CIWS held a symposium on the role of science in watershed management from May 21-22, 2007. The symposium was sponsored by the Binghamton University Provost's Inter/Multidisciplinary Symposium Program, and brought together academics, government officials, and interest groups to address issues associated with watershed management.

For the Symposium Program, click here . A special issue of the Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education,(Issue 138, April 2008), published by the Universities Council on Water Resources, includes papers that emanated from the symposium.

BU Campus Watershed:

The SUNY-Binghamton campus, situated within the Fuller Hollow Creek watershed, provides an ideal setting for watershed and local scale research. Recent efforts have focused on establishing an experimental watershed on the SUNY-Binghamton campus. This study area is used as a teaching, training and research tool. Undergraduate and graduate students are performing field studies to characterize the geology and hydrology of the area, selecting, siting, and testing atmosphere and hydrosphere monitoring equipment, and performing ongoing automated and manual data collection and analysis. [Drs. Joe Graney and Karen Salvage]
* Funding for these projects is provided by NSF.

The 190-acre Binghamton University Nature Preserve supports numerous species of amphibians and provides an ecosystem for the spotted salamander [Ambystoma maculatum] and red-backed salamander [Plethodon cinereus]. These creatures provide an important insect control mechanism and are an indicator of ecosystem health and surface water quality. The annual migration of the spotted salamander has been well-documented using radio transmitting devices. Their diminishing population in the state of New York has many scientists alarmed and searching for answers about the possible stimuli. [Dr. Dale Madison] *Funding for this research was provided by the NSF.

Aerial Orthophotograph of the Binghamton University Campus

Vernal Pool

The filamentous green alga, Spirogyra hatillensis, annually forms extensive floating mats in the Binghamton University Nature Preserve ponds. This alga was found to deposit intracellular cruciate crystals composed of calcium oxalate, with each crystal being deposited in an organic matrix. The extensive nature of the floating algal mats is likely to have implications on calcium concentrations and light availability to the benthic environment. [Dr. Curt Pueschel]

Vernal pools, springs and seeps in woodland tracts provide an important amphibian habitat for over-wintering, particularly for the green frog [Rana clamitans]. The prolonged anoxic conditions during winter in the frozen wetlands and ponds makes these habitats unsuitable as over-winter refuges. These wetlands provide an important habitat during the breeding season, but without upland retreats (or wetland buffer zones), which are currently not federally regulated, these amphibians would not survive. [Dr. Dale Madison]

One objective of a proposed research project to NSF is to examine how different types and concentrations of pesticides, under different hydroperiods, affect woodfrog fitness and disease transmission. To achieve this objective, wood frog will be reared in semi-natural communities (mesocosms) containing either the widespread herbicide atrazine or the common insecticide endosulfan at one of four ecologically relevant concentrations and under two hydroperiods. The density of community members will be quantified, and Wood frog behavior, growth, life-history, trematode-infection levels, and survival will be evaluated. [Dr. Jason Rohr – Prospective BU/CIWS Research Associate]

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Upper Susquehanna River Basin:

Land use has a major influence on surface water discharge and non-point source pollution. Twenty-two small watersheds (ranging from 1st to 3rd order) in the Upper Susquehanna River Basin, in the vicinity of Binghamton University campus, were selected for monitoring stream water chemistry continuously since September 2002. Land use patterns in these watersheds were classified according to 1992 USDA Landsat satellite images, and watershed boundaries were determined based on the Digital Elevation Model. Stream chemistry analyses included dissolved inorganic nitrogen (ammonium and nitrate), dissolved organic N, soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP), pH, and chloride. These long-term data will provide important baseline information for Upper Susquehanna River watershed studies, and can also be used to estimate non-point source nutrient loading from the Upper Susquehanna River Basin into the Chesapeake Bay. [Dr. Weixing Zhu] *Funding for this project is provided in part by the SUNY-Research Foundation and the EPA Watershed Initiative – University Internship/Research Program.

Several projects have assessed groundwater/surface water interactions in small watersheds within the Upper Susquehanna River Basin. These include a hydrogeologic and geophysical examination of a forested watershed (within BU’s campus), a hydrological and geochemical examination of a watershed impacted by a municipal landfill, and an examination of the impact of landscape characteristics on groundwater baseflow and storm water runoff in five headwater watersheds. [Dr. Karen Salvage, Weixing Zhu, and Joseph Graney]. *Funding for these projects comes from various sources.

City of Binghamton

A group of graduate students in a Water Resources Planning and Management class undertook a group project to map the threats to water quality in Broome County. Data on land use and land cover, population distribution, SPDES permits, groundwater hydrology, and storm water were combined to develop an overview of what elements have the greatest potential for contributing to water quality deterioration. The results of this work were presented at a seminar, and follow up research is anticipated. [Dr. Burrell Montz]

Wetlands, whether natural, restored, or constructed, may improve water quality if positioned between relatively diffuse nutrient sources (such as many agricultural systems) and streams or other freshwater ecosystems. An ongoing project, initially supported by the New York State Water Resources Institute and currently funded by a CIWS EPA grant, is testing the relative abilities of different wetland plant species and species combinations to retain nitrogen and phosphorus in such a way as to improve water quality in the Upper Susquehanna River watershed. A collaborative study with CIWS member Dr. Joe Graney is also examining metal retention in these wetland plants. [Dr. John Titus]

The quality and quantity of water available for human consumption and the support of commercial and industrial development in the Southern Tier is of recent concern to the public, policy-makers, engineers and planners. As a result, one research project involves hydrological and geochemical assessment of the bedrock aquifer in the Town of Vestal with respect to water supply and sustainable development. Another project examined a glacial valley-fill aquifer in the Factory Brook Valley, NY. [Drs. Karen Salvage and Joe Graney] *Funding for this project is provided in part by the Town of Vestal.

Hillcrest is an area located 10 miles northeast of the Binghamton University campus where a probable childhood cancer cluster is located. The impacts of activities in the area were examined from a geochemical exposure assessment perspective at the Binghamton Depot on the surrounding area. This approach included: 1) Measuring Hg Emissions to Determine Local versus Regional Sources and their Impacts, 2) Determining the Past Deposition Record and Sources of Heavy Metals using Pond Sediments and 3) Determining Present Day Fluxes and Sources of Heavy Metals in Surface Water Runoff [Dr. Joe Graney] *Funding for this project is being provided by the U.S. Department of Defense/U.S. Army and Engineering Support Center.

CIWS members are collaborating on a basic limnological study of eutrophic Whitney Point Reservoir in a project just underway. One objective is to provide baseline data prior to hydrologic change in the reservoir so as to understand better the ramifications of management change planned for this Susquehanna River watershed system. [Drs. Weixing Zhu, John Titus, Karen Salvage, Siddhartha Mitra, and Joe Graney]* This project receives support from funds administered through CIWS and provided by the Sponsored Funds Administration of Binghamton University.

Vernal Pool - VSL

Two related projects examined wetlands at the Whitney Point Reservoir. One compared the hydrology, nutrient, and geochemical cycles within natural and constructed wetlands at the USACE Whitney Point Reservoir, Whitney Point, NY. [Drs. Salvage, Zhu, Graney].

A second involved wetland vegetation sampling at natural and constructed wetland sites in the Otselic River watershed (part of the Upper Susquehanna watershed). The objectives are to compare the two types of wetland sites and to relate wetland vegetation to hydrologic regimes monitored in collaboration with CIWS associate Dr. Karen Salvage. [Dr. John Titus]

Agriculture is a major source of nitrate into the hydrologic cycle. This research evaluated the retention and export of nitrate associated with agricultural land having different types of soil and vegetation. The effects of the combination of soil types and land uses, together with other factors such as climate and land management practices, become very relevant in the determination of the loading of nitrate to the Susquehanna River and also the vulnerability of the valley-fill aquifers to contamination. This study combined field investigation of infiltration and nitrate migration in the shallow subsurface with development of a model for prediction of vulnerability of the aquifer to nitrate contamination from agricultural land use. The study was conducted in the Catatonk Creek watershed, in the headwaters of the Susquehanna. [Dr. Karen Salvage; PhD student Jean Jolicoeur]

This project involved work with Jim Curatolo (Director - Upper Susquehanna Coalition) to study causes for differences in the physical and chemical hydrogeology in two adjacent watersheds in Tioga County. Miller Creek watershed serves as a control watershed for comparison with the adjacent and highly dynamic Sulphur Springs watershed. Hydrological and geochemical assessment of these sub-basins to Catatonk Creek watershed will complement the Upper Susquehanna Coalition’s studies regarding flooding, wetlands restoration and sediment reduction in the watersheds. [Drs. Joe Graney and Karen Salvage]. *Funding for this project is provided by New York State Water Resources Institute.

The Upper Susquehanna River watershed is one of 20 areas selected for study by the EPA in its national watershed initiative [In the News]. This is a multi-organization effort involving water quality and sustainability issues. The Binghamton University contribution to the project evolved as a direct offshoot from the Catatonk Creek Project pilot study described above. The projects include use of interdisciplinary teams of undergraduate and graduate students to study process-oriented integration of hydrogeology and biogeochemistry using a watershed scale approach [Drs. Joe Graney, Karen Salvage, John Titus, and Weixing Zhu]. * Funding for this project is provided by the EPA Watershed Initiative - University Internship / Research Program.

North America’s largest aquatic salamander, the Eastern Hellbender [Cryptobranchus alleganiensis], previously thrived in the Susquehanna River. However, in past few decades their population has been on a decline. Although a minor resurgence was reported about 10 years ago with improved water quality standards, recent evidence shows a precipitous drop in numbers. Researchers from Binghamton University and the NYDEC Amphibian and Reptile Atlas Project are unsure of the cause of their decline, however decreased dissolved oxygen levels and increased suspended sediment flux in the Susquehanna River are suspected causes of the decline. A recent radiotracking study of hellbenders was conducted in a small tributary of the Unadilla River within the Upper Susquehanna drainage. Adult hellbenders still breed and lay eggs, but evidence that eggs and/or young survive in New York State is essentially non-existent. [Dr. Dale Madison] *Funding for this project was provided by NYDEC.

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New York State:

Exotic species invasion is a real concern to global ecological sustainability and has important economic consequences. We have been studying purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) invasion in the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, where it is replacing native cattail plants. Results to date suggest that loosestrife invasion has altered the rates of nitrogen transformations, the carbon distribution in aboveground plant biomass, and the below-ground sediment organic matter. Greenhouse studies shown that loosestrife had greater evapotranspiration rates and greater nutrient use efficiency. Ongoing work will focus on the nutrient transfer between plant shoot and root, the effect of hydrologic fluctuation, and the change of microbial mineralization processes through alteration of plant litter quantity, quality, and the timing of litter input. [Dr. Weixing Zhu] *Funding for this project is provided by SUNY - Research Foundation.

Lake plant communities may be shaped by environmental change, but may also be quite dynamic in the absence of pronounced environmental change. A 23-year study on vegetation dynamics in an alkaline, southern New York lake has recently been completed. [Dr. John Titus]
*Supported by the SUNY Research Foundation, EPA and NSF.

Sulphur Springs Creek

Catskill dams across the Delaware River and its tributaries provide water for the City of New York. The hydrologic conditions downstream of some of these dams have been examined with the aim of identifying changes in erosion and deposition resulting from reservoir impoundment. Graduate research is establishing a hydrologic baseline for endangered species management studies. Future work will involve additional studies of downstream hydrologic changes (or lack thereof) as a result of the historical reservoir impoundments. [Dr. Peter Knuepfer]
*Funding for this project is provided by USGS special research programming allocations.

The freshwater red alga, Thorea violacea, was discovered in the upper Hudson River, which represents the only known location of this family within the glaciated regions of North America. Characterization of the chemical and physical parameters at the study site suggests broader environmental tolerances of members of this group than previously known. [Dr. Curt Pueschel]

Glens of the Finger Lakes are characterized by extensive and spectacular post-glacial incision. Different incision mechanisms (plucking along bedding plains and joints, pothole formation) dominate locations within and between gorges. Research focuses on resolving the timing and rate of post-glacial incision, characterizing the dominant processes, and studying relationships of processes and rates to catchment area and underlying geology. [Dr. Peter Knuepfer]

One study focuses on whether carbon dioxide in acidic and circumneutral Adirondack lakes influences aquatic plant growth and community composition. This study measures growth responses of aquatic plants to carbon dioxide enrichment, determines whether diverse species use bicarbonate ion as a photosynthetic carbon source, and identifies relationships between community composition, available carbon dioxide, and other habitat characteristics. [Dr. John Titus] *Currently supported by funds from the National Science Foundation.

Field sampling in the Adirondack Mountains has revealed a new, seemingly highly invasive aquatic plant species that is an important component of littoral zones in several lakes. Current and future studies supported by the International Waterlily and Water Gardening Society and the Biodiversity Research Institute are focusing on the impact of this bladderwort on other aquatic plants and on sediment chemistry. [Dr. John Titus]

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Scroll Bar, Sagavanirktok River, AK

River Gauge, Sagavanirktok River, AK

Collecting water samples from the Eel River in northern California

Sediment sampling using a Kasten Corer, Chesapeake Bay

Underwater Photo of Vallisneria
Alexander Springs FL

Copeland Tract, New Zealand

Copeland Tract, New Zealand

Night Seining of Chum Salmon in Japan

Purse Seining Sockeye Salmon, British Columbia