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Edward Dobrowolski

Edward is a Hydrologist in the Environmental Health section of the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center

Edward joined the U.S. Geological Survey in September, 2007 as a Hydrologic Technician with the Grand Forks, North Dakota field office and assisted with streamgage operation, in addition to ecology and water-quality studies in North Dakota and Minnesota.

From 2010 to 2013, Edward continued his career as a Hydrologic Technician with the USGS in the Hydrologic Networks section in Indianapolis, Indiana for the Indiana-Kentucky Water Science Center. In 2013, Edward joined the Hydrologic Investigations section as a Hydrologist with a focus towards research studies involving water-quality, aquatic biology, along with nutrient and sediment loads in an agricultural landscape. Presently, Edward continues his research in the Environmental Health section of the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center with a focus on nutrient and sediment loading in the Western Lake Erie Basin.

Professional Experience

  • 2007 - Hydrologic Technician at USGS Grand Forks, North Dakota field office

  • 2010-2013 - Hydrologic Technician at the USGS Indiana Water Science Center

  • 2013-present - Hydrologist at USGS Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center

Education and Certifications

  • M.S. in Natural Resource and Environmental Management, Ball State University, 2008

  • B.S. in Environmental Biology/Zoology, Michigan State University, 2005

Science and Products

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Photos show change in water clarity in agricultural runoff before and after a grassed waterway was installed

Edge-of-field monitoring: Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI)

Great Lakes Restoration Initiative edge-of-field monitoring focuses on identifying and reducing agricultural sources of excess nutrients which threaten the health of the Great Lakes. The USGS supports these efforts by utilizing edge-of-field monitoring to assess the quantity and quality of agricultural runoff and evaluate conservation practices that aim to reduce sediment and nutrient loss.
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New York Water Science Center, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center, Great Lakes Restoration Initiative
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Edge-of-field monitoring: Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI)

Great Lakes Restoration Initiative edge-of-field monitoring focuses on identifying and reducing agricultural sources of excess nutrients which threaten the health of the Great Lakes. The USGS supports these efforts by utilizing edge-of-field monitoring to assess the quantity and quality of agricultural runoff and evaluate conservation practices that aim to reduce sediment and nutrient loss.
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Edge of Field Monitoring equipment, Black Creek Watershed

Edge of Field Monitoring - Black Creek Watershed

Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana Water Science Center is monitoring the effects of best management practices (BMP's) on baseflow and storm runoff in the Black Creek watershed near Harlan, IN. We will be sampling water-quality intensively for 5 years from overland field, subsurface tile, and in-stream runoff events. Results will be used to model the effectiveness of BMP’s in reducing nutrient and...
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Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center
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Edge of Field Monitoring - Black Creek Watershed

Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana Water Science Center is monitoring the effects of best management practices (BMP's) on baseflow and storm runoff in the Black Creek watershed near Harlan, IN. We will be sampling water-quality intensively for 5 years from overland field, subsurface tile, and in-stream runoff events. Results will be used to model the effectiveness of BMP’s in reducing nutrient and...
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Image: Bighead Carp

Invasive Carp

Adult bighead, silver, and hybrid carp are invavsive species of fish that spread quickly once they are established in a water body. These carp damage habitat and reduce water-quality for native fish. Invasive carp have been confirmed within the Wabash River basin for at least 15 years. Scientists and natural resource managers are extremely concerned about the carp migrating to the Great Lakes...
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Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center
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Invasive Carp

Adult bighead, silver, and hybrid carp are invavsive species of fish that spread quickly once they are established in a water body. These carp damage habitat and reduce water-quality for native fish. Invasive carp have been confirmed within the Wabash River basin for at least 15 years. Scientists and natural resource managers are extremely concerned about the carp migrating to the Great Lakes...
Learn More
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Collecting water-quality samples for the contaminants of emerging concern study

Evaluating Contaminants of Emerging Concern

Scientists are assessing the impacts of contaminants of emerging concern on Great Lakes fish, wildlife, and water quality by collecting and analyzing samples from tributaries to the Great Lakes.
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Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center
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Evaluating Contaminants of Emerging Concern

Scientists are assessing the impacts of contaminants of emerging concern on Great Lakes fish, wildlife, and water quality by collecting and analyzing samples from tributaries to the Great Lakes.
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IN-KY Water Science Center scientists measuring water quality as part of the Great Lakes Tributary Monitoring program

Great Lakes Tributary Monitoring

IN-KY scientists collect monthly chemical/suspended sediment and flow data as part of the Great Lakes Tributary Monitoring program. As part of the Great Lakes Research Initiative, the data we provide is used for long-term trends analysis.
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Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center
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Great Lakes Tributary Monitoring

IN-KY scientists collect monthly chemical/suspended sediment and flow data as part of the Great Lakes Tributary Monitoring program. As part of the Great Lakes Research Initiative, the data we provide is used for long-term trends analysis.
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Continuous meteorological and soil data to support understanding of nutrient and sediment loads from overland and subsurface-tile flow at paired edge-of-field agricultural sites, 2015–21, Black Creek watershed, near Harlan, Indiana, USA

This data release includes meteorological and soil information collected from calendar years 2015 to 2021 (water years 2016 to 2021) that include air temperature, soil temperature, soil moisture and solar radiation monitored at a site in the Black Creek subwatershed near Harlan, Allen County, Indiana (USGS 411228084541703 MET STATION WEST OF BULL RAPIDS RD NR HARLAN, IN). Meteorological and soil m
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Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center

Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Water-Quality, Bathymetric, and Sonar Measurements in the Black River near Elyria, Ohio, 2021

These datasets were collected in support of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 at the Chemical Recovery Site in Elyria, Ohio, within the East Branch Black River on March 22, 2021. Water-quality and bathymetric data were measured and logged at 1-second intervals (AUV_CRS_Combined_032221.csv). Water-quality data collected during eight different missions were measured with a YSI EXO1 s
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Central Midwest Water Science Center

Nutrient and sediment concentrations, loads, yields, and rainfall characteristics at USGS surface and subsurface-tile edge-of-field agricultural monitoring sites in Great Lakes States (ver. 2.1, September 2023)

This data release focuses on nutrient and sediment concentrations, loads, and yields at USGS surface and subsurface-tile edge-of-field (EOF) agricultural monitoring sites in Great Lakes States. Water quality and rainfall metrics are summarized by individual flow events to evaluate the contribution of EOF losses to headwater stream networks in agricultural landscapes. USGS EOF sites are components
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Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Daily loads of nutrients, sediment, and chloride at Great Lakes Restoration Initiative USGS edge-of-field and tile stations

As part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) have partnered to evaluate the impacts of implementing agricultural conservation practices focused on nutrient management. Monitoring methods have been designed to allow for rapid assessment of wat
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Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Benthos and Plankton data for Waukegan Harbor Area of Concern, Illinois, and Burns Harbor-Port of Indiana Non-Area of Concern, Indiana, in 2015

During two seasonal sampling events in spring (June) and fall (August) of 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, collected benthos (benthic invertebrates) and plankton (zooplankton and phytoplankton) at three sites each in the Waukegan Harbor Area of Concern (AOC) in Illinois and in Burns Harb
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Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Phosphorus sources, forms, and abundance as a function of streamflow and field conditions in a Maumee River tributary, 2016-2019

Total phosphorus (TP), dissolved P (DP), and suspended sediment (SS) were sampled in Black Creek, Indiana, monthly during base flow and for 100 storm events during water years 2016–2019, enabling analysis of how each of these varied as a function of streamflow and field conditions at nested edge-of-field sites. Particulate P was normalized for SS (PSS = [TP − DP]/SS). Streamflow events were differ
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Tanja N. Williamson, Edward G. Dobrowolski, Rebecca Kreiling
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Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center

Nutrient and suspended-sediment concentrations in the Maumee River and tributaries during 2019 rain-induced fallow conditions

Above average precipitation from October 2018 through July 2019 in the Maumee River (R.) Basin resulted in 29% of cropland left fallow, providing a glimpse of potential effects from decreased nutrient application. Ongoing monitoring at 15 water-quality sites on the Maumee R. upstream from Defiance enabled comparison with 2017, which was hydrologically similar to 2019 in precipitation and streamflo
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Tanja N. Williamson, Kimberly Shaffer, Donna L. Runkle, Matthew John Hardebeck, Edward G. Dobrowolski, Jeffrey W. Frey, Nancy T. Baker, Katie Marie Collier, Carrie A. Huitger, Stephanie P. Kula, Ralph J. Haefner, Lisa M Hartley, Hunter Frederick Crates, J. Jeremy Webber, Dennis P. Finnegan, Nicholas J. Reithel, Chad Toussant, Thomas L. Weaver
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Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Water-quality distributions in the East Branch Black River near the Chemical Recovery Systems site in Elyria, Ohio, 2021

Autonomous underwater vehicles are uniquely designed to provide spatially dense water-quality data along with bathymetry and velocimetry. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 requested technical assistance from the U.S. Geological Survey in support of ongoing investigations at the Chemical Recovery Systems site to collect spatially dense water-quality and bathymetry data in the East B
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Jordan L. Wilson, Edward G. Dobrowolski
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Central Midwest Water Science Center

Monthly suspended-sediment apportionment for a western Lake Erie agricultural tributary

Black Creek, a headwater to the Maumee River and western Lake Erie, is an agricultural basin with a mix of cropland (66%), pasture (19%), and forest (7%) linked by a road network to the rural community. Suspended sediment was collected monthly during the 2018 water year for the main stem and two sub-basins using in-situ, passive samplers that integrated a range of streamflow conditions. Sediment
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Tanja N. Williamson, Edward G. Dobrowolski, Allen C. Gellis, Timur Sabitov, Lillian Gorman Sanisaca
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Water Resources Mission Area, Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Water Science Center, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center

Tracking phosphorus and sediment sources and transport from fields and channels in Great Lakes Restoration Initiative priority watersheds

A multi-agency, integrated series of studies were initiated in 2017 under the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) by the U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Forest Service, and the University of Minnesota to quantify the source, downstream travel time, and storage of particulate-bound phosphorus and sediment in agricultural tributaries to the Great Lakes. Of particular interest are contributions at
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Tanja N. Williamson, Faith A. Fitzpatrick, Diana L. Karwan, Randall K. Kolka, Edward G. Dobrowolski, James Blount, Ethan D. Pawlowski
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Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center, Great Lakes Restoration Initiative

Delineation of tile-drain networks using thermal and multispectral imagery—Implications for water quantity and quality differences from paired edge-of-field sites

As part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, paired edge-of-field sites were established in high priority subwatersheds to assess the effectiveness of agricultural management practices. One pairing was in Black Creek, a tributary to the Maumee River and Lake Erie. These fields were paired because of similarity in soils, topography, and agricultural management. Following two years of baseline
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Tanja N. Williamson, Edward G. Dobrowolski, Shawn M. Meyer, Jeffrey W. Frey, Barry J. Allred
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Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center, Great Lakes Restoration Initiative

Comparison of benthos and plankton for Waukegan Harbor Area of Concern, Illinois, and Burns Harbor-Port of Indiana non-Area of Concern, Indiana, in 2015

During two seasonal sampling events in spring (June) and fall (August) of 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey collected benthos (benthic invertebrates) and plankton (zooplankton and phytoplankton) at three sites each in the Waukegan Harbor Area of Concern (AOC) in Illinois and in Burns Harbor-Port of Indiana, a non-AOC comparison site in Indiana. The study was done in cooperation with the U.S. Enviro
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Barbara C. Scudder Eikenberry, Hayley T. Olds, Daniel J. Burns, Edward G. Dobrowolski, Kurt L. Schmude
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Water Resources Mission Area, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center

A summary of the benthic-invertebrate and fish-community data from streams in the Indianapolis metropolitan area, Indiana, 1981-2012

Intermittently, during 1981–2012, the U.S. Geological Survey sampled sites in the White River and several tributaries in the Indianapolis metropolitan area of Indiana for benthic invertebrates and fish communities. During 1981–87, one study focused on benthic-invertebrate data collection at three sites along the White River. During 1994–96, 21 sites were sampled for benthic invertebrates; after 19
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David C. Voelker, Aubrey R. Bunch, Edward G. Dobrowolski, Megan E. Shoda
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Water Resources Mission Area, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center

Ground water and surface water hydrology

No abstract available
Authors
Otto S. Zapecza, Donald E. Rice, Vincent T. DePaul
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Water Resources Mission Area, New England Water Science Center, New Jersey Water Science Center

Science and Products