Wherever you live, there’s a creek or stream near you. The eighty percent of Americans who live in metropolitan areas are often unaware of the network of urban creeks—many teeming with life—that weaves through our cities and town. Nowhere are the environmental changes associated with urban development more evident than in urban streams.
In urbanized areas, small streams are often overlooked or forgotten, but these streams can reduce contamination, ease flash flooding, and improve the esthetics and livability of our daily environment.
Contaminants, habitat destruction, and streamflow flashiness resulting from urban development disrupt biological communities, particularly sensitive aquatic species. Every stream is connected downstream to larger water bodies, including rivers, reservoirs, and ultimately coastal waters. Inputs of chemical contaminants or sediments at any point along the stream can cause degradation of water quality downstream, harming biological communities and economically valuable resources, such as fisheries and tourism. It’s therefore important to know which urban-related stressors are most closely linked to biological community degradation, and how multiple stressors can be managed to protect stream health as a watershed becomes increasingly urbanized.
Water Quality and Ecology of Small Streams (RSQA)
The USGS Regional Stream Quality Assessment (RSQA) is studying the relations between stressors (chemical and physical) and stream ecology (fish, algae, and aquatic invertebrates) at hundreds of small streams across five major regions of the United States. Users can access an online mapping tool to compare water quality at small streams across a region, see scorecards that summarize stream health at each stream site, and download data for hundreds of chemical compounds.
Effects of Urban Development on Stream Ecosystems
In response to concerns about the degradation of urban streams, the USGS did a national-scale, scientific investigation of the effects of urban development on stream ecosystems. A nationally consistent study design was used in nine metropolitan areas of the United States—Portland, Oregon; Salt Lake City, Utah; Birmingham, Alabama; Atlanta, Georgia; Raleigh, North Carolina; Boston, Massachusetts; Denver, Colorado; Dallas, Texas; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Read this comprehensive study of effects of urban development on stream ecosystems and learn about strategies for managing the effects of development.
Streamflow Alteration
Humans, just like aquatic organisms, need water, but flood control, urban infrastructure, and myriad other ways we manage water affect the natural flow of streams and rivers. Learn how the ways we manage land and water affects the natural patterns of streamflow and the ecosystems that depend on them.
PAHs, Coal-Tar Sealcoat, and Environmental Health
A commonly used product in urban and suburban areas, coal-tar-based pavement sealcoat, is contributing to toxicity in streams. Coal-tar-based sealcoat, a potent source of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), is applied to many asphalt driveways and parking lots across much of the central, eastern, and southern U.S. Read about the toxicity of runoff and particles washed from coal-tar-sealcoated surfaces in a 6-page, color fact sheet.
Urban Land Use and Groundwater Quality
The effects of our daily lives on groundwater quality are apparent in the concentrations of nitrate, pesticides, and other manmade chemicals found in shallow groundwater beneath urban and suburban land. The USGS National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Project characterized the quality of recently recharged groundwater in residential settings, typically with low to medium population densities (300 to 5,600 people per square mile). Read about the relations between urban land use and salinity, nitrate, pesticides, and volatile organic compounds in groundwater.
Lake and Reservoir Sediment Records the Effects of Urbanization
Many chemicals associated with urban and suburban activities—pesticides, PAHs, metals—adhere to sediment and are deposited at the bottoms of lakes and reservoirs. By collecting cores of sediment and analyzing if for chemicals in the oldest sediments at the bottom of the core to the most recently deposited sediments at the top, we can see how urbanization in the watershed has affected sediment quality through time.
Interested in more water quality topics?
► Learn about the effects of agriculture on stream quality
Learn more about topics related to urban development and other surface-water quality topics.
Regional Stream Quality Assessment (RSQA)
Emerging Contaminants
Chloride, Salinity, and Dissolved Solids
Coal-Tar-Based Pavement Sealcoat, PAHs, and Environmental Health
Corrosivity
Streamflow Alteration
Water-Quality Trends From Lake Cores
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
Stream Ecology
Sediment-Associated Contaminants
Follow the links below to access data or web applications associated with urbanization and water quality.
Concentrations of Pesticide, Pharmaceutical, and Organic Wastewater Contaminants from a Multi-Regional Assessment of Wadeable USA Streams, 2014-17
Pesticide and transformation product concentrations and risk quotients in U.S. headwater streams
Dissolved Pesticides in Weekly Water Samples from the NAWQA Regional Stream Quality Assessments (2013-2017)
Urban sediment and fallout radionuclide input characteristics of Dead Run watershed in Catonsville, Maryland for 2017-2018 (ver. 1.1, March 2020)
Pesticides in Daily and Weekly Water Samples from the NAWQA Midwest and Southeast Stream Quality Assessments (2013-2014)
Estimating the presence of paved surface parking lots in the conterminous U.S. from land use coefficients for 1974, 1982, 1992, 2002, and 2012
Changes in anthropogenic influences on streams and rivers in the conterminous U.S. over the last 40 years, derived for 16 data themes
U.S. Geological Survey GAGES-II time series data from consistent sources of land use, water use, agriculture, timber activities, dam removals, and other historical anthropogenic influences
Find links to recent publications about urban and suburban land use and water quality and ecology below. More publications on water-quality science can be found at the USGS Publications Warehouse.
Is there an urban pesticide signature? Urban streams in five U.S. regions share common dissolved-phase pesticides but differ in predicted aquatic toxicity
Inclusion of pesticide transformation products is key to estimating pesticide exposures and effects in small U.S. streams
Nitrogen and phosphorus sources and delivery from the Mississippi/Atchafalaya River Basin: An update using 2012 SPARROW models
Multi-region assessment of chemical mixture exposures and predicted cumulative effects in USA wadeable urban/agriculture-gradient streams
Chemical-contaminant mixtures are widely reported in large stream reaches in urban/agriculture-developed watersheds, but mixture compositions and aggregate biological effects are less well understood in corresponding smaller headwaters, which comprise most of stream length, riparian connectivity, and spatial biodiversity. During 2014–2017, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) measured 389 unique orga
Landscape drivers of dynamic change in water quality of US rivers
Multi-region assessment of pharmaceutical exposures and predicted effects in USA wadeable urban-gradient streams
Daily stream samples reveal highly complex pesticide occurrence and potential toxicity to aquatic life
Projected urban growth in the Southeastern USA puts small streams at risk
Historical changes in fish communities in urban streams of the southeastern U.S. and the relative importance of water-quality stressors
Chemical and physical controls on mercury source signatures in stream fish from the northeastern United States
Regional patterns of anthropogenic influences on streams and rivers in the conterminous United States, from the early 1970s to 2012
Effects of urban multi-stressors on three stream biotic assemblages
Below are news stories associated with this project.
Isotopic tracers in fish in Northeast provide clue to mercury sources
Isotopes of mercury in fish can indicate the source of that mercury, reports a new study from the USGS Regional Stream Quality Assessment.
- Overview
Wherever you live, there’s a creek or stream near you. The eighty percent of Americans who live in metropolitan areas are often unaware of the network of urban creeks—many teeming with life—that weaves through our cities and town. Nowhere are the environmental changes associated with urban development more evident than in urban streams.
In urbanized areas, small streams are often overlooked or forgotten, but these streams can reduce contamination, ease flash flooding, and improve the esthetics and livability of our daily environment.
Contaminants, habitat destruction, and streamflow flashiness resulting from urban development disrupt biological communities, particularly sensitive aquatic species. Every stream is connected downstream to larger water bodies, including rivers, reservoirs, and ultimately coastal waters. Inputs of chemical contaminants or sediments at any point along the stream can cause degradation of water quality downstream, harming biological communities and economically valuable resources, such as fisheries and tourism. It’s therefore important to know which urban-related stressors are most closely linked to biological community degradation, and how multiple stressors can be managed to protect stream health as a watershed becomes increasingly urbanized.
Water Quality and Ecology of Small Streams (RSQA)
The USGS Regional Stream Quality Assessment (RSQA) is studying the relations between stressors (chemical and physical) and stream ecology (fish, algae, and aquatic invertebrates) at hundreds of small streams across five major regions of the United States. Users can access an online mapping tool to compare water quality at small streams across a region, see scorecards that summarize stream health at each stream site, and download data for hundreds of chemical compounds.Effects of Urban Development on Stream Ecosystems
In response to concerns about the degradation of urban streams, the USGS did a national-scale, scientific investigation of the effects of urban development on stream ecosystems. A nationally consistent study design was used in nine metropolitan areas of the United States—Portland, Oregon; Salt Lake City, Utah; Birmingham, Alabama; Atlanta, Georgia; Raleigh, North Carolina; Boston, Massachusetts; Denver, Colorado; Dallas, Texas; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Read this comprehensive study of effects of urban development on stream ecosystems and learn about strategies for managing the effects of development.Water quality, ecological sampling, and stream data collection at various urban streams in California, as part of the Regional Stream Quality Assessment. (Credit: Dorene MacCoy and Barbara Mahler, USGS) Streamflow Alteration
Humans, just like aquatic organisms, need water, but flood control, urban infrastructure, and myriad other ways we manage water affect the natural flow of streams and rivers. Learn how the ways we manage land and water affects the natural patterns of streamflow and the ecosystems that depend on them.Enoree River at the remains of the Pelham Mill Dam during summer flow (August 2012) and during flood conditions (April 2014)(left). The Pelham Mill site includes the remnants of a cotton mill and stonework dam (right). (Credit: Peter Van Metre, USGS) PAHs, Coal-Tar Sealcoat, and Environmental Health
A commonly used product in urban and suburban areas, coal-tar-based pavement sealcoat, is contributing to toxicity in streams. Coal-tar-based sealcoat, a potent source of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), is applied to many asphalt driveways and parking lots across much of the central, eastern, and southern U.S. Read about the toxicity of runoff and particles washed from coal-tar-sealcoated surfaces in a 6-page, color fact sheet.Urban Land Use and Groundwater Quality
The effects of our daily lives on groundwater quality are apparent in the concentrations of nitrate, pesticides, and other manmade chemicals found in shallow groundwater beneath urban and suburban land. The USGS National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Project characterized the quality of recently recharged groundwater in residential settings, typically with low to medium population densities (300 to 5,600 people per square mile). Read about the relations between urban land use and salinity, nitrate, pesticides, and volatile organic compounds in groundwater.Lake and Reservoir Sediment Records the Effects of Urbanization
Many chemicals associated with urban and suburban activities—pesticides, PAHs, metals—adhere to sediment and are deposited at the bottoms of lakes and reservoirs. By collecting cores of sediment and analyzing if for chemicals in the oldest sediments at the bottom of the core to the most recently deposited sediments at the top, we can see how urbanization in the watershed has affected sediment quality through time.(Left to right) Collecting PAH samples in an urban creek adjacent to coal-tar-based pavement sealcoat treated surfaces; Surficial aquifer groundwater sampling; Collecting lake sediment core at Town Lake in Austin, Texas. (Credit: Barbara Mahler and Alan Cressler, USGS) Interested in more water quality topics?
► Learn about the effects of agriculture on stream quality - Science
Learn more about topics related to urban development and other surface-water quality topics.
Regional Stream Quality Assessment (RSQA)
The goals of the Regional Stream Quality Assessment (RSQA) are to characterize multiple water-quality factors that are stressors to aquatic life (contaminants, nutrients, sediment, and streamflow alteration) and to develop a better understanding of the relation of these stressors to ecological conditions in streams throughout the region.Emerging Contaminants
Emerging contaminants, or contaminants of emerging concern, can refer to many different kinds of chemicals, including medicines, personal care or household cleaning products, lawn care and agricultural products, among others. These chemicals make it into our Nation's lakes and rivers and have a detrimental affect on fish and other aquatic species. That have also been shown to bioaccumulate up the...Chloride, Salinity, and Dissolved Solids
All natural waters contain some dissolved solids (salinity) from contact with soils, rocks, and other natural materials. Too much, though, and dissolved solids can impair water use. Unpleasant taste, high water-treatment costs, mineral accumulation in plumbing, staining, corrosion, and restricted use for irrigation are among the problems associated with elevated concentrations of dissolved solids.Coal-Tar-Based Pavement Sealcoat, PAHs, and Environmental Health
Sealcoat is the black, viscous liquid applied to many asphalt parking lots, driveways, and playgrounds in North America to protect and enhance the appearance of the underlying asphalt. Coal-tar-based pavement sealcoat is a potent source of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contamination in urban and suburban areas and a potential concern for human health and aquatic life.Corrosivity
Corrosivity describes how aggressive water is at corroding pipes and fixtures. Corrosive water can cause lead and copper in pipes to leach into drinking water and can eventually cause leaks in plumbing. Surface water and groundwater, both sources of drinking water, can potentially be corrosive.Streamflow Alteration
Humans, just like aquatic organisms, need water. Flood control, urban infrastructure, irrigation of agriculture, and myriad other ways we manage water affect the natural flow of streams and rivers. How do the ways we manage land and water affect the natural patterns of streamflow that ecosystems depend on?Water-Quality Trends From Lake Cores
Sediment cores let us look back in time at the contaminant history of a watershed. Learn about what lake and reservoir sediment cores tell us about trends in metals, organochlorine pesticides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and other sediment-related contaminants.Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are chemicals that both vaporize into air and dissolve in water. VOCs are pervasive in daily life, because they’re used in industry, agriculture, transportation, and day-to-day activities around the home. Once released into groundwater, many VOCs are persistent and can migrate to drinking-water supply wells.Stream Ecology
Who lives in your stream? Rivers and streams, even small ones, are teeming with a vast number of species, including fish, aquatic invertebrates, and algae. Stream ecology is the study of those aquatic species, the way they interrelate, and their interactions with all aspects of these flowing water systems.Sediment-Associated Contaminants
Stream, river, and lake bed sediment are reservoirs for many contaminants. These contaminants include some “legacy” contaminants, like DDT, PCBs, and chlordane, and chemicals currently in use, like the insecticide bifenthrin and many flame retardants. Learn about techniques used to study sediment-associated contaminants and their importance to aquatic biota. - Data
Follow the links below to access data or web applications associated with urbanization and water quality.
Concentrations of Pesticide, Pharmaceutical, and Organic Wastewater Contaminants from a Multi-Regional Assessment of Wadeable USA Streams, 2014-17
Human-use pharmaceutical, pesticide, and wastewater indicator compounds were analyzed at the U.S. Geological Survey, National Water Quality Laboratory, Denver, Colorado, in wadeable streams in 4 Regional Stream Quality Assessments: Northeast (NESQA), Southeast (SESQA), Pacific Northwest (PNSQA) and California (CSQA). Multiple (with few exceptions) samplings occurred at each site, during base flow,Pesticide and transformation product concentrations and risk quotients in U.S. headwater streams
This dataset includes a subset of previously released pesticide data (Morace and others, 2020) from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA) Regional Stream Quality Assessment (RSQA) project and the corresponding hazard index results calculated using the R package toxEval, which are relevant to Mahler and others, 2020. Pesticide and transformation productDissolved Pesticides in Weekly Water Samples from the NAWQA Regional Stream Quality Assessments (2013-2017)
Dissolved pesticides were measured in weekly water samples from 482 wadeable streams in five regions of the United States during 2013-2017, as part of the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Regional Stream Quality Assessment (RSQA). One study was conducted each year, starting with the Midwest (2013), followed by the Southeast Piedmont (2014), Pacific Northwest (2015), Northeast (2016), and Central CaUrban sediment and fallout radionuclide input characteristics of Dead Run watershed in Catonsville, Maryland for 2017-2018 (ver. 1.1, March 2020)
This metadata record documents two comma delimited tables that contain information on fallout radionuclides and urban sediments within Dead Run watershed in Catonsville, Baltimore County, Maryland. Measurements include radiological activity for rainwater and sediment samples, sediment particle size information, suspended sediment concentration measurements, elemental composition of sediments, andPesticides in Daily and Weekly Water Samples from the NAWQA Midwest and Southeast Stream Quality Assessments (2013-2014)
These datasets are one component of the multistressor studies conducted in Midwest streams in 2013 (MSQA) and in Southeast streams in 2014 (SESQA) by the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Assessment Project. High-frequency small-volume autosamplers were deployed at 7 sites each in MSQA and SESQA that collected daily and weekly composite water samples, which were analyzed for 225 pesticEstimating the presence of paved surface parking lots in the conterminous U.S. from land use coefficients for 1974, 1982, 1992, 2002, and 2012
Parking lots may be a significant source of pollution. Oil, sediments, and heavy metals may accumulate on their surface, then be flushed into rivers, streams, and lakes via rainfall. At present no dataset provides a mapping or estimation of parking lot area or locations nationwide. This product consists of a time series of five national 60-meter raster datasets which estimate the proportion of eacChanges in anthropogenic influences on streams and rivers in the conterminous U.S. over the last 40 years, derived for 16 data themes
This product consists of time-series calculations of anthropogenic characteristics derived for 16 data themes for multiple scales covering the conterminous United States. The characteristics are those which (a) have consistent data sources, and (b) have the potential to affect the water quality of streams and rivers. All 16 data themes are provided for Hydrologic Unit Code level-10 (HUC-10) boundaU.S. Geological Survey GAGES-II time series data from consistent sources of land use, water use, agriculture, timber activities, dam removals, and other historical anthropogenic influences
This product is a series of ten datasets containing tabular data from historical time series sources for the 9,067 conterminous United States sites in the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Geospatial Attributes of Gages for Evaluating Streamflow II (GAGES-II) dataset. The tables contain time-series data derived from consistent sources of agricultural commodities such as crop types, irrigation, and liv - Publications
Find links to recent publications about urban and suburban land use and water quality and ecology below. More publications on water-quality science can be found at the USGS Publications Warehouse.
Filter Total Items: 23Is there an urban pesticide signature? Urban streams in five U.S. regions share common dissolved-phase pesticides but differ in predicted aquatic toxicity
Pesticides occur in urban streams globally, but the relation of occurrence to urbanization can be obscured by regional differences. In studies of five regions of the United States, we investigated the effect of region and urbanization on the occurrence and potential toxicity of dissolved pesticide mixtures. We analyzed 225 pesticide compounds in weekly discrete water samples collected during 6–12AuthorsLisa H. Nowell, Patrick W. Moran, Laura M. Bexfield, Barbara Mahler, Peter C. Van Metre, Paul Bradley, Travis S. Schmidt, Daniel T. Button, Sharon QiByEcosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Contaminant Biology, Environmental Health Program, Toxic Substances Hydrology, California Water Science Center, Fort Collins Science Center, Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Water Science Center, New Mexico Water Science Center, Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center, Oregon Water Science Center, Pennsylvania Water Science Center, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC), Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center, Washington Water Science CenterInclusion of pesticide transformation products is key to estimating pesticide exposures and effects in small U.S. streams
Improved analytical methods can quantify hundreds of pesticide transformation products (TPs), but understanding of TP occurrence and potential toxicity in aquatic ecosystems remains limited. We quantified 108 parent pesticides and 116 TPs in more than 3 700 samples from 442 small streams in mostly urban basins across five major regions of the United States. TPs were detected nearly as frequently aAuthorsBarbara Mahler, Lisa H. Nowell, Mark W. Sandstrom, Paul Bradley, Kristin Romanok, Christopher Konrad, Peter Van MetreByEcosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Contaminant Biology, Environmental Health Program, Toxic Substances Hydrology, California Water Science Center, New Jersey Water Science Center, Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC), Washington Water Science Center, National Water Quality LaboratoryNitrogen and phosphorus sources and delivery from the Mississippi/Atchafalaya River Basin: An update using 2012 SPARROW models
Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) inputs throughout the Mississippi/Atchafalaya River Basin (MARB) have been linked to the Gulf of Mexico hypoxia and water‐quality problems throughout the MARB. To describe N and P loading throughout the MARB, SPAtially Referenced Regression On Watershed attributes (SPARROW) models were previously developed based on nutrient inputs and management similar to 1992 andAuthorsDale M. Robertson, David A. SaadMulti-region assessment of chemical mixture exposures and predicted cumulative effects in USA wadeable urban/agriculture-gradient streams
Chemical-contaminant mixtures are widely reported in large stream reaches in urban/agriculture-developed watersheds, but mixture compositions and aggregate biological effects are less well understood in corresponding smaller headwaters, which comprise most of stream length, riparian connectivity, and spatial biodiversity. During 2014–2017, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) measured 389 unique orga
AuthorsPaul Bradley, Celeste A. Journey, Kristin Romanok, Sara Breitmeyer, Daniel T. Button, Daren M. Carlisle, Bradley Huffman, Barbara Mahler, Lisa H. Nowell, Sharon Qi, Kelly Smalling, Ian R. Waite, Peter C. Van MetreByEcosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Contaminant Biology, Environmental Health Program, Toxic Substances Hydrology, California Water Science Center, Colorado Water Science Center, Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Water Science Center, New Jersey Water Science Center, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center, Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center, Oregon Water Science Center, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC)Landscape drivers of dynamic change in water quality of US rivers
Water security is a top concern for social well-being and dramatic changes in the availability of freshwater have occurred as a result of human uses and landscape management. Elevated nutrient loading and perturbations to major ion composition have resulted from human activities and have degraded freshwater resources. This study addresses the emerging nature of stream water quality in the 21st ceAuthorsEdward G. Stets, Lori A. Sprague, Gretchen P. Oelsner, Henry M. Johnson, Jennifer C. Murphy, Karen R. Ryberg, Aldo V. Vecchia, Robert E. Zuellig, James A. Falcone, Melissa L. RiskinMulti-region assessment of pharmaceutical exposures and predicted effects in USA wadeable urban-gradient streams
Human-use pharmaceuticals in urban streams link aquatic-ecosystem health to human health. Pharmaceutical mixtures have been widely reported in larger streams due to historical emphasis on wastewater-treatment plant (WWTP) sources, with limited investigation of pharmaceutical exposures and potential effects in smaller headwater streams. In 2014–2017, the United States Geological Survey measured 111AuthorsPaul Bradley, Celeste A. Journey, Daniel T. Button, Daren Carlisle, B. J. Huffman, Sharon Qi, Kristin Romanok, Peter C. Van MetreByWater Resources Mission Area, Contaminant Biology, Environmental Health Program, Toxic Substances Hydrology, Kansas Water Science Center, New Jersey Water Science Center, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center, Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center, Oregon Water Science Center, Pennsylvania Water Science Center, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC)Daily stream samples reveal highly complex pesticide occurrence and potential toxicity to aquatic life
Transient, acutely toxic concentrations of pesticides in streams can go undetected by fixed-interval sampling programs. Here we compare temporal patterns in occurrence of current-use pesticides in daily composite samples to those in weekly composite and weekly discrete samples of surface water from 14 small stream sites. Samples were collected over 10–14 weeks at 7 stream sites in each of the MidwAuthorsJulia E. Norman, Barbara Mahler, Lisa H. Nowell, Peter C. Van Metre, Mark W. Sandstrom, Mark A. Corbin, Yaorong Qian, James F. Pankow, Wentai Luo, Nicholas B. Fitzgerald, William E. Asher, Kevin J. McWhirterProjected urban growth in the Southeastern USA puts small streams at risk
Future land-use development has the potential to profoundly affect the health of aquatic ecosystems in the coming decades. We developed regression models predicting the loss of sensitive fish (R2=0.39) and macroinvertebrate (R2=0.64) taxa as a function of urban and agricultural land uses and applied them to projected urbanization of the rapidly urbanizing Piedmont ecoregion of the southeastern USAuthorsPeter C. Van Metre, Ian R. Waite, Sharon Qi, Barbara Mahler, Adam Terando, Michael Wieczorek, Michael R. Meador, Paul M. Bradley, Celeste A. Journey, Travis S. Schmidt, Daren CarlisleHistorical changes in fish communities in urban streams of the southeastern U.S. and the relative importance of water-quality stressors
A total of 71 stream sites representing a gradient of urban land use was sampled across the Piedmont of the southeastern U.S. in 2014. Fish data collected (observed) at each site were compared to an expected community based on georeferenced historical (~1950 - ~1990) species occurrence records for stream segments (1:100,000 scale) containing the sampled stream sites. Loss of expected fish specieAuthorsMichael MeadorChemical and physical controls on mercury source signatures in stream fish from the northeastern United States
Streams in the northeastern U.S. receive mercury (Hg) in varying proportions from atmospheric deposition and legacy point sources, making it difficult to attribute shifts in fish concentrations directly back to changes in Hg source management. Mercury stable isotope tracers were utilized to relate sources of Hg to co-located fish and bed sediments from 23 streams across a forested to urban-industrAuthorsSarah E. Janssen, Karen Riva-Murray, John F. DeWild, Jacob M. Ogorek, Michael T. Tate, Peter C. Van Metre, David P. Krabbenhoft, James F. ColesRegional patterns of anthropogenic influences on streams and rivers in the conterminous United States, from the early 1970s to 2012
This paper introduces a dataset containing consistent time-series measurements of anthropogenic activities potentially affecting stream quality across the conterminous United States and summarizes the most noteworthy trends from 61 variables in 16 categories. Data include measures of atmospheric deposition, agricultural production, livestock, urbanization, irrigation, land use, nutrients from ferAuthorsJames A. Falcone, Jennifer C. Murphy, Lori A. SpragueEffects of urban multi-stressors on three stream biotic assemblages
During 2014, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment(NAWQA) project assessed stream quality in 75 streams across an urban disturbance gradient within the Piedmont ecoregion of southeastern United States. Our objectives were to identify primary instream stressors affecting algal, macroinvertebrate and fish assemblages in wadeable streams. Biotic communities were surveyedAuthorsIan R. Waite, Mark D. Munn, Patrick W. Moran, Christopher P. Konrad, Lisa H. Nowell, Michael R. Meador, Peter C. Van Metre, Daren Carlisle - News
Below are news stories associated with this project.
Isotopic tracers in fish in Northeast provide clue to mercury sources
Isotopes of mercury in fish can indicate the source of that mercury, reports a new study from the USGS Regional Stream Quality Assessment.