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Alana Burton Spaetzel

Alana Burton Spaetzel is a Hydrologist in the New England Water Science Center.

Alana Spaetzel studies surface water-quality issues in New England. Her interests include nutrient loading in the urban environment, highway-runoff quality, and coastal water-quality monitoring. 

Professional Experience

  • 2017 - present, U.S. Geological Survey - Hydrologist

Education and Certifications

  • M.S. Geology, Boston College, 2018

  • B.S. Geology, College of William & Mary, 2015

Science and Products

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Three-dimensional view of imagery, stormwater catch basin locations and pipes near the Mystic River in Medford, Massachusetts

Delineating High-Resolution Urban Drainage Systems for Stormwater Management in the Mystic River Watershed

Characterizing hydrology and pollutant inputs in urban watersheds requires the consideration of both the natural and manmade environment. The Mystic River Basin is a highly urbanized, 76-square-mile watershed north of Boston, Massachusetts, that includes several underserved communities. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) developed a watershed-scale web application of the Mystic River Basin to...
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New England Water Science Center
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Delineating High-Resolution Urban Drainage Systems for Stormwater Management in the Mystic River Watershed

Characterizing hydrology and pollutant inputs in urban watersheds requires the consideration of both the natural and manmade environment. The Mystic River Basin is a highly urbanized, 76-square-mile watershed north of Boston, Massachusetts, that includes several underserved communities. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) developed a watershed-scale web application of the Mystic River Basin to...
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Photograph of bridge-deck scuppers draining into the Charles River on State Route 2A in Boston

Transportation-Related Water Projects in New England

The New England Water Science Center collects data and does interpretive studies on hydrology, hydraulics, and water quality in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration and State Departments of Transportation (DOTs) in New England and other states.
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New England Water Science Center
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Transportation-Related Water Projects in New England

The New England Water Science Center collects data and does interpretive studies on hydrology, hydraulics, and water quality in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration and State Departments of Transportation (DOTs) in New England and other states.
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USGS Station 011058798 Herring River at Chequessett Neck Road gage house

Herring River Water Quality

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) New England Water Science Center installed, operated, and maintained surface water-quality sites at the Chequessett Neck Road dike on the Herring River from November 2015 through September 2018.
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New England Water Science Center
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Herring River Water Quality

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) New England Water Science Center installed, operated, and maintained surface water-quality sites at the Chequessett Neck Road dike on the Herring River from November 2015 through September 2018.
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USGS

SELDM: Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model - Project page

Note: SELDM is now on version 1.1.1.
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New England Water Science Center
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SELDM: Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model - Project page

Note: SELDM is now on version 1.1.1.
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Digital Elevation Model and Derivative Datasets to Support the Integration of Stormwater Drainage into the StreamStats Application for the Mystic River Watershed, Massachusetts

The U.S. Geological Survey’s StreamStats program is a publicly-accessible web application (https://streamstats.usgs.gov) that can be used to delineate drainage areas, compute basin characteristics, and estimate flow statistics for user-selected locations on streams. StreamStats services are typically implemented at the statewide or watershed scale (referred to as state or basin applications), and
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New England Water Science Center

Basin Characteristics Data for the StreamStats Application in the Mystic River Basin, Massachusetts

The U.S. Geological Survey’s StreamStats program is a publicly-accessible web application (https://streamstats.usgs.gov) that can be used to delineate drainage areas, compute basin characteristics, and estimate flow statistics for user-selected locations on streams. StreamStats services are typically implemented at the statewide or watershed scale (referred to as state or basin applications), and
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New England Water Science Center

Model Archive for Analysis of Flows, Concentrations, and Loads of Highway and Urban Runoff and Receiving-Stream Stormwater in Southern New England with the Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model (SELDM)

This data release documents the data and models used to assess flows, concentrations, and loads of highway and urban runoff and of stormwater within receiving streams in southern New England. There are more than 48,000 locations in southern New England where roads cross streams and many more locations where runoff from developed areas may discharge to receiving streams; information about runoff di
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New England Water Science Center

Water-Quality, Streamflow, and Quality-Control Data Supporting Estimation of Nutrient and Sediment Loads in the Scituate Reservoir Drainage Area, Rhode Island, Water Years 2016-19

Annual loads of selected constituents were estimated for five stations in the Scituate Reservoir drainage area, Rhode Island, for water years 2016 to 2019 as part of a long-term monitoring program in cooperation with the Providence Water Supply Board. This data release includes the water-quality and streamflow data used to estimate annual loads of total phosphorus, dissolved phosphorus, total nitr
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New England Water Science Center

Statistics for simulating structural stormwater runoff best management practices (BMPs) with the Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model (SELDM)

This data release documents statistics for simulating structural stormwater runoff best management practices (BMPs) with the Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model (SELDM)(Granato, 2013). The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) developed SELDM and the statistics documented in this report in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to indicate the risk for stormwater flows, con
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New England Water Science Center, New England Water Science Center

Basin characteristics and point locations of road crossings in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island for highway-runoff mitigation analyses using the Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model

This data release documents the location of intersections between roads and streams, referred to as road crossings, and associated basin characteristics to support highway-runoff mitigation analyses using the Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model (SELDM, Granato, 2013) in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. The data set of road crossings was generated from the intersections of
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New England Water Science Center

Discrete water quality data supporting Herring River restoration project, Cape Cod National Seashore, 1984-2017

Staff from the Cape Cod National Seashore, National Park Service (CACO NPS) began limited water-quality data collection in the Herring River Estuary as early as 1984. In 2006 a monthly sampling program was established for 14 sites to monitor nutrient concentrations, dissolved oxygen, and other constituents. This monitoring program is ongoing and has been supplemented with data from other CACO NPS
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New England Water Science Center
USGS Station 011058798 Herring River at Chequessett Neck Road gage house
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Approaches for assessing flows, concentrations, and loads of highway and urban runoff and receiving-stream stormwater in southern New England with the Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model (SELDM)

The Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model (SELDM) was designed to help quantify the risk of adverse effects of runoff on receiving waters, the potential need for mitigation measures, and the potential effectiveness of such management measures for reducing these risks. SELDM is calibrated using representative hydrological and water-quality input statistics. This report by the U.S. Geologi
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Gregory E. Granato, Alana B. Spaetzel, Lillian C. Jeznach
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Water Resources Mission Area, New England Water Science Center

Water-quality conditions and constituent loads, water years 2013–19, and water-quality trends, water years 1983–2019, in the Scituate Reservoir drainage area, Rhode Island

The Scituate Reservoir is the primary source of drinking water for more than 60 percent of the population of Rhode Island. From October 1, 1982, to September 30, 2019, water years (WYs) 1983–2019 (a water year is the period between October 1 and September 30 and is designated by the year in which it ends), the Providence Water Supply Board maintained a fixed-frequency sampling program at 37 statio
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Alana B. Spaetzel, Kirk P. Smith
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Water Resources Mission Area, New England Water Science Center

Assessment of water quality and discharge in the Herring River, Wellfleet, Massachusetts, November 2015 to September 2017

The U.S. Geological Survey, Cape Cod National Seashore of the National Park Service, and Friends of Herring River cooperated from 2015 to 2017 to assess nutrient concentrations and fluxes across the ocean-estuary boundary at a dike on the Herring River in Wellfleet, Massachusetts. The purpose of this assessment was to characterize environmental conditions prior to a future removal of the dike, whi
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Thomas G. Huntington, Alana B. Spaetzel, John A. Colman, Kevin D. Kroeger, Robert T. Bradley
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Water Resources Mission Area, New England Water Science Center

Statistical methods for simulating structural stormwater runoff best management practices (BMPs) with the Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model (SELDM)

This report documents statistics for simulating structural stormwater runoff best management practices (BMPs) with the Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model (SELDM). The U.S. Geological Survey developed SELDM and the statistics documented in this report in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration to indicate the risk for stormwater flows, concentrations, and loads to exceed us

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Gregory E. Granato, Alana B. Spaetzel, Laura Medalie
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Water Resources Mission Area, New England Water Science Center

Non-USGS Publications**

Kaste, J.M., Lauer, N.E., Spaetzel, A.B., Goydan, C., 2016, Cosmogenic 22Na as a steady-state tracer of solute transport and water age in first-order catchments: Earth and Planetary Science Letters, v. 456, p. 78-86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2016.10.002

**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.

SELDM: Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model - Software page

Overview

The Stochastic Empirical Loading and Dilution Model (SELDM) is designed to transform complex scientific data into meaningful information about the risk of adverse effects of runoff on receiving waters, the potential need for mitigation measures, and the potential effectiveness of such management measures for reducing these risks.

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New England Water Science Center, Oregon Water Science Center
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New tool helps identify stormwater drainage, estimate pollutant inputs in Massachusetts

NORTHBOROUGH, Mass. -  A new tool developed by the U.S. Geological Survey to help visualize stormwater drainage and estimate pollutant inputs in...

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New Web Tool Informs Stormwater Management in Urbanized Mystic River Watershed

The U.S. Geological Survey has developed a watershed-scale web application that includes stormwater infrastructure for the first time to assist...

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Herring River Water-Quality Data Geonarrative

This geonarrative explores the availability of water-quality data collected by the Cape Cod National Seashore and U.S. Geological Survey in support of...

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