Figure 1 - uploaded by Bridget Read Deemer
Content may be subject to copyright.
Map of 15 study sites (marked by dots with corresponding three letter station codes), watershed areas (shaded), and streamlines. Inset map shows the location of Clark County (thick black outline) in Washington State (thin black outline) as well as the national nutrient ecoregions represented in this study (ecoregion I in light gray and ecoregion II in dark gray). Ecoregions are also delineated by a dotted line on the main map, where the darker shading to the right of the map is ecoregion II. The Columbia River is the boundary between the states of Oregon and Washington.
Source publication
In southwest Washington, rapid population growth and associated land use change have resulted in elevated stream nutrient con-centrations. To evaluate the extent and nature of human alterations to stream nutrient concentrations in this region, we compiled four water years of total phosphorus (TP) and dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) data from two...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... this study we used stream monitoring data collected from 15 sites on 12 creeks by the Clark County Water Resources Department (Figure 1) during four water years (2004 to 2007). The 15 sampling locations were selected by the County to be representative of a wide range of conditions across the county. ...
Context 2
... ecoregions were developed by EPA to facilitate the development of nutrient criteria by state agencies, and group regions with similar geology, climate, and geomorphology. The majority of the water- sheds in this study were located fully or partially within nutrient ecoregion I, the Willamette and Central Valleys (Figure 1). The 25 th percentile values of EPA found data for nutrient ecoregion I are 0.310 mg L -1 N and 0.047 mg L -1 P for TN and TP, respectively (US EPA 2001). ...
Context 3
... 25 th percentile values of EPA found data for nutrient ecoregion I are 0.310 mg L -1 N and 0.047 mg L -1 P for TN and TP, respectively (US EPA 2001). Three watersheds were located fully within ecoregion II, the Western Forested Mountains, and three watersheds were located partially within ecoregion I and partially within ecoregion II ( Figure 1). The 25 th percentile values of EPA found data for nutrient ecoregion II are 0.120 mg L -1 N and 0.010 mg L -1 P for TN and TP, respectively (US EPA 2000). ...
Similar publications
The introduction of pavement, buildings, and other impervious surfaces to urban landscapes greatly influences the quantity and quality of urban stormwater runoff. In this study, we designed and implemented modern stormwater monitoring technologies to establish a “smart” stormwater sensor network within the Northwest Field Canal (NWFC), an urban wat...
The issue of heavy metal contamination in urban stormwater has become a major concern for environmental pollution control agencies worldwide due to toxic effects on aquatic organisms and human health. The aim of this study is to determine the levels of heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Cu, Cr and Zn) in surface stormwater and tilapia fish (Oreochromis niloticu...
ICT (information and communication technologies) have the potential to impact environmental targets in a very positive or a negative manner. This depends mostly on the context in which these technologies develop and are implemented. Therefore, the use of ICT should not be considered as an end in itself, but rather as a possible tool for achieving e...
Citations
... The exacerbation of urban river flooding by climate change will not only cause a significant loss of life and property, but will also contribute to the public health and social problems [Oven et al., 2012in Yoon et al., 2016. It is therefore vital that society develops urban river management systems that can cope with and reduce the impacts of the climate change, including the flood damage [Kim et Moreover, elevated concentrations of nutrients, metals and sediments have also been reported in urban streams [Deemer et al., 2012;Grayson et al., 1996;Hatt et al., 2004 in Wu et al., 2015]. Phosphorus and nitrogen from fertilizers applied to lawns, sediment and salts from roads, and increased runoff from roofs delivered to streams rapidly via storm sewers have been identified as potential contributors to the stream degradation in the urban areas [Adachi & Tainosho, 2005;Fissore et al., 2011;Negishi et al., 2007;Ragab et al., 2003in Wu et al., 2015. ...
The impact and occurrence of human-induced pollution sources have been investigated in one of the few remaining urban streams located in Attica, Greece. Baseline information is provided on the presence and concentration of physicochemical parameters, nutrients, total coliforms, hydrocarbons and phenols in 12 key points along the Pikrodafni stream. The aim was to evaluate the relative importance of key water quality variables and their sources. Indicator substances (i.e. concentrations of nitrate, ammonium, phosphate and total coliforms in certain stations indicating wastewater exposure; PAHs indicating petroleum sources) successfully related the water quality variables to pollution sources. Furthermore, a pollution pressure map has been developed with the activities identified from in-situ visits and Google Earth surveys, while the statistical analysis (CA and PCA) has contributed to the further exploration of the relative magnitude of pollution sources effects. Our results underline initially the importance of diffuse pollution management accompanied by the necessity for continuous environmental monitoring and the application of legal and environmental restoration actions if water quality is to be improved according to WFD 2000/60/EC.
... In cities around the world, higher pollutant loads and flashier hydrographs resulting from impervious surfaces in urban areas have contributed to the degradation of water bodies and the emergence of an ''urban stream syndrome'' (Walsh et al. 2005a). Attributed to the presence of fossil fuel emissions, fertilizers, and human waste, reactive nitrogen (Nr) is one pollutant observed to be more abundant in urbanized versus undeveloped, non-agricultural watersheds (Baron et al. 2013;Deemer et al. 2012;Groffman et al. 2004). Excessive nitrogen (N) transport from cities can, in turn, cause a suite of regional ecological problems, including harmful algal blooms and hypoxia (Baron et al. 2013;Zhang et al. 2015). ...
... After initial measurements, stormwater was dosed with KNO 3 to achieve a concentration of *2.0 mg NO 3 -N/L, a concentration common in the Portland, OR/Vancouver, WA metropolitan area (Deemer et al. 2012;Hook and Yeakley 2005). Although DIN concentrations in real-world, urban stormwater are unlikely to remain constant throughout multiple precipitation events, 2.0 mg L -1 is a reasonable estimate of urban DIN concentrations for the Pacific NW US. ...
... Although DIN concentrations in real-world, urban stormwater are unlikely to remain constant throughout multiple precipitation events, 2.0 mg L -1 is a reasonable estimate of urban DIN concentrations for the Pacific NW US. In a recent review of the water chemistry of Pacific NW urban streams, DIN concentrations ranged from 2 to 3.5 mg N L -1 during the entire rainy season (Deemer et al. 2012). Following NO 3 enrichment, an air pump was used to mix the influent for at least 1 h prior to application. ...
Reported nitrogen (N) retention efficiencies for bioretention swales vary widely, but reasons for this are not well-understood, in part because almost no studies have measured (or characterized controls on) bioretention swale denitrification. Here, we apply a novel N2:Ar-based approach, in coordination with more established approaches, to estimate denitrification rates and compare bioretention N dynamics during artificial storms of two sizes (3.05 and 5.08 cm days⁻¹) and following 4 inter-storm periods (initial storm with no prior storm, 1-, 7-, and 13-days). Denitrification rates during storms occurring after 7-days (520 ± 150 µmol N m⁻² h⁻¹) were significantly higher than those during an initialization storm (13 ± 34 µmol N m⁻² h⁻¹) or during a storm occurring one day after a previous storm (−63 ± 65 µmol N m⁻² h⁻¹). No significant differences in N processing were observed between 3.05 and 5.08 cm days⁻¹ storms. Somewhat surprisingly, in all experiments [O2] remained near saturated, and N2O emissions were very low or undetectable. Mesocosms were largely a net sink for dissolved inorganic N (DIN) and a net source of dissolved organic N (DON). Denitrification was neither a dominant nor consistent pathway for N removal, accounting for a maximum of 23 ± 11% of DIN removal. Future research should continue to evaluate N assimilation as a N removal pathway in bioretention swales, as well as characterize N dynamics during unsaturated conditions associated with smaller rain events and during periods between the large storms examined here.
... For example, increases in total discharge, peak discharge, and flashiness have been reported in urban streams as impervious land cover increases within a watershed (Nelson et al., 2009;Schoonover, Lockaby, & Helms, 2006;. Elevated concentrations of nutrients, metals and sediments have also been reported in urban streams (Deemer et al., 2012;Grayson, Finlayson, Gippel, & Hart, 1996;Hatt et al., 2004). Phosphorus and nitrogen from fertilizer applied to lawns, sediment and salts from roads, and increased runoff from roofs delivered to streams rapidly via storm sewers have been identified as potential contributors to stream degradation in urban areas (Adachi & Tainosho, 2005;Fissore et al., 2011;Negishi, Negochi, Sidle, Ziegler, & Nik, 2007;Ragab, Bromley, Rosier, Cooper, & Gash, 2003). ...
Urban stream condition is often degraded by human activities in the surrounding watershed. Given the complexity of urban areas, relationships among variables that cause stream degradation can be difficult to isolate. We examined factors affecting stream condition by evaluating social, terrestrial, stream hydrology and water quality variables from 20 urban stream watersheds in central Iowa, U.S.A. We used path analysis to examine and quantify social and ecological factors related to variation in stream conditions. Path models supported hypotheses that stream water quality was influenced by variables in each category. Specifically, one path model indicated that increased stream water conductivity was linked to high road density, which itself was associated with high human population density. A second path model revealed nitrogen concentration in stream water was positively related to watershed area covered by cropland, and that cropland increased as human population density declined. A third path model indicated phosphorus concentration in stream water declined as percent of watershed residents with college education increased, although the mechanism underlying this relationship was unclear and could have been an artifact of lower soil-derived nutrient input from watersheds dominated by paved surfaces. To improve environmental conditions in urban streams, land use planning strategies should include limiting or reducing road density near streams, installing treatment trains for surface water runoff associated with roads, and establishing vegetated buffer zones to reduce inputs of road salt and other pollutants. Additionally, education/outreach should be conducted with residents to increase understanding of how their own behaviors influence stream water quality.
