Katherine R Merriman
Katherine R Merriman is a Hydrologist at the New York Water Science Center.
Katie has developed SWAT models for water quality issues all over the country. Her most recent project was developing field-scale SWAT models to support the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) Priority Watersheds project, to determine the impact of agricultural conservation practices within small watersheds in the Great Lakes Basin. She has experience on several other models, such as: HSPF, APEX, HEC-HMS. Her other past work has included GIS based projects, including inundation mapping, calculating basin characteristics, and creating arcPython based scripts to automate calculations, compute statistics and produce reports. Her work in Arkansas concluded with a capstone project, documenting everything groundwater in the state, which was one of the top OGW publications for 2014. She also worked on the 2015 USGS water use compilation for the Illinois. She previously worked on a wide range of environmental engineering and water quality projects while in federal consulting (EPA, DOD, DOE) for two years.
Professional Experience
New York Water Science Center in 2019-Present
Illinois Water Science Center in 2013-2019
Arkansas Water Science Center as a Hydrologist in 2010-2013
U.S. Geological Survey as a student contractor for the NRP in Boulder, CO in 2008-2010
Education and Certifications
M.S. -- Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Purdue University, 2008
B.S. -- Biological and Agricultural Engineering, University of Arkansas, 2005
Science and Products
U.S. Geological Survey Wastewater Diffuser Survey in Cedar Falls, Iowa, September 2024
These data represent a Global Positioning System (GPS) survey generated September 18, 2024, using Trimble R10 2 Real-Time Kinematics (RTK) and Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). Survey extends along the Cedar River streambed in Cedar Falls, Iowa, where a wastewater treatment diffuser pipe is installed. Cross-sectional representations were produced to depict stream depth and...
SWAT Model Archive for Simulation of Hydrology, Suspended Sediment and Nutrients in Selected Tributary Watersheds of Lake Erie, New York
This U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) data release contains model scenario input and output files and nine hydrology and water-quality models developed using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). The models represent nine watersheds in eastern New York that drain to Lake Erie or the Niagara River and were created, calibrated, and validated for hydrology, sediment, and nutrients as...
Data Tables Associated with an Analysis of the U.S. Geological Survey's Historical Water-use Data, 1985–2015
The datasets in this data release contain the results of an analysis of the U.S. Geological Survey's historical water-use data from 1985 to 2015. Data were assessed to determine the top category of water-use by volume. Data from groundwater, surface water, and total water (groundwater plus surface water) use were parsed by water type, and the top category of use by county or the...
Monitoring and simulation of hydrology, suspended sediment, and nutrients in selected tributary watersheds of Lake Erie, New York
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with Erie County, New York, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, collected water-quality samples in nine selected New York tributaries to Lake Erie, computed estimates of suspended sediment and nutrient loads using the R scripting package rloadest and used the Soil and Water...
Authors
Katherine R. Merriman, Benjamin N. Fisher, Elizabeth A. Nystrom, Aubrey R. Bunch, Robert J. Welk, William M. Kappel
Assessment of site-specific agricultural Best Management Practices in the Upper East River watershed, Wisconsin, using a field-scale SWAT model
The Great Lakes “Priority Watershed” effort targeted the Upper East River watershed, a 116.5 km2 tributary watershed to Green Bay in Wisconsin, to reduce sediment and nutrients entering Green Bay. A Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model was created to determine the effectiveness of Best Management Practices (BMPs) derived from the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources...
Authors
Katherine R. Merriman, Prasad Daggupati, Raghavan Srinivasan, Brett A. Hayhurst
Assessing the impact of site-specific BMPs using a spatially explicit, field-scale SWAT model with edge-of-field and tile hydrology and water-quality data in the Eagle Creek watershed, Ohio
The Eagle Creek watershed, a small subbasin (125 km2) within the Maumee River Basin, Ohio, was selected as a part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) “Priority Watersheds” program to evaluate the effectiveness of agricultural Best Management Practices (BMPs) funded through GLRI at the field and watershed scales. The location and quantity of BMPs were obtained from the U.S...
Authors
Katherine R. Merriman, Prasad Daggupati, Raghavan Srinivasan, Chad Toussant, Amy M. Russell, Brett A. Hayhurst
Calibration of a field-scale Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model with field placement of best management practices in Alger Creek, Michigan
Subwatersheds within the Great Lakes “Priority Watersheds” were targeted by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) to determine the effectiveness of the various best management practices (BMPs) from the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources Conservation Service National Conservation Planning (NCP) Database. A Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model is created for...
Authors
Katherine R. Merriman, Amy M. Russell, Cynthia M. Rachol, Prasad Daggupati, Raghavan Srinivasan, Brett A. Hayhurst, Todd D. Stuntebeck
Development of an Assessment Tool for Agricultural Best Management Practice Iimplementation in the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Priority Watersheds—Alger Creek, Tributary to Saginaw River, Michigan
The Great Lakes face a number of serious challenges that cause damage to water quality, habitat, ecology, and coastal health. Excess nutrients from point and nonpoint sources have a history of causing harmful algal blooms (HABs); since the late 1990s, a resurgence of HABs have forced beach closures and resulted in water quality impairments across the Great Lakes. Studies increasingly...
Authors
Katherine R. Merriman
Development of an Assessment Tool for Agricultural Best Management Practice Implementation in the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Priority Watersheds—Eagle Creek, Tributary to Maumee River, Ohio
Introduction The Great Lakes face a number of serious challenges that cause damage to water quality, habitat, ecology, and coastal health. Excess nutrients from point and nonpoint sources have a history of causing harmful algal blooms (HABs); since the late 1990s, a resurgence of HABs have forced beach closures and resulted in water quality impairments across the Great Lakes. Studies...
Authors
Katherine R. Merriman
Development of an Assessment Tool for Agricultural Best Management Practice Implementation in the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Priority Watersheds—Upper East River, Tributary to Green Bay, Wisconsin
Introduction The Great Lakes face a number of serious challenges that cause damage to water quality, habitat, ecology, and coastal health. Excess nutrients from point and nonpoint sources have a history of causing harmful algal blooms (HABs); since the late 1990s, a resurgence of HABs have forced beach closures and resulted in water quality impairments across the Great Lakes. Studies...
Authors
Katherine R. Merriman
Aquifers of Arkansas: protection, management, and hydrologic and geochemical characteristics of groundwater resources in Arkansas
Sixteen aquifers in Arkansas that currently serve or have served as sources of water supply are described with respect to existing groundwater protection and management programs, geology, hydrologic characteristics, water use, water levels, deductive analysis, projections of hydrologic conditions, and water quality. State and Federal protection and management programs are described...
Authors
Timothy M. Kresse, Phillip D. Hays, Katherine R. Merriman, Jonathan A. Gillip, D.T. Fugitt, Jane L. Spellman, Anna M. Nottmeier, Drew A. Westerman, Joshua M. Blackstock, James L. Battreal
Trends in precipitation, streamflow, reservoir pool elevations, and reservoir releases in Arkansas and selected sites in Louisiana, Missouri, and Oklahoma, 1951–2011
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) conducted a statistical analysis of trends in precipitation, streamflow, reservoir pool elevations, and reservoir releases in Arkansas and selected sites in Louisiana, Missouri, and Oklahoma for the period 1951–2011. The Mann-Kendall test was used to test for trends in annual and seasonal precipitation, annual...
Authors
Daniel M. Wagner, Joshua D. Krieger, Katherine R. Merriman
Analysis and inundation mapping of the April-May 2011 flood at selected locations in northern and eastern Arkansas and southern Missouri
Precipitation that fell from April 19 through May 3, 2011, resulted in widespread flooding across northern and eastern Arkansas and southern Missouri. The first storm produced a total of approximately 16 inches of precipitation over an 8-day period, and the following storms produced as much as 12 inches of precipitation over a 2-day period. Moderate to major flooding occurred quickly...
Authors
Drew A. Westerman, Katherine R. Merriman, Jeanne L. De Lanois, Charles E. Berenbrock
Non-USGS Publications**
Merriman, K., M. Gitau, and I. Chaubey. 2009. A tool for estimating Best Management Practice effectiveness in Arkansas. Applied Engineering in Agriculture. 25(2): 199-213. https://doi.org/10.13031/2013.26333
**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.
Science and Products
U.S. Geological Survey Wastewater Diffuser Survey in Cedar Falls, Iowa, September 2024
These data represent a Global Positioning System (GPS) survey generated September 18, 2024, using Trimble R10 2 Real-Time Kinematics (RTK) and Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). Survey extends along the Cedar River streambed in Cedar Falls, Iowa, where a wastewater treatment diffuser pipe is installed. Cross-sectional representations were produced to depict stream depth and...
SWAT Model Archive for Simulation of Hydrology, Suspended Sediment and Nutrients in Selected Tributary Watersheds of Lake Erie, New York
This U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) data release contains model scenario input and output files and nine hydrology and water-quality models developed using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). The models represent nine watersheds in eastern New York that drain to Lake Erie or the Niagara River and were created, calibrated, and validated for hydrology, sediment, and nutrients as...
Data Tables Associated with an Analysis of the U.S. Geological Survey's Historical Water-use Data, 1985–2015
The datasets in this data release contain the results of an analysis of the U.S. Geological Survey's historical water-use data from 1985 to 2015. Data were assessed to determine the top category of water-use by volume. Data from groundwater, surface water, and total water (groundwater plus surface water) use were parsed by water type, and the top category of use by county or the...
Monitoring and simulation of hydrology, suspended sediment, and nutrients in selected tributary watersheds of Lake Erie, New York
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with Erie County, New York, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, collected water-quality samples in nine selected New York tributaries to Lake Erie, computed estimates of suspended sediment and nutrient loads using the R scripting package rloadest and used the Soil and Water...
Authors
Katherine R. Merriman, Benjamin N. Fisher, Elizabeth A. Nystrom, Aubrey R. Bunch, Robert J. Welk, William M. Kappel
Assessment of site-specific agricultural Best Management Practices in the Upper East River watershed, Wisconsin, using a field-scale SWAT model
The Great Lakes “Priority Watershed” effort targeted the Upper East River watershed, a 116.5 km2 tributary watershed to Green Bay in Wisconsin, to reduce sediment and nutrients entering Green Bay. A Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model was created to determine the effectiveness of Best Management Practices (BMPs) derived from the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources...
Authors
Katherine R. Merriman, Prasad Daggupati, Raghavan Srinivasan, Brett A. Hayhurst
Assessing the impact of site-specific BMPs using a spatially explicit, field-scale SWAT model with edge-of-field and tile hydrology and water-quality data in the Eagle Creek watershed, Ohio
The Eagle Creek watershed, a small subbasin (125 km2) within the Maumee River Basin, Ohio, was selected as a part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) “Priority Watersheds” program to evaluate the effectiveness of agricultural Best Management Practices (BMPs) funded through GLRI at the field and watershed scales. The location and quantity of BMPs were obtained from the U.S...
Authors
Katherine R. Merriman, Prasad Daggupati, Raghavan Srinivasan, Chad Toussant, Amy M. Russell, Brett A. Hayhurst
Calibration of a field-scale Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model with field placement of best management practices in Alger Creek, Michigan
Subwatersheds within the Great Lakes “Priority Watersheds” were targeted by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) to determine the effectiveness of the various best management practices (BMPs) from the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources Conservation Service National Conservation Planning (NCP) Database. A Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model is created for...
Authors
Katherine R. Merriman, Amy M. Russell, Cynthia M. Rachol, Prasad Daggupati, Raghavan Srinivasan, Brett A. Hayhurst, Todd D. Stuntebeck
Development of an Assessment Tool for Agricultural Best Management Practice Iimplementation in the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Priority Watersheds—Alger Creek, Tributary to Saginaw River, Michigan
The Great Lakes face a number of serious challenges that cause damage to water quality, habitat, ecology, and coastal health. Excess nutrients from point and nonpoint sources have a history of causing harmful algal blooms (HABs); since the late 1990s, a resurgence of HABs have forced beach closures and resulted in water quality impairments across the Great Lakes. Studies increasingly...
Authors
Katherine R. Merriman
Development of an Assessment Tool for Agricultural Best Management Practice Implementation in the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Priority Watersheds—Eagle Creek, Tributary to Maumee River, Ohio
Introduction The Great Lakes face a number of serious challenges that cause damage to water quality, habitat, ecology, and coastal health. Excess nutrients from point and nonpoint sources have a history of causing harmful algal blooms (HABs); since the late 1990s, a resurgence of HABs have forced beach closures and resulted in water quality impairments across the Great Lakes. Studies...
Authors
Katherine R. Merriman
Development of an Assessment Tool for Agricultural Best Management Practice Implementation in the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Priority Watersheds—Upper East River, Tributary to Green Bay, Wisconsin
Introduction The Great Lakes face a number of serious challenges that cause damage to water quality, habitat, ecology, and coastal health. Excess nutrients from point and nonpoint sources have a history of causing harmful algal blooms (HABs); since the late 1990s, a resurgence of HABs have forced beach closures and resulted in water quality impairments across the Great Lakes. Studies...
Authors
Katherine R. Merriman
Aquifers of Arkansas: protection, management, and hydrologic and geochemical characteristics of groundwater resources in Arkansas
Sixteen aquifers in Arkansas that currently serve or have served as sources of water supply are described with respect to existing groundwater protection and management programs, geology, hydrologic characteristics, water use, water levels, deductive analysis, projections of hydrologic conditions, and water quality. State and Federal protection and management programs are described...
Authors
Timothy M. Kresse, Phillip D. Hays, Katherine R. Merriman, Jonathan A. Gillip, D.T. Fugitt, Jane L. Spellman, Anna M. Nottmeier, Drew A. Westerman, Joshua M. Blackstock, James L. Battreal
Trends in precipitation, streamflow, reservoir pool elevations, and reservoir releases in Arkansas and selected sites in Louisiana, Missouri, and Oklahoma, 1951–2011
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) conducted a statistical analysis of trends in precipitation, streamflow, reservoir pool elevations, and reservoir releases in Arkansas and selected sites in Louisiana, Missouri, and Oklahoma for the period 1951–2011. The Mann-Kendall test was used to test for trends in annual and seasonal precipitation, annual...
Authors
Daniel M. Wagner, Joshua D. Krieger, Katherine R. Merriman
Analysis and inundation mapping of the April-May 2011 flood at selected locations in northern and eastern Arkansas and southern Missouri
Precipitation that fell from April 19 through May 3, 2011, resulted in widespread flooding across northern and eastern Arkansas and southern Missouri. The first storm produced a total of approximately 16 inches of precipitation over an 8-day period, and the following storms produced as much as 12 inches of precipitation over a 2-day period. Moderate to major flooding occurred quickly...
Authors
Drew A. Westerman, Katherine R. Merriman, Jeanne L. De Lanois, Charles E. Berenbrock
Non-USGS Publications**
Merriman, K., M. Gitau, and I. Chaubey. 2009. A tool for estimating Best Management Practice effectiveness in Arkansas. Applied Engineering in Agriculture. 25(2): 199-213. https://doi.org/10.13031/2013.26333
**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.