nitrogen flux in jordan lake: implications for future development · nitrogen flux in jordan lake:...
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Nitrogen Flux in Jordan Lake:
Implications for Future Development
Hannah Aichelman, Mimi Caddell, Nikki Curnes,
Dan Huddleston, Austen Hughes, Abi Lee,
Alanna Marron and Katie Overbey
Spring 2014
Acknowledgements We would like to thank: • Jon Duncan
• Elizabeth Shay
• Trish D’Arconte (Stormwater Technician/Stream Ecologist, Town of Chapel Hill)
• UNC Institute for the Environment
• Philip McDaniel (GIS Librarian)
Outline
● Intro to Jordan Lake and Chatham Park
● Purpose of Capstone
● How We Approached the Problem ○ Sampling
○ Spatial Analysis
○ Flux Modeling
● Findings
● Suggestions for Future Projects
Jordan Lake
● Haw River
impounded in 1983
● Many important
functions
● Drinking water for
250,000 people
● Problems with
excess nutrients,
especially N
Effects of Excess N
Excess N from agriculture,
deposition and other human
activities
N runs off into
rivers and lakes...
Resulting in
Eutrophication...
...And hypoxic
conditions
JORDAN
LAKE
RULES
Jordan Lake Rules • Restore & maintain Jordan Lake’s many uses
• Best Management Practices
o Stormwater Rules
o Riparian Buffer Rules
o Wastewater Discharge Rules
o Agriculture Rules
o Fertilizer Management Rules
• 35% decrease of N for Orange County
• $600 million to implement
Image Source: DENR
Chatham Park
● Potential for changes in
nutrients
● Proposed by Preston
Development Company
● 7,000 acres for mixed-use,
residential, and R&D uses
● Projected population growth
of 60,000 people for
Pittsboro
Source: Town of Pittsboro, NC
Purpose of this Capstone
To provide preliminary baseline
estimations of changes in nitrogen fluxes
to Jordan Lake and its tributaries if
Chatham Park were developed.
Flux = Concentration * Discharge
• Field Sampling o 2 sites in Chapel Hill (existing data)
o 2 sites in Chatham Park (collected new data)
• Spatial Analysis o Delineate watersheds
o Calculate land cover and land cover change
• Flux Modeling in All Sites
Methods
GIS
DEM Layer
Elevation Fill
Flow Direction
Flow Accumulation
Stream Beds Test Point
Watershed
Watershed Delineation Land Cover
NLCD
Clip NLCD
Reclassified NLCD
Extract NLCD
Land Cover Change
Clip NLCD 1992 Clip NLCD 2011
Reclassify
NLCD 1992
Reclassify
NLCD 2011
LC Change 1992-2011
Extract LC Change 1992-2011
Sample Site Watersheds
Land Cover, 1992
Land Cover, 2011
EGRET: Exploration and Graphics for RivEr Trends
How Data Was Extrapolated
Type of Data Location Extrapolated From
Discharge Cane Creek
Concentration Piedmont Forest, MD
Extrapolated Chatham Park Data
Sampling Sites
Robeson Creek
Chatham Park
Morgan Creek
Chapel Hill
Stinking Creek
Chatham Park
Cane Creek
Chapel Hill
Cane Creek Morgan
Creek
Stinking Creek Robeson Creek
3/30/2014 3/30/2014 3/23/2014 3/30/2014 3/23/2014 3/30/2014
Nitrate (mg/L) 0.26 0.33 BDL* BDL* 1.2 0.54
Kjeldahl Nitrogen, TKN
(mg/L)
0.55 0.27 BDL* BDL* BDL* 0.57
Baseline Sampling Results
BDL = Below Detection Limit
*Nitrate detection limit: .1 mg/L
*TKN detection limit: .25 mg/L
• Goals for future projects: ○ Discharge data
○ More sampling sites
○ Long term monitoring
This project serves as a baseline analysis and guide for future work
Conclusions and Suggestions
• Goals for future projects: ○ Discharge data
○ More sampling sites
○ Long term monitoring
This project serves as a baseline analysis and guide for future work
QUESTIONS?
Conclusions and Suggestions
Bibliography 1. Baker, L. A., Hope, D., Yu, X., Edmonds, J., & Lauver, L. (2001). Nitrogen Balance for the Central Arizona–Phoenix (CAP) Ecosystem.
Retrieved from https://sakai.unc.edu/access/content/group/56067433-4b7d-4e25-9b9d-7552762c0705/Project%20folders--
materials%2C%20documents%2C%20tools/Jordan%20Lake%20nutrients/Baker_et_al2001.pdf
2. Chiosso, E. (n.d.). Haw Riverkeeper. Retrieved from http://hawriver.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Water-Issues-Chatham-Park.pdf
3. Gu, B., Dong, X., Peng, C., Luo, W., Chang, J., & Ge, Y. (2012). The Long-Term Impact of Urbanization on Nitrogen Patterns and
Dynamics in Shanghai, China. Science Direct, 171, 30–37.
4. Pittsboro, NC (2012). http://www.city-data.com/city/Pittsboro-North-Carolina.html
5. "Chatham Park: A 7,000+ Acre Planned Live-Work-Play Community." Chatham Economic Development Corporation. N.p., n.d. Web. 24
Apr. 2014.
6. "NC-Culture – Sanford, NC Points of Interest, with a Special Thanks to Donald Pardue for Suggestions!" NCCulture. N.p., n.d. Web. 24
Apr. 2014.
7. Hirsch, Robert M., Douglas L. Moyer, and Stacey A. Archfield. "Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Season (WRTDS), with an
Application to Chesapeake Bay River Inputs1." JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association 46.5 (2010): 857-880.
8. All images from slide 5 taken from Wikimedia Commons
EGRET Equation