fall 2000 water news delaware water resources

8/9/2019 Fall 2000 Water News Delaware Water Resources

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F A L L 2 0 0 0 V O L U M E 1 I S S U E 2

Spotlight on StudentsNew DWRC Research and Education

InitiativesOne of the primary goals of the Delaware

Water Resources Center (DWRC) is to provide trainingand education for future leaders in water science,policy and management. In keeping with that

objective, the DWRC has focused efforts over the pastyear on providing funding to support undergraduateinternships and graduate fellowships. According to Dr.Tom Sims, Director of the DWRC, We are committedto providing interns with an opportunity to have acomplete research experience - from designing aproject with an advisor, to conducting the research,and then presenting their work.

This past Spring, requests for proposals for theDWRC undergraduate internship program were widelydistributed and advertised within the University as wellas Delaware State College. The DWRC Advisory Panel,which is comprised of representatives fromenvironmental, natural resource and agriculturalorganizations in Delaware (see back page formembership list) developed criteria which were used torank the proposals.

To guide their selection process, the AdvisoryPanel identified the following eight priority areas forfunding: nutrient management and water quality foragricultural and non-agricultural systems; sources,fate, and transport of water pollutants; quantifying theresponse of aquatic systems to pollutant inputs; watersupply, demand, and conservation; management andcontrol of stormwater runoff; identification and

protection of groundwater resources; treatment anddisposal of on-site sewage and wastewaters; andprotection and restoration of wetlands.

Proposals were not restricted to the aboveareas, but the ranking was used to guide the finalselection process. Take a look inside for more detailson the projects funded by the DWRC....

Come meet the DWRC graduate fellows,undergraduate interns, and their faculty advisors;they will present their research through talks andposter sessions at the 2001 DWRC Annual

Conference. Dont miss this opportunity to learnmore about both the DWRC and what yourcolleagues are doing in water related research.The conference will start at 9:00 a.m. andconclude at noon.

For more information, including an agendaand registration materials, please contact: CynthiaGreene, e-mail: [email protected], or LucilleShort, phone: (302) 831-1392.


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D E L A W A R E W A T E R R E S O U R C E S C E N T E R 2

Meet the DWRCUndergraduate Interns

In May, the Delaware Water Resources Center(DWRC) selected nine undergraduate applicants and

their faculty advisors to participate in an undergraduateinternship program. Each faculty advisor was providedwith a $5,000 mini-grant to support the internship.Interns from seven Departments found within threedifferent Colleges of the University of Delaware arebeing funded. Throughthe program, students arege t t i n g a un i q ueopportunity for hands onresearch which addresseswater resource relatedi s s ue s o f c r i t i c a limportance to Delawareand the Mid-Atlanticregion. The followingprovides a glimpse intothe lives of the internsand a summary of theirproject objectives.

Using a Modified Pricing Mechanismto Manage Water Quantity

in New Castle CountyRobert Ehemann and Dr. Joshua Duke

Department of Food and Resource Economics

Before coming to the University of Delaware,Robert Ehemanns experience and education in the fieldof electronics led him to a job as an Instrument andControls Technician at Peach Bottom Nuclear PowerPlant. He was able to see first hand the tremendousquantity of water necessary to generate electricity, aswell as the impact which the Power Plant had onaquatic life.

When he is not at work, or school, Ehemann

enjoys the outdoors, such as hiking the AppalachianTrail and volunteering with the Delaware Nature Societyto plant trees in the Middle Run Natural Area of theWhite Clay Creek Preserve. Through his previousemployment, as well as his current hobbies andvolunteer experiences, Ehemann has witnessed thenegative impact of corporate and individualconsumptive behaviors on our natural world. Hismajor, Natural Resource Management, provides

opportunities for Ehemann to help solve some of theproblems he has encountered.

While trying to narrow down a topic for hissenior paper and his internship project, Ehemanndecided to focus on the economic and management

issues associated with the summer drought of 1999.Although water is a plentiful resource around the world,fresh potable drinking water supplies are limited due tofactors such as drought and contamination.Furthermore, water demand continues to increase as aresult of both population growth and higher per capitaresidential use.

While the drought in the summer of 1999 wassevere enough to cause dangerously low water levelsin White Clay Creek, no price increase wasimplemented to reflect the emergency situation.Residents were instead fined if they violated drought-imposed restrictions.

Ehemann and his advisor, Dr. Joshua Duke,Assistant Professor of Food and Resource Economics,will be conducting research to determine whetherincreasing the cost of water is an efficient and fairmethod for allocating water in times of scarcity. Theywill also evaluate whether conservation measures,including those which result from the increased cost ofwater, will eliminate the need to expand water supplies.In light of previous research related to this topic, theproject is being coordinated with the Water Resources

Agency of Delaware, which finalized the 1999Governors Water Supply Task Force Report.

Through the internship experience, Ehemannis looking forward to enhancing his research andliterature review skills, as well as his abilities to useGeographic Information Systems technology.


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Survey of Bottled Water Consumers:Attitudes and Perceptions Toward an

Alternative Drinking Water SourceEmily Gonce and Dr. James Morrison

Department of Consumer Studies

Perhaps you are drinking from your purchasedbottle of water as you read this article. If so, do youknow what made you choose bottled water to drinktoday? Why not tap water or some other beverage?

A team of researchers, including Dr. JamesMorrison and Dr. Hye-Shin Kim of the Department ofConsumer Studies, Bernard Dworsky and GeraldKauffman of the Universitys Water Resources Agencyand student intern Emily Gonce plan to get to thebottom of these and other questions related to bottledwater purchasing decisions. Through the DWRC

funded internship program, they will be conducting asurvey of consumers attitudes and perceptionsregarding bottled water as an alternative drinking watersource. While safety and convenience have often beenpinpointed as probable reasons for people to purchasebottled water, other factors which may be influencingbuying decisions, such as perceptions of water quality,lifestyle patterns, fitness concerns, cost, availability,and environmental conditions (such as drought), will beexplored as part of the survey.

Gonce, a senior majoring in Leadership andConsumer Economics, has gained valuable experienceserving as President of the Delaware Consumer Interest

Council and as a Student Ambassador for the College ofHuman Resources, Educationand Public Policy. She hopesto enhance her researchskills through her internshipproject. Gonce becameinterested in her researchtopic because as a consumerof water, she questions thebenefits of bottled waterversus tap water and whatadverse effects, if any, thetap water may be having onher own health.

As the governor appointed State WaterCoordinator, Gerald Kauffman of the Water Resources

Agency (WRA) is excited about the bottled watersurvey and research. Substantial growth in the bottledwater industry has been witnessed over the pastseveral years and the American Bottled Water

Association predicts the growth rate to accelerate in thefuture. According to Kauffman, we do not know very

much about why people drink bottled water instead oftap water. We are optimistic that this research cananswer some of the questions regarding this alternativewater source. The WRA and the Delaware WaterResources Center will work together to distribute the

results of the survey to municipalities and companieswhich supply water.

The University of DelawareExperimental Watershed Project

Jennifer Campagnini and Gerald KauffmanWater Resources Agency

Institute for Public Administration

The purpose of this internship project is todelineate, characterize and assess the first everexperimental watershed on the University of Delawares

Newark campus. Modeled after projects conducted atother land grant institutions throughout the UnitedStates, the Universitys experimental watershedcontains popular landmarks such as Clayton Hall, theBlue and Gold Club, the Deer Park restaurant, and theUniversity farm. The experimental watershed, whichencompasses several small tributaries to the White ClayCreek, is designed to become a living laboratory forresearch and education within the Universitycommunity.

The health of the watershed will be assessedby evaluating both land use/land cover map data aswell as field data. The map data will include

information on land use, potential contaminant sources,zoning, geology, soil types, topography, wetlands andfloodplains in the watershed, utilizing GeographicInformation Systems (GIS) technology. The field datato be collected will include information on water quality,stream habitat and stream bank vegetation.

The data will be used to compile a reportcard on the overall health of the watershed, and toassess the relationship between land use andwatershed health. It is anticipated that similarevaluations will be conducted in the future to monitorchanges over time, thereby providing valuable researchand educational data for students and faculty in future

semesters.Jennifer Campagnini gained some previous

experience through other internships with theDepartment of Natural Resources and EnvironmentalControl and with the Delaware Emergency Management

Agency. She met her advisor, Gerald Kauffman, of theCollege of Human Resources, Education and PublicPolicys Water Resources Agency, when she worked onissues concerning Delawares severe drought of 1999.


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Campagnini looks forward to enhancing her skills inmapping, and research, as well as learning more aboutthe relationship between watershed management andwater quality through her internship project.

A senior this year,

with a major in NaturalResources Management,Campagnini still finds timefor volunteer efforts. Shehas served as a scout leaderfor Girl Scouts of theChesapeake Bay, Inc., is thepresident of the Sigma AlphaProfessional AgricultureSorority, and last summertraveled to Arizona toparticipate in ColumbiaUniversitys Bio-sphere 2 research program. In

addition, Campagnini received an outstanding clubmember award this past Spring for her work as an AgCollege Council member.

Wetland Functional Analyses:Data Collection and Analyses to

Support Model DevelopmentMaeve Desmond and Dr. Bruce VasilasDepartment of Plant and Soil Sciences

Maeve Desmond, who grew up in Toledo, Ohio

became interested in environmental issues after takingecology and soil science courses at Delaware ValleyCollege. Her interests led her to the University ofDelaware, where she gained experience as an internworking at the UniversitysBotanical Gardens. In hersenior year now as a PlantScience major (with a minorin Soil Science), Desmond isenthused about herinternship with Dr. Bruce

Vasilas, Professor of Plantand Soil Sciences. Becauseof her interests, she isplanning to specialize in awetland science career whenshe graduates.

Wetlands play a critical role in protecting waterquality by trapping potential pollutants, removingsediment from runoff waters and reducing soil erosionthrough the storage of flood waters following stormevents.

Wetland mitigation is the creation orrestoration of wetlands to compensate for wetlandlosses. Wetlands can be lost due to many causes,including road development, housing construction andagricultural drainage. Since mitigation is most

successful when the lost wetland is replaced by awetland with similar functions and values, it is critical tohave a wetland classification system that accuratelycharacterizes the functions of specific types ofwetlands.

The Hydrogeomorphic (HGM) Method forwetland functional analyses relies on using collecteddata in a model that predicts how well the wetland willfunction. The predictions are then compared toreference standards which were developed using datacollected from wetlands in the same HGM sub-class.The first step in the process is to collect data onreference standard wetlands.

Desmond will be working with her advisor anda team of scientists, including Lenore Vasilas from theNatural Resources Conservation Service and PaulMinkin from the Army Corps of Engineers, to collect,organize and analyze data from reference wetlands inDelaware and Maryland. She will receive training inplant identification, plant community assessment, soilmorphology descriptions and the interpretation ofhydrologic conditions based on soil morphology.

Use of Ectomycorrhizaeas a Soil Hydrology Indicator

for Wetland AssessmentsAnna Palermo and Dr. Bruce Vasilas

Department of Plant and Soil Sciences

Wetlands are protected by Section 404 of theClean Water Act. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineersdeveloped a Wetland Delineation Manual to providetechnical guidelines and methods for the identificationand delineation of wetlands. The manual endorses athree criteria approach for wetland determinations:the presence of a hydrophytic plant community, hydricsoil and wetland hydrology. For the majority of freshwater wetlands on the DelMarVa Peninsula, wetlandhydrology is only evident for a part of the growingseason. Therefore, many wetlands have beendestroyed because of inaccurate characterizations.

Typical indicators of wetland hydrology such asdrift lines and blackened leaves require inundationwhich does not occur in many wetlands. One potentialhydrology indicator is the presence of ectomycorrhizae,a symbiosis between fungi and plant roots, in whichfungal hyphae surround a root tip forming a visible


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mantle. Ectomycorrhizae start forming early in thegrowing season when the water table is close to or atthe soil surface, and remain there for most of thegrowing season. The vertical distribution of the visible

mantle within the soil profile should provide valuable

information regarding previous heights of the watertable.

Anna Palermo, a senior majoring inEnvironmental Soil Science, will be working with a teamof scientists, including her advisor, Dr. Bruce Vasilas,Jeff Thompson from the Maryland Department of theEnvironment and Lenore Vasilas from the NaturalResources Conservation Service, to evaluate thepotential of ectomycorrhizae as a hydrology indicator.She will be receiving training in plant identification,plant community assessment, soil morphologydescriptions and the interpretation of hydrologicconditions based on soil morphology.

Palermo, who grew up in Newark, spent herspare time volunteering as a 4-H camp counselor andraising money for an advocacy group to support fosterchildren. She became interested in studying chemistryand plants in high school. To help her decide on hercollege major, she arranged a meeting with Dr. DonaldSparks, Chair of the Department of Plant and SoilSciences, who suggested she consider studying soilscience.

From her internship experience, Palermo hasalready learned about what is involved in organizing aresearch project, as well as specifics on how todelineate wetlands and characterize soils. She isenthused about continuing to learn more through herinternship project.

Diversity of the atzA genein Soil Microbial Communities after

Triazine TreatmentMelissa Weitz and Dr. Mark Radosevich

Department of Plant and Soil Sciences

The purpose of this research project is tobetter understand how s-triazines, the most widelyused pesticides globally, impact the molecular ecologyof microbial communties which degrade thesepesticides in the field. Since biological degradation isthe primary means in which most organic pollutants insoils and waterways are dissipated, a betterunderstanding of this degradation process is critical forpredicting fate and transport of organic pollutants, andpotential threats to humans and the ecosystem.

Within the class of s-triazines, the

environmental fate of the herbicide atrazine has beenbest characterized. It is not known, however, whetherthe bacterial cultures which have been isolated,characterized, and shown to completely mineralizeatrazine are actually representative of the naturalatrazine-degrading bacteria found in the field. In orderto help answer this question, this project will bettercharacterize the genetic make-up of soil microbialcommunities which have differing atrazine treatmenthistories.

Melissa Weitz is looking forward to expandingher knowledge and experience as she works with heradvisor, Dr. Mark Radosevich, Associate Professor of

Environmental Soil Biochemistry. In her senior year asan animal science major (with double minors inchemistry and geography), Weitz has already gainedvaluable experience in the use of laboratory techniquesto study molecular biology and genetics.

In addition to biology and genetics, Weitz hashad a long-time interest in animals, as evidenced byher employment and educational history; this pastSpring she participated ina semester at ColumbiaUniversitys Biosphere 2living laboratory whereshe studied jaguarc o n s e r v a t i o n a n denvironmental science.Her summer jobs beforethe Biosphere experienceincluded working inanimal science labs, asan intern at thePhiladelphia Zoo, and withan equine vet.


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Feasibility of the Use of aFungal Bioreactor to treat

Industrial WastewaterJason Hetrick and Anastasia Chirnside

Department of Bioresources Engineering

Jason Hetrick was initially going to major inCivil Engineering, but then became interested in theclean up of chemical wastes and other environmentalissues. After visiting a wastewater treatment plant inhigh school, he made up his mind to major inEnvironmental Engineering with a focus on watertreatment. Now in his junior year, Hetrick has beenworking in the Department of Bioresources Engineeringas a research assistant for the past year. Through his

job, he became interested in the research of hisadvisor, Anastasia Chirnside, Associate Scientist, who

has been exploring the use of a fungal bioreactor totreat pesticides in water.

The objective of this internship project is toevaluate the ability of a fungal bioreactor to treat anindustrial textile wastewater containing highconcentrations of nitrogen and complex organiccompounds. These two contaminants have historicallybeen resistant to conventional bacterial wastewatertreatment schemes.

Numerous tests will be conducted, using alaboratory scale bioreactor, to evaluate theefffectiveness of using a white rot fungus to degradewastewater. Different hydraulic flow regimes, such as

one containing a recycling flow to increase residencetime versus one without, will be evaluated for theireffectiveness in maximizing treatment.

Since the conceptof using natural organismsto transform hazardoussubstances into aharmless form hasintrigued Hetrick for sometime, he is lookingforward to learning moreabout these organisms.Hetrick believes it willbenefit him to learn aboutthe whole researchprocess as well as the reallife applications of hisresearch.

The Feasibility of Composting PoultryLitter and Food Waste for Use as a Soil

Amendment and Potting MediumLeigh Johnson and Dr. William Ritter

Department of Bioresources Engineering

Sussex County Delaware is home to the highestconcentration of chickens in the nation. Since it is alsohome to scenic beaches, fragile bays and vulnerabledrinking water sources, it is critical that the 300,000wet tons of poultry litter generated each year bemanaged to protect these valuable natural resources.

Having grown up on a farm in Sussex County,Leigh Johnson came toappreciate the importance offarmland and the beauty ofwide open spaces, as well as

the value of clean water.She became interested inprotecting water quality andremediating contaminatedareas. Her interests led herto pursue a degree inEnvironmental Engineering,with double minors inChemistry and History. Nowin her junior year, Johnson has been working as aResearch Assistant in the Department of BioresourcesEngineering Water Quality Lab. Through her job, shelearned about the DWRC internship opportunity from

her advisor, Dr. William Ritter, Professor ofBioresources and Environmental Engineering.

Johnson and Ritter will be working on aproblem of major importance not only for SussexCounty, but the whole DelMarVa peninsula: how toturn poultry litter and food waste into a product thatis economically feasible to market. Through theproject, Johnson will be testing various ratios of acompost mixture of broiler litter, food waste and strawfor numerous parameters, including total carbon, totalnitrogen, different forms of nitrogen, soluble salts, pH,temperature and moisture. The results of the tests willbe used to determine the optimum compost mixture foruse as a soil amendment or potting medium.

Through her internship experience, Johnson islooking forward to enhancing her data analysis skillsand learning about the complete research process.


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The Impact of Alum on PathogenSurvival in Poultry Litter

Greg Buckmaster and Dr. Jeff FuhrmannDepartment of Plant and Soil Sciences

Most poultry litter is currently applied toagricultural lands, a practice that is under scrutiny byboth federal and state lawmakers, due to concernsregarding nutrient contamination of surface andgroundwaters from the poultry litter. Aluminum sulfate(Alum) is used to control ammonia emissions frompoultry houses, thereby improving air quality. It alsohas been shown by USDAs Agricultural ResearchService that alum reduces levels of phosphorusavailable for runoff to waterways. Yet, despite agrowing interest and increased use in alum as a poultrylitter amendment, its effect on pathogens and other

microorganisms is virtually unknown.The purpose of this project is to evaluate theeffects of high rates of alum application on the survivalof bacterial pathogens in broiler litter. Researchdemonstrating that alum negatively affects pathogensurvival would increase justification for its use to meetpoultry health and marketability objectives as well ashuman health and environmental protection concerns.However, if research shows that pathogen survival isenhanced through the use of alum, the wide-spreadadoption of alum application to litter should clearly beavoided.

Gregory Buckmaster, who grew up in

Wilmington, Delaware, is a sophomore majoring inbiochemistry. His interest in his major was sparked byan enthusiastic Concord High School biology teacher.Buckmaster believes there are a growing number ofinteresting employment opportunities in his field. He islooking forward toworking with Dr. JeffryFuhrmann, Professor ofSoil Microbiology, whowill be advising him onhis internship project.Buckmaster hopes toa t t a i n a b e t t e r

u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f microbiology through hisinternship experience andgain valuable skillsworking in a researchlaboratory.

Nutrient Management NewsA regular update on DelawaresNutrient Management Program

As described in our Spring newsletter, theDWRC is supporting three graduate fellowships toprovide scientific support to the ongoing efforts of theDelaware Nutrient Management Commission (DNMC).Delawares 1999 Nutrient Management Act charges theDNMC with the responsibility of developing the StatesNutrient Management regulations. Draft regulations,which outline nutrient management certificationrequirements and procedures for complaint andenforcement of nutrient management standards, havebeen drafted and are undergoing review through aseries of regulatory workshops and public hearings.

In an effort to acquaint the agriculturalcommunity with the States Nutrient ManagementProgram, the Cooperative Extension Service has beenhosting outreach meetings. In addition, the Universityof Delaware has been conducting training for nutrientmanagement planners.

Financial assistance to help implement the

program will be available to those growers who applynutrients to greater than ten acres of land and hire aprivate consultant to develop their NutrientManagement Plan. Eligible expenses under the cost-share program include soil and animal waste testing aswell as consultant planning time. Another new initiativerecently established is the Nutrient Relocation Program,which provides cost-share funding to assist intransporting manure from areas of excess to areas inneed of nutrients. While manure shipment can eitherbe between farms or to alternative use projects, thereimbursement is not to exceed $20 per tontransported.

There is active participation in both cost shareprograms and funds are based on a first come, firstserve priority. For more information on DelawaresNutrient Management Program contact William Rohrer,Program Administrator, Delaware Department of

Agriculture (phone: 1-800-282-8685).

fall 2000 water news delaware water resources

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