MD-DE-DC Water Science Center
Publications
Toward explaining nitrogen and phosphorus trends in Chesapeake Bay tributaries, 1992-2012
Understanding trends in stream chemistry is critical to watershed management, and often complicated by multiple contaminant sources and landscape conditions changing over varying time scales. We adapted spatially-referenced regression (SPARROW) to infer causes of recent nutrient trends in Chesapeake Bay tributaries by relating observed fluxes...
Ator, Scott; Garcia, Ana; Schwarz, Gregory; Blomquist, Joel; Sekellick, Andrew
Drought forecasting for streams and groundwaters in northeastern United States
BackgroundWhen rainfall is lower than normal over an extended period, streamflows decline, groundwater levels fall, and hydrological drought can occur. Droughts can reduce the water available for societal needs, such as public and private drinking-water supplies, farming, and industry, and for ecological health, such as maintenance of water...
Austin, Samuel H.; Dudley, Robert W.
Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Best Management Practice Implementation in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, 1985–2014
Efforts to restore water quality in Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries often include extensive Best Management Practice (BMP) implementation on agricultural and developed lands. These BMPs include a variety of methods to reduce nutrient and sediment loads, such as cover crops, conservation tillage, urban filtering systems, and other practices....
Sekellick, Andrew J.; Devereux, Olivia H.; Keisman, Jennifer L.D.; Sweeney, Jeffrey S.; Blomquist, Joel D.
Annual wastewater nutrient data preparation and load estimation using the Point Source Load Estimation Tool (PSLoadEsT)
The Point-Source Load Estimation Tool (PSLoadEsT) provides a user-friendly interface for generating reproducible load calculations for point source dischargers while managing common data challenges including duplicates, incompatible input tables, and incomplete or missing nutrient concentration or effluent flow data. Maintaining a consistent...
Gorman Sanisaca, Lillian E.; Skinner, Kenneth D.; Maupin, Molly A. Bank‐derived material dominates fluvial sediment in a suburban Chesapeake Bay watershed
Excess fine sediment is a leading cause of ecological degradation within the Chesapeake Bay watershed. To effectively target sediment mitigation measures, it is necessary to identify and quantify the delivery of sediment sources to local waterbodies.This study examines the contributions of sediment sources within Upper Difficult Run, a...
Cashman, Matthew J.; Gellis, Allen; Gorman Sanisaca, Lillian; Noe, Gregory B.; Cogliandro, Vanessa; Baker, Anna
Geomorphic characteristics of Tenmile Creek, Montgomery County, Maryland, 2014–16
Data collected from April 2014 through September 2016 were used to assess geomorphic characteristics and geomorphic changes over time in a selected reach of Tenmile Creek, a small rural watershed near Clarksburg, Maryland. Longitudinal profiles of the channel bed, water surface, and bank features were developed from field surveys. Changes in cross...
Doheny, Edward J.; Baker, S. Matthew
Manure and fertilizer inputs to land in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, 1950–2012
Understanding changing nutrient concentrations in surface waters requires quantitative information on changing nutrient sources in contributing watersheds. For example, the proportion of nutrient inputs reaching streams and rivers is directly affected by when and where those nutrients enter the landscape. The goal of this report is to contribute...
Keisman, Jennifer L.D.; Devereux, Olivia H.; LaMotte, Andrew E.; Sekellick, Andrew J.; Blomquist, Joel D.
Monitoring the water-quality response of agricultural conservation practices in the Bucks Branch watershed, Sussex County, Delaware, 2014–16
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of irrigation and cover crops as conservation practices on water quality in groundwater and streams. Bucks Branch, a stream in the Nanticoke River watershed in southwestern Delaware, was identified as having one of the highest concentrations of nitrate in all surface-water sites sampled by the...
Denver, Judith M.; Soroka, Alexander M.; Reyes, Betzaida; Lester, Todd R.; Bringman, Deborah A.; Brownley, Michael S.
Estimated use of water in the United States in 2015
Water use in the United States in 2015 was estimated to be about 322 billion gallons per day (Bgal/d), which was 9 percent less than in 2010. The 2015 estimates put total withdrawals at the lowest level since before 1970, following the same overall trend of decreasing total withdrawals observed from 2005 to 2010. Freshwater withdrawals were 281...
Dieter, Cheryl A.; Maupin, Molly A.; Caldwell, Rodney R.; Harris, Melissa A.; Ivahnenko, Tamara I.; Lovelace, John K.; Barber, Nancy L.; Linsey, Kristin S.
Factors affecting long-term trends in surface-water quality in the Gwynns Falls watershed, Baltimore City and County, Maryland, 1998–2016
Factors affecting water-quality trends in urban streams are not well understood, despite current regulatory requirements and considerable ongoing investments in gray and green infrastructure. To address this gap, long-term water-quality trends and factors affecting these trends were examined in the Gwynns Falls, Maryland, watershed during 1998–...
Majcher, Emily H.; Woytowitz, Ellen L.; Reisinger, Alexander J.; Groffman, Peter M. Stormwater management network effectiveness and implications for urban watershed function: A critical review
Deleterious effects of urban stormwater are widely recognized. In several countries, regulations have been put into place to improve the conditions of receiving water bodies, but planning and engineering of stormwater control is typically carried out at smaller scales. Quantifying cumulative effectiveness of many stormwater control measures on a...
Jefferson, Anne J.; Bhaskar, Aditi S.; Hopkins, Kristina G.; Fanelli, Rosemary; Avellaneda, Pedro M.; McMillan, Sara K. Submersed aquatic vegetation in Chesapeake Bay: Sentinel species in a changing world
Chesapeake Bay has undergone profound changes since European settlement. Increases in human and livestock populations, associated changes in land use, increases in nutrient loadings, shoreline armoring, and depletion of fish stocks have altered the important habitats within the Bay. Submersed aquatic vegetation (SAV) is a critical foundational...
Orth, Robert J.; Dennison, William C.; Lefcheck, Jonathon S.; Gurbisz, Cassie; Hannam, Michael; Keisman, Jennifer L.D.; Landry, J. Brooke; Moore, Kenneth A.; Murphy, Rebecca R.; Patrick, Christopher J.; Testa, Jeremy; Weller, Donald E.; Wilcox, David J.