Sarah M Elliott
Sarah is a hydrologist with the Upper Midwest Water Science Center.
Sarah began working at the Minnesota Water Science Center as a student in 2009. Since joining the USGS, Sarah has participated or led several projects investigating the occurrence, sources, and ecological effects of emerging contaminants in waters throughout Minnesota and the Great Lakes basin. Sarah has also worked on developing statistical models to predict groundwater quality in Minnesota and across the glacial aquifer. Sarah recently joined a national project team working to build capacity to rapidly assess and predict post-fire water availability issues
Additional Training:
8/2017 Supervisory Challenge
6/2015 Applied Multivariate Methods for Ecological and Environmental Data
5/2012 Statistical Methods for Environmental Data Analysis
6/2011 Field Water-Quality Methods for Groundwater and Surface Water
Professional Experience
2010-present Hydrologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Upper Midwest Water Science Center
2009-2010 Student Trainee (hydrologist), U.S. Geological Survey, Upper Midwest Water Science Center
Education and Certifications
2010 M.S., University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minn., Water Resources Science, “Water quality characteristics of three rain gardens located within the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area, MN”
2008 B.S., University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minn., Environmental Science, Policy, and Management
Abstracts and Presentations
American Fisheries Society - 2018
Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry North America - 2017
St. Croix Research Rendezvous - 2017
International Rainy-Lake of the Woods Watershed Forum - 2016, 2011
Midwest Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry - 2015, 2012
Minnesota Water Resources Conference - 2017, 2014, 2012, 2011
Emerging Contaminant International Conference - 2014
Science and Products
Wastewater indicators, hormones, sterols, antibiotics, and pharmaceuticals in soil at an agricultural field irrigated with domestic septage, central Minnesota, September 2014
Predicting the occurrence of chemicals of emerging concern in surface water and sediment across the U.S. portion of the Great Lakes Basin
Contaminants of emerging concern in urban stormwater: Spatiotemporal patterns and removal by iron-enhanced sand filters (IESFs)
Environmentally relevant chemical mixtures of concern in waters of United States tributaries to the Great Lakes
Contaminants of emerging concern presence and adverse effects in fish: A case study in the Laurentian Great Lakes
Simulation of hydrodynamics, water quality, and lake sturgeon habitat volumes in Lake St. Croix, Wisconsin and Minnesota, 2013
Predicting geogenic arsenic in drinking water wells in glacial aquifers, north-central USA: Accounting for depth-dependent features
Detecting sulfamethoxazole and carbamazepine in groundwater: Is ELISA a reliable screening tool?
Contaminants of emerging concern in tributaries to the Laurentian Great Lakes: I. Patterns of occurrence
Contaminants of emerging concern in the Great Lakes Basin: A report on sediment, water, and fish tissue chemistry collected in 2010-2012
A regional assessment of chemicals of concern in surface waters of four Midwestern United States national parks
Occurrence and effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in the St. Croix River
Science and Products
- Science
- Data
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 28
Wastewater indicators, hormones, sterols, antibiotics, and pharmaceuticals in soil at an agricultural field irrigated with domestic septage, central Minnesota, September 2014
Treated domestic septage can be used to irrigate agricultural fields as a disposal method or as a means to reuse water. Because traditional on-site treatment systems are not designed to remove wastewater indicators, hormones, sterols, antibiotics, and pharmaceuticals, land application of septage potentially results in soil contamination. Soils were collected and analyzed from four sites in a centrAuthorsSarah M. Elliott, Melinda L. Erickson, Aliesha L. Krall, Byron A. AdamsPredicting the occurrence of chemicals of emerging concern in surface water and sediment across the U.S. portion of the Great Lakes Basin
Chemicals of emerging concern (CECs) are introduced into the aquatic environment via various sources, posing a potential risk to aquatic organisms. Previous studies have identified relationships between the presence of CECs in water and broad-scale watershed characteristics. However, relationships between the presence of CECs and source-related watershed characteristics have not been explored acroAuthorsRichard L. Kiesling, Sarah M. Elliott, Leah E. Kammel, Steven J. Choy, Stephanie E. HummelContaminants of emerging concern in urban stormwater: Spatiotemporal patterns and removal by iron-enhanced sand filters (IESFs)
Numerous contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) typically occur in urban rivers. Wastewater effluents are a major source of many CECs. Urban runoff (stormwater) is a major urban water budget component and may constitute another major CEC pathway. Yet, stormwater-based CEC field studies are rare. This research investigated 384 CECs in 36 stormwater samples in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.AuthorsDavid J. Fairbairn, Sarah M. Elliott, Richard L. Kiesling, Heiko L. Schoenfuss, Mark L. Ferrey, Benjamin J. WesterhoffEnvironmentally relevant chemical mixtures of concern in waters of United States tributaries to the Great Lakes
The North American Great Lakes are a vital natural resource that provide fish and wildlife habitat, as well as drinking water and waste assimilation services for millions of people. Tributaries to the Great Lakes receive chemical inputs from various point and nonpoint sources, and thus are expected to have complex mixtures of chemicals. However, our understanding of the co‐occurrence of specific cAuthorsSarah M. Elliott, Mark E. Brigham, Richard L. Kiesling, Heiko L. Schoenfuss, Zachary G. JorgensonContaminants of emerging concern presence and adverse effects in fish: A case study in the Laurentian Great Lakes
The Laurentian Great Lakes are a valuable natural resource that is affected by contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), including sex steroid hormones, personal care products, pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals, and new generation pesticides. However, little is known about the fate and biological effects of CECs in tributaries to the Great Lakes. In the current study, 16 sites on three rivers iAuthorsZachary G. Jorgenson, Linnea M. Thomas, Sarah M. Elliott, Jenna E. Cavallin, Eric C. Randolph, Steven J. Choy, David Alvarez, Jo A. Banda, Daniel J. Gefell, Kathy Lee, Edward T. Furlong, Heiko L. SchoenfussSimulation of hydrodynamics, water quality, and lake sturgeon habitat volumes in Lake St. Croix, Wisconsin and Minnesota, 2013
Lake St. Croix is a naturally impounded, riverine lake that makes up the last 40 kilometers of the St. Croix River. Substantial land-use changes during the past 150 years, including increased agriculture and urban development, have reduced Lake St. Croix water-quality and increased nutrient loads delivered to Lake St. Croix. A recent (2012–13) total maximum daily load phosphorus-reduction plan setAuthorsErik A. Smith, Richard L. Kiesling, Jeffrey R. Ziegeweid, Sarah M. Elliott, Suzanne MagdalenePredicting geogenic arsenic in drinking water wells in glacial aquifers, north-central USA: Accounting for depth-dependent features
Chronic exposure to arsenic (As) via drinking groundwater is a human health concern worldwide. Probabilities of elevated geogenic As concentrations in groundwater were predicted in complex, glacial aquifers in Minnesota, north‐central USA, a region that commonly has elevated As concentrations in well water. Maps of elevated As hazard were created for depths typical of drinking water supply and witAuthorsMelinda L. Erickson, Sarah M. Elliott, Catherine Christenson, Aliesha L. KrallDetecting sulfamethoxazole and carbamazepine in groundwater: Is ELISA a reliable screening tool?
In recent years, numerous studies have reported the prevalence of organic micropollutants in natural waters. There is an increasing interest in assessing the occurrence and transport of these contaminants in groundwater because a large number of people in the United States rely on groundwater for their drinking water. However, commonly used mass-spectrometry-based analytical methods are expensiveAuthorsAliesha L. Krall, Sarah M. Elliott, Melinda L. Erickson, Byron A. AdamsContaminants of emerging concern in tributaries to the Laurentian Great Lakes: I. Patterns of occurrence
Human activities introduce a variety of chemicals to the Laurentian Great Lakes including pesticides, pharmaceuticals, flame retardants, plasticizers, and solvents (collectively referred to as contaminants of emerging concern or CECs) potentially threatening the vitality of these valuable ecosystems. We conducted a basin-wide study to identify the presence of CECs and other chemicals of interest iAuthorsSarah M. Elliott, Mark E. Brigham, Kathy Lee, Jo A. Banda, Steven J. Choy, Daniel J. Gefell, Thomas A. Minarik, Jeremy N. Moore, Zachary G. JorgensonContaminants of emerging concern in the Great Lakes Basin: A report on sediment, water, and fish tissue chemistry collected in 2010-2012
Despite being detected at low levels in surface waters and sediments across the United States, contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in the Great Lakes Basin are not well characterized in terms of spatial and temporal occurrence. Additionally, although the detrimental effects of exposure to CECs on fish and wildlife have been documented for many CECs in laboratory studies, we do not adequately uAuthorsSteven J. Choy, Mandy L. Annis, JoAnn Banda, Sarah R. Bowman, Mark E. Brigham, Sarah M. Elliott, Daniel J. Gefell, Mark D. Jankowski, Zachary G. Jorgenson, Kathy Lee, Jeremy N. Moore, William A. TuckerA regional assessment of chemicals of concern in surface waters of four Midwestern United States national parks
Anthropogenic chemicals and their potential for adverse biological effects raise concern for aquatic ecosystem health in protected areas. During 2013–15, surface waters of four Midwestern United States national parks were sampled and analyzed for wastewater indicators, pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and pesticides. More chemicals and higher concentrations were detected at the two parks wAuthorsSarah M. Elliott, David VanderMeulenOccurrence and effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in the St. Croix River
The St. Croix River is one of the last undisturbed, large floodplain rivers in the upper Mississippi River System. The Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway encompasses 255 river miles from the St. Croix Flowage and Namekagon River to the confluence of the St. Croix River with the Mississippi River at Prescott, Wisconsin. The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968 includes protection of the “outstandinAuthorsSarah M. Elliott, Kathy Lee