershipscanlowerthecostofsurveysandincreasestheamountofdataforeveryoneinvolved.TheHighDefinitionStreamSurvey(HDSS)approachwascreatedtorapidlygathercontinuousgeo‐referenceddatainasinglepassforabroadrangeofstreamandstreambankconditionsbyintegratingGPS,video,depth,waterqualityandothersensors.ResultsfromHDSSdatacanbeusedtodeterminetheextentanddistributionofinstreamhabitat,locateareasthatcontributetopoorstreamconditions,definethegeomorphicconditionfor
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thestream,identifyinfrastructureimpacts,documentrestorationresultsandprovideapowerful“virtualtour”experience.DevelopingNewGroundwaterSources:ScienceorSerendipity?MarlonCook,CookHydrogeology,LLCTherearelotsofsimilaritiesbetweenexploringforoilandgasandexploringforgroundwater.Inbothcasesthedesiredfluidexistsbecauseofacombinationofvariousnaturalprocesses,includingclimate,geography,geology,andchemistry.Discoveryofbothfluidsinthesubsurfacehasalonghistoryinvolvingvaryingdegreesofscientificknowledgeandserendipity.Itisoftensaidthattheexplorationistwilltakeluckoverscienceanytime.However,aseconomicquantitiesofthesevaluableresourcesbecomemorescarce,goodscienceplaysaneverincreasingrole.ThispapersummarizesfourexamplesinvolvingexplorationforpublicgroundwatersuppliesinfourdistincthydrogeologicalprovincesofAlabama.StatusandTrendsofStreamflowRecessioninTennesseefromDistributionalPropertiesofDay‐Over‐DayDeclinesElenaCrowley‐Ornelas,RodneyKnight,&WilliamAsquithU.S.GeologicalSurvey,Statisticalpropertiesofstreamflowrecessionprovideevidenceofhydrologicprocessessuchasgroundwaterandsurface‐waterinteractions.Bingham(1982,1986)soughtregionaldefinitionofgeneralizedconnectivitybetweensurface‐waterandgroundwaterbycalculatingapersistentstreamflowrecessionslopeduringwinterlowflowsandthenrelatingtherecessionslopestosurficialgeology.TherecessionslopevalueisoftenreferredtoastheBingham"geologicfactor”orG‐factor.TherecessionslopedeterminedbyBingham’sprocesswassomewhatsubjectivebecauseitwashanddrawnbasedonthevisualinspectionofthestreamhydrograph.TheG‐factorwasderivedthroughahands‐ongraphicalmethodforselectedpeakflowsovera20‐yeartimeperiodfromU.S.GeologicalSurvey(USGS)streamgagesinTennesseeandAlabama.Astreamflowrecessioncurve,plottedonsemi‐loggraphpaper,wascreatedbystartingatpeakdischargeafteraprecipitationeventuntilthelinenearedasymptoticwiththex‐axis.Thenumberofdays(x‐axis)requiredforstreamflowtodecreaseonelogcycle(y‐axis)wastheindexofstreamflowrecessionforeachstation,ortheG‐Factorexpressedindaysperlogcycledeclineinflow.BoundariesforG‐factorsweredeterminedusingstreamflowhydrographsandsurficialgeology.Basin‐weightedvaluesoftheG‐Factorhavebeenshownstatisticallysignificantinstatisticalregionalizationofvariousaspectsoftheflowregime(Bingham,1982,1986;Knightandothers,2012)inAlabamaandTennessee.AlthoughG‐factorvalueshavebeenuseful,thesubjectivityandtime‐consumingmanualmethodoftheapproachhasmadeitproblematictocalculateG‐factorsfornewerrecordsanddifferentregions.TheUSGShasdevelopedanautomatedprocessthatcalculatesG‐factorsandhasappliedthismethodtomorethan300streamgagesandmorethan4milliondaysofstreamflowatstreamsinorborderingTennessee.ResultsfromtheautomatedprocesswillbecomparedtotheoriginalG‐Factorestimatestoassesswhetherthisnewmethodiscapturingthesamehydrologic
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processinformation.Additionally,graphicsandmapsdepictingstatusandtrendsinstreamflowandassociationswithBingham'soriginalwork,willprovideadditionalspatialanalysisofpertinenthydrogeologiccharacteristicsinthestudyarea.DevelopinganautomatedprocessusingexistingdatatocalculatetheGfactorwillmakeitpossibletoestimatethefactorforlargerareasaswellasfordiscretetimeperiods.Thisnewapproach,ifsuccessful,willprovideatooltoevaluatetheextentofconnectivitybetweensurface‐waterandgroundwaterinabasin;theinfluenceofgroundwaterwithdrawalsonbaseflow;andcouldbeanearlyindicatorofpotentialdroughteffects.Bingham,RH.1986.“RegionalizationofLow‐FlowCharacteristicsofTennesseeStreams.”Water‐ResourcesInvestigationsReport.http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/wri854191.Bingham,RoyH.1982.“Low‐FlowCharacteristicsofAlabamaStreams.”WaterSupplyPaper.http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/wsp2083.Knight,RodneyR.,W.ScottGain,andWilliamJ.Wolfe.2012.“ModellingEcologicalFlowRegime:AnExamplefromtheTennesseeandCumberlandRiverBasins.”Ecohydrology5(5):613–27.doi:10.1002/eco.246.Isthepresentakeytothepastoristhepastakeytothepresent:alookintothepaleofloodrecordoftheTennesseeRiverinAlabamaLisaDavis,ChristopherStewart&NatashaDimova,UniversityofAlabama;GaryStinchcomb&RachelLombardi,MurrayStateUniversity;&StevenForman,BaylorUniversity,Despitesignificantadvancesinmeteorologicalandhydrologicalforecastinginthelast50years,catastrophicfloodsconstituteoneofthemostgloballypersistentnaturalhazards.Theyear1931marksthelasttimetheU.S.didnotexperienceasingleflood‐relatedfatality.Atleast10flood‐relateddeathsoccurperyearintheU.S.Limitationsintheinstrumentedflowrecordsofriverspartlycontributestothisproblem.Instrumenteddischargerecordsrarelyspanmorethan100years,meaningtheyaretooshorttocapturelargefloods,whichtendtooccurlessfrequently.Instrumentedflowrecordsonlyspanthetimeofhumanoccupation,whichmakesunderstandingvariabilityoffloodsrelatedtoclimatevariabilityusingtheserecordsmorechallenging.Becauseoftheselimitations,waterresearchersandmanagersareincreasinglyturningtonaturalarchivesoffloodfrequencyandmagnitudeinformation,suchasdendrochronologyandsedimentarydepositsfromfloodsthatarepreservedinthelandscape,inadditiontotheinstrumentedrecord.Paleofloodhydrologyfocusesoncollectingandanalyzingphysicalevidenceofpastfloodsthatoccurredbeforetheinstrumentedrecordforfloodriskassessmentandunderstandingenvironmentalchange.FederalagenciesworkinginthesouthwesternU.S.,includingtheU.S.GeologicalSurveyandU.S.BureauofReclamation,haveusedpaleofloodhydrologytoassessfloodriskfordams,powerplants,andpublicspacesfordecades.DespiteitslongstandingandwidespreadapplicationinotherregionsoftheU.S.,paleofloodanalysesarerarelyusedtoinformfloodfrequencyandriskassessmentinriversoftheeasternU.S.Newfederalguidelines(USGSBulletin17C:GuidelinesforDeterminingFloodFlowFrequency)recommendincorporatingpaleoflooddatainfloodfrequencyestimations,makingincreasedapplicationandunderstandingofpaleofloodanalyses
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imperative.OurpresentationwilldemonstratesomeofthebasicprinciplesofpaleohydrologicresearchandpresentpreliminaryfindingsofapaleofloodrecordwearedevelopingforthemiddleTennesseeRiver(inthevicinityofGuntersvilleandHuntsville,AL),aspartofabroaderefforttodeveloppaleoflooddataforfloodfrequencyanalysesfortheTennesseeRiver.4‐HALWaterWatch:IncreasingEnvironmentalLiteracyandWatershedStewardshipthroughYouth‐FocusedCitizenScienceMonaDominguez,4‐HALWaterWatch&SergioRuizCórdova,AWWThepurposeofthispresentationistointroducetheaudiencetotheYouth‐FocusedCitizenScienceProgram,4‐HAlabamaWaterWatch(4‐HAWW),todiscussoutcomesofarecentlycompleted4‐HAWWProjectfundedbytheUSEPA,todemonstratehow4‐HAWWcanbeincorporatedintowatershedstewardshipefforts,andtoexplainhowinterestedyouthandeducatorscangetinvolvedwithorsupporttheprogram.The4‐HAWWProgramwasdevelopedthroughapartnershipofAlabamaWaterWatch(AWW)andAlabama4‐H.In2015,4‐HAWWreceivedfundingfromtheEPAforatwo‐yearprojectwiththegoalofbuildingcapacitywithintheAlabamaCooperativeExtensionSystem4‐HAlabamaWaterWatchProgramtoprovideeducatorsincludingteachers,volunteers,and4‐Hagentswiththetraining,materials,andsupportneededtoincreaseenvironmentalliteracyforyouth(ages9–18)inAlabama.Theprojectcontributestothelong‐termgoalof4‐HAWWwhichtoengageyouthinwatershedstewardshipintheirlocalcommunitiesandultimatelymakeinformedandresponsibledecisionsabouttheenvironment.Thethreemajorprojectobjectivesimplementedtoachievethisgoalwere:1)Completedevelopmentofa4‐HAWWcurriculumthatwillguideeducatorsastheyprovidestudentswithhands‐oncitizenscienceexperiencesfocusedonconductingwaterchemistryanalysisandbiomonitoringintheirlocalwaterbodies,includingthedevelopmentofanonlinewatermonitoringCitizenScienceDataSimulation.2)Trainapproximately100educatorstoutilizethecurriculumatworkshopsfacilitatedinpartnershipwithenvironmentalcentersthroughoutthestate,and3)Supportparticipatingeducatorsastheyimplementthecurriculumbyhelpingthemaccessmonitoringmaterials,managingthedatabasethatstoreswaterdata,andmanagingthewebsitewherethedatasimulationandwaterdataisaccessed.Asaresultoftheproject,anewnine‐module300‐pagecurriculumExploringOurLivingStreams:AnIntroductiontoWatershedStewardship,StreamBiomonitoringandWaterChemistryMonitoring(EOLS)wasdevelopedandprinted,over100educatorsweretrainedandcertifiedtoimplementEOLSwithstudents,andstreambiomonitoringsuppliesandwaterchemistrymonitoringkitsweredistributedto4‐HCountyOfficesforcheck‐outbyparticipatingeducatorsandstudents.Duringtheprojectperiod,around3,000studentshavebeenreachedby4‐HAWW.StudentsexposedtoEOLShaveincreasedknowledgeandunderstandingofthewaterenvironment,pollution,andwatershedstewardship.Studentswhobecomemonitorsgainskillsrelatedtotestingwateranddataentry,analysis,andinterpretation.4‐HAWWisbeingsuccessfullyimplementedinavarietysettingsthatincludetheformalclassroom,specialtyclubsduringorafterschool,andevenchurchgroups.WatershedManagementPlansaddressingimpaired
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waterbodies(fundedbySection319Grants),haveincorporated4‐HAWWasaneducationalactivitythatcanalsoproducevaluablewaterdatausedtoevaluateprojectprogress.Participantswilllearnhowtheycanbecomepartoftheprogramandincorporate4‐HAWWintotheirwatershedstewardshipprojects.ScopeandimpactsofhouseholdrawwastewaterdischargesinthreeAlabamacountiesMarkElliott,ParnabDas,ErdoganAytekin,YuehanLu,UniversityofAlabama;KevinWhite,UniversityofSouthAlabama;&RobertJones,DowntoEarth,Inc,A2005studyofBibbCounty,Alabama,showedthat15%ofhouseholdsnotconnectedtosewerdirectlydischargedrawsewageand35%hadsepticsystemsthatwerefailing(WhiteandJones,2006).DiscoveryofthisreportfromBibbCountyandconversationswithlocalstakeholdersledourteamtostudythescopeoftheprobleminnearbyAlabamacounties.Therefore,twonearbycounties,HaleandWilcoxcounties,withhighratesofpoverty(26.6%and39.2%,respectively)andlargelyimpermeableclaysoilswerechosen.Thestudyusestwomainmethods(1)site‐by‐siteinspectionsofarandomsampleofunseweredruralcommunitiesand(2)watersampleanalysisfromimpactedstreams.Siteinspectionandwatersamplingdataindicateveryhighratesofstraightpipedischargeandsubstantialimpactsofwaterqualityinlocalstreamsandtributaries.InWilcoxCounty,approximately60%ofsurveyedunseweredhouseholdshadavisiblestraightpipesurfacedischargeofrawwastewaterandonly7%ofhouseholdshadapermittedonsitewastewatertreatmentsystem.Fortheremaining33%,inspectioncouldnotdeterminewhetherthedischargewasaboveorbelowgroundbuttherewasnoevidenceofasepticsystemdrainfieldoramoundsystem(oftenthisindicatesthatastraightpipeisburiedanddischargestoahidden,overgrownarea).Thisrateofstraightpipedischargewouldconservativelyamounttoover500,000gallonsperdayofrawsewagedischargedtothegroundinWilcoxCountyalone.InHaleCounty,siteinspectionsrevealedfewerhouseholdswithvisiblestraightpipes(6%)andmorewithpermittedsystems(35%).However,59%ofunseweredhouseholdshadanunknowndischargeandwereunpermitted;manyofthesewerelikelyburiedstraightpipeswithahiddensurfacedischarge.WatersampleanalysisonBigPrairieCreekupstreamanddownstreamofthetownofNewbernindicatessubstantialrunoffofrawwastewaterintosurfacewater.Forexample,samplescollectedpost‐droughtinNovember2016yieldedover100,000E.coliper100mLandapreliminaryprinciplecomponentanalysisofmultiplewaterqualityparametersindicatedthatBigPrairieCreekconsistedofover5%sewagebyvolumefollowingthedrought.Althoughwehavenotinvestigatedhumanhealthimpacts,thereistroublingevidenceofpossiblehealthimpactsassociatedwithonsitewastewaterfailure.Themostrecentsurveyofsoil‐transmittedhelminths(worms)inAlabamawasover20yearsagoinWilcoxCounty;itrevealedthat33%ofchildrenwerepositiveforoneormorehelminths(Badham,1993).Afollowupstudyisbeingplannedbytheauthorofthe1993report.FurtherinvestigationofhealthimpactsfromwastewaterareneededthroughouttheBlackBelt.Thispresentationwilladdressthescope,impactsandpossiblesolutionstoonsitewastewaterfailuresinruralAlabama.
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Goingwiththeflow‐Anovel,inexpensivemethodforcollectionofsuspendedsedimentinthecoastalenvironmentEmilyElliott&MarkElliott,UniversityofAlabama;ElaineMonbureau,GlennWalters,AntonioRodriguez&BrentMcKee,UniversityofNorthCarolina.Identifyingthesourceandabundanceofsuspendedsedimenttransportedwithintidalcreeksisessentialforstudyingtheconnectivitybetweencoastalenvironments(i.e.,coastalwatershedsandestuaries).Thefine‐grainedsuspendedsedimentload(SSL)makesupasubstantialportionofthetotalsedimentcarriedwithinthecoastalenvironmentandefficientsamplingoftheSSLiscriticaltoourunderstandingofnutrientandcontaminanttransport,anthropogenicinfluence,andtheeffectsofclimate.Unfortunately,traditionalmethodsofsamplingtheSSL,includinginstantaneousmeasurementsandautomaticsamplers,canbelaborintensive,expensiveandoftenyieldinsufficientmassforcomprehensivegeochemicalanalysis.Withinthecoastalenvironment,especiallyestuaries,thisissueisevenmorepronouncedduetobi‐directionaltidalflow.Thisstudyteststheefficacyofamodifiedtimeintegratedmasssedimentsampler(TIMS)designforimplementationwithinthetidalenvironmentunderbi‐directionalflowconditions.OurnewTIMSdesignutilizesan‘L’shapedoutflowtubetopreventback‐flowduringreverseflowconditions.Thesesamplersareinexpensivetofabricate(<$300),requireverylittlemaintenance,andwhendeployedinmirroredpairs,cancollectsedimentuniquelyineachdirectionoftidalflow.Laboratoryanalysiswasconductedtocharacterizetheflowandsedimenttrappingefficiencyofthesampler,whichindicatedthebi‐directionalTIMScaptureupto96%ofincomingparticlesacrossarangeofflowvelocities(0.3to0.6cms‐1).ThemodifiedTIMSdesignwasalsotestedinthefieldattwodistinctsamplinglocationswithinthetidalzone.Single‐timepointsuspendedsedimentsampleswerecollectedathighandlowtideandcomparedtotime‐integratedsuspendedsedimentsamplescollectedbythebi‐directionalTIMSoverthesamefour‐dayperiod.Particle‐sizecompositionfromthebi‐directionalTIMSwererepresentativeofthearrayofsingletimepointsamples,butyieldedgreatermass,representativeofflowandsedimentconcentrationconditionsatthesitethroughoutthedeploymentperiod.Thisworkprovestheefficacyofthemodifiedbi‐directionalTIMSdesign,offeringanoveltoolforcollectionofsuspendedsedimentinthetidally‐dominatedportionofthewatershed.ImplementationofthesedeviceswithintheAlabamacoastalwatershedcouldprovideasimple,inexpensivetoolforthecharacterizationofthesuspendedsedimentloadwithinthesystem.
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ManagementRecommendationsfortheWeeksBayWatershedManagementPlanMichaelEubanks;ThompsonEngineering,Inc.AnumberofwaterqualityandwaterquantityissueshavebeendocumentedwithintheWeeksBayWatershed(WBW)overthepastseveraldecades.Populationgrowthandurbandevelopment,aswellassomeoftheagriculturalpracticeshavecontinuedtointensifyproblemsintheWatershed.TheWatershedincludesallorportionsofninemunicipalities(Fairhope,Daphne,SpanishFort,Loxley,Robertsdale,Silverhill,Summerdale,Foley,andMagnoliaSprings)andassociatedunincorporatedareasofBaldwinCounty,leadingtoacomplexregulatoryenvironment.Bysuccessfullyaddressingtheco‐relatedproblemsidentifiedwithpopulationgrowth,urbandevelopment,andsomeagriculturalpracticeswithintheWeeksBayWatershed,thelong‐termhealthofthestreamcourses,WeeksBayandMobileBaywillbeenhanced.ManagementRecommendationsoftheWMPincludeorganizationalinitiatives,agriculturalinitiatives,waterqualityimprovementinitiatives,wetlands/riparianbufferinitiatives,andshoreline/sealevelriseinitiatives:1.EstablishaWatershedManagementPlanImplementationTeamAWMPImplementationTeammustbeidentifiedtocarryforwardtheworknecessarytoprioritizesitespecificprojects,workwiththevariousinter‐governmentalentitieswithinthewatershed,andlocatethenecessaryfunding.2.DevelopInter‐GovernmentalCounty/MunicipalWaterManagementMechanismThisrecommendationwouldbetofosterinter‐governmentalcooperation.Aninter‐governmentalcoordinationmechanismwouldhelpaddressplanningandzoningmattersacrosstheentirewatershed.3.AddressStormwaterManagementandFloodingBaldwinCountyandthemunicipalitiesareencouragedtoregularlyrunfloodpredictionmodels,addacountyGISlayeronwhichmunicipalitiescanlisthighpotentialdevelopmentprojects,conductaninventoryandassessmentofstormwaterdetentionsystems.4.SustainWatershedHydrologybyPromotingLowImpactDevelopment(LID)andGreenInfrastructure(GI)UrbanizationwithintheWatershedcanminimizeadverseimpactsbyadoptingmeasurestosustainthewatershed’shydrologybyuseofLowImpactDevelopment(LID)andGreenInfrastructure(GI).5.EncourageIncreasedAgriculturalBMPsExamplesofagriculturalBMPsthatshouldbeencouragedwithintheWatershedinclude:1)Livestockexclusionfromwetlands/streams;2)Increaseduseofcovercrops;3)Improvednutrientmanagement;and4)Identify/Remediatehighlivestockareaswheremanurerunoffisapathogensource.6.AddressWatershedWaterQualityIssuesRecommendationsdealingwithwaterqualityissuesthathavebeenidentifiedthroughtheWMPprocessinclude:•Identifyinstreamerosional“hotspots”andprioritizeandimplementstreamrestoration.•RefineSWATmodelresultstoidentifyandmap“criticalsourceareas”(CSAs)atthehydrologicresponseunit(HRU)level•Conductadetailedturbiditysourcesurveyintributarieswithfrequentlyelevatedturbiditylevelsanddevelopdetailedplanstoreduce,minimizeoreliminatethesources.•Conductdetailedpathogensourcetrackingandidentificationtodevelopdetailedplanstoremediatepathogensources.•Developapathogen/flowrelationshiptosupportdevelopmentofapublicadvisorysystem.•DevelopaninventoryofseptictanksthatpredatetheexistingADPHinventoryanddesignandimplementanefforttofixleakingsystems.•Identifyandassesspotentialwaterqualityimpactsassociatedwithbiosolidsandanimal
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manureapplicationsites.•Assessimpactsofturffarmsforrunofftimingandvolume,andpollutantloadingstostreams.7.AddressEnvironment/HabitatIssuesPoorconditionwetlandandriparianbuffersinthewatershedareassociatedmostlywithagriculturalandpasturelands.Identifyrestorationeffortsinpriorityareas.Pursuestrategicacquisitionforhighpriorityhabitats.8.AddressCoastalErosionandSeaLevelRiseIssuesIdentifyspecificsites,attheparcellevelinthelowerreachesofthewatershed,thatarecandidatesforconstructionoflivingshorelineorothershorelineprotection/restorationmeasures.Suitablesiteswouldtypicallyconsistofareasthatcurrentlyare(oranticipatedinthefuture)exhibitingerosionorhabitatloss.PromoteprogramstoimprovestakeholderawarenessofSLRissuesM.9.DevelopAppropriateMonitoringandAdaptiveManagementMechanismsthemonitoringprogramshouldtrackthenumberofmanagementmeasuresthatareimplementedineachHUC12watershedandthedegreetowhichtheyareimplemented.10.ContinueStakeholderandGeneralPublicOutreachandEducationCommunityoutreachandpubliceducationabouttheWeeksBayWatershedhasbeenandwillcontinuetobeextremelyimportanttoaddressconserving,protecting,andrestoringthisWatershed.UpdatingLow‐FlowFrequencyandFlow‐DurationStatisticsinAlabamaTobyFeaster,U.S.GeologicalSurveyAlabamawater‐resourcemanagersneedup‐to‐datelow‐flowstatisticsforplanning,management,andpermittingdecisionstohelpensureadequatewaterforconsumptiveuse,water‐qualitystandards,recreation,andaquatichabitatprotection.Low‐flowstatisticsforAlabamahavenotbeensystematicallyupdatedinover20years,aperiodthatincludes2ofthe10driestyearsoftotalannualprecipitationhaveoccurredsince1895.Assuch,theU.S.GeologicalSurveybegananinvestigationin2014toupdatelow‐flowfrequencyanddailydurationstatisticsat210continuous‐recordstreamgagingstations(stations)includingbothregulatedandunregulatedAlabamastreams.Dependingonthelengthofrecordavailable,annualminimum1‐and7‐dayaverageflowswithrecurrenceintervalsof2,5,10,20,and50yearswerecomputedbyusingavailabledatathroughMarch2014.Additionally,dailyflowdurationsforthe5‐,10‐,25‐,50‐,75‐,90‐,and95‐percentprobabilitiesofexceedancewerecomputed.Theinvestigationincludes87Alabamastationsforwhich7Q10estimateswerepreviouslypublished(1994)(dailymeanflowdatathroughclimateyear1989wereusedforthepreviousanalysis),andforwhichadditionaldatawerecollected.Forthosestations,apercentagechangebetweenthepreviousandcurrent7Q10valueswascomputed.Thepercentagechangerangedfrom–61to108percentwithameandifferenceof–0.2andamediandifferenceof0.0.Ofthe87stations,42hadanegativepercentagechange,38hadapositivepercentagechange,and7hadazeropercentagechange.ThisinvestigationwasjointlyfundedthroughtheUSGSCooperativeWaterProgramandthefollowingnon‐Federalpartners:AlabamaPower;AlabamaFarmersFederation;AlabamaAssociationofConservationDistricts;AlabamaAssociationofResourceConservationandDevelopmentCouncils;AlabamaDepartmentofAgricultureandIndustries;AlabamaDepartmentofConservationandNaturalResources—Divisionof
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WildlifeandFreshwaterFisheries;AlabamaDepartmentofEconomicandCommunityAffairs—OfficeofWaterResourcesDivision;Choctawhatchee,PeaandYellowRiversWatershedManagementAuthority;GeologicalSurveyofAlabama;andtheUniversityofAlabama—WaterPolicyandLawInstitute.TheresultsfromthisinvestigationwillbedocumentedinaU.S.GeologicalSurveyScientificInvestigationsReportandthelow‐flowandflow‐durationstatisticsalsowillbeavailableonlinethroughtheU.S.GeologicalSurveyStreamStatsapplication.QuantificationofFunctionalMarkerGenesforDenitrifyingMicrobialPopulationsintheChandeleurIslandsImpactedbythe2010GulfofMexicoOilSpillNikaelaFlournoy,CaitlinTaylor,PatriceCrawford,&PatriciaSobecky,UniversityofAlabama;CorianneTatariw&BehzhadMortazavi,DauphinIslandSeaLabEstuarine,coastal,andbarrierislandecosystemsprovidecommunitiesprotectionbyreducingstormsurges,dissipatingwaveenergy,andeconomicallythroughservicessuchasfisheries,tourism,watercatchmentandwaterquality.Astheseecosystemsaredeterioratingandthreatenedinthiscentury,theservicesprovidedtohumansarebeingvaluedmonetarilytocommunicatetheirimportance;i.e.,propertyvaluesonaGeorgiabarrierislandincreasedwithanadditionalmeterofbeachwidth,anacreofLouisianawetlandreducingwastewatertreatmentcostsforacompanybyasmuchas$34,000.Eventssuchasthe2010GulfofMexicooilspill,thelargestmarinespillinhistory,actascatalyststoacceleratethedeteriorationandfurtherthelossofthesevitalecosystemservices.The2010BPspillimpactedtheChandeleurIslands,achainoflow‐elevationbarrierislandsinLouisianawaterslocatedfortymilessouthofGulfport,MS.Theislandchainvegetation;i.e.,Avicenniagerminans(blackmangrove)andnativeSpartinaalterniflora(saltmarshcordgrass)washeavilydamagedasaresultoftheoilspill.Asoilwasdepositeddifferentially(i.e.,nonetoheavy),itwasimportanttoinvestigatethemicrobiologyofoil‐impactedareasasmarshvegetationisdirectlylinkedtomicrobe‐drivenecosystemservicessuchasdenitrification,anitrogen(N)cyclepathway.Theobjectivesofthisstudyweretocharacterize:i)thebiodiversityofthemicroorganisms;ii)quantifydenitrifyingmicrobialpopulationsusingfunctionalmarkergenes;andiii)measureratesofdenitrificationduringaone‐yearperiod.Fiveeco‐functionalmarkergenesselectedtorepresentdenitrificationwereinvestigated;(1)narGfornitratereductase(subunitG);(2)nirSfornitritereductase;(3)norBfornitricoxidereductase;(4)nosZfornitrousoxidereductase;and(5)nrfA,thecytochromec552terminalreductaseoftheformate‐dependentpathwayfornitritereductiontoammonia.Threedifferentmarshsiteswereselectedforstudybaseduponestimatedamountsofprioroiling/oilcoverage.ThehighestratesofdenitrificationwereinSeptemberwhilethelowestrateswereobservedinFebruary.ThehighestnirSabundancewasdetectedfortwoofthethreesites(Site1and2)inSeptemberwhileSite3exhibitedthehighestabundanceinNovember.Similarly,thehighestabundancesobservedfornorBandnosZvariedbysiteandbymonth.Duringthecourseofsamplingoversevenmonthsin2016and2017,weatheredoilwasdetectedinsomeofthemarshsedimentcoresandwaschemicallytypedtoMacondooil.Ecosystemservicessuchasdenitrification,carriedoutonlybymicrobes,acttoremovenitrogenouswastesexportedfromfreshwatersystems
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tomarinesystems.StudiessuchasthisonearedesignedtocharacterizethebarrierislandmicrobialbiodiversityandNcycleprocessessoastobetterunderstandthelong‐termeffectsdisturbancessuchasthe2010oilspillposetoanecosystemservicethatcontributestomaintainingmarinewaterquality.Thisisespeciallyimportantinlightofthefactthatweatheredoilcontinuestobeobservedsevenyearspostspill.ExamplesofLocalMunicipalitiesWorkingWithTheirUniversitiesMichaelFreeman,AlabamaWaterWatchAssociationInthispresentationIwilldemonstratetwoexamplesofcollaborativeworkbetweenauniversityandthelocalwaterworks/municipalityandhowitcanhelpbothentitieswithpermitting,testing,outreachandeducationwithintheMS4processandbeyond.IwillalsotouchonhowtheseexamplescanbereplicatedthroughouttheStateofAlabama.ExtremophileRelationshiptoGeologicSettingintheSulfurSpringsLocatedatBlountSprings,AlabamaDavidFrings&DavidJohnson,SamfordUniversityThegeologicsettingofthesulfurspringslocatedatBlountSprings,Alabamacreatesanextremeenvironmentthatsupportsavarietyofuniquebacterialmatsandmarco‐invertebrates.Theseextremophilesappeartometabolizethesulfurthatisproducedfromtheironpyrite(FeS2)foundintheChattanoogaShalewhichformstheconfininglayerfortheunderlyinglimestoneaquifer.TheprimarystructureatthespringsisageologicwindowinthesouthwesternendoftheSequatchieanticlinethatexposeslimestoneoftheRedMountainFormation.ThelimestoneaquifersuppliesmineralrichwaterfromaseriesoffourspringsthatcontainhighlevelsofSulphur.DNAanalysisshowsthattheBlountSpringsbacteriaaresimilartothosethathavebeenfoundincavesystemsinNewMexico(LeachiguillaCave)andnorthernWyoming(LowerCaneCave)thatmetabolizeSulphur,resultinginthereleaseofhydrogensulfideasabyproduct.Thehydrogensulfidehasbeenshowntoformsulfuricacid(H2SO4)inthesewesterncaveswhichchemicallyweathersthelimestones.SimilarprocessesmaybeatworkintheseSulphurspringsthatarelocatedinBlountCounty,Alabama.
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ImplementationAssessmentforWaterResourceAvailability,Protection,andUtilizationfortheChoctawhatchee,PeaandYellowRiversWatershedsBarbaraGibson,Choctawhatchee,PeaandYellowRiversWatershedManagementAuthorityTheChoctawhatchee,PeaandYellowRiversWatershedManagementAuthoritycommissionedtheGeologicalSurveyofAlabamatoconductanassessmentofwaterresourcesinthewatershedsofsoutheastAlabamawhichcouldbeutilizedbyallwateruserstodeterminecurrentwateravailabilityandtoplanfuturewaterdevelopment.Theassessmentincludedsubsurfacegeologicandstratigraphicdatacollectedbyselectedwellswhichmaybeusedtodeterminethedepthofeachaquiferinthewatersheds;thegeneralwater‐bearingcharacteristicsofindividualgeologicunits;andthecorrelationoflikegeologicunitspenetratedbywellsthroughoutthewatersheds.Futuregroundwateravailabilitywasdeterminedbyanalyzingwaterquality,groundwaterrechargerates,andprojectedgroundwaterdemand.Futuredemandwaspredictedbasedonpopulation,industrialandagriculturalgrowthprojectionsforthenext50years.Extensivesurfacewaterqualityinformationwasobtainedandevaluatedinadditiontolow‐flowandmaximum‐flowinformation.Biologicalassessmentswereperformedforallmajorsub‐watersheds.Thisassessmentwasdesignedtosupplypertinentinformationnecessaryforappropriateauthoritiestoevaluatetheirpresentwatersourceandtoimplementplansforfuturewater‐sourcedevelopmentifneeded.HydrologicAlterationandtheCleanWaterAct:PartIIRandallHaddock,CahabaRiverSocietyHydrologicAlterationandtheCleanWaterAct:PartIITheCleanWaterActcallsonustoprotectthephysical,chemical,andbiologicalintegrityofournations’waters.Thereisagrowingrecognitionthatchangesinstreamflowregimes,or“hydrologicalterations”,aredirectlycausingsomestreamstofailtosupporttheirdesignateduses.Here,wewouldfollow‐upadiscussiononEPA’srecentclarificationabouthowstatescouldmorefullymonitor,assess,andidentifywatersimpairedduetohydrologicalterationwithanurbanwatershedexampleofhydrologicalteration,includingadescriptionofstatisticalevidenceforhydrologicalterationinAlabama’sCahabaRiverbasin.UsingacombinationofinformationfromEPA‐approvedsiltationandhabitatalterationTMDLsforShadesCreekandfortheCahabaRiverwatershedandresultsfromananalysisusingTheNatureConservancy’s‘IndicatorsofHydrologicalAlteration’protocol,wewilldescribehowtheexcessivesiltationandhabitatalterationalreadydocumentedintheCahabaRiverwatershedmaypredominantlybeduetohydrologicalteration.ThisconclusionshouldhelpguidemanagementdecisionstomosteffectivelyaddressthegoalsofthesetwoSiltationandHabitatAlterationTMDLs.ThisperspectivecouldalsoaideMS4sindesigningmoreeffectiveprogramstomeettheirNPDESrequirements.ThisinformationwillbesubmittedtoADEMinthehopetheywillclassifytheCahabaRiverasHydrologicallyImpairedfromitsheadwaterstoCentrevilleintheApril2018305(b)reporttoEPA.
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EPA’sWaterConservation&EfficiencyBestPractices(formerlyRegion4’sWaterEfficiencyGuidelines)RosemaryHallCalli,EPARegion4Akeyfunctionofawaterutilityistoensurethatithasadequatesupplytoprovidewaterservicestoitsdomestic,commercial,andindustrialcustomers.Becausepopulationcontinuestogrownationally,andatfasterratesinsomepartsofthecountry,utilitiesoftenneedtoconsiderwhetheritisappropriatetodevelopadditionalsupplies.Suchsuppliesmaybeprovidedbygreaterwithdrawalsfromsurfacewaterorgroundwater,constructionofreservoirs,orconstructionofdesalinationorwaterreclamationfacilities.Anyofthesetypesofprojectscarriesacost.Aswaterutilitiesconsideroptions,itmakessensetoensurethattheyareeffectivelymanagingthewaterresourcesalreadyundertheircontrol.Moreefficientuseofwatermayavoidimpactstoaquaticresources,providegreaterecosystemprotection,and/orfreeupthewatersavedtoserveadditionalneeds.InDecember2016,EPAreleasedBestPracticestoConsiderWhenEvaluatingWaterConservationandEfficiencyasanAlternativeforWaterSupplyExpansion(EPA‐810‐B‐16‐005)tohelpwaterutilitiesandfederalandstategovernmentscarryoutassessmentsofthepotentialforfuturewaterconservationandefficiencysavingstoavoidorminimizetheneedfornewwatersupplydevelopment.Thedocumentcanalsobeusedbyautilityorathirdpartytoconductassessmentsofhowtheutilityismanagingitswaterresourcesfromatechnical,financial,andmanagerialperspective.Thedocumentconsistsofsixmajorpractices,withsuggestedmetricstoguideevaluationsofprogress.Nosinglemetricisintendedtoserveasastand‐alonetest.Instead,thecombinedinformationonwaterconservationandefficiencyimplementation,withemphasisonplannedmeasures,caninformreviewsofaproject’spurposeandneed,andanalysisofalternatives.•Thefirstpracticeinvolvesconductingawateraudit.TheAWWAFreeWaterAuditSoftware©availablefromtheAmericanWaterWorksAssociation(AWWA)isusedtocompleteawaterbalanceandproduceperformanceindicatorsforhowwellthebasicsofthewatersystemareunderstood,includinghowmuchofthewaterdistributedisauthorized,metered,and/orbilled.•Next,becauseleakagerepresentsthelargestreallossesformostsystems;thesecondpracticefocusesonassessingandaddressingwaterlossminimizationthroughleakagecontrol.Metricsfocusonmeasuresofleakagetailoredtosystemcharacteristics,identifyinganeconomiclevelofloss,andmeasures(inplaceandplanned)toassessandcontrolwaterloss.•Meteringofwater,thethirdpractice,allowsforaccurateaccountingofwaterdistributed,andcanhelpidentifyunseensourcesofleakageandprioritizeabatementmeasures.Whenmeteredusageiscommunicatedtocustomers,italsohelpsinformandincentivizehowendusesaremanaged.•Thefourthpracticeisanexaminationofwaterratestructure.Chargesforwatershouldreflectthefulllong‐rangecosts(i.e.,forward‐looking,nothistorical)ofoperatingandmaintainingawaterutility,aswellasthescarcityandvalueoftheresource.Theratestructureshouldalsoencourageandrewardconservationandefficientuse.•Enduserwaterconservationandefficiencyanalysis,thefifthpractice,beginswithcharacterizingthesystemintermsofcustomertypesanddemand(e.g.,singlefamilyresidential,multifamilyresidential,commercial,institutional,industrial).Thisthenallowsfor
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identificationofdemanddriversanddemandreductionopportunitiesthroughtargetedprogramsandincentivesforendusers.•Thefinalpracticeisawrittenplanwhichincludesdefinitiveandmeasurablegoalsforoptimizingsystemperformanceandensuringefficientwateruse,withtimelinesforimplementation.Footnote:TheBestPracticeswereinitiatedasanupdateoftheEPARegion4GuidelinesonWaterEfficiencyMeasuresforWaterSupplyProjectsintheSoutheast,specificallyforCleanWaterActSection404projectreview.TheBestPracticesdocument(#EPA‐810‐B‐16‐005)wasreleasedDecember2016asanationaldocumentbroadlyapplicabletowaterprogramsandutilityneeds.BearPointBayou–ACaseStudyinUrbanCoastalStreamRestorationKitHamblen,CH2MTheBearPointBayouStreamRestorationProjectsiteislocatedontheUniversityofSouthMississippi(USM)GulfCoastcampus,northofUSHighway90inLongBeach,Mississippi.ThestreamrestorationprojectwasidentifiedasapartofTheNatureConservancy’sCoastalStreamsandHabitatInitiativeforMississippi,whichisfundedbytheNationalFishandWildlifeFoundation’sGulfEnvironmentalBenefitFund.Throughthisproject,andothersbeingperformedaspartofthisInitiative,TheNatureConservancy(TNC)seekstoconservekeycoastalstreamsinMississippibycreatingrestorationopportunitiesthatbenefitthecommunityandnaturalenvironment.TheobjectiveoftheBearPointBayouStreamRestorationProjectwastodesignandconstructastreamrestorationprojectwiththegoalsofenhancingandrestoringaquaticandriparianhabitatsalongBearPointBayou;andmanagingerosionratesandimprovingstreambankintegritythroughbankgrading,bankstabilizationpractices,andinstreamstructureplacement.In2016,CH2MworkedcloselywithTNCtodeveloptheBearPointBayouStreamRestorationProjectforapproximately2,400linearfeetoferodingstreamchannelwithdegradedhabitatconditions.ThispresentationwillhighlightthechallengesofimplementingurbanstreamrestorationprojectsintheSouthernCoastalPlainecoregion.
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CommonMistakesinApplyingStatisticstoWaterQualityData–andHowtoAvoidThemJasonHeberling,HeberlingEnvironmentalConsulting(HEC)Alltoooftenstatisticalmethodsusedinwaterqualityanalysesmakeassumptionsthatmaynotapplytothedatasetscollected.Commonlyusedmethodsofstatisticalanalysis(suchasANOVAandt‐tests)areparametricandaremorepowerfulwhenthedatafitsanormaldistribution.However,waterandwastewaterdatagenerallydoesnotmatchanormaldistribution.Non‐parametricstatisticalmethodsareoftenmoreusefulfortheseanalyses.Inaddition,waterqualitydatasetsareoftenskewedbyoutliersandnon‐detects.Forwaterqualitydata,outliersandnon‐detectsrepresentrelevantdatapointsandshouldnotbediscardedinanattempttoproduceanormaldistribution.Oftensuchactionresultsinfalseconclusionsandincertaincircumstances,arbitrarilydiscardingdataisillegal.Aspecialemphasisshouldbegiventoanalysesbasedondatadistributionandcharacteristicssuchas:normality,rangeofvariances,andpopulationsize.Themethodsandapproachesdescribedandappliedareselectedaccordingtoinformationgatheredfromthetechnicalliterature,casestudies,andpilotstudies.TheAlabamaCleanWaterPartnership‐EngagingStudentsforCleanWaterAshleyHenderson&SabrinaWood,AlabamaCleanWaterPartnershipTheAlabamaCleanWaterPartnershipcontinuesitssuccessfulengagementofstudentsthroughseveralprogramsintheAlabamaandTallapoosaRiverBasins.TheseprogramsincludetheBluePlanetDefendersEnvironmentalClubatelementaryschoolsandastormdrainmarkingcampaignsatacommunitycollege.TheAlabamaCleanWaterPartnershipalongwithMS4Partner‐theCityofMontgomery,MontgomeryCleanCityCommission,MontgomeryPublicSchoolsandtheAlabamaPulpandPaperCouncilhavedevelopedasix‐monthenvironmentalclubtoengagestudentsinunderservedareasofMontgomery.Theclubmeetsforonehouramonthandincludesallfifth‐gradestudentsattheschoolofchoice.Eachmonthahands‐onactivityteachesstudentsaboutwaterandwatershedsthroughvariousactivities.Thefinalclubmeetingincludesafieldtriptoalocalenvironmentalparkornaturecenter.Afterthreesuccessfulyearsatfourdifferentschools,theACWPhasengagedapproximately250studentsinwatershededucationinalongtermmeaningfulway.Detailsoftheprogramandobstaclestosuccesswillbepresentedalongwithwaystobecomeinvolvedorreplicatethisactivity.TheACWPpartneredwithCentralAlabamaCommunityCollegeintheTallapoosabasintomarkstormdrainsoncampuseducatingstudents,faculty,staffandvisitorsaboutstormwaterissues.Whilepartneringwiththelocalcollege,theACWPsharedstormwatereducationtoallstudentstoencourageparticipationinthecampaign.CentralAlabamaCommunityCollegestudentssubmittedbeautifulartworktobepaintedonstormdrainsthroughoutthecampus.Thisprojecttargetedyoungadults,whichtendstobeadifficultagegrouptoeducate.DetailsoftheprojectandhowtoreplicateorpartnerwiththeACWPwillbepresented.
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EstablishingaCoastalAlabamaConservationCorpsTomHerder,MobileBayNationalEstuaryProgramCommunityengagementplayedakeyroleinthedevelopmentoftheThreeMileCreekWatershedManagementPlan,includingadaptationplanninginlow‐lying,economically‐challenged,traditionally‐underservedcommunitiesfacingfrequentfloodingeventsandincreasedthreatsrelatedtoclimatechange.ParticipantsintheMLKAvenueLeadershipAcademy,cosponsoredbytheMobileBayNationalEstuaryProgram(MBNEP)andtheMartinLutherKingJr.AvenueRedevelopmentCorporation(MLKARC),participantsworkingtoimprovecommunityconditionidentifiedaneedforthearea’syoungadultstobecomemoreconnectedtotheenvironmentalassets.Theyproposedseekingopportunitiestocombinelocalenvironmentaleducationwithemploymentopportunities,andtheideaofaCoastalAlabamaConservationCorpswasborn.Inearly2016,MBNEPandMLKARCpartneredtoprepareagrantproposaltoestablishaCorpstoputyoung,at‐risk,urbanadultstoworkimplementingTMCWMPrecommendations.Withoutaclearpathtoaworkablebudget,proposalsubmissionwasabandoned.InApril,theNationalFishandWildlifeFoundation’sDevelopingtheNextGenerationofConservationistsprovidedanotherfundingopportunity.MBNEPandMLKARCpartneredwiththeStudentConservationAssociation(SCA),with60yearsofoverseeingandfundingsimilarinitiativesand$100Kinnon‐federalmatch,andagrantproposalfor$250KwassubmittedinJuneandawardedinAugustforasix‐monthsessionofCoastalAlabamaConservationCorps.MLKARCassumedrecruitingandscreeningten18to26‐year‐olds,publicinvolvementresponsibilities,andprovisionofspaceforCorpsoperations.SCAhandledorganizationalinfrastructure,safetytraining,payrollandbenefits,andprovisionoftwo,trainedSCAteamleaderstosuperviseCorpsmembers.MBNEPprovidedlocalprogramoversight,professionaltrainingoversight,funding,andgrantadministrationaswellasworkscheduledevelopment.Localmatchingcontributionsincluded$25KeachfromAlabamaPowerandtheCramptonTrust,$5KfromMobileMayorSandyStimpson,and$2.5KeachfromCountyCommissionerMerceriaLudgoodandCityCouncilmenLevonManzieandFredRichardson.ProgramobjectivesincludedprovidingtrainingandenvironmentalmanagementemploymenttotenCorpsmemberstoapplymarketablerestorationtechniquestoimplementsmaller‐scaledprojectsrecommendedintheThreeMileCreekWatershedManagementPlan.Projectoutcomeswereaimedatimprovingenvironmentalstewardshipandcommunityownershipamongminority,low‐income,youngadults;providingtrainingandaccesstoemploymentinanexpandingGulfrestorationeconomy;andincreasinglocalownershipofenvironmentalassetsofTMCthroughhands‐onimplementationofresourcerestorationandmanagementactivitiestoimprovewaterqualityandhabitatcondition.TeamleadersarrivedinleasedSCAtrucksinJanuary,2017,foundhousing,andoccupiedastorefrontonBroadStreetprovidedbyMLKARC.SixcanoesandatrailerweresecuredforpaddlingintowoodedwetlandssurroundingthehistoriclowerstreamwayofThreeMileCreekandOneMileCreek.ScreenedCorpsmembersreportedonFebruary3foranine‐day,intensivetrainingsessioninnorthcentralFlorida.Stayinginon‐sitedormitorieswithteamleaders,theyundertooktrainingandreceivedcertificationinchainsaws,prescribedfire,wildernessandbasicfirstaidandCPR,andcanoeing.TheCACCwenttoworkonFebruary13.ACorpsworkweektypically
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includesfiveeight‐hourdaysimplementingrestorationmeasures,primarilycontrolanderadicationofinvasivenuisancespeciesfromhabitat‐richwoodedwetlands,improvingdrainageinflood‐proneneighborhoods,plantingnativeplantsasacomponentofrestorationprojects,andsupplementingCityandCountyeffortstomanageenvironmentalissuesrelatedtourbanforestry.Eachweekincludesfourworkdaysandoneinadvancedtraining;learningaboutcoastalresourcemanagement,professionalandcommunicationskills,andenvironmentalissuesanddevelopingspeakingskillstocarrythemessageofsoundenvironmentalstewardshiptoMobileCountyPublicSchoolssixthgradeclassesthroughacurriculum‐appropriateWatersheds101presentation.Memberswerepaid$10perhourwithhealthbenefitsandattheconclusionoftheirtermwillbeeligibleforeducationalfinancialassistancethroughtheAmeriCorpsVistaprogram.OurfirststabatanurbanConservationCorpsinlowerAlabamapresentedunforeseenchallengesandrewards.Corpsmembersdemonstratedthefeasibilityofusingrelativelyinexperiencedyoungadults,willingtoworkinextremeenvironmentswearingsnakebootsoutofnecessity,toimplementWMPmeasures.TheirsuccessatpublicpresentationstoMobilePublicSchoolSystemsixthgradersprovidingacrediblemessageofgoodenvironmentalstewardship,surprisedandsatisfiedfunders,teachers,students,andthepresentersthemselves.Thefruitsoftheirambitionfromthis“launchingpad”intohighereducationandtheworkforceremaintobedetermined,butthosewhooversawandcommittedtimeandresourcestotheprogramwererewardedwithincreasedconfidenceintheabilitiesandpotentialoftheCorpsmemberswhocameonboardtoimprovethemselves,theircommunities,andtheirenvironment.StormwaterUserFeesinAlabamaByronHinchey,AmecFosterWheelerStormwaterutilities,orstormwateruserfees,havebeenusedasadedicatedfundingsourceforstormwatermanagementprogramssincethe1970’s.Morethan4,000stormwaterutilitiesareoperationaltoday,butwehavebeenslowtoembracetheconceptinthe“deepsouth”.StormwaterutilitiesareprevalentintheborderstatesofFlorida,Georgia,andTennessee.InAlabama,theLegislatureatlonglastpassedstate‐enablinglegislationin2014.However,thelegislationwasunusuallyprescriptiveinhowuserfeesmustbebilledandsetveryrestrictivelimitationsontheamountthateachpropertycouldbebilled.Weexaminetheconceptofstormwaterutilities,theuseofstormwaterutilitiesintheSoutheast,andtheopportunity,orlackthereof,tousethisfundingmechanismtosuccessfullyaddressourlocalstormwatermanagementneedsinAlabama.
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AssessmentofGroundwaterResourcesinNanafaliaAquifer2010‐2016AmyeHinson,GeologicalSurveyofAlabamaTheGeologicalSurveyofAlabama(GSA)withsupportoftheGovernor’sofficeandtheLegislaturerecentlycompletedanassessmentofAlabama’sgroundwaterresourcesinsupportofwaterpolicydevelopmentforthestate.Thepurposeoftheassessmentwastogeneratespatialdatabasedonhydrogeologiccharacteristicsandinformationfromwaterwellsthatmaybeusedforfuturegroundwatersourceplanninganddevelopmentaswellasfortheimprovementofpoliciesaffectingthemanagement,conservation,andprotectionofgroundwaterresources.TheNanafaliaaquiferisaveryproductiveaquiferintheCoastalPlaininAlabamaandisusedbymanypublicwatersuppliersinsoutheastAlabama.Datafortheassessmentwascollectedfrom2010through2016toclassifycurrentgroundwaterresourcesintheNanafaliaAquiferinAlabama,withthegoalto(1)acquireandpopulateanacceptablegroundwaterwellinformationdatabase(Risk‐BasedDataManagementSystem[RBDMS],(2)conductanextensivefieldsurveyofwellstomeasurewaterlevelsforuseinproducingup‐to‐datepotentiometricsurfacemaps,(3)analyzegeophysicallogstocreategeologiccrosssectionsandgeologicstructuremapstophysicallydefinethedepthofgeologicformationtops,determineaquiferthicknessanddepth,determinethegeologiccompositionofwater‐bearingstrata,andtoindexwellstoaquifers,and(4)createlarge‐scaleplatesdepictinggeologiccrosssections,formationstructure,isopachmaps,andpotentiometricsurfaceinformation.Extensiveanalysisofgeophysicalinformationanddataresultedintheproductionofgeologiccrosssections,anetpotentialproductiveinterval(NPPI)map,apotentiometricsurfacemap,ageologicstructuremap,agroundwaterproductionimpactmap,andgroundwaterrechargeestimatesfortheNanafaliaaquiferinAlabama.PastandFuturePredictedEffectsofSeaLevelRiseandHumanActivitiesonHabitatsandShorelinesinCoastalAlabama’sWeeksBayWatershedScottJackson,EcologyandEnvironment,Inc.Althoughtherearemanypotentialimpactsassociatedwithclimatechange,someofthemostpronouncedandeasilyobserved,arethoserelatedtosealevelrise(SLR).Whilemuchuncertaintystillexistsovertheratesatwhichsealevelisexpectedtoriseinthenearfuture,apparenteffectsofsealevelriseoverthelast50‐60yearsarebeingobservedalreadyinsomeportionsofAlabama’scoastalwatersheds.ObservedandpredictedfuturechangestocoastalhabitatsandshorelineswereanalyzedaspartoftheMobileBayNationalEstuaryProgram’s(MBNEP)WatershedManagementPlan(WMP)fortheWeeksBaywatershedinBaldwinCounty,Alabama.Theanalysisindicatesthatthesehabitatsandshorelinesinthewatershedhavebeen,andwilllikelycontinuetobeimpactedbybothhumanactivitiesandprocessesrelatedtoclimatechange,suchasSLR.Inordertoassesschangestoshorelinesinthewatershedovertime,aerialphotographsfrom1955werecomparedwithaerialphotographsfrom2015.OneofthemostnotableobservationswaslandlossofemergentislandslocatednearthemouthsoftheFishandMagnoliaRivers.Someoftheseareasexperiencehighlevelsofboattrafficandresultingwake,whichcanleadtoshorelineerosionoftheislands.Additional
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factorsrelatedtothesizeoftheseislandsincludetheoccurrenceoffloodeventsandtropicalsystems,whichcancauseincreasedflowandvelocityleadingtogreaterpotentialforbankerosion.TheothermostobviousshorelinechangeisthewideningofmultiplesmalltributariesofboththeFishandMagnoliaRivers,whichdonotappeartobeaffectedbyboatwake.Theseparticularcoastalstreamsaregenerallyveryshort,runthroughmarsh,andhaveverysmallwatersheds.Theyaretypicallynotwideordeepenoughtobenavigablebymotorizedboats.Assuch,erosionduetoboatwakeismostlikelynottheprimarycauseoftheobservedwidening.RecordeddatafromtheNationalOceanicandAtmosphericAdministration’s(NOAA’s)nearestlong‐termtidalgaugelocatedatDauphinIsland,(approximately17milessouthwestfromthemouthofWeeksBay),showsthatmeanrelativesealevelhasrisen0.165meters(6.5inches)intheMobileBayareasincethegaugewasinstalledin1966.Suchariseinmeanrelativesealevelcouldexplainwhythesmallerstreams,whichexperiencelittletonoriskoferosionfromboatwakeandnosignificantupstreamlandusechangesintheirmicro‐scalewatersheds,havewidenedtosuchanextentinarelativelyshortperiodoftime.NOAAandtheU.S.ArmyCorpsofEngineers(USACE)havepredictedthatsealevelattheDauphinIslandstationwilllikelyrisesomewherebetween0.34and2.15meters(1to7feet),bytheyear2100.Iftherateofsealevelrisesacceleratessignificantly,coastalenvironmentsmaynotbeabletorespondaccordinglyandwilldecreaseinsizeorbesubmerged.Aslocalsealevelsincrease,somemarshesmaymigrateintoneighboringlow‐lyingareas,whileothersectionsofmarshwillbelosttoopenwaterorconverttoanintertidalmudflat.Inundevelopedorlessdevelopedcoastalareas,ecosystemsaremorelikelytobeabletoshiftupwardandlandwardwiththerisingwaterlevels.PredictedeffectsofvariousSLRscenariosonfuturehabitatdistributionintheWeeksBaywatershedwereanalyzedusingoutputgeneratedbytheGulfCoastPrairieLandscapeConservationCooperative(GCPLCC)fromtheSeaLevelAffectingMarshesModel(SLAMM).TheSLRscenarioschosenforanalysisoftheWeeksBayWatershedwere0.5,1.0,and2.0metersofrelativemeanSLRintheareafromtheinitialyear(2002)totheyear2100.InallthreeSLRscenarios,thelargestproportionofhabitatpredictedtohaveanetreductioninacreage(viaconversiontoanotherhabitattypeortypes)wasthe“Swamp”category,whichconstitutedgreaterthan50percentoftotallossinallscenarios;andthe“RegularlyFloodedMarsh”categoryconsistentlyshowedthelargestgains.However,astheSLRscenariowasincreased,thiscategory’sproportionoftotalhabitatgaineddecreasedasadditionalhabitatcategories,suchas“TransitionalFreshMarsh,”“EstuarineOpenWater,”and“FloodedForest,”begantoincrease.
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GrowingandMaintainingaVibrantWatershedGroupinNorthCentralAlabamaKevinJenne,ChoccoloccoCreekWatershed;JohnLoper&ThomasLoper,TheLoperGroup;AlanFowler,GeosyntecConsultants,Inc.&MichaelPrice,GenesisProject,Inc.TheChoccoloccoCreekWatershedisarelativelynewwatershedgroupformedin2011toprotectthewatersofChoccoloccoCreeklocatedinnortheastAlabama.ChoccoloccoCreekflowsforapproximately65milesfromitsheadwatersintheTalladegaNationalForestsoutheasttoitsconfluencewiththeCoosaRiverandreceivesinputsfromasurroundingdrainagebasinthatisapproximately500squaremilesinsize.TheupperhalfofChoccoloccoCreekislargelysurroundedbyundevelopedforestlands,andthelowerportionisborderedbyacombinationofactiveagriculturallandsandmanagedforestlands.MultipletributariesprovidesurfacewaterflowtoChoccoloccoCreekwithseveralofthesefeedingthelowerhalfofthecreek.Oneofthesetributaries,SnowCreek,flowsforapproximatelysixmilesthroughhighlydevelopedurbanandindustrializedareasbeforeenteringChoccoloccoCreeknearitsmidpoint.InadditiontotheurbanandindustrialinputsfromSnowCreek,thelowerportionofChoccoloccoCreekisthereceivingwatersforseveralpermitteddischarges,includingtwowastewatertreatmentplantsandtwoindustrialpointsources.TheagriculturallandsborderingmuchoflowerChoccoloccoCreekarealsopotentialsourcesfornonpointpollutants,includingnutrients.ThispresentationwillfocusonactivitiesthatarebeingconductedtogrowandmaintaintheChoccoloccoCreekWatershedrecognizingthatwithoutdiligentefforts,theinitialenthusiasmandinterestinawatershedgroupcanwaneasmembershipandvolunteersdiscoverthatdespitethebenefits,it’shardwork.Thepresentationwilladdressimportantfactorsforgrowingandmaintainingwatershedgroupsincludingcommunication,organization,andfundraising.Communicationisaninfluentialfactorformaintaininggroupmomentum,andtherearemultipletoolsavailabletodaythatcanbeapplied.Evenwiththesetools,themessagingmustbeconsistentanddesignedtohighlightspecificgroupeventsandsuccesses.Thesesuccesses,nomatterhowsmall,mustbecelebratedwidelyusingtherangeofavailablecommunicationtools.Whilemanywatershedgroupsbeginasalooseaffiliationofindividualsand/ororganizationsboundbyacommongoalofprotectingand/orrestoringawatershedorwaterbody,themostsuccessfulgroupshavebecomeincreasinglymoreorganizedovertime.Thisincludesdevelopingaformalstructurewithdefinedrolesandresponsibilitiesandoftenincludesgoverningboardsand/oraboardofdirectors.ThepresentationwillprovideanoverviewastowheretheChoccoloccoCreekWatershedisonthisjourneyanddescribeupcomingplans.Finally,fundingiscentraltothesuccessofanyorganization,includingwatershedgroups.Itisimportanttorecognizethatdespitehowmuchvolunteerlaboragroupmaybeabletomuster,fundingwillberequiredtosupportprojects.Thepresentationwilldescribehowfundingforthiswatershedgroupisbeingsecuredfromacombinationofsourcesincludingmemberships,specialeventsandgrants.
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HydrologicAlterationandtheCleanWaterAct:PartIGerritJobsis,AmericanRivers;&RandyHaddock,CahabaRiverSocietyChangesinnaturalstreamflowor“hydrologicalteration”candirectlyaffectthephysical,chemicalandbiologicalwaterqualityofstreams,lakesandwetlands.TheresultscanhavesignificanteffectsondesignatedusesprotectedbytheCleanWaterActincludingaquaticlife,recreation,culturalresourcesanddrinkingwater.Theidentificationofwatersnotmeetingtheirdesignatedusesduetohydrologicalterationcansupporteffortstoaddressexistingimpairmentsandavoidnewhydrologicalterations.In2015,EPAissuednationalguidancetostateandtribalwaterqualityagenciesthatclarifiestreatmentofhydrologicallyalteredwatersundertheCleanWaterActandencouragestheagenciestomorefullymonitor,assess,andidentifywatersimpairedduetohydrologicalteration.ThesewatersshouldbereportedtoEPAandultimatelyCongressunderCategory4CofStateIntegratedReports,alsoknownas305(b)reports.Thisworkshopwillprovideanopportunitytolearnabouttheeffectsofhydrologicalteration,EPA’sguidancetostatesandtribes,andapproachesforworkingwithwaterqualityagenciestoidentifyandlisthydrologicallyimpairedwatersinthebiennialreportstheyarerequiredtosubmittoEPA.ExamplesofstreamsinAlabamathatshouldbeclassifiedashydrologicallyimpairedwillalsobeprovided.WeeksBayWatershedHydrologicandWaterQualityModelingLatifKalin,AuburnUniversityTheMobileBayNationalEstuaryProgram(MBNEP)istryingtodevelopwatershedmanagementplansforallHUC‐12watershedsaroundtheMobileBay.ThispaperpresentsthewatershedmodelingeffortsandtheresultsfortheFishRiverandMagnoliaRiverwatersheds,whichconstitutethetwomainfreshwaterresourcestotheWeeksBay,asub‐estuaryofMobileBay.Thepresentedwatershedmodelingeffortispartofthe“FishRiverandMagnoliaRiverWatershedManagementPlan”project.TheSoilWaterAssessmentTool(SWAT)modelwassuccessfullyappliedtotheFishandMagnoliaRiverwatersheds.AlthoughbothwatershedsarepartoftheWeeksBayWatershedsystem,therearedifferencesintheirlanduse/cover(LULC),soilandtopography.Therefore,separatemodelsweredevelopedforeachwatershed.The2011USDANationalAgriculturalStatisticsServicecroplayerwasusedastherepresentativeLULClayerduringmodelcalibrationandvalidationforflow,sediment,nitrogen,andphosphorous.Initially,manualcalibrationwasusedtohavephysicallymeaningfulparameterranges.AtthenextstepSWAT‐CUP(SWATCalibrationandUncertaintyProcedures)wasusedtofinetunethoseparametersusingauto‐calibrationfeatures.Thecalibration/validationperiodwas2005to2015.Modelperformancesingeneralwereverygoodduringbothcalibrationandvalidationperiods.ThecalibratedmodelwasrunwiththesameLULCusingdailyclimatedatafrom1986to2015togenerate30year‐longmodeloutputs.These30‐yearmodeloutputsrevealedthattheannualaverageTSSloadingsfromtheoutletsoftheHUC‐12levelUpper,MiddleandLowerFishRiverwatershedsare0.52,0.56and0.48t/ha,respectively.TheannualTSSloadto
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theWeeksBayfromtheFishRiverwatershedisestimatedtobe19,361tons.TheTSSloadingfromtheMagnoliaRiverwatershedtotheWeeksBayis1,371tons,or0.14t/ha.ItisclearthatFishRiverwatershedisthedominantsedimentprovidertotheBay.Further,FishRiverwatershedismoresusceptibletoerosionthantheMagnoliaRiverwatershed.Topographylikelyplaysthebiggerroleinthis,asFishRiverwatershedhasasteeperterrain.TheTNloadingsfromtheoutletsofeachHUC‐12levelunitsare9.36,10.52,10.96and14.33kg/ha,respectively,fortheUpperFish,MiddleFish,LowerFishandMagnoliaRiverwatersheds.TheNorthtoSouthincreaseinTNloadingsisassociatedwiththeincreaseinAgriculturalland.ThesamenumbersforTPare1.24,1.41,1.60,1.42kg/ha,respectively.Again,thereisthegeneralincreasingtrendfromNorthtoSouth.Notsurprisingly,theTSS,TNandTPloadsarenotgeneratedevenlythroughoutthewatersheds.Asamatteroffact,only10‐14%ofthetotalwatershedareaintheFishRiverwatershedisresponsiblefor50%oftheTSS,TN,andTPloadsgeneratedfromthewholewatershed.IntheMagnoliaRiverwatershedthispercentagevariesbetween19%and24%.WealsolookedatthepastandfutureLULCimpactsonflowandwaterquality.Forthatpurpose,SWATmodelwasrunwiththe1992LULCaswellastwopotentialfutureLULCscenariosrepresenting2040(highgrowthandmediumgrowthscenarios).Thesameclimatedatafrom1986to2015wereused.Averageannualflowsdidnotvarymuch,althoughlowandhighflowsareexpectedtoexhibitdifferences.RegardingTSSloading,thereisanapparentincreaseinTSSloadingtothebaymovingfrom1992LULCtofutureLULC.Thehighgrowthscenarioisexpectedtohavethelargerincreaseinsedimentloading.TNhadadifferenttrend.ModelresultsshowthatTNloadingswerehigherunderthe1992LULCcomparedto2011.FutureincreaseinresidentiallandsinbothwatershedsareexpectedtoleadtoincreaseinTNloads.TPloads,ontheotherhand,appeartobelowestunderthe1992LULC,andfuturegrowthisexpectedtoeithernotchangeorcausereductioninTPloadingstothebay.HowcanweprepareAlabamafortheeraofwatercrisis?JonghunKam,PrincetonUniversityAlabamaisnowfacinganeraofwatercrisisbecauseofmorefrequentwater‐relatedextremeevents.Inrecentyears,droughtsandfloodscametogetherorclosetoeachother(e.g.,2016–17SoutheasternU.S.Droughtand2017TropicalStormCindy)andcausedsevereagriculturalandeconomiclosses.Inthisera,waterresourcesmanagementformultiplehazardsbecomesmorechallenging.Tohelpbuildtheresilienceofthecommunitytodroughtsandfloods,asub‐seasonaltoseasonal(S2S)forecastingsystemisdeveloped,integratingtheNOAANationalWaterCenter(NWC)ensemblehydrologicforecastingandNorthAmericanMulti‐ModelEnsemble(NMME)seasonalforecasting.Forthesub‐seasonalforecasting,theNOAANWChydrologicensembleforecastingiscustomizedtosupportfloodresponseandpreparednessplanningatthestateandcitylevels.Fortheseasonalforecasting,theNMMEseasonalforecastingisutilizedinsimulatingofflinealandsurfacehydrologicmodel,theVariableInfiltrationCapacity(VIC)andderivingmultipledroughtindicesatthestatelevel,includingStandardPrecipitation/StreamflowIndex,andSoilMoisturePercentile.The
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proposedS2Sforecastingsystemwillbeoperatedweeklyandmonthlyforthepurposesofrespondingtofloodsanddroughts,respectively,viaaweb‐basedinterface.Eventually,itwillhelpbuildtheresilienceofthecommunitytodroughtsandfloods.ApplicationofAnnAGNPStomodelanagriculturalwatershedinEast‐CentralMississippifortheevaluationofanon‐farmwaterstorage(OFWS)systemRiteshKarki,AuburnUniversity;MaryLoveM.Tagert,JoelO.Paz,MississippiStateUniversity;&RonaldL.Bingner,USDA‐ARSNationalSedimentationLaboratory,Oxford,MSAnnualizedAgriculturalNon‐PointSourcePollutantModel(AnnAGNPS)isawatershed‐scale,continuoussimulation,physicalmodelthathasbeenwidelyusedtosimulaterunoff,nutrients,sediment,andpesticidesinagriculturalwatersheds.ThisstudyappliedAnnAGNPStosimulaterunoff,nutrients(totalNitrogenandtotalPhosphorus),andsedimentfroma30.3hectareagriculturalwatershedinEast‐CentralMississippi.AnnAGNPSwasalsousedtoevaluateanOn‐FarmWaterStorage(OFWS)systemasaBestManagementPractice(BMP)fornutrientandsedimentloadingcontrolfromagriculturalfieldswithinthiswatershedandasasourceofwaterforirrigation.AnR2of0.85andNash‐SutcliffeCoefficientofEfficiency(E)of0.82indailyrunoffestimationshowedthatthemodelcanadequatelysimulaterunofffromagriculturalwatershedsinEast‐CentralMississippi.Inaddition,anR2of0.88andEof0.67forevent‐basedsedimentestimationandanR2of0.74andEof0.54formonthlyphosphorusestimationalsoshowedthatthemodelcansatisfactorilysimulatesedimentandphosphorus.However,withanR2ofonly0.15andEof‐0.107,themodelwasunabletosimulatenitrogenatamonthlyscale,likelybecauseofthelackofsitespecificandaccurateinputdata.TheevaluationoftheOFWSsystemshowedthatthesystemwasabletocapture220,000m3ofrunofffromthemonitoredwatershedthatcanbestoredandusedforirrigation.AnnAGNPSestimatedthattheOFWSsystemalsocaptured46tonsofsedimentand558kgofphosphorusduringthemonitoringperiod(September2014toMarch2016),preventingdownstreamnutrientandsedimentpollution.UsingDroneImagestoCaptureChannelGeometryforHydrologicalModelingThorstenKnappenberger&EveBrantley,AuburnUniversityHydrologicalmodelsareimportanttoolsinstreamrestorationchanneldesignandmonitoring.Streamchanneldesignsmayincludehydrologicalmodelswiththegoaltominimizeshearstressandriskoffatalerosionandprojectfailure.AfterimpairedstreamsandreachesarerestoredthechannelgeometryistypicallyacquiredthroughanintensiveGPSsurvey.Basedonthesurvey,hydrologicalmodelsareprocessedandtheas‐builtchannelgeometryiscomparedtotheplannedengineeringdesign.SuchGPSsurveysaretimeconsumingandonlycapturesinglepointsina3Dlandscape.Analternativeistouseunmannedaerialvehicles,ordrones,tocaptureaerialimagesand
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processtheminto3Dsurfacesthatthencanbeusedinhydrologicalmodels.Weidentified3restorationprojectsintheD’Olivewatershedanddeveloped3Dsurfacemodelsforeachofthe3restorationsites.WeusedanInspire1(DJI,Shenzhen,China)UAVtocapturetheaerialimagesandprocessedtheminto3DsurfacemodelsusingPix4D(Pix4DInc,SanFrancisco,CA).ShearstresswasthenmodeledbasedonGPSsurveydataandbasedonUAV3Dsurfacemodels.GPSsurveypointsanddataderivedfromthe3Dsurfacemodelscorrelatedwellwithcorrelationcoefficientsofr=0.98.In‐streamchannellocationswerecapturedmoreaccuratelywiththeGPSsurveywhilethe3Dsurfacemodelsresultinhighresolutiondataonthebanks.Fromourresults,UAVdroneimagescannotreplaceGPSsurveys.However,ahybridofbothapproachesleadstohighestsurfacequality.Criticalpoints,especiallyinthechannelwherethewatersurfaceobscurestheUAVimages,stillhavetobeacquiredviaGPS.HighresolutionaerialimagescanalsobecreatedfromtheUAVimages.Thoseaerialimageshelphydrologicalmodelerstounderstandtheas‐builtconditionswithouthavingtovisittheconstructionsite.FutureworkwillassessthesuitabilityofUAVtechnologytomonitorrestorationsitesovertimecapturingchannelevolutionandvegetation.Inthisstudy,onlyRGBimageswereprocessed.However,futuredatawillalsoincludemulti‐spectralimages.Withthesedata,itwillbepossibletoassessvegetationgrowthandhealth.Thisprovidesausefultooltoidentifyandreplantareasoflowvegetationsurvival.EstablishingComprehensiveVolunteerWaterQualityMonitoringJasonKudulis,MobileBayNationalEstuaryProgramIncoastalAlabamacomprehensivewatershedmanagementplanningisinfullswing.Inall,thirtyonewatershedsaretargetedtogetaplan,trulyamassiveandhistoricundertakingforcoastalAlabamawaterresources.ToguideplanningeffortstheEPAidentifiesninekeyelementsforinclusion,oneofwhichisamonitoringcomponent.Monitoringisvitaltounderstandingtheoverallhealthofawatershed.Itcanbeusedtoevaluatethesuccessorfailureofimplementedplanningstrategiesordeterminewhereadditionalfocusisneeded.Oftencitizendrivenvolunteermonitoringprogramsareestablishedtomeetthiscriticalneed.However,organizing,funding,andretainingvolunteermonitorstobuildalongstandingprogramcanbeachallenge.ToaddresstheseobstaclesandensuresupportofbothexistingandfuturevolunteerprogramstheCommunityActionCommittee(CAC)oftheMobileBayNationalEstuaryProgramhasidentifiedcitizenmonitoringasapriorityandtakenstepstoallocatesubstantialresourcesincludinghiringamonitoringcoordinator.Usingpartnerships,technologyandAlabamaWaterWatch’sEPAapproveddatacollectionmethodstheCAChasfashionedaframeworktogetnewmonitoringprogramsoperationalandoutfittedforsuccess.Additionally,theCACservesasahubforplace‐basedgrassrootsorganizationsandmonitoringentitiestostrengthentheirindividualgroupeffortsandfosteraunifiedvolunteermonitoringcommunitytoadvocateforwaterqualityandwisestewardship.Todate,thevolunteermonitoringprogrammodelhasledtothecreationofnewvolunteermonitoringprogramsintheFowlRiverWatershedandtheBonSecour/SkunkBayou/OysterBayComplex.
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Land‐atmospherecouplingandsoilmoisturememorycontributetolong‐termagriculturaldroughtSanjivKumar,AuburnUniversity;MatthewNewman,NOAAESRLPSD,NCAR;BenLivneh,CUBoulder;DavidLawrence&DanicaLombardozzi,NCARWeassessedthecontributionofland‐atmospherecouplingandsoilmoisturememoryonlong‐termagriculturaldroughtsintheUS.Weperformedanensembleofclimatemodelsimulationstostudysoilmoisturedynamicsundertwoatmosphericforcingscenarios:activeandmutedland‐atmospherecouplingstrengths.Land‐atmospherecouplingcontributestoa9%increaseand31%decreaseinthedecorrelationtimescaleofsoilmoistureanomaliesintheUSGreatPlainsandtheSouthwest,respectively.Thesedifferencesinsoilmoisturememoryaredirectlyrelatedtothelengthandseverityofmodeldrought.Consequently,long‐termdroughtsare10%longerand3%moresevereintheGreatPlains,and14%shorterand20%lesssevereintheSouthwest.AnanalysisofCoupledModelIntercomparsionProjectphase5datashowfourfolduncertaintyinsoilmoisturememoryacrossmodelsthatstronglyaffectsimulatedlong‐termdroughtsandpotentiallyattributabletothedifferencesinsoilwaterstoragecapacityacrossmodels.EstimatingnitrogenremovalservicesofeasternoysterinMobileBay,AlabamaQuanLai&ZhangYaoqi,AuburnUniversity;EliseIrwin,U.S.GeologicalSurveyEstimatingandvaluatingservicesofanecosystemisoftendemandingwhenthereisaneedtojustifyarestorationdecisionandtocalculatetherecoveryofpostdollarinvestment.Ecologicalrestorationisofteninitiatedasameanstoceaseorreversethetrendofdegradedecosystemandspecieslosscausedbyhuman‐inducedimpacts.Easternoystershavebeenacknowledgedfortheirimportantcontributiontohumanwell‐beingbyprovidinggoodsandservicessuchasprotectingshorelinesfromwaveaction,removingexcessnutrients,increasinglightpenetrationandprovidingshelterandfoodforfish,crustaceansandinvertebrates.However,impactsfromoverharvest,diseaseandpoorwaterqualityhavecausedsubstantialdeclinesofoysterreefsglobally.Inthisstudy,weestimatednitrogenremovalservicesprovidedbyoysterreefsinMobileBay,Alabama.Theoysterreefswereestimatedtoremoveover32,000kgofNitrogenperyearthroughdenitrification,andgreaterthan16,000kgofNitrogenperyearthroughtheburialofbiodepositsintosediments.Almost10,000kgofNitrogencanberemovedperyearfromoysterharvestintheMobileBay,alone.ByusingthecostofremovingnitrogenfromanAlabamasewagewatertreatmentplant,weestimatedtheeconomicbenefitofthenitrogenremovalserviceswasupwardsof$235,000ayear.Thesefindingsprovideadditionaleconomicbenefitstotheoverallestimationofoysterreef’secosystemservicesinAlabama.TheseresultscanbeusedbydecisionmakersorthepublictoestimatetheeconomicreturnofoysterhabitatrestorationinvestmentsinAlabamawaters.
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UpdateonGrantFundedComprehensiveSteamRestorationProjectsintheD'OliveWatershed,BaldwinCounty,AlabamaPaulLammers,MobileBayNationalEstuaryProgramTheMobileBayNationalEstuaryProgramsecuredNationalFishandWildlifeFoundationandAlabamaDepartmentofEnvironmentalManagement319grantfundingtocomprehensivelyrestoredegradedstreamsandwetlandstoreducesedimentationintoD'OliveandMobilebays.TheD'OliveCreekWatershedManagementPlan(2010)describedfactorsunderlyingexcessiveerosionandsedimentation,identifiedmostcritically‐degradedstreamreaches,andrecommendedimmediaterestorationmeasurestopreventfuturedegradation,reducesedimentsources,andpreventfuturedegradation.Thewatershed'sthreeprincipaltributaries(alongwithtwounnamedtributaries)areincludedontheState's303(d)listofImpairedWatersduetoexcessivesedimentandhabitatalteration.StreamrestorationalongtheEasternShoreofBaldwinCountyisnotatrivialpursuit.Withsignificanttopographicalrelief,layersoferodiblesandandclay,anaverageoffiveandahalffeetofhardrainfallingannually,andhardenedurbanlandscape,thisarearepresents"theperfectstorm"ofstormwaterimpacts,includingfloodingandflashiness,streambankerosion,wetlandsdegradation,andsedimentation.AlreadybenefittingfromsedimentloadinganalysesprovidedbytheGeologicalSurveyofAlabama,MBNEPsecuredtheservicesofanationally‐recognizedstreamrestorationexperttoguidethedesign,engineering,andmanagementofprojectsbeingimplementedsimultaneously.LocalengineeringcontractorsalsosoughtinputfromconsultantstodesignrestorationstrategiescapableofwithstandingenormoussheerstressestowhichthecoastalstreamsofsouthAlabamaarefrequentlysubjected.Witheightof11projectsnearingcompletionandthreemoreprojectsadvancingthroughdesignphases,MBNEPwillprovideanupdateandsharesolutionsdevelopedtothechallengesencounteredinimplementingthesteamrestorationprojects.Water‐solublecarbohydratessensingsystemusingboronicacidmodifiedpoly(amidoamine)dendrimersXiaoliLiang&MarcoBonizzoni,TheUniversityofAlabamaBodiesofwateroftencontainsharmfulcompoundslikeorganophosphorusfromindustrialfarmingandmetaboliteslikecarbohydratesfrombacteriaandplankton.Monitoringthesecomponentsisessentialtocontrolwaterquality.Majorchallengestosenseanalytesinwaterincludeshighcost,lowsensitivity,complexityoftheappropriatematerials,andinconvenientconstructionofthefunctionaldevices.Therefore,developingsimpleanalyticalmethodsusingmaterialsthatarecommerciallyavailableoreasytopreparewithgoodwatersolubilityandhighsensitivityisurgent.Ourgroupdevelopedaqueousanalyticalsensingsystemsforcarbohydrates.Phenylboronicacidscanbeusedasreceptorsinchemicalsensorsforcarbohydrates.However,theirbindingaffinityandsolubilityareusuallypoorinwater.Weimprovedtheseparametersbycovalentlyconnectingboronicacidmoietiestothesurfaceofacommercialavailablepolymer:third‐generationpoly(amido)amine(PAMAM)dendrimers,toformawater‐solublePAMAM‐boronicacidreceptor(PAMAMba).We
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firstmonitoredtheinteractionofthismodifiedboronicacidreceptorwithcarbohydrate‐likestructuredyessuchas4–methylesculetinandalizarinRedSviaabsorbanceandfluorescencespectroscopy.WethenstudiedtheinteractionofthePAMAMbareceptorwithcarbohydratesbysettingupanindicatordisplacementassaybasedonthoseresults.Additionofmonosaccharides(e.g.fructose,glucose,galactose,ribose)anddisaccharides(e.g.lactose,maltose,sucrose,trehalose)tothe[PAMAMba●(dye)n]complexesallowedustostudythecarbohydratescomplexationtoPAMAMbabyfollowingthedisplacementofthebounddyes.Wedemonstratedtheuseofthesepolymer‐basedsensorsinamultivariatearraysensingplatformforthediscriminationofcarbohydratesinwaterasaproofofprincipletowardstheirbroaderapplicabilityinphysiologicallyandenvironmentallyrelevantconditions.Thiswillallowustogenerateapatterningsystemthatcanbeusedtosensedifferenttypesofcarbohydratesandothercarbohydrate‐likestructuresinwater.Thesesensingeffortswillbeveryhelpfultomonitorbacterialcontaminationofsurfaceanddeepwatersbytrackingthewell‐knowncarbohydratemetabolitesofthesespecies.FaunalHabitatLinkagesforAlabamaBarrierIslandRestorationAssessmentatDauphinIslandClintLloyd,AlabamaCooperativeFishandWildlifeResearchUnit,&EliseIrwin,USGS.DauphinIslandisastrategicallysignificantbarrierislandalongthenorthernGulfofMexico,servingastheonlybarrierislandprovidingprotectiontomuchofthestateofAlabama’scoastalnaturalresources.TheislandhassustainedimpactsfrombothstormsandtherecentDeepwaterHorizonoilspill,warrantingevaluationofrestorationoptions.ThisworkwillidentifythemostbeneficialandeffectiverestorationactivitiesforDauphinIslandthat,ifimplemented,wouldensurelong‐termsustainabilityandresiliencyofthestateofAlabama’sonlybarrierisland,itshabitats,thelivingcoastalandmarineresourcesitsupports,aswellasestuarineconditionsinMississippiSoundandtheextensivecoastalwetlandstothenorth.Wehaveidentifiedmultipleobjectivesassociatedwithlong‐termsustainabilityandresiliencyofDauphinIsland.Toevaluatetheinfluenceofrestorationalternativesonconservationvalueswearedevelopingadecisiontoolforthedecisionmaker(AlabamaDepartmentofConservationandNaturalResources)thatwillconstituteatransparentassessmentofthetradeoffsamongtherestorationstrategies.Afundamentalobjectiveofthisprojectistomaximizecostalmarineresources,particularlyforthefaunathatinhabittheislandandthespecifichabitattypesthatthesespeciesutilize.TeammembersworkedtogethertoelicitfaunalexpertiseanddevelopedalistofspeciesthatutilizeDauphinIsland.Thislistwasusedtoestimateandrankgenerallinkagesofspeciestohabitats.Therankingswerethenusedinnonmetricmulti‐dimensionalscaling(NMDS)ordinationtoidentifysimilaritiesamongfaunalspeciesbasedonestimatedhabitatusage.Thesehabitatgroupingswillbeusedalongsidegeospatialmodelscurrentlybeingdevelopedtohelpquantifychangesinhabitatasaresultofasuiteofrestorationalternatives.Throughconceptualandpredictiveecologicalmodeling,reducinguncertaintycanultimatelyilluminatehow
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theserestorationalternativescontributetothelong‐termsustainabilityofDauphinIslandasabarrierisland.Gradient‐basedFloodMap:AScience‐BasedPolicyAlternativetothe100‐yearFloodZoneRachelLombardi,UniversityofAlabamaThe100‐yearfloodismostcommonlyusedinfloodriskdiscoursebecauseofthefloodinsuranceratemaps(FIRM)createdbytheNationalFloodInsuranceProgram(NFIP).Itiswidelysupportedbyliteraturethat100‐yearfloodsandassociatedfloodmapscreatemoreconfusionforthepublicthantheyeffectivelycommunicaterisk.With30–40%offloodinsuranceclaimsoccurringoutsideofthe100‐yearfloodzone,floodpolicyneedstobeupdatedtoaholisticrepresentationoffloodhazards.Thispaperproposesascience‐drivenpolicyalternativeto100‐yearfloodmapscalledgradient‐basedfloodriskmapswhichdepictthefloodinundationofallremotefloodannualexceedanceprobabilities(0.01orsmaller)giventheavailablehydrologicdataforaregion.Akeyfactorindevelopingaccuratemapsofremoteprobabilityfloodhazardistheinclusionofhistoricandpaleoflooddatainthefloodfrequencycurve.Paleofloodsarereconstructedusingsedimentologicalevidenceleftbyfloodstoreconstructactualextremeeventsthathaveoccurredinariver’sgeologichistory.Theinclusionofpaleofloodandhistoricdatacanextendfloodrecordsthousandsofyearswhichallowhydrologisttodetermineremoteprobabilityfloodswithoutextrapolationbeyondavailabledata.Theimpactofusingallavailablehydrologicdataonfloodmapsandthefeasibilityofgradient‐basedmaparedemonstratedwithcasestudiesofseveralU.S.communitieswhichhavehistoricallyexperiencedextremefloods.Thesecasestudiesshowthekeybenefitofthegradient‐basedfloodmapisvisualcommunicationofaholisticviewoffloodhazardandallowspropertyownerstomakemoreinformeddecisionsregardingfloodrisk.ImplementingaModifiedHANDMethodforReal‐TimeContinentalInundationMappingRyanMcGehee,AuburnUniversityThemodifiedHeightAbovetheNearestDrainage(HAND)methodisaterrainanalysismethodthatcanprovidecomputationallyefficientfloodinundationapproximations.Wearedemonstratingthecompletemethodologyandprovidingourprogresstodateonanationalimplementationofthemethod.WeexpecttofindsignificantimprovementsinourabilitytoapproximateamorediverserangeofhydrologiccasesthantheoriginalHANDmethodwhilestillbeingabletodrawonitsstrengths.Ultimately,themodifiedHANDmethodhasrevolutionarypotentialforthefieldofwaterpredictionand—withoptimization—couldbeabreakthroughtechnologyforfloodforecastingandfloodinundationmapping.
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MediumrangeforecastingofreferenceevapotranspirationincontinentalU.S.usingnumericalweatherpredictionsHanoiMedina,AuburnUniversityForecastingevapotranspirationisoneofthefundamentalissuesinwaterresourcesandirrigationmanagement.Numericalweatherprediction(NWP)forecastscanbeusedasmodelinputsforpredictingmediumrange(1‐10days)referenceevapotranspiration(ETo).ThisworkcomparestheperformanceofrawandbiascorrectedmediumrangeETopredictionsovernineclimateregionsinthecontinentalU.S.,usingdailyperturbedNWPforecasts,issuedbetweenMayandAugust,from2014to2016.TheNWPare:theEuropeanCentreforMedium‐RangeWeatherForecasts(ECMWF),theNationalCentersforEnvironmentalPrediction(NCEP)GlobalForecastSystem(GFS),andtheUnitedKingdomMeteorologicalOffice(UKMO).Thestudyalsopondersifthecombinationofsingle‐modelensembleswithoverallsimilarlevelsofskillleadstoamoreskillfulmulti‐modelensemble.EToestimatesbasedonquality‐controlledU.S.RegionalClimateReferenceNetworkmeasurements,andcomputedwiththeFAO56PenmanMonteithequation,areadoptedasbaseline.TheresultshowsthattheECMWFhasthebestperformance,followedbyUKMOandGFS.ThesimplecombinationoftheECMWFandUKMOprovidedjustslight,butyetsignificant,improvementsinmostperformancestatisticswithrespecttothebestmodel.ErrorsintheincomingsolarradiationforecastsarefoundtohavearelativelyhighdetrimentalimpactontheoverallETouncertainty.Fromapracticalperspective,ourstudyofmedium‐rangeEToforecastsprovideusefulinformationforwatermanagers,farmers,andirrigationsystemoperators.InlandNavigationinAlabamaLarryMerrihew,CoalitionofAlabamaWaterwayAssociationsWarriorTombigbeeThispresentationexaminesthevalueoftheinlandriversystemsofAlabamaandtheroleoftheAssociationsthatmonitorandpromotethisresource.TheriversystemsofAlabamaenhancetheeconomicandenvironmentalprofilesoftheState,andhavehelpedchangepublicandpoliticalopinionsregardingtheimportanceofthenavigableriversbyinvolvingthepeopleinthediscussionsabouttheriversystems.Thepresentationwillalsoexaminefactorsaffectingtheriversfromlocal,State,andNationalentities.
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CoastalMarinePlanninginAlabamaChristianMiller,MobileBayNationalEstuaryProgramCoastalMarinePlanning(CMP)isacomprehensive,adaptive,andecosystem‐basedspatialplanningprocessthatanalyzescurrentandanticipatedusesofcoastalareasandthemarineenvironmenttoreduceenvironmentalimpactsandconflictsamongusers.TheAlabamaDepartmentofConservationandNaturalResources(ADCNR),viaagrantfromtheNationalOceanicandAtmosphericAdministration‐OfficeforCoastalManagement,providedagranttotheMobileBayNationalEstuaryProgram(MBNEP)todevelopandinitiateCMPintheStateofAlabama.Theplanningeffortoccurredinfivephases,beginninginMarchof2012withthegoalofimprovingthecoordinationoflandandwaterusesalongtheGulfCoast:I.EstablishaSteeringCommittee,gatherdata,andidentifygaps(FY2012).II.Setvisionandshort‐andlong‐termgoalsandobjectives;gatherdata;andidentifygaps(FY2013)III.Expandnetworkofstakeholders,prioritizeandmapusesandresources,begintoaddressgoalsandobjectives;andgatherdata(FY2014)IV.Developdecisionsupporttoolandgatherdata(FY2015)V.Implementbetaversionofdecisionsupporttool,continuestakeholderinput/education,andimplementCMP(FY2016)ToguideCMPinAlabamaaCMPSteeringCommitteewasestablishedandfirstmetinMarch,2012.TheareaapprovedbytheSteeringCommitteesettheCMPareaasthatwhichfallsatandbelowthecontinuous10‐footcontourinBaldwinandMobilecounties,Alabama,andadjoiningwaterbottomsextending200milesoffshoreintofederalwaters.TheSteeringCommitteeidentifiedthefollowinggoalsandobjectivesforCMPinAlabama:•Ensuresustainabilityofecosystemservices.•Minimizeimpactsofcoastalactivitiesontheenvironment.•Preserveeconomicviabilityofportactivities.•ProtecttheinterestsoftheStateofAlabama.•Coordinateamongagenciesinfutureactivitiesthatposeconflictsofinterest.•DevelopabaselineofmarineusesthroughoutcoastalAlabama,andmonitorovertime.Inordertoachievethesegoals,thecommitteedevelopedthefollowingobjectives:1.InventoryexistingdatasetsthatcaninformCMP.2.DefinethegeographicareaforCMP.3.Identifyimportanthabitats,resources,andusesthatwouldbenefitfromimprovedmanagementandcoordination.4.DevelopastrategyforengagingthecommunityinCMP.TheinitiationofCMPinAlabamapresentedmanychallenges,andcontinuedengagementwithstakeholders,includingtheAlabamaWorkingWaterfrontsCoalition,willbenecessarytocontinuetoadvanceCMPinAlabama.TheperceptionofpotentialregulationoflandsandwaterisachallengeincoastalAlabama,andparticipantswerecarefultorefertothiseffortas“marineplanning”insteadofothercommonly‐usedtermsincluding“marinespatialplanning”or“coastalzoning”whichelicitconnotationsofaregulatorymethodology.TheState’sapproachtoinitiatingCMPinAlabamawasfromaplanningeffortonly.Byallowingstakeholderstovisualizepotentialconflictsofusesonamap,thefocusshiftedawayfromdiscussionsofregulationtoamoresubstantivediscussion,whichincludedpotentialuseconflicts,dataaccuracy,anddatatypesandsources.Assuch,thisinitialapproachofmappingdatafortheexpressedpurposeofmarineplanningandunderstandingwhereconflictsofusesmayarisemightalsohelptosolicitmoreacceptabilityforfutureCMPeffortsinAlabama.
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DevelopmentofBivariateandMultivariateCoastalDroughtIndex‐AcomprehensiveDroughtAssessmentToolforCoastalAreas,BaysandEstuariesSubhasisMitra&PuneetSrivastava,AuburnUniversityDroughtsincoastalareashasecologicalimpacts,affectssocio‐economicdynamicsandpublichealth.Theinteractionoffreshwater‐saltwaterinterfaceplaysanimportantroleintheeconomicandsocialdynamicsalongthecoastandestuaries.Inthisstudy,wedevelopabivariateandmultivariatedroughtindexthatcanquantifyandindicatedroughtconditionsincoastal,baysandestuariesbyincorporatingthemeteorological,hydrological,andsocio‐economicdroughtsvariables.Thebivariatecoastaldroughtindex(BDI)wasdevelopedusingthecopulatheorywhichincludedstreamflowandsalinitylevelsatthebayareas.Further,theentropyweightedEuclideandistancemethodwasusedtodevelopthemultivariatecoastaldrought(MDI)indexusingprecipitation,salinityandstreamflowdatasets.BoththeBDIandMDIwereabletocapturethemajordroughteventsoccurringintheregion(2000,2007and2011‐2012).AnalysisshowedthatboththeBDIandMDIwasabletoindicatedroughtsconditionsaccuratelybasedonmultiplevariableswhichpreviouslydevelopedunivariatedroughtindexfailedtodoforthecoastalareas.MDIwasabletodetectdroughtearlierthanBDIduetotheincorporationofprecipitation.CorrelationanalysisshowedthatboththeBDIandMDIwashighlycorrelatedwiththestandardizedunivariatedroughtindices.OneofthebetterfeaturesoftheMDIwasthatitwasabletocapturethedynamicsandtrendsofthevariablesinvolvedandthuswasabetterindicatorofdroughtsinthecoastalregions.ThecoastaldroughtindicesdevelopedinthestudycanbeusedbytheNationalIntegratedDroughtInformationSystem(NIDIS)asdroughtindicatorsatcoastalregionsalongthecoastalregions,estuariesandbaysintheUS.Trackingwastewaterinfluenceonoysters(Crassostreavirginica)inafreshwaterdominatedurbanizedestuaryHaleyNicholson,DauphinIslandSeaLab/UniversityofSouthAlabama,Infreshwaterdominatedsystems,majorwastewatersourcestourbanizedestuariescanincludewastewatertreatmentplants(WTP)andriverinedischargethatcanleadtooysterssettlinginwastewateraffectedareas,potentiallyaffectingtheabilitytoharvestadults.Todefinetherelativeinfluenceofdifferentwastewatersourcesonlarvaloysters,wemeasuredoystersettlementratesandtimingintheMobileBay/MississippiSound(MB/MS)systemrelativetoWTPandriverinesources.Wetracedwastewaterinfluencebymeasuringnutrients(NO3,NO2,NH4,TDN)inpotentialwastewatersourcesandNandCstableisotope(SI)ratiosandindicatormicroorganisms(fecalcoliforms,E.coli,male‐specificcoliphage)inWTP,riverineinputsources,andoysters.OysterspatsettlementoccurredonlyathighersalinitysitesinMSwithfewspatcollectedatfresherMBsites,withpeaksettlementinmid‐summer.WTPandriverineinputsourceshaddistinctnutrient,SI,andindicatormicroorganismsignaturesthatcouldbetracedtogrow‐outlocations.Tissueswere1.2to2‰enrichedcomparedtosuspendedparticlesinthewaterandshowedwastewaterinfluenceinnorthernMB
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nearamajorrivermouthandWTPoutfall.Similarly,nutrientsandindicatormicroorganismswerehighestinnorthernMB,withNO3concentrationshighestneartherivermouth,anddecreaseddownbay.IndicatormicroorganismsremainedatbackgroundlevelsinMSexceptduringraineventswhenmicroorganismsinwatersamplesincreased30‐60X.Overall,theriver,ratherthanWTP,wasthemainsourceofindicatormicroorganismsandnutrientstothissystem.Thecombinationofdecreasedanthropogenicwasteinput,dilution,nutrientuptake,andmicrobialdecaydownbaymayhavecontributedtolimitwastewaterinfluenceatoystersettlementlocations.Currently,oystersinthissystemsettleinareaslessaffectedbywastewater,butthatmaybevulnerabletofutureurbanizationandassociatedchangesinfreshwaterflowandwastewaterinputs.BridgingWaterPolicyandAquaticSpeciesConservation:WhatWeHaveLearnedFromaTwo‐InchFishPatrickO'Neil&AnneWynn,GeologicalSurveyofAlabama;JeffPowell&JenniferGrunewald,U.S.FishandWildlifeServiceTheTrispotDarterisararefishfoundonlyinafewtributariesoftheupperCoosaRiversysteminAlabama,Georgia,andTennessee.OriginallydescribedfromAlabamacollectionsmadeinthelate1940s,thespecieshadnotbeenfoundinAlabamaforover50yearsuntilitsrediscoveryin2008.Itoccupiesavarietyofstreamsizesbutspawnsinephemeralheadwaterchannels.Recentstudiesofitsspawninghabitatrevealedintricaterelationshipsbetweenthelocaldistributionandsurvivalofthisspeciestogroundwaterhydrogeology,climate,soils,landcover,andlandmanagement.Thisspeciesreproducesinseasonallywetheadwaterchannelswhereflowissustainedthroughthewinterandspringbyrechargefromsaturatedsoilsandshallowaquifers.Additionally,theTrispotDarterundertakesaHerculeanspawningmigrationbymovingupstreamthroughwaterfalls,streamblockages,andshallowpoolstoeventuallyreachitsspawningground.PoliciesaffectingwaterquantityandwaterqualityinAlabamaaredirectlyrelatedtotheviabilityofthisspeciesinseveralways.Maintaininggroundwaterconnectionswithspawningareasduringthebreedingseasoniscriticaltoprovidingaminimumflowforreproductionandgrowth;maintainingsustainableinstreamflowsinthenonbreedingstreamsisnecessaryforlong‐termsurvival;assessmentandimprovementofinstreamflowbarrierssuchasroadcrossingsandculvertsthatinhibitupstreammigrationmovementsisneeded;andtheuseandimprovementofbestmanagementpracticesforagriculture,forestry,andexpandingurbanareaswithintherangeoftheTrispotDarterisimportantformaintainingwaterquality.
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MacroinvertebrateCommunityResponsetoDroughtYearsinRegulatedandUnregulatedReachesoftheTallapoosaRiver,AlabamaKristieOuellette,ElyKosnicki,TomHess,&ClintLloyd,AlabamaCooperativeFishandWildlifeResearchUnit;&EliseIrwin,U.S.GeologicalSurveyHydropeakingisacommonpracticeforhydroelectricfacilities,eventhoughitiswellknowntoreducedownstreamriverinecommunitycomplexity.Theextremefluctuationsinriverstage,flowandtemperatureasaresultofhydropeakinggreatlyaltersthenaturalflowvariationandcreatesstressfulenvironmentalconditionsfortheaquaticcommunitiesdownstreamoftheimpoundment,especiallynativespeciesthatthriveinnaturalflowconditions.R.L.HarrisDamisahydropowerfacilitylocatedintheupper‐centralTallapoosaRiverbasinthathasbeenthesubjectofanadaptiveflowmanagementprojectsince2005.Macroinvertebrateshavebeencollectedsinceprojectinceptioninspringandfallseasonstoinvestigateeffectsoncommunitiesthataresubjecttobothriverregulationandnaturalvariationinhydrology.Asubsamplefromeachyearwasrandomlyselectedandmacroinvertebrateswereidentifiedtothelowestpossibletaxonlevel.Non‐metricmultidimensionalscaling(NMDS)wasusedtoordinatesamplesoverWisconsindoublestandardizationofsquarerootabundancemacroinvertebratespaceusingBray‐CurtisSimilarityIndex.Selectedmetricsofrichness,functionalfeedinggroups,andhabitwereanalyzedusingANOVA.Themacroinvertebratecommunitiesdifferbetweentheregulatedandunregulatedportionsoftheriver,andtheseresultsareconsistentthroughallyearsanalyzedthusfar.Overall,regulatedreachessupportfewerpredatorsandscrapers,andmorenon‐insecttaxa,gatherers,andmulti‐voltineswimmers.Ourresultssupportanincreaseincommunitycomplexityinallreachesduringdroughtyears,althoughthiscouldalsobearesultofincreaseddetectionprobabilityduetodroughtconditions.Macroinvertebratecommunitycompositionofregulatedreachesmostresembledthoseofunregulatedreachesduringthedroughtyears.Thisispotentiallyaresultoffewerreleasesduringdroughtyears,whichissupportedbythepresenceofsensitivespeciesclosertothedamaswellasanincreaseinshreddersandcase‐buildersduringthedroughtyears.Whilereachandwateryearexplainsomeofthevariationinmacroinvertebratecommunities,itishighlyimportanttoconsiderthelegacyeffectofpreviouswateryearswhenproposingflowplansbasedoncurrentwaterconditions.DisinfectionofLiquidHumanWastethroughPhotoelectrochemicalProcessQingPeng,UniversityofAlabama;&JeffreyGlass,DukeUniversitySustainablemethodsthatcandisinfectliquidhumanwaste(LHW)intoreusablewaterbeforedischargingintotheenvironmentareurgentlyneededtoaddresswaterandenergychallenges.Photoelectrochemical(PEC)processesareapromisingmethodtoaddressthischallengebyutilizinginexhaustiblesolarenergytoreclaimwaterfromLHWandgenerate/storeenergy.IwillpresentthepreliminarydatashowingPECprocessasaviableprocesstoreclaimLHW.ThepossibilityofgeneratingchlorineoxidativespeciesthroughPECwithLHWastheelectrolytefordisinfectionwillbe
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shown.Theeffectofthesupportingelectrolyte,lightscattering/absorption,andbiofoulingofthePECelectrodesurfaceonthedisinfectionprocesswillbediscussed.OurresultsshowthepromiseofthePECstrategyforreclaimingwaterfromLHW,alongwithchallengestobeovercomeforpracticalimplementationofthismethod.HydrologicclassificationofAlabamariversbasedonclusteranalysisofdimensionlesssignaturesSarahPraskievicz&CehongLuo,UniversityofAlabamaClassificationofriversisusefulforavarietyofpurposes,suchasgeneratingandtestinghypothesesaboutwatershedcontrolsonhydrology,predictinghydrologicvariablesforungagedrivers,andsettinggoalsforriverconservationandmanagement.Manyexistingriverclassificationsystemsaretop‐down(basedonaprioriclassdefinitions)andsometimesarbitrary.Inthisresearch,wepresentabottom‐up(basedonmachinelearning)riverclassificationdesignedtoinvestigatetheunderlyingphysicalprocessesgoverningrivers’hydrologicregimes.TheclassificationwasdevelopedfortheentirestateofAlabama,basedon248UnitedStatesGeologicalSurvey(USGS)streamgagesthatmetcriteriaforlengthandcompletenessofrecords.Fivedimensionlesshydrologicsignatureswerederivedforeachgage:slopeoftheflowdurationcurve(indicatorofflowvariability),baseflowindex(ratioofbaseflowtoaveragestreamflow),risinglimbdensity(numberofrisinglimbsperunittime),runoffratio(ratiooflong‐termaveragestreamflowtolong‐termaverageprecipitation),andstreamflowelasticity(sensitivityofstreamflowtoprecipitation).WeusedaBayesianclusteringalgorithmtoclassifythegages,basedonthefivehydrologicsignatures,intodistincthydrologicregimes.Wethenusedclassificationandregressiontrees(CART)topredicteachgagedriver’smembershipindifferenthydrologicregimesbasedonclimaticandwatershedvariables.Usingexistinggeospatialdata,weappliedtheCARTanalysistoclassifyungagedstreamsinAlabama,withtheNationalHydrographyDatasetPlus(NHDPlus)catchment(averagearea3km2)astheunitofclassification.TheresultsoftheclassificationcanbeusedformeetingmanagementandconservationobjectivesinAlabama,suchasdevelopingstatewidestandardsforenvironmentalinstreamflows,andtheclassificationmethodologycanalsobeextendednationwide.Suchhydrologicclassificationapproachesarepromisingforcontributingtoprocess‐basedunderstandingofriversystems,byfocusingonthephysicalcontrolsthatarecommonacrossdifferentriversratherthanonwhatmakeseachriverunique.
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Challenges,perspectivesandunderstandingsregardingwetlandfunction–acomparativecasestudyRasikaRamesh,LatifKalin,MehdiRezaeianzadeh,&ChrisAnderson,AuburnUniversity;MohamedHantush,USEPARapidcoastaldevelopmenthasledtoloss/alterationofwetlands,streams,andheadwaterareasthatbuffercoastalwaterwaysfrompollution.Headwaterstreamsareparticularlyvulnerabletoalterationanddisappearanceasaresultofurbanexpansionandagriculture.Thisstudyaimstoassessfunctioningofheadwaterslopewetlands:groundwater‐fedforestedwetlandsthatoccurinheadwaterareasoffirstorderstreamsandareabundantintheAlabama‐MississippiCoastalPlain.However,headwaterwetlandsarelessstudied,especiallyintheGulfCoastalPlain.Toaddressthisknowledgegap,threeheadwaterwetlandsalongagradientofurbanmodificationinBaldwinCounty,ALwerechosenforthisstudy.Modelingthissystempresentsuniquechallengespertinenttoalowgradientcoastalplainsystemincludinghighwatertables,significantgroundwaterinteractionsanddealingwithverysmallwatersheds(beingheadwaterareas).ModelssuchastheSoilandWatershedAssessmentTool(SWAT)andWetQual(watershedandwetlandscalemodelsrespectively)wereusedtoconductamodelingbasedinquiryintothefunctioningofthesewetlands.Theresultsofthisstudyreinforcetheinfluenceofresidencetimeinwetlandnutrientmitigation.TheseinsightswerecontrastedwiththatderivedfromasimilarmodelingbasedinquiryofasmallrestoredwetlandinadominantlyagriculturalwatershedwhoserunoffflowstoanestuaryinChesapeakeBayinMaryland.Thisstudyissignificantfortworeasons:(1)itexpandsourunderstandingofthediversityofnutrientmitigationabilityamongdifferentkindsofwetlands(2)itexpoundsonthemanychallengesthathavetobemetinordertomodelsuchcomplexsystems.MinimumstreamflowrequirementsnecessaryforstreambedinundationusinggraphicalandmathematicalmethodsforAlabamastreamsClaireRose,RodneyKnight,PatrickO'Neil,&ScottGain,U.S.GeologicalSurveyofAlabamaWateriscriticaltothesurvivalofaquaticbiota;however,littlehasbeendonetoquantifytheminimumwaterdepthinastreamthatcanstillprovideadequatehabitatforthesupportofaquaticbiologicalcommunities.Muchresearchinthisfieldhasfocusedeitheronconnectionsbetweenvariousstreamflowmeasuresandaquatichabitatorlinkagesbetweenhabitatandthebiologicalhealthofariver.Thereislittlephysicalevidencethatinstreamflowstandardsbasedonindicessuchasthe7Q10,developedwithregardtowasteassimilation,areminimallyprotectivetoaquaticbiota.Aquaticresourcemanagementwouldbenefitfromabettertoolforunderstandingtheinteractionsbetweenstreamflow,channelmorphology,andstreambedinconnectiontobiologicalhealthtoestablishscientifically‐defensibleflowrequirements.Inparticular,understandingminimumflowsneededtofullyinundatestreambedswouldprovideanempiricalbasisforecologicallymeaningfulinstreamflowstandards.TheUSGS,in
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cooperationwiththeGeologicalSurveyofAlabama,evaluatedstreamflow,channelmorphology,andhabitatavailabilityat36streamgagesitesinfourphysiographicregionsofAlabamaforthepurposeofdevelopingamathematicalapproachtotargetarangeofstreamflowsthatcorrespondtothemaximumbedinundationthreshold.Theobjectiveofthatanalysiswastodetermine(1)ifstreamflowandchannelgeometrycouldbelinkedinadiscerniblemanner,and(2)thepotentialtodevelopregionaltoolsforpredictingcritical‐flowthresholds.Visualandmathematicalmethodswereappliedtothe36sitesindividuallytodeterminethestreamflownecessaryforminimallyinundatingthestreambedateachsite.Thenumberofsiteswasexpandedbytwo‐foldtostrengthentherobustnessofthedataset.Thepurposeoftheexpansionwastoincreasestatisticalsignificanceindeterminingstreamflowcorrespondencewithregionalandphysiographiccharacteristics.Specifically,siteswerelocatedastoallowforstrongerevaluationforregionalizationofthemethodaccordingtophysiographicregionandgeologicunittypeandpotentialpredictionofstreamflownecessaryforinundatingthestreambed.Theanalysisincludeddailyvaluestreamflowtimeseries,streamflowmeasurementdata(cross‐sectiondata),gameandnon‐gamefishcommunitydata,availablehabitatdata,andstreamcross‐sectionalsurveys.Thisinvestigationwillbeusedtoanswerquestionsregardingmaximizedphysicalhabitatatlowflow,predictingstreamflowbyregion,geology,andotherphysiographicboundaries,andtodeterminecorrelationbetweenthehealthoftheaquaticbiotaandstreamflownecessaryforinundatingthestreambed.PrimumNonNocere–FundamentalsofEcological‐DrivenRemediationJohnSchell,TEA,Inc.,JohnLoper&ThomasLoper,TheLoperGroup,Inc.,MichaelPrice,GenesisProject,Inc.,AlanFowler,GeosyntecConsultants,Inc.Thedecisiontoremediateahazardouswastesiteisbasedinpartonperceivedriskstoecologicalreceptors.Benchmarksadornedinahighlevelofuncertaintybegeterrorsindecisionmaking.Similarly,overstatingtheprecisionofblunttoolsusedinassessingecologicalrisksprovidesdecisionmakerswithafalsesenseofconfidenceinconclusionsreachedthroughthisassessmentprocess.Theresultcansometimesbeunnecessaryremediationandafutileattemptatrestoration‐anattempttoputthingsbackthewayhumansperceivetheyshouldbe.Understandingthechallengesintryingtotrulyrestorewhatnaturehasbuiltoverlongperiodsoftime,decisionmakersneedtobeconfidentthatthereisrealsubstantialecologicalharmpriorto“curing”theharmwithintrusiveremediation.Wehavelearnedfromdecadesofexperiencethatremediationofsedimentsitesisnotalwaysazero‐sumgame:thebenefitsfromremediationequal(orexceed)thedestructionincurredfromtheremedialaction.Thisiscertainlynottrueintheshorttermandnumerouscasestudiesillustrateitisnottrueinthelongterm.Asscientists,weneedtoconsiderallthedataestablishedbytherelevantconstellationofbenchmarksandimproveourabilitytodeterminewhenaneffectsthresholdhastrulybeenbreachedandinjuryhasoccurred.Animportant,andoftenoverlookedcomponentisunderstanding,andwherepossiblequantifying,theconsequenceofintrusive“remedies”.Someoftherelevantconsequencesinclude
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habitatdestruction,communitydisruption(wildlifeandhuman),impactstoculturalgeographyandthepotentiallossofspeciesthatarethreatened,endangeredorclassifiedasextinct.Webster’sdefinesaremedyas“amedicine,application,ortreatmentthatrelievesorcuresadiseaseorinjury;somethingthatcorrectsorcounteracts.”Doesanintrusiveremedialactioninanaquaticenvironmentrelieveorcorrectanecologicalinjury?Theanswerrequiresatwo‐stepprocess:first,establishthereisaninjury;andsecond,haveconfidencethatthe“remedy”willcorrectorcounteractthecauseoftheinjury.Theevidencerequiredtoestablishaninjuryconstitutesa“HealthCheckList”andincludesinformationonhabitat(aquatic,riparian,terrestrial),chemistry(pH,conductivity,pollutants),andthebenthicpiscineavianandmammaliancommunities(structure,dominance).Theentiretyofthedatasetneedstobeconsideredinthedecision‐makingprocess,withanunderstandingandappreciationfortheuncertaintiesandvariabilityinherentinthedifferentassessmenttools.TheAnnistonPCBSiteprovidesacasestudyfortheapplicationofasystematicapproachtodetermineharmorinjuryandtheneedforinvasiveaction.Dataareavailableonchemicalconcentrationsinsediment,waterandbiota,aswellashabitatqualityandstructureofthebenthicandpiscinecommunities.Thesedatawillbediscussedintermsoftheneedforremediationandthedifficultiesinachievingacceptablerestorationoftheecosystemshouldintrusiveremediationoccur.Non‐LethalEstimationofProximateBodyCompositionofChannelCatfishUsingBioelectricalImpedanceAnalysisJulieSharp,AlabamaCooperativeFishandWildlifeResearchUnit,AuburnUniversity,EliseIrwin,U.S.GeologicalSurvey,AuburnUniversityAssessmentofbodycompositionservesasanaccuratemeasureoffishcondition.Fatcontentisknowntobeareliableindicatorbecauseanimalswithmorestoredfat,orenergy,aremorecapableofsuccessfulreproductionandsurvival.Physiologicalandbiochemicaltechniquesareusedtomeasurecompositionbutrequiretimeandfiscalresourcesforlaboratoryanalysis,eliminatinguseforrareandendangeredspeciesorlong‐termmonitoring.Alternatively,bioelectricalimpedanceanalysis(BIA)isanon‐lethaltechniqueusedtoestimatebodycomposition,suchasfat,protein,andwater,frommeasurementsofresistanceandreactance.Whilemodelshavebeendevelopedforonlyafewspeciesoffish,developmentofaBIAmodelforChannelCatfish,Ictaluruspunctatus,isdesirablebecauseofthespecies’economicimportanceandneedstomeasureconditioninthefield.AccurateBIArequiresinitialmodeldevelopmentwhichwasaccomplishedbycorrelatingreactanceandresistanceto%DW.Speciesspecificrelationsbetween%DWandproximatecompositionestimateswereestablishedwithsimpleconversionequations.Theinfluenceofelectrodelocationonimpedancemeasurementswasassessedtodeterminewhichresultinthemostaccuratebodycompositionpredictions.Lastly,theeffectoftemperaturewasanalyzedtodevelopcorrectionequationswhichwilllendthemodelstouseinthefield.
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WhatDifferenceDoesaYearMake?TheInfluenceofDroughtPeriodsonLowFlowStatisticsandWaterQualityTrendsLynnSisk,TTL,Inc.DroughtsinrecentyearshavehaddramaticimpactsontheamountofwaterflowinginriversandstreamsinAlabama.Areviewofmeasuredstreamflowrevealshowtheserelativelyshorttermdroughtshavechangedtheestimatedseven‐day,ten‐yearlowflow(7Q10)forstreamswithdifferingnumbersofyearsofmeasuredflow.Forstreamswithlongerperiodsofrecord,asingleyearofdroughtmayhavelessimpactontheestimatedannual7Q10thanitsimpactonastreamwithfeweryearsofmeasuredflow.However,theseverityofthedroughtalsoplaysaroleindetermininghowaseasonalorannualdroughtmayinfluencetheestimated7Q10forastream.Inthissameway,droughtperiodscaninfluencetheestimationofwaterqualitytrendsinriversandstreamsandskewestimatesofannualpollutantloadingsandwaterqualityinstreams.ThispresentationwillexaminehowpastdroughtsinAlabamahaveinfluencedestimatesof7Q10streamflowandwaterquality.KeepingLagoonsEPACompliantWadeStinson,WastewaterComplianceSystemsThemostcommonmethodfortreatingdomesticwastewaterinsmallcommunitiesiswastewatertreatmentlagoon.Asthepopulationintheruralareascontinuestoincrease,andasdischargestandardsbecomeincreasinglystringent,thechallengeofremovingcontaminantsfromwastewaterhasbecomeincreasinglyimportant.Asaresult,theselagoonsystemsthatdonotmeetdischargerequirementsaregenerallyreplacedwithexpensivemechanicaltreatmentplants.Whatalternativesareavailableforcommunitieswithlagoonsfacingeverincreasingdischargeregulations?Thispresentationexploresvaryinginnovationsthatcanbeappliedtoatypicallagoonsystemtomaintaincompliancefornextonetotwopermitrenewingcycle,includecleaning,circulation,screening,optimizeexistingaeration,fixedfilmtechnologies,curtains,coversanddisinfection.CreatingaCleanWaterFuturefortheWeeksBayWatershedRobertaSwann,&ChristianMiller,MobileBayNationalEstuaryProgram.AnumberofwaterqualityandwaterquantityissueshavebeendocumentedwithintheWeeksBayWatershed(WBW)overthepastseveraldecades.Populationgrowthandurbandevelopment,aswellassomeoftheagriculturalpractices,havecontinuedtointensifyproblemsintheWatershed’sfourprincipalHydrologicUnitCode(HUC12)subwatersheds:UpperFishRiver,MiddleFishRiver,LowerFishRiver,andMagnoliaRiver.Since1998,anumberofstreamsegmentsintheWBWhavebeenplacedonAlabama’s303(d)listduetoavarietyofpollutantsofconcern.TheWBWisalargearea(approximately130,000acres),containingalargenetworkofstreams(approximately362miles)withincentralBaldwinCounty.TheWatershedincludesallorportionsof
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ninemunicipalities(Fairhope,Daphne,SpanishFort,Loxley,Robertsdale,Silverhill,Summerdale,Foley,andMagnoliaSprings)andassociatedunincorporatedareasofBaldwinCounty.Increasedvolumeandvelocityofstormwaterrunoff,aswellassomeagriculturalpractices,haveexacerbatedconcernsoverwaterqualitydegradation,e.g.,bacterialpollution,nutrientoverenrichment,sedimentation,andfloodingwithintheWatershed.Torespondtotheseconcerns,theMobileBayNationalEstuaryProgram(MBNEP)andtheBaldwinCountySoilandWaterConservationDistrict(BCSWCD)facilitatedeffortstoaddressissuesintheWeeksBayWatershed.ThisinvolvedawardofacontractinJanuary2016toThompsonEngineering,Inc.(Thompson),alongwithsub‐consultantsEcologyandEnvironment,Inc.(E&E),BarryA.VittorandAssociates,Inc.(BVA),BobHigginsandAssociates,Hand‐ArendallLLC,andLatifKalinforpreparationofacomprehensiveWeeksBayWatershedManagementPlan(WMP).DevelopmentoftheWMP,madepossiblethroughfundingbytheNationalFishandWildlifeFoundation’sGulfEnvironmentalBenefitFund,hasbeenguidedbythegoals,objectives,andexpectationscontainedintheMBNEP’s2013–2018ComprehensiveConservationManagementPlan(CCMP).Thisplanningprocess,guidedbytheMBNEPandwatershedstakeholders,chartsaconceptualcourseforimprovingandprotectingthethingspeoplemostvalueaboutlivingalongtheAlabamacoast(waterquality,fish,environmentalhealthandresilience,access,cultureandheritage,shorelines).InadditiontomeetingrequirementsforwatershedplanningspecifiedbyEPA’s“NineKeyElements”,thefocusinpreparationoftheWMPhasbeentoprovideastrategytoconserveorrestorethosehabitattypesthataremoststressed:freshwaterwetlands;streams,riversandriparianbuffers;andintertidalmarshesandflats.TheoverallgoalistohelpWeeksBayWatershedstakeholdersdevelopaplanthatrecommendsspecificandtangiblemanagementmeasurestoprotect,conserve,andpreservetheuniquequalitiesoftheareaandrecognizeandencouragestewardshipoftheWatershed’sresourcesinacooperativeway.WeeksBayisrecognizedthroughdesignationasaNationalEstuarineResearchReserve(NERR)since1986andasanOutstandingNationalResourceWater(ONRW),oneofonlythreewithintheStateofAlabamasince1992.TheMagnoliaRiverisrecognizedasanOutstandingAlabamaWater(OAW)sincereceivingthatdesignationin2009.EarlyinthewatershedmanagementplanningprocessitbecameveryobvioustotheThompsonteamthattwovaluableentitiesexistwithinthiswatershedandshouldbespecificallyrecognized–theWeeksBayNationalEstuarineResearchReserveandtheWeeksBayFoundation.ThisWMPoutlinesaholisticapproachtoaddresstheissuesandconcernsidentifiedforthelandandwaterareasoftheWBW.ThepurposeofthisWMPistoguidewatershedresourcemanagers,policymakers,communityorganizations,andcitizenstoprotectthechemical,biological,andculturalintegrityoftheWBW,andspecificallyitswatersandhabitatssupportinghealthypopulationsoffish,shellfish,andwildlifeandprovidingrecreationinandonthesewatersofcoastalAlabama.Toaccomplishthesebroadgoals,thisWMPidentifiesarangeofmeasuresthatcanbeappliedtomoreefficientlymanageurbandevelopmentandagriculturalpracticeswithintheWBW.Bysuccessfullyaddressingtheco‐relatedproblemsidentifiedwithpopulationgrowth,urbandevelopment,andsomeagriculturalpracticeswithintheWBW,thelong‐termhealthofthestreamcourses,WeeksBayandMobileBaywillbeenhanced.PreparationoftheWMPwas
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accomplishedthroughacollaborativeeffortthatwasguidedbytheThompsonteamandtheStakeholdersWorkingGroup(SWG).Thefocusofthisteamwastoelicitstrongstakeholderparticipation.TheSWGincludesabout25representativesfromthecities,thecounty,stateandfederalagencies,homeowners,agriculturalinterests,developers,andengineers.TheSWGcontinuedtomeetbimonthlywiththeThompsonEngineeringteamthroughoutthedevelopmentprocess,havingatotalof10meetingsoverthecourseoftheWMPdevelopment.Findingandnurturingpublicsupport:whatculturalrhetoricscancontributetopublicdebatesonenvironmentalinitiativesandcleanwaterpoliciesCindyTekobbe,TheUniversityofAlabama.AnynumberofpublicpollsandopinionstudiestellusthatAmericansarepoliticallyandculturallypolarized.APew2014studyoftheopinionsof10,000peopledemonstratesthatcitizensarebyandlargefrustratedwiththeirgovernmentsandhavelittletrustforgovernment‐sponsoredinitiatives.Butitalsodemonstrateswhatmostpeoplecouldtellyoufromtheirexperienceatthefamilyholidaydinnertable–peoplearemorelikelytobelieveorsupportnotionsthatmatchtheirpreconceivedopinionsandvalues.Thismistrustandentrenchedideologycanmakeachallengeoffindingbroadsupportforevencommon‐sensepublicpolicy.Whilerhetoricasadisciplineismostcommonlyrecognizedastheartofpersuasion,itisalsotheartofunderstandinghowpeopleengageinknowledge‐makingpractices.Inordertopersuadeanaudience,thewriterorspeakermustcrafta“knowing”intheaudiencethatthespeaker’spositionisonetheytooshouldtakeup.Aspeakercraftsthisknowingbyconstructingfortheaudience:definitions,proofs,andpassion.Forexample,topersuadeanaudiencetovoteforabondinitiativetoimprovethequalityofwaterinlocalwaterways,thespeakermightmakeamoralargument.Thespeakercouldthenconstructaknowingthatcleanwaterisamoralchoicebyemphasizingthenecessityofsafedrinkingwaterandbyignitingpassionatebeliefsthatchildrenshouldhavesafewater.However,giventhepoliticalpolarizationinpublicdiscourse,amistrustofpublicspeakers,andatendencytoonlysupportideasthatalignwithpreconceivednotions,thetriedandtruerhetoricalpracticesofpersuasivespeakingandwritingmaybelesseffectivethantheyhavebeeninthepast.Alternatively,thedisciplineofculturalrhetoricsapproachesknowledge‐makingthroughthesharingofpersonalstories.Culturalrhetoricianspositionthestorytellersoffirst‐handandlivedexperiencesasprimaryknowledge‐makers,ratherthanrelyingonthetraditionalpersuasivepublicspeakertobetheconveyerofknowledgetoareceptiveaudience.Aculturalrhetoricianworkinginwaterpolicymightapproachgainingsupportforalocalcleanwaterbondinitiativebyinvitingspeakerstosharetheirchildhoodstoriesofdrinkingcleanwaterfromlocalspringsorsafelyswimminginlocalrivers.Speakersmightsharestoriesoftheimportanceofalocalcreektotheirfamilywhohaslivednearitsbanksforgenerations.Theexchangeoftheselivedexperiencescanhelpconstructapubliclyheldmemoryofthesignificanceofawaterwaytothecommunity,orhumanizetheissueofcleanlocalwaterbymakingthepolicyinitiativerelatabletotheeverydaylivesofcommunitymembers.Inthispresentation,thespeakerwillbrieflydefineanddescribethefieldandpracticesof
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culturalrhetorics.Then,thespeakerwilldiscusssomeofthewaterqualityissuesintheirowncommunity.Next,theywillshareafewexamplesoflocalcommunity‐basedwatercleanupandwaterqualitypreservationinitiatives.Finally,thespeakerwillproposestrategiesforimplementingculturalrhetoricstogarnerorexpandcommunitysupportforwaterqualityinitiatives.APaleohydroclimatePerspectiveonAlabamaWaterPolicyMatthewTherrell,GlennTootle,BennetBearden,EmilyElliot,UniversityofAlabama,ThehistoricsocioeconomicdamagecausedbyhydroclimateextremessuchasdroughtandfloodingiswelldocumentedintheSoutheasternU.S.andrecenteventssuchasfloodinginLouisianaandtheCarolinasanddroughtandwildfireinthesouthernAppalachianshighlightthesignificantandongoinghazardposedbyhydroclimatevariabilitytothenaturalandbuiltenvironment.Determiningthelong‐termnaturalvariabilityofstreamflowaswellasthefrequencyandmagnitudeofextremehydrologiceventsisimportantnotonlyintermsofthoughtfullymanagingthewaterresourcesofthestatebutalsointermsofprovidingcontextforunderstandinghazardstolife,propertyandinfrastructure,andecologicalimpacts.ThepaleorecordofhydroclimateislimitedintheSoutheastingeneralandparticularlysoinAlabama.Howevertheavailablerecordsclearlyshowthattheobservedrecordofhydroclimate(e.g.,streamflow)doesnotadequatelyrepresenttherangeofnaturalvariabilityandthereforeanywaterresourcepolicythatdoesnottakethepaleorecordintoaccountwillnotstandthetestoftime.WaterresourcemanagersintheSoutheastshouldheedthelessonsoftheWesternstatesandnotonlypromotethedevelopmentofpaleorecordsintheregionbutalsousethesevaluablearchivestoinformandguidewaterpolicy.EcosystemreviewandanalysisfortheweeksbaywatershedmanagementplanTimThibaut,BarryA.Vittor&Associates,Inc.TheBaldwinCountyWetlandAdvancedIdentificationMap(ADID,2005)wasthegroundbasefortheassessmentofWeeksBayWatershedwetlands.TheADIDmapwasmodifiedthroughremotesensingtechniques,usingexistingspatialdatasetsandArcGIS.ThedatasetsincludedMBNEP/ADCNRStateLandsDivisiontruecolororthoimagery(2015),NAIPtruecolororthoimagery(2015),BaldwinCounty1‐ftLiDARcontourdata(2002),NRCSGradysoilsdata,andNationalHydrologyDataset(NHD)flowlines.Atotalof278fieldcheckpointswerevisitedinJanuary2017tocorroboratewetlandlocationsandidentifyareaswherewetlandswereadded,eliminated,oradjustedinthebasemap.ThemodifiedADIDmaphas12,367acresofwetlands,with89.7%inthepalustrineshrub/forestedcategory.Theecologicalconditionofwetlandsandriparianbufferswasinvestigatedthroughlandscapescaleassessment,usingthemodifiedADIDmap,NHDflowlines,andtheNationalLandCoverDataset(2011).Theproportionofnatural
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(forested)landcoverwithina300‐ftuplandbufferwasusedtopredictthequalityofadjacentwetlands.Forriparianbuffers,natural(wetlandsanduplandforest)coverwithina100‐ft‐widecorridorborderingbothsidesofstudyareaditches,streams,andriverswasassessed.Non‐naturallandcovercategoriesincludebarrenland,hay/pasture,cultivatedcrops,developed‐openspace,andlow‐medium‐highintensitydeveloped.Wetlandandriparianbufferswereassessedforeachofthe169NHDcatchmentscomprisingthewatershed.Catchmentswithnaturallandcovercomprisingbetween100and75%oftheirtotalbufferacreagewerescoredasgoodquality,74to51%asfairquality,and50%orlessaspoorquality.WetlandbuffersintheUpperFishRiverHUC12aremostlyingoodcondition.MiddleFishRiverhas43%ofitscatchmentswithfairconditionwetlandbuffers,aroundonethirdingoodconditionandnearly25%inpoorcondition.TheLowerFishRiverHUC12hasamajorityofcatchmentswithwetlandbuffersingoodcondition,butmostofthetotalbufferacreageisonlyinfaircondition.WetlandbuffersintheMagnoliaRiverHUC12aremostlyinpoorcondition,including51%ofthecatchmentsand58%ofthetotalbufferacreage.RiparianbuffersinUpperFishRiverhavethehighestproportionofcatchmentsingoodcondition(76%),followedbyMiddleFishRiver(66%),LowerFishRiver(55%),andMagnoliaRiver(50%).MostoftheriparianbufferacreageintheMagnoliaRiverHUC12isinpoorcondition,duetonarrowornon‐existentbuffersalongdrainagewaysandditchesthattraverseagriculturalland.Bufferrestorationopportunitiesintheselocationsshouldbeanalyzedpriortoimplementation,toavoidinadvertentcreationofnutrientloadingsources.Poorconditionwetlandandriparianbuffersarepresenttosomeextentattheuppermarginsofallfoursub‐watersheds.Ingeneral,themainstemofFishRiverhasintactwetlandandriparianbuffers.Futuredevelopmentinthewatershedshouldproceedwithaheightenedawarenessofthevalueofmaintainingtheseareasinanaturalstate.Prioritiesforacquisitionandconservationinthewatershedincludetidalwetlands.Tidalmarshsystemsareconsideredhighqualityhabitatduetotheirlevelofecosystemservicesprovision,includinghabitatforfisheriesandspeciesofhighconservationconcern.Totalestuarineemergentacreageinthewatershedis507acres,withthesesystemslocatedinthelowerreachesoftheFishRiverHUC12,whichincludesmostofWeeksBay,andthelowerMagnoliaRiverHUC12.Thetotalareaoftidalmarsheswithinexistingconservationeasementsis176acres.AlabamaNaturalHeritageProgram(ALNHP)dataincludesswitchgrasstidalfringeattwolocationsontheMagnoliaRiver.ThiscommunitytypeisconsideredahabitatofextremerarityinAlabama(S1).Tidalpondcypress,alsoanS1habitat,hasdocumentedoccurrencesintheareaoflowerEslavaBranchandnearWeeksCreek.TheALNHPdataalsoincludeanareaofstreamsidewhite‐cedarswamp(S1)intheUpperFishRiverHUC12,associatedwithTurkeyBranchnearHighway90.Longleafpine‐turkeyoakwoodland(S2)occursnearFishRiverintheMiddleFishRiverHUC12,southofCR48.Theserarehabitatsshouldbeinvestigatedtoverifytheiroccurrenceanddocumenttheirextentandecologicalcondition,priortoconsiderationofestablishingconservationeasementsfortheirprotection.Invasiveexoticplantsarewidespreadinthewatershed.Establishingapublic‐privatecollaborationprogramformanagementofinvasiveexoticfloraandfauna,andforinventoryingimportanthabitatsandspeciesonprivatelands,wouldbeofsignificantvalueforlong‐termconservationandmanagement.
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Multi‐decadalDeclineofAlabamaStreamflowGlennTootle,MattTherrell,BennettBearden,EmilyElliott,Jonhun,Kam,UniversityofAlabamaUnprecedentedpopulationgrowthcombinedwithenvironmentalandenergydemandshaveledtowaterconflictintheSoutheasternUnitedStates.ThestatesofFlorida,GeorgiaandAlabamahaverecentlyengagedinlitigationonminimumin‐streamflowstomaintainecosystems,fisheriesandenergydemandswhilesatisfyingagrowingthirstinmetropolitanAtlanta.AstudyofSoutheasternUnitedStates(Alabama,Florida,Georgia,Louisiana,Mississippi,NorthCarolina,SouthCarolinaandTennessee)streamflowidentifiedadecliningpatternofflowoverthepast~25yearswithincreaseddryperiodsbeingobservedinthelastdecade.Whenevaluatingcalendaryearstreamflowfor(56)unimpairedstreamflowstations,arobustperiodofstreamflowinthe1970’swasfollowedbyaconsistentdeclineinstreamflowfrom~1990topresent.Inevaluating20‐year,10‐yearand5‐yeartimeperiodsofannualstreamflowvolume,thepastdecaderevealshistoriclowsforeachoftheseperiods.PotentialclimaticdriverswhichcouldbeassociatedwiththisdeclinewereexaminedwithaparticularfocusonstreamflowgagesinandadjacenttotheStateofAlabama.
Havethelocalgovernmententitiesinvolvedinwaterresourcesmanagementevolvedovertheperiod1990tothepresentday?Havetheirchangingrolesinfluencedthedevelopmentofwaterpolicyinthestate?MaryWallace‐Pitts,UniversityofAlabamaTheneedforanintegratedwaterpolicyinAlabamahaslongbeenrecognized‐theAWRSCreportof1990(i)identifieddeficienciesrelatedtoplanningandmanagementandconcludedthe“actionsmustbetakenimmediatelytodevelopaframeworkformanagingwaterresources”.Almost25yearslatertheAlabamaWaterAgenciesWorkingGroup(AWAWG)recognizedtheimportanceofnaturalhydrologicboundariesandrecommendedthatfuturemanagementshouldbebased,atleastinpart,ontheirlocation(ii).However,todaylittledataexiststoinformdecisionmakerswithrespecttoselectionoftheappropriatelocalgovernanceentityorentitiestoimplementthewaterpoliciesbeingdevelopedforthestate(iii).Theliteratureisclearwithrespecttotheneedforanappropriateframeworkwithinwhichtoimplementsuccessfulpolicies.AccordingtoPeters(iv)anappropriateframeworkensuresthatthatthe“rightsandassets”ofallstakeholderscanbeprotectedwhilealsoprotectingpublicassetsforthelong‐term.Thisframeworkshouldalsoincludethenecessarypolitical/legalandinstitutionalstructures.ToaddressthisdeficiencytheAWAWGcreatedaLocal/RegionalFocusAreaPanel(v)(FAP)chargedwithrecommendinga“structureandstrategy”forplanningandimplementation,withaviewtodeterminingtheappropriateinstitutionalframework.Thisresearchisdesignedtocomparetheentitiesinexistencein1990andtheirrolewiththosepresenttoday.Throughananalysisofinstitutionalevolutionthroughtimeandacomparisonwithotherlocal,regionalandnationalframeworksanappropriateframeworkforAlabamawillbeproposed.Endnotes:iAlabamaWaterResourcesStudyCommission(AWRSC),1990,Waterfora
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QualityofLifeiiAlabamaWaterAgenciesWorkingGroup(AWAWG),2014,MappingtheFutureofAlabamaWaterResourcesManagement:PolicyOptionsandRecommendationsiiiPitts,2016,AWRAConferenceProceedings2016,WhatistheAppropriateInstitutionalFrameworkfortheImplementationofWaterPolicyinAlabama?http://www.aaes.auburn.edu/wrc/wpcontent/uploads/sites/108/2016/09/Wallace_2016ALWRA.pdfivPeters,Doerte;2009PoliciesandLegalFramework;http://www.sswm.info/vAWAWG,2014,MappingtheFutureofAlabamaWaterResourcesManagement:PolicyOptionsandRecommendations
Reconstructingsedimentinputs,waterqualityandphytoplanktoncommunitiesinWolfBay,AlabamafromthesedimentrecordMatthewWaters,AlexMetz,&BenWebster,AuburnUniversityTheconnectivitybetweeninlandwatersystemsandcoastalenvironmentsoccursinbayswheresaltandfreshwatersaremixedformingadynamicenvironment.Giventhelargeinfluxofmaterials,waterqualityisofconcerninbaysystems,however,theseareascanbeextremelyproductiveandprovidesuitablehabitatforeconomicgainsuchasfisheriesandaquaculture.Whilemodelsandmonitoringeffortscanserveimportantroles,historicdataisgenerallylackingandisneededtobetterunderstandnaturalconditionsaswellaschangestotheecosystemfromhistoricperturbations.Paleolimnologicaltoolscanbeappliedtosedimentcorescollectedinbayareastoprovidehistoricinfluxesofmaterialsaswellaschangestotheprimaryproducercommunity.Here,wereportontheanalysisofa1.3msedimentcorefromWolfBay,Alabama.Thecoreincludedtwodistinctsectionscomprisedofmodernorganicsediments(0to0.5m)overashellhashlayer(0.6‐1.3m)representingahistoricperiodofoysterbeds.Resultsfrompaleolimnologicalmeasurementsincludingnutrients(C,N,P),photosyntheticpigmentsandorganicmattershowtwodistinctecologicalstatesinthebay’shistory.Driversofecosystemchangearebelievedtobelinkedtohumandisturbanceinupstreamandlocalwatersheds.
MappingandAnalysisofSedimentationinaSuburbanLakeBretWebb,UniversityofSouthAlabamaThispresentationwilldescribetheresultsofmappingandanalysisofnearly60yearsofsedimentaccumulationinasuburban,man‐madelake.ComprehensivemappingoflakebedelevationswasperformedintheartificialimpoundmentoftheLakeForestsubdivisionduringMayandJuneof2016.Nearly90%oftheprecipitationthatfallswithintheD'OliveCreekWatershedflowsthroughthisrecreationalamenitylakepriortoreachingMobileBay.Thegoalofthismappingwastodeterminehowmuchsedimenthadaccumulatedinthelakesinceitwascreated,bywayofadam,intheearly1970sandwheretheaccumulationhadmostlyoccurred.Additionally,someshallowsedimentcoreswereobtainedfromcreekdeltaswithinthelakeandwereanalyzedforgrainsizeandcomposition.Duetolimitedaccesstothewaterbody,anovelmethodwasrequired
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toperformthelakesurvey:ahigh‐resolutionADCPwasmountedtoakayak,whichaffordedeasyaccesstoveryshallowanddenselyvegetatedwater.SpotelevationsonlandandinveryshallowwaterwereobtainedviawalkingsurveysusingRTKGNSSreceivers.Over12,000discreteelevationmeasurementswereobtainedduringthestudy.Thesepresent‐dayelevationswerecomparedtoa1958topographicsurvey,whichwaspainstakinglydigitizedforthepurposeofperformingacomparativeanalysisoflakebedelevations.Theresultsofthecomparativeanalysisrevealedthatover300,000cubicyardsofsedimenthadaccumulatedover78%ofthelakeareasinceconstructionofthedam.Also,thelakesurfaceareadecreasedbyapproximatelyone‐third,from61to43acres,overthatsameperiodoftime.Asaresult,thelakehaslostsomewherebetween45%and60%ofitsfloodstorage(belowthecrestofthedamspillway),thoughitsconstructionwasnotforfloodmitigation.Thesedimentgrainsizeanalysisrevealedthattheupper12into16inofsedimentarecoarse,well‐sortedsandshavingatextureandcolorsimilartowhatisfoundalongwhatremainsofMobileBay'ssandyshorelines.Asaresultofthesedimentimpoundmentupstreamofthedam,thoseshorelineshavebeendeprivedofoneoftheironlyremainingsourcesofbayshorelinematerials:creekflooddeposits.Theresultsofthisstudyarebeingconsideredinongoingrestorationandenhancementfeasibilitystudiesofthelake,includingthepotentialtorelocateandreusesomeoftheaccumulatedsediments.
AccessibleCountyLevelWaterResourceFactSheets:ExperiencesfromYourNeighborVincentWhite,U.S.GeologicalSurveyAccessiblewater‐resourcesdataandanalysisareessentialforthepropermanagementofacommunity’swaterresources.Knowledgeofwateravailability,quality,developmentpotential,andtheimpactofdevelopmentisnecessaryforwater‐resourcesplanningandprotection.Water‐resourcesinformationforLouisianaandmanyotherstatesarepresentedinavarietyoftechnicalreports,eachwithaparticulargeographicalscopeandtopicalfocus.Informationinthesereportsoftenincludesthewholestateoramulti‐countyarea.Basicinformationonsurfacewater,groundwater,andwaterqualityinasinglecountyofinterestoftenhastobegleanedfromseveralreports,manyofwhichmaybeinlimitedcirculationanddifficulttolocate.Manystake‐holdersanddecision‐makersareoftennotinapositionwithrespecttoresourcesandtime‐requiredtoresearchandsynthesizetheavailableliterature.Furthermore,difficultiesinacquiringandanalyzingdatarunsthespreadfromanapparentoractualabsenceofinformationforacountytoaninformationoverloadinducedbyreportsconductedusingdifferentterminologyinslightlydifferentstudyareasindifferentdecades.Concisesummariesareneededtoprovidetheinformationneededtomakedecisionsaboutcurrentandfuturedevelopmentwhichmeetstheneedsoflocalstakeholdersofallsegmentsandavoidstheexcessesofunder‐informationandover‐information.TheWaterResourcesofLouisianaParishesprojectisabout70percentfinishedachievingthisgoalwiththepublicationofanonlineandhard‐copyfactsheetforeachofLouisiana’s64parishes(equivalenttoacounty).These64publications,whicharegenerally6pagesinlength,providesummariesofgroundwaterandsurface‐wateravailability,waterquality,currentandhistoricalwaterusage,andanextensive
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listofreferencesforreaderslookingformorein‐depthtreatmentsofthetopic.Adjunctivebeneficiariesofthisprojectincludescientistsunfamiliarwithalocalareaandsocial‐environmentaljustice.Scientistswillbeprovidedatooltoquicklygainageneralpictureofthestateofaffairsinregardstowaterresourcesinaparticularareaaswellasanalreadypreparedlistofreferencesforfurtherstudy.Asecondbenefitoftheprojectistheadvancementofenvironmentaljustice.AccordingtoEPA:“EnvironmentalJusticeisthefairtreatmentandmeaningfulinvolvementofallpeopleregardlessofrace,color,nationalorigin,orincomewithrespecttothedevelopment,implementation,andenforcementofenvironmentallaws,regulations,andpolicies...Itwillbeachievedwheneveryoneenjoysthesamedegreeofprotectionfromenvironmentalandhealthhazardsandequalaccesstothedecision‐makingprocesstohaveahealthyenvironmentinwhichtolive,learn,andwork.”Scienceisessentialforsounddecisionmakingandhigh‐qualityunbiasedscienceingeneralisexpensive.Communitiesonthelowerendofthesocioeconomicspectrummaynothaveasmanyscientificresourcesavailableduetoalackofinterestortheinabilitytopayforit.USGSWaterResourcesfactsheetsprovideatleastacertainlevelofaccessibleandfreeknowledgeforeverycommunity–regardlessofdemographicoreconomicfactors–atparish‐scaleresolutionfortheentirestate.
AlabamaDamSafety:InventoryUpdateandBeyondJeffZanotti,AmecFosterWheeler;WardellEdwards,AlabamaOfficeofWaterResourcesAlabamaistheonlystateinthenationwithoutaDamSafetyProgram.ThispotentiallylimitsAlabamaregardingtheconditionsandlocationsofthestate’sagingdaminfrastructure.In2008,Alabama’sOfficeofWaterResources(OWR)begancreatingastatewideinventoryofdamsbyusingGeographicInformationSystem(GIS)analyticaltoolsanddatasetstobothlocateandestimatehazardpotential.Throughyearlygoalsandlessonslearnedalongthewaythestatewideinventoryforall67countieswascompletedthisyear.Thisinventoryisapositivestepforwardinestablishingabasetomakeinformeddecisionsregardingdamsafety.TheendgoaloftheinventoryistosupplementtheNationalInventoryofDams(NID)andmaintainastatewidedatabasethatcanbeutilizedbyourstateandlocalgovernmentsforemergencymanagementandmitigationpurposes.TheproficiencyoftheGISapplicationsallowedustolocatenewdamsaswellasidentifyspatialinaccuraciesofthecurrentNIDdatabase.Withall67countiesofAlabamanowanalyzed,astatewidedatabasehasbeencompiledforassessment,mapping,andplanning.Thepotentialhazardclassificationswerebasedonacombinationofvolume,height,anddownstreamidentifiablehazards.ThispresentationwilldemonstratethewaysGIScanbeusedtocommunicatedamriskandhazardmitigation.Thecompilationofstatistics,facts,andhazardassessmentsgleamedfromtheuseofthisdatabase,willgoalongwayindiscussionsonthestateandlocallevelforthenextstepsinsecuringoveralldamsafetyforthestate’scitizens,property,andwell‐being.
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Poster Presentations
(alphabetical order by author’s last name)
ID Author Title
1MohammadAl‐Hamdan
DevelopingaDynamicSPARROWWaterQualityDecisionSupportSystemUsingNASARemotely‐sensedProducts
2 PalkiArora EffectofSubsurfaceApplicationofBroilerLitteronPhosphorusLosses
3 ElizabethBankstonVerifyingthatColiscanEasygelColonyColorCorrespondstoExpectedColorResults
4 ShuoChen EffectsofAgriculturalLandUseontheSourcesandReactivityofDissolvedOrganicMatter(DOM)inSubtropicalStreams
5 SandraCuttsAnEvaluationofOrganicallyBoundTritium(OBT):TheSavannahRiverSite
6 ParnabDas SurfaceDischargeofRawWastewaterfromUnseweredHomesinCentralAlabama
7 KarlDeRouenJr. Drought,AccesstoImprovedWaterandConflict:Acasestudy
8 JamekiaDurrough‐Prichard
AvailabilityofGroundwaterResourcesfortheHighlandRiminAlabama
9 DeepaGurung FloodplainInundationDynamicsofSipseyRiver,Alabama
10 XiaoleHanHillslope‐streamConnectivityViaSubsurfaceStormflowonHeadwaterHillslopeinSoutheastChina
11 BrendanHiggins CouplingAnaerobicDigestionwithAlgaeCultivationforAdvancedTreatmentofAgriculturalWastewaters
12 AmyeHinson GeologicalSurveyofAlabamaRealTimeWaterLevelNetwork13 MichaelIhde DiscriminationofMetalCationMixturesinWater14 MariamKhanam TheEffectofRiverBathymetryonRiverineFloodSimulations
15 MattKoernerDevelopmentofanIn‐streamManipulationExperimenttoDetermineMicro‐scaleInteractionsBetweenFreshwaterMusselsandSediment
16 DavidKoonAlabamaCooperativeExtensionSystem’sEffortstoEducateHomeownersonSmartWaterUse
17 RachelKuntzTheLethalEffectsCausedbyLocalUntreatedStormwaterofDaphniaPopulationsComparedtoStormwaterTreatedThroughBioretentionMedia
18 ShelbyLauzon WormsLivinginToxicHydrogenSulfide
19 TaylorLedfordTheImpactofNutrientLoadingonNitrogenRemovalinaJuncusroemerianusandSpartinaalternifloraDominatedSaltmarshintheNorthernGulfofMexico
20 YangLu ElectrospunCarbon/IronNanofiberswithEnhancedHeatandChromium(VI)RemovalPropertiesofWaterTreatment
21 CehongLuoTheNeedsoftheRiver:ExaminingpotentialimpactsofexternaldriversonenvironmentalinstreamflowsontheCahabaRiver
22 KritikaMalhotra FingerprintingandModelingSourcesofIn‐streamSedimentsinaSouthernPiedmontWatershed
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ID Author Title
23 MarielMcConville TheEukaryoticandProkaryoticBiotaofBlountCounty,ALSulfurSpring
24 AprilNaborsEvaluatingtheRemovalofTOCandResultingDBP’sUsingFilterAids
25 GabrielProanoHighSurfaceAreaBiofilterMediaFabricationUsingAdditiveManufacturingforMovingBedBioreactorsinWastewaterTreatmentProcess
26 JamesRiversIdentifyingPastTrendsinHydrologicandHydroclimaticExtremesinCoastalAlabamaWatersheds
27 JarrettRoland CenterPivotIrrigationWaterUseintheWiregrassRegionofAlabama
28 MaryRubischTidal‐flowWetlandswithFeedbackControlforManagementofNitrogeninAquacultureWastewater
29 MichaelSalisburyAnalysisofD’OliveCreekWatershed:IdentifyingthelocaldriversthathaveledtostreamdegradationandhowtheycomparetothedriversoftheFlyCreekWatershed
30 WalkerSkeeterAreIntensePrecipitationEventsIncreasingintheSoutheasternUSA?
31 KimberlyStowers HistoriometricAnalysis:Atoolboxforimprovingwatermanagementefforts
32 MdTazmulIslam PhysicalBasedGlobalBedloadFluxAnalysisinLargeRivers
33 DerekTollette TheEffectsofCrudeOilonNorthernGulfofMexicoSaltMarshNitrogenCycling
34 CharlesWaid StreamRestorationImpactonStreamStabilityandWaterQualityinMooresCreek,Alabama
35 CaitlinWessel ImpactsofMicroplasticsintheWaterColumnonOysters
36 EvanWujcik Fabric/MWCNTNanosensorforUltra‐PortableCopperIonDetectioninDrinkingWater
37 YifeiXuTheAnionsintheCitricAcidCycle:Tacklingthedifferentiationofminimallydiversespeciesusinghyperbranchedpolymericreceptors
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Forfurtherinformation,pleaseseetheconferencewebsite:
http://aaes.auburn.edu/wrc/extension‐outreach/awrc‐conference/