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USGS Urban Waters Portal
Donna Myers, Chief Office of Water [email protected] (703) 648-5012
River Rally Charleston, SC
June 4, 2011 Great Falls of the Potomac River near Washington, D.C.U.S. Department of Interior
U.S. Geological Survey
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Goals of this Presentation
n Urbanization and Water Quality Trends
n Major Stories on Contaminants and Biota
n Scientific and Educational Tools for Watershed Organizations
n USGS Urban Waters Portal
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UrbanizationNew York City 1609
New York City 2009
National Geographic Society, September 2009 Issue
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USGS has investigated urban water quality across the Nation
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Problems for Urban Streams
Stormwater Contaminants, Litter, Altered Hydrology
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0 20 40 60 80 0 20 40 60 80 0 20 40 60 80
Percent Urban Land Cover
5
20
35
5
20
35
Com
poun
ds d
etec
ted
y=0.283x+8.15
r2=0.63, p<0.0001
y=0.179x+8.65
r2=0.45, p<0.0001
y=0.170x+10.3
r2=0.71, p<0.0001
y=0.191x+1.88
r2=0.72, p<0.0001
y=0.070x+5.09
r2=0.17, p<0.05
y=0.186x+4.95
r2=0.53, p<0.0001
Raleigh Denver
Dallas Portland Milwaukee
Atlanta
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The number of chemical compounds detected was related to urban land cover (up to 140 Compounds)
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PESTICIDE CONCENTRATIONS FOLLOWSEASONAL AND LAND USE PATTERNS
(USGS Circular 1291)
Urban StreamsAgricultural Streams Herbicides
Insecticides
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Source: USGS Mineral Commodity Assessment
Salt Consumption or Use
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Trends in Chloride in Streams (1978-2003)
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Lead Trends in Lake Sediment Cores 1965 to Present
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PAH (hydrocarbon) Trends in Lake Sediment Cores, 1970 to 2001
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q Produced by combustion of fossil fuels
qMany are carcinogenic, toxic, and mutagenic
qUrban sources:qUsed motor oilqExhaustq Industrial emissionsqAsphaltqCoal tarqTires
PAHs Sources?(polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons)
qSealcoat Benzo (a) pyrene
Pyrene
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Refined Coal Tar Sealcoat
… and long after
DuringBefore …
After
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54
15,000
3,500
620
Urban Lakes12 mg/kg
Charles R. MA66 mg/kg
Black R. Ohio1,100 mg/kg
(Superfund site)Used Oil600 mg/kgTires80-200 mg/kg
Asphalt2-10 mg/kg
PAHs in Parking Lot Runoff
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q Austin, TX, Dane County, WI, Washington D.C., State of Washington, and several small municipalities ban CT sealcoat (2006-11)
Policy Relevance
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How do stream ecosystems respond to urbanization?
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The effects of urbanization vary by City, but why?
DENVER
y = -0.0052x + 1.6646R2 = 0.0477
-0.5
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
0 30 60 90 120
BOSTONy = -0.0271x + 2.5184
R2 = 0.8179
-0.50
0.51
1.52
2.53
0 30 60 90 120
NM
DS
Axi
s 1
URBAN INTENSITY INDEXCuffney and others, 2008
Inde
x of
Pol
lutio
n Se
nsiti
ve A
quat
ic In
sect
s
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Previous land cover sets the baseline for the effects of urbanization on aquatic organisms
0
20
40
60
80
100
Atlanta
Birming
ham
Boston
Raleigh
Dallas
Denve
r
Milwau
kee
Portla
nd
Salt Lak
e
Perc
ent B
asin
Are
a
Forest + shrublandsAgriculture + grasslands
LAND COVER AT BACKGROUND SITES (UII<20)
EAST CENTRAL WESTCENTRAL
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http://co.water.usgs.gov/nawqa/urbanPortal/index.html
Urban Water-Quality Issues Addressed through Multiple Studies
"Stream protection and management is a top priority of state and local officials, …," said Tom Schueler, Chesapeake Bay Storm Water Network coordinator. "The USGS information has been useful in helping us to predict and manage the future impacts of urban development on streams and reinforces the importance of having green infrastructure to control storm water runoff and protect aquatic life."
USGS Urban Waters Portal