James's research broadly focuses on surface water-quality studies designed to understand how in-stream conditions are changing over time and the drivers of such changes. Current projects are focused on assessing the effects of watershed management in urban and agricultural settings.
Professional Experience
2012 – Present Hydrologist, USGS Virginia and West Virginia Water Science Center, Richmond, VA
Education and Certifications
M.S., Forest Resources, 2012, The Pennsylvania State University
B.S., Environmental Resource Management, 2010, The Pennsylvania State University
Science and Products
USGS Publications Summarize Water-Quality Trends and Drivers in Urban Streams After 10 Years of Monitoring in Fairfax County, Virginia
Summarizing Science to Inform Management in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
Science to Inform Management Priorities from Loads to Endpoints (SIMPLE)
Summarizing Scientific Findings for Common Stakeholder Questions to Inform Nutrient and Sediment Management Activities in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
Hydrologic Monitoring and Analysis to Support Water Resource Management in the City of Roanoke
Climate, Landscape, and Water-Quality Metrics for Selected Watersheds in Fairfax County, Virginia, 2007-2018
Chesapeake Bay Nontidal Network 1985 - 2018: Daily High-Flow and Low-Flow Concentration and Load Estimates
Inputs and Selected Outputs Used to Assess Spatial and Temporal Patterns in Streamflow, Water-Chemistry, and Aquatic Macroinvertebrates of Selected Streams in Fairfax County, Virginia, 2007-2018
James Tributary summary: A summary of trends in tidal water quality and associated factors, 1985-2021
Evaluating drivers of hydrology, water quality, and benthic macroinvertebrates in streams of Fairfax County, Virginia, 2007–18
Nitrogen in the Chesapeake Bay watershed—A century of change, 1950–2050
Nutrient trends and drivers in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
Potomac tributary report: A summary of trends in tidal water quality and associated factors
An approach for decomposing river water-quality trends into different flow classes
Spatial and temporal patterns in streamflow, water chemistry, and aquatic macroinvertebrates of selected streams in Fairfax County, Virginia, 2007–18
Science to support water-resource management in the upper Roanoke River watershed
Sediment dynamics and implications for management: State of the science from long‐term research in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, USA
Factors driving nutrient trends in streams of the Chesapeake Bay watershed
Geonarrative: How and why are conditions changing in Fairfax streams?
This interactive narrative summarizes a new U.S. Geological Survey report wherein monitoring data collected between 2007 and 2018 are used to provide insights into the changing water quality of urban streams in Fairfax County and the potential role of water-quality management practices.
Science and Products
- Science
USGS Publications Summarize Water-Quality Trends and Drivers in Urban Streams After 10 Years of Monitoring in Fairfax County, Virginia
Issue: Degraded water quality and ecology in urban streams has been widely documented, but explanations of changing conditions over time are often unavailable. A 15-year collaborative urban stream monitoring effort between the Fairfax County Stormwater Planning Division and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is ongoing and has begun to shed light on this complex issue. In a new USGS report by...Summarizing Science to Inform Management in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
Stakeholders can use scientific insights to address their priority water-quality concerns. The USGS works with Chesapeake Bay stakeholders to identify and address priority questions that can help inform management decisions. These scientific insights can help guide nutrient and sediment management activities undertaken by Chesapeake Bay stakeholders. This webpage summarizes recent scientific...Science to Inform Management Priorities from Loads to Endpoints (SIMPLE)
Resource managers are working to improve water-quality in the Chesapeake to benefit the people who live in the region and the birds, fish, and other animals who rely on clean water in the watershed and the Bay. The U.S Geological Survey (USGS) supports resource managers and other Chesapeake stakeholders by providing science that informs restoration and conservation in the Chesapeake region. The...Summarizing Scientific Findings for Common Stakeholder Questions to Inform Nutrient and Sediment Management Activities in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
Issue: The Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) partnership is striving to improve water-quality conditions in the Bay by using a variety of management strategies to reduce nutrient and sediment loads. The partnership uses monitoring results and modeling tools to implement management strategies, relying on the scientific community to synthesize existing information and direct new research to address...Hydrologic Monitoring and Analysis to Support Water Resource Management in the City of Roanoke
The U.S. Geological Survey, partnering with the City of Roanoke and Virginia Tech, are working to monitor the water volume and quality in streams throughout the City of Roanoke. There are currently six monitoring stations within the city. Water-quality data are collected at five stations through real-time monitors and manual sampling to support the estimation of suspended sediment loads. The... - Data
Climate, Landscape, and Water-Quality Metrics for Selected Watersheds in Fairfax County, Virginia, 2007-2018
This data release documents spatiotemporal water-quality, landscape, and climatic conditions in Fairfax County, Virginia from 2007 through 2018. These data were used to evaluate the water-quality and ecological condition of 20 Fairfax County watersheds monitored since 2007. Data include measures of water-quality, precipitation, air temperature, land use, land cover, wastewater and stormwater infraChesapeake Bay Nontidal Network 1985 - 2018: Daily High-Flow and Low-Flow Concentration and Load Estimates
Nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended-sediment loads, and changes in loads, in rivers across the Chesapeake Bay watershed have been calculated using monitoring data from the Chesapeake Bay Nontidal Network (NTN) stations for the period 1985 through 2018. Nutrient and suspended-sediment loads and changes in loads were determined by applying a weighted regression approach called WRTDS (Weighted RegresInputs and Selected Outputs Used to Assess Spatial and Temporal Patterns in Streamflow, Water-Chemistry, and Aquatic Macroinvertebrates of Selected Streams in Fairfax County, Virginia, 2007-2018
Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and suspended-sediment (SS) loads, in Fairfax County, Virginia streams have been calculated using monitoring data from five intensively monitored watersheds for the period from water year (October - September) 2008-2017. Nutrient and suspended-sediment loads were computed using a surrogate (multiple-linear regression) approach with lab analyzed N, P, and SS samples as - Multimedia
- Publications
James Tributary summary: A summary of trends in tidal water quality and associated factors, 1985-2021
The James Tributary Summary outlines change over time for a suite of monitored tidal water quality parameters and associated potential drivers of those trends for the period 1985 – 2021 and provides a brief description of the current state of knowledge explaining these observed changes. Water quality parameters described include surface (above pycnocline) total nitrogen (TN), surface total phosphoAuthorsBreck Maura Sullivan, Kaylyn Gootman, Alex Gunnerson, Cindy Johnson, Chris A. Mason, Elgin Perry, Gopal Bhatt, Jennifer L. Keisman, James S. Webber, Jon Harcum, Mike Lane, Olivia Devereux, Qian Zhang, Rebecca Murphy, Renee Karrh, Tom Butler, Vanessa Van Note, Zhaoying WeiEvaluating drivers of hydrology, water quality, and benthic macroinvertebrates in streams of Fairfax County, Virginia, 2007–18
In 2007, the U.S. Geological Survey partnered with Fairfax County, Virginia, to establish a long-term water-resources monitoring program to evaluate the hydrology, water quality, and ecology of Fairfax County streams and the watershed-scale effects of management practices. Fairfax County uses a variety of management practices, policies, and programs to protect and restore its water resources, butAuthorsJames S. Webber, Jeffrey G. Chanat, Aaron J. Porter, John D. JastramNitrogen in the Chesapeake Bay watershed—A century of change, 1950–2050
ForewordSustaining the quality of the Nation’s water resources and the health of our diverse ecosystems depends on the availability of sound water-resources data and information to develop effective, science-based policies. Effective management of water resources also brings more certainty and efficiency to important economic sectors. Taken together, these actions lead to immediate and long-term eAuthorsJohn W. Clune, Paul D. Capel, Matthew P. Miller, Douglas A. Burns, Andrew J. Sekellick, Peter R. Claggett, Richard H. Coupe, Rosemary M. Fanelli, Ana Maria Garcia, Jeff P. Raffensperger, Silvia Terziotti, Gopal Bhatt, Joel D. Blomquist, Kristina G. Hopkins, Jennifer L. Keisman, Lewis C. Linker, Gary W. Shenk, Richard A. Smith, Alex Soroka, James S. Webber, David M. Wolock, Qian ZhangNutrient trends and drivers in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
The Chesapeake Bay Program maintains an extensive nontidal monitoring network, measuring nitrogen and phosphorus (nutrients) at more than 100 locations on rivers and streams in the watershed. Data from these locations are used by United States Geological Survey to assess the ecosystem’s response to nutrient-reduction efforts. This fact sheet summarizes recent trends in nitrogen and phosphorus in nAuthorsKenneth E. Hyer, Scott W. Phillips, Scott W. Ator, Doug L. Moyer, James S. Webber, Rachel Felver, Jennifer L. Keisman, Lee A. McDonnell, Rebecca Murphy, Emily M. Trentacoste, Qian Zhang, William C. Dennison, Sky Swanson, Brianne Walsh, Jane Hawkey, Dylan TailliePotomac tributary report: A summary of trends in tidal water quality and associated factors
The Potomac Tributary Report summarizes change over time in a suite of monitored tidal water quality parameters and associated potential drivers of those trends for the time period 1985 – 2018, and provides a brief description of the current state of knowledge explaining these observed changes. Water quality parameters described include surface total nitrogen (TN), surface total phosphorus (TP), sAuthorsJennifer L. Keisman, Rebecca Murphy, Olivia H. Devereux, J. Harcum, R. Karrh, M. Lane, E. Perry, James S. Webber, Zhaoying Wei, Qian Zhang, Meghan Nicole PetenbrinkAn approach for decomposing river water-quality trends into different flow classes
A number of statistical approaches have been developed to quantify the overall trend in river water quality, but most approaches are not intended for reporting separate trends for different flow conditions. We propose an approach called FN2Q, which is an extension of the flow-normalization (FN) procedure of the well-established WRTDS (“Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Season”) method.AuthorsQian Zhang, James S. Webber, Doug L. Moyer, Jeffrey G. ChanatSpatial and temporal patterns in streamflow, water chemistry, and aquatic macroinvertebrates of selected streams in Fairfax County, Virginia, 2007–18
Urbanization substantially alters the landscape in ways that can impact stream hydrology, water chemistry, and the health of aquatic communities. Stormwater best management practices (BMPs) are the primary tools used to mitigate the effects of urban stressors such as increased runoff, decreased baseflow, and increased nutrient and sediment transport. To date, Fairfax County Virginia’s stormwater mAuthorsAaron J. Porter, James S. Webber, Jonathan W. Witt, John D. JastramScience to support water-resource management in the upper Roanoke River watershed
Flooding, excessive sedimentation, and high bacteria counts are among the most challenging water resource issues affecting the Upper Roanoke River watershed. These issues threaten public safety, impair the watershed’s living resources, and threaten drinking water supplies, though mitigation is costly and difficult to manage.Urban development, land disturbance, and changing climatic patterns continAuthorsJames S. Webber, John D. JastramSediment dynamics and implications for management: State of the science from long‐term research in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, USA
This review aims to synthesize the current knowledge of sediment dynamics using insights from long‐term research conducted in the watershed draining to the Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the U.S., to inform management actions to restore the estuary and its watershed. The sediment dynamics of the Chesapeake are typical of many impaired watersheds and estuaries around the world, and this synAuthorsGregory B. Noe, Matt J. Cashman, Katherine Skalak, Allen Gellis, Kristina G. Hopkins, Doug L. Moyer, James S. Webber, Adam Benthem, Kelly O. Maloney, John Brakebill, Andrew Sekellick, Michael J. Langland, Qian Zhang, Gary W. Shenk, Jennifer L. D. Keisman, Cliff R. HuppFactors driving nutrient trends in streams of the Chesapeake Bay watershed
Despite decades of effort toward reducing nitrogen and phosphorus flux to Chesapeake Bay, water-quality and ecological responses in surface waters have been mixed. Recent research, however, provides useful insight into multiple factors complicating the understanding of nutrient trends in bay tributaries, which we review in this paper, as we approach a 2025 total maximum daily load (TMDL) managemenAuthorsScott Ator, Joel Blomquist, James S. Webber, Jeffrey G. Chanat - Web Tools
Geonarrative: How and why are conditions changing in Fairfax streams?
This interactive narrative summarizes a new U.S. Geological Survey report wherein monitoring data collected between 2007 and 2018 are used to provide insights into the changing water quality of urban streams in Fairfax County and the potential role of water-quality management practices.