Protecting Water Quality
S66: Improvements to and Applications of Coastal Monitoring Data and Approaches
This session focuses on how monitoring data have addressed environmental issues in coastal regions (estuaries and nearshore waters). This may include new or improved methods, tools, case studies, and partnerships.
Associated Topics: Emerging Technologies; Lessons Learned in Water Monitoring
Keywords: coastal, indicators, analytical techniques, leveraged data, partnerships
S40: Implementing Protection: Monitoring and Assessment As Local Strategies to Protect Healthy Watersheds & High-Quality Waters
This session features examples of monitoring and assessment as integral parts of local efforts to protect high-quality waters, including as a direct management strategy (e.g., monitoring previously unassessed waters to establish new regulatory protections) and a tool for evaluating effectiveness of implementation work to sustain local support for such efforts.
Associated Topics: Policy, Government and Regulations Driving Water Quality Decisions; Effectiveness Monitoring
Keywords: Watershed protection, healthy watersheds, healthy waters, waterbody protection, antidegradation, implementation, community partnerships, source water protection
S51: Protecting Water Quality of Blackwater Rivers and Streams
Blackwater rivers and streams are prevalent in many regions of the United States. Natural conditions in blackwaters often differ from non‐blackwater systems. These sessions will review the findings of research efforts from around the country having the goal of increasing our understanding of these systems in support of improved protection.
Associated Topics: Monitoring Collaboration
Keywords: Blackwater, tannic, brownwater, dissolved organic carbon, flatwoods
S16: Surface Water Contamination and Potential Risks for Human and Aquatic Life
Environmental pollutants and contaminants of emerging concern in surface water (e.g., rivers, streams, and reservoirs): Sources, spatial and temporal variability, and potential impacts to human and ecological health
Associated Topics: Persistent Toxic Contaminants; Emerging Contaminants
Keywords: organic contaminants, contaminants of emerging concern, surface water
S56: Observing and Monitoring Coral Reefs & Water Quality
Monitoring of coral reefs, their water quality, and related ecosystems often face resource, research, and logistical hurdles. This session looks at where monitoring is being conducted, by who, what data, and how that information is applied to benefit the reefs and neighboring communities.
Associated Topics: Water Quality Trends; Engaging underrepresented and underserved communities and those with disabilities
Keywords: Coral, Reef, Reef Flats, Water Quality, Monitoring, Pacific, Caribbean
S19: Reaching Across the USA – Stories from Regional Coastal Monitoring
Regional monitoring provides answers to pressing management questions that are unanswerable any other way. This session will provide case studies from Pacific, Atlantic and Gulf Coasts highlighting how regional datasets are being used to adaptively manage our Estuarine/coastal ecosystems given the challenges of climate change, coastal development, and/or other synergistic stressors.
Associated Topics: Water Quality Trends; Lessons Learned in Water Monitoring
Keywords: long-term monitoring, regional partnerships, lessons-learned, trends, adaptive management
S39: Targeting Protection: Monitoring and Assessment Approaches to Identify and Prioritize Protection of Healthy Watersheds & High-Quality Waters
This session features monitoring and assessment approaches for identifying and prioritizing healthy waterbodies & watersheds at regional (e.g., HUC6 and greater) and statewide scales to guide protection work aimed at proactively addressing water quality threats.
Associated Topics: Water Quality Trends; Monitoring to Support TMDL and 9 Key Element Plan Implementation
Keywords: Watershed protection, healthy watersheds, healthy waters, watershed prioritization, data visualization, waterbody protection, integrated planning, statewide strategies, regional strategies
S18: Current Topics in Groundwater Quality
Water quality problems limit many beneficial uses including human consumption in substantial portions of groundwater aquifers. We solicit topics related to groundwater quality problems from geogenic constituents (e.g., arsenic, manganese, radionuclides) or anthropogenic constituents (e.g., nitrate, PFAS, VOCs) that may or already do affect groundwater availability and sustainability.
Associated Topics: Emerging Contaminants; Nutrients
Keywords: Groundwater quality, geogenic contaminants, anthropogenic contaminants
Public Health/Ecological Health/Climate Change
S1: Shifting Baselines: Monitoring and Modeling Drivers of Change to Better Predict Water Quality Outcomes
This session explores shifting baselines that challenge the assumptions and efforts to protect and improve water quality. We will explore how to measure and model non-stationary environmental and social drivers of change such as climate, land use, and water supply to improve future condition forecasting and water quality improvement outcomes.
Associated Topics: Watershed Based Planning; Lessons Learned in Water Monitoring
Keywords: Climate change, baseline, prediction, key drivers, monitoring, modeling, assessment, water quality, outcomes
S58: Taking Stock: The State of Aquatic Monitoring and Assessment Science
This session will include talks summarizing the state of the science regarding several critical elements of aquatic monitoring and assessment including the concept of integrity, the reference site approach in a non-stationary world, use and abuse of big data, use of eDNA, and development and application of stressor identification tools.
Associated Topics: Emerging Technologies; Secondary Use of Publicly Available Data
Keywords: Ecological integrity, state of the science, promises and pitfalls, critical knowledge gaps
S10: Agricultural Stressors on Environmental Health
Agricultural practices (e.g., crop/livestock production, pesticide/biosolids/manure applications) can have unintended deleterious environmental effects. We welcome contributions that investigate the impacts of various agriculture stressors on environmental health (from bacteria to megafauna).
Associated Topics: Emerging Contaminants; Contaminant Movement
Keywords: agriculture, environmental health, contaminants
S36: Water Quality Driven Water Availability Challenges: Historical, Current, and Future
Degraded water quality reduces water availability in different ways for different uses, yet water quality is often overlooked in water availability assessments. Integrating water-quality data into regional, national, and international water-availability assessments generates a more comprehensive understanding for actionable science, particularly when considered within the context of socioeconomic factors.
Associated Topics: Moving from Data to Actionable Information
Keywords: Water availability, water scarcity, water use, water demand, water quality, socioeconomic variables, ecological demand
S9: The Intersection of Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring and Climate Change: Engaging Volunteer Scientists in Documenting and Sharing Climate Change Effects
This session will highlight volunteer programs that collect climate change data as well as the emerging data stories. This session will explore case studies focusing on volunteer monitoring data collection as well as their data use outcomes.
Associated Topics: Lessons Learned in Water Monitoring; New Tools and Resources
Keywords: climate change, effective education, volunteer monitoring, participatory science, education, outreach
Emerging Technologies
S37: Leveraging Earth Observations for Enhanced Water Quality Management
This session showcases new capabilities for and/or recent advances in water quality management in freshwater and nearshore ecosystems using satellite Earth observations and modeling, with a focus on delivering actionable solutions that meet the diverse needs of the water management community.
Associated Topics: Protecting Water Quality; Harmful Algae Blooms (Freshwater and Marine)
Keywords: satellite remote sensing, water quality solutions, freshwater, HABs, nearshore environment
S12: Monitoring Hydrometry with Imagery
Explore innovative applications of camera-based and non-contact remote sensing for monitoring hydrometric parameters. Topics include measuring water velocity, level, and suspended sediments, detecting ice, and novel uses in hydrometry. This session highlights advancements in non-contact sensors for monitoring surface water, water quality, and groundwater-surface water interactions.
Associated Topics: New Tools and Resources; Volunteer and Community Based Monitoring
Keywords: Hydrometry, Camera-based Monitoring, Remote Sensing, Water Velocity, Water Level, Suspended Sediments, Ice Detection, Surface Water Processes, Groundwater-Surface Water Interactions
S27: Submersibles, Speedboats, and Satellites: Water Quality Monitoring Over a Range of Temporal and Spatial Scales Using Optical Measurements
The use of optical technologies to understand water quality has grown in recent years. These technologies allow for data sets covering a range of temporal, spatial, and chemical scales relevant to environmental processes and management. We aim to demonstrate the value of these monitoring approaches, particularly when used in coordination.
Associated Topics: Contaminant Movement; Water Quality Trends
Keywords: remote sensing, water quality, sensors, optical measurements, spectral analysis, spatial analysis, temporal trends, proxies, surrogates
S2: Water Quality Assessments Using ‘Omics Tools
The use of genomics tools (Metabolomics, transcriptomics, eDNA, etc.) can bring new perspectives and approaches to holistic assessments and monitoring of water quality on a routine basis. This session will look at new genomic-based approaches to water quality assessments, comparisons between standard methods and genomic assessments, efficiencies gained, and lessons learned.
Associated Topics: Water Quality Trends; Lessons Learned in Water Monitoring
Keywords: ‘Omics, Metabolomics, Transcriptomics, Water Quality
Groundwater and Surface Water Interactions
S7: Vadose Zone Monitoring for Groundwater Quality Protection
Nonpoint source contamination of groundwater is a major problem worldwide. Vadose zone monitoring is a useful tool for observing the fate and transport of contaminants between the land surface and groundwater. Vadose monitoring can be used to assess the effectiveness of different conservation practices for protecting groundwater quality.
Associated Topics: Protecting Water Quality; New Tools and Resources
Keywords: Vadose Zone, Groundwater, Water Quality
S38: Monitoring, Assessing, and Managing Nitrate in Groundwater
While nitrate occurs naturally in the environment, human-made sources and uses have increased nitrate concentrations in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. When elevated levels of nitrate are present in drinking water sources, this can be harmful to human health. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for nitrate in drinking water is 10mg/L. However, nitrate levels can also be elevated in groundwater and private self-supplied drinking water systems that pull from groundwater are not federally regulated and therefore may be at risk of exposure to nitrate levels above EPA’s MCL. This session will highlight a variety of projects and initiatives that are aimed at monitoring, assessing, and managing nitrate in groundwater. This session may also highlight projects that address various watershed complexities such as karst geology and mixed land uses that complicate addressing nitrate in groundwater.
Associated Topics: Nutrients; Public Health/Ecological Health/Climate Change
Keywords: Nitrate, Nitrogen, Groundwater, Drinking water, Public health
S49: As Above, So Below: Integrating Trend Methods for Surface and Subsurface Inland Waters
For this session, studies exploring regional to national scale patterns and trends in surface or subsurface water quantity or quality are welcome, but we especially seek submissions for studies that investigate the connection between surface and subsurface trends.
Associated Topics: Water Quality Trends
Keywords: GW-SW interactions; water quantity and quality trends; trend integration
Monitoring Collaboration
S62: Coordinated Compliance Based Monitoring: Non-Stormwater Outfall Screening and Source Investigation Efforts
This session will cover examples of coordinated compliance-based monitoring efforts focused on non-stormwater outfall screening and source investigation efforts. Examples of monitoring protocols, integrated GIS analyses and mapping tool development, field electronic data capture, monitoring data analysis and adaptive project management for monitoring for National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination (IDDE) and Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) compliance will be discussed.
Associated Topics: Protecting Water Quality; Watershed Based Planning
Keywords: MS4, CIMP, Stormwater, Monitoring
S29: Regulatory Use of Non-Agency Data
With the right set of tools, information, and guidance, community-based water monitoring programs can engage networks of volunteer scientists to produce legitimate and quality-assured data. This session will highlight examples of agencies working with nonagency partners to produce more comprehensive regulatory assessments.
Associated Topics: Volunteer and Community Based Monitoring
Keywords: Integrated Report, Community monitoring, Volunteer monitoring, Data quality, Data use
Volunteer and Community Based Monitoring
S34: Development and Land Use Changes: The Loss of Riparian and Native Habits and the Effects on Water Quality
The loss of native and riparian habitats combined with the changing climate leads to a rise in water temperature and the proliferation of algae blooms, cyanobacteria, and many other water quality issues. This session will explore how local development and land use decisions can have lasting impacts to water quality and how to better inform local and state planning decisions.
Associated Topics: Protecting Water Quality; Water Quality Trends
Keywords: Human development, land use changes, Concerns, Clean water, future generation, climate change
S50: Evidence-Based Strategies and Emerging Tools for Volunteer Aquatic Invertebrate Monitoring
In this session, we’ll explore emerging tools, research, and educational strategies aimed at improving data quality and volunteer experiences in aquatic invertebrate monitoring programs.
Associated Topics: New Tools and Resources; Public Health/Ecological Health/Climate Change
Keywords: Volunteer monitoring, aquatic invertebrates, biological monitoring, emerging technologies, tools and resources, environmental education, data credibility
S6: Building Credibility in Community-based Monitoring Programs
This session will explore best practices and tools for building quality assurance processes into water quality monitoring programs that engage volunteer and community scientists.
Associated Topics: Lessons Learned in Water Monitoring
Keywords: citizen science; volunteer monitoring; data credibility
Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Accessibility
S61: Leveraging Water Quality Monitoring as a Tool to Increase Inclusion of Diverse and Underserved Communities
This session examines how community and voluntary science programs can increase equity within the monitoring field, especially from diverse and underserved communities. Speakers will present examples of how engagement with local underserved communities and educating and including them in water quality monitoring programs can foster youth awareness and lead to community led and built resources within communites most impacted by water quality issues.
Associated Topics: Volunteer and Community Based Monitoring; Protecting Water Quality
Keywords: Diversity, Inclusion, Water Science, STEM, water quality, citizen science monitoring
Engaging Underrepresented and Underserved Communities and Those With Disabilities
S15: How Do We Make Volunteer Monitoring More Accessible to Diverse Participants?
This session will explore the approaches volunteer monitoring/participatory science projects have taken to make their programs more accessible.
Associated Topics: Lessons Learned in Water Monitoring; Monitoring Collaboration
Keywords: accessibility, volunteer monitoring, citizen science, diversity
Promoting Environmental Justice and Addressing Systemic Inequities
S55: Promoting Environmental Justice Through Water Quality Monitoring
Environmental Justice means equal access to clean and safe water resources regardless of income, race, color, national origin, tribal affiliation, or disability. Increased understanding of data, drivers, boundaries and historical context leads to progress in understanding disproportionately distributed impacts of adverse human health effects and environmental burdens.
Associated Topics: Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Accessibility; Protecting Water Quality
Keywords: Environmental Justice
Harmful Algae Blooms (Freshwater and Marine)
S5: Harmful Algal Bloom Method Development and Application
This session will highlight existing and emerging methods in both freshwater and marine HAB and HAB toxin analysis and how they are being applied across the US by federal, state, Tribal, local and academic programs to improve monitoring. Topics will include but are not limited to benthic cyanoHABs and toxins, deployable technologies for continuous toxin sampling, biospecimen sampling, passive samplers, comparing and contrasting synoptic and continuous methods, and proxies.
Associated Topics: Emerging Technologies; Protecting Water Quality
Keywords: HAB, toxin, methods, human health, aquatic life, recreation, benthic HAB, cyanobacteria
S8: Monitoring in the Illinois River Basin
This session will explore water quality issues in the Illinois River Basin. The basin has a unique combination of physical settings-a large urban Upper Basin contrasting with an intensively managed agriculture Lower Basin that impact water quality. Topics can include nutrients, harmful algal blooms, sediment, and emerging contaminants.
Associated Topics: Nutrients; Legacy Pollutants
Keywords: Hydrologic cycle, water quality, Illinois River Basin, harmful algal blooms, nutrients, emerging contaminants, PFAs, remotely-sensed water quality
Emerging Contaminants
S65: Risks Neonicotinoid Insecticides Pose to Aquatic Environments
Neonicotinoid insecticides are potentially harmful in aquatic ecosystems. We welcome submissions from diverse backgrounds to highlight the potential for neonics to degrade streams, lakes, and wetlands. We also encourage diverse perspectives to improve initial risk assessments and to highlight legislative priorities and successes that may best protect aquatic ecosystems.
Associated Topics: Protecting Water Quality; Public Health/Ecological Health/Climate Change
Keywords: Neonicotinoids, Toxicity, Macroinvertebrates, Risk Assessment, Policy
S24: Emerging Contaminant Transport and Fate in Green Stormwater Infrastructure
Emerging contaminants are detected in urban stormwater and pose ecological and human health risks. The fate and transport of emerging contaminants in green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) is less studied. This session will improve understanding of emerging contaminant transport and potential removal is GSI and help identify effective design modifications.
Associated Topics: Protecting Water Quality; Contaminant Movement
Keywords: emerging pollutants, PFAS, microplastics, soil amendments, GSI removal mechanisms
S63: Microorganisms of Global Concern
The presence of pathogenic microorganisms (pathogens) and antimicrobial resistant bacteria in water used for recreation, drinking water, and irrigation is a challenge for protecting human, environmental, and wildlife health. Pathogens include bacteria, viruses, and protozoa that cause illness with a subset of these pathogens (termed zoonotic pathogens) being transferable between humans and animals. We invite abstracts presenting science that takes a one health approach in exploring and assessing environmental sources, vectors, and reservoirs of pathogens and antimicrobial resistant bacteria and the influence and risk to human, wildlife, and environmental health.
Associated Topics: Public Health/Ecological Health/Climate Change; Protecting Water Quality
Keywords: pathogens, antimicrobial resistance, one health, environmental health, human health, wildlife health, bacteria, virus, microorganisms, climate change, zoonoses, spillover
S21: Understanding the Occurrence, Ecological Effects, and Rolling Out Solutions for 6PPD-Quinone
This session focuses on the current state of knowledge for the emerging contaminant 6PPD-Q, especially with relation to environmental monitoring, toxicology, and remediation.
Associated Topics: Public Health/Ecological Health/Climate Change; Monitoring and Research Partnerships
Keywords: stormwater, urban, tire, tire and road wear particles, 6PPD, 6PPD-Quinone
Aquatic Debris
S17: Breaking Down the Facts: Measuring, Monitoring, and Mitigating for Microplastics
This session focuses on the current state of knowledge for microplastics, especially with relation to quantification and characterization, standardization of protocols, occurrence, fate and transport, biological effects and toxicity, and mitigation or remediation technologies.
Associated Topics: Emerging Contaminants; Persistent Toxic Contaminants
Keywords: Plastics, Microplastics, Plasticene, Tire and Road Wear Particles, Rubber, Textiles
Contaminant Movement
S13: Pesticide Presence in Groundwater and Surface Water: Presence, Trends, and Correlations
This session explores sampling strategies for detecting pesticides in groundwater and surface water, identifying prevalent pesticides, analyzing trends over time, and examining factors that may affect pesticide occurrence such as land use, crop type, and soil properties.
Associated Topics: Persistent Toxic Contaminants; Source Identification and Fingerprinting
Keywords: Pesticides; Pesticide trends; Pesticide monitoring; Pesticides data analysis
FAIR and CARE Data Principles
S30: Advances and Remaining Challenges in Curation, Publication, and Reuse of Community-Authored Water Datasets
Join CUAHSI, the Environmental Data Initiative, and the Water Quality Portal in a session focused on advancing the curation, publication, and ethical reuse of water datasets. We seek insights into innovative data management, FAIR and CARE practices, interoperability, and the impact of new data systems technologies on water science
Associated Topics: Secondary Use of Publicly Available Data; Moving from Data to Actionable Information
Keywords: Water Data Management; Data Curation; FAIR Data Principles; CARE Data Principles; Interoperability; Data Reuse; Ethical Data Use; Cloud-Optimized Data Formats
Secondary Use of Publicly Available Data
S3: What the Heck Is the Internet of Water? Advancements in Inter-agency Data Sharing
These sessions will focus on advancements in water data sharing, assessments, and mapping. Welcome topics include emerging open-source data applications, advancements in data sharing using WQX and more, and opportunities within the Internet of Water.
Associated Topics: FAIR and CARE Data Principles; Moving from Data to Actionable Information
Keywords: Water Data, Data Sharing, Internet of Water, Open-Source, FAIR data
Moving from Data to Actionable Information
S22: You Have Data, Now What? Getting to Action to Address Wide-Spread Water Quality Issues (Regional, National)
Are you communicating data/information to decision-makers with the ability to address wide-spread water quality issues? Has your worked “moved the needle” in impacting water resource policies/actions? Share what has worked for you and lessons learned that can assist others in their efforts to move from data files to action.
Associated Topics: Protecting Water Quality; Policy, Government and Regulations Driving Water Quality Decisions
Keywords: environmental action, data, policies, information, communication
S4: Volunteer Monitoring Data Management & Visualization Best Practices
This session will showcase projects and databases that support effective volunteer data management and visualization.
Associated Topics: Volunteer and Community Based Monitoring; Lessons Learned in Water Monitoring
Keywords: volunteer monitoring, database management, data visualization, participatory science, effective communication and education
S60: Enhancing Data Literacy Utilizing Open Source Programming Language
Open source programming languages, such as R, are increasingly being utilized to enhance statistical computing of large environmental datasets and create effective data visualization. This session will accept abstracts that focus on the use of open source software for effective environmental decision making.
Associated Topics: New Tools and Resources
Keywords: data literacy open source programming language
S57: Open Source Approaches to Performing Clean Water Act Assessments
This session provides an opportunity for developers of open source assessment tools to share their recent work on developing open source tools for accurate and complete Clean Water Act Assessments.
Associated Topics: Secondary Use of Publicly Available Data; New Tools and Resources
Keywords: R, TADA, Clean Water Act Assessments, water quality, open-source
S20: Advanced Statistical Methods Applied to Monitoring Data
Many of us collect robust, long-term datasets, but how do we turn this data into information that can be communicated to audiences of all types of backgrounds? In this session, you will see case studies of applying advanced statistical methods, including long-term trend detection and machine learning, to transform large monitoring data sets into valuable, concrete information.
Associated Topics: Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
Keywords: machine learning, statistical methods, trend analysis, large data sets
S11: Putting Monitoring Data to Work: Using Data Interpretation for Management Actions
Water quality monitoring data is vitally important to manage our most valuable resource. This session will cover case studies of data interpretation and visualization being used to inform actions and solve real world problems to achieve clean water goals.
Associated Topics: Lessons Learned in Water Monitoring; New Tools and Resources
Keywords: data interpretation, data visualization, science communication, clean water
Effectiveness Monitoring
S41: Strategic Approaches for Nonpoint Source BMP Effectiveness Monitoring
Water quality monitoring is a critical aspect of protecting and tracking restoration of water resources. With limited resources to address the daunting challenge of nonpoint source (NPS) pollution, assessing effectiveness at the Best Management Practice (BMP) and project scale are essential components in supporting NPS program evaluation and improvements. Data generated from effectiveness monitoring activities can both assist in strategic decisions for NPS program managers as well as document tangible results of their efforts. This session will focus on unique approaches and lessons learned to quantify BMP effectiveness.
Associated Topics: Watershed Based Planning; Monitoring to Support TMDL and 9 Key Element Plan Implementation
Keywords: nonpoint source BMP effectiveness
S33: Using Monitoring Data to Evaluate Innovative Urban Stormwater BMP Performance
This session will share examples of how organizations have been successful in monitoring innovative urban stormwater best management practices (BMPs) including green infrastructure and manufactured treatment devices (MTDs), and using the monitoring data to evaluate BMP performance.
Associated Topics: Lessons Learned in Water Monitoring; Emerging Technologies
Keywords: BMP, urban, stormwater, innovative, underground, performance, assessment, green infrastructure
S48: Green Infrastructure in the Great Lakes: Assessment of Performance, Barriers, and Unintended Consequences
This session will explore the effectiveness, challenges, and unexpected outcomes of urban green infrastructure practices and their applicability in the Great Lakes. Presentations should highlight case studies, innovative solutions, and collaborative strategies to enhance urban sustainability, identify barriers to implementation, and expose potentially harmful outcomes that were not foreseen.
Associated Topics: Monitoring and Research Partnerships; Any of the other conference themes that apply to the region
Keywords: stormwater, green infrastructure, urban, nature-based solutions, BMP, runoff
Water Quality Trends
S47: Eutrophication Trends
This session will present research related to trends in eutrophication. We welcome studies focused solely on monitoring eutrophication-related changes over time as well as studies exploring likely key drivers.
Associated Topics: Nutrients; Harmful Algae Blooms (Freshwater and Marine)
Keywords: Eutrophication, Nutrients
S59: Use of Large-Scale Data (e.g., State, Regional, National) to Measure Change and Trends in Aquatic Ecosystems
State, regional, and national programs that monitor aquatic ecosystems produce data that are unparalleled in spatial extent and temporal scope. These datasets are maturing and can provide insight into status, change, and trends that highlight new information from large-extent monitoring in aquatic ecosystems.
Associated Topics: Lessons Learned in Water Monitoring
Keywords: status, change, trends, monitoring
Lessons Learned in Water Monitoring
S25: Is Bigger Always Better? Spatial Resolution in Environmental Monitoring
This session seeks to illustrate the effects monitoring at differing spatial scales have on the physical, chemical, biological, and geomorphological components of water quality monitoring. Spatial factors allow for meaningful study and management of aquatic ecosystems. The ecoregional framework devised by Omernik (1987) and the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hydrologic Unit Codes (HUCs) are two examples of multi-scale spatial frameworks used to partition natural variability into relatively homogenous areas to guide monitoring, assessment, and management efforts. The classification levels used in monitoring by various governmental agencies, NGOs, and academia are often a reflection of the scopes of their jurisdictions. However, widely-used, broad-scale classifications (e.g., Level III Ecoregions, 8-digit HUCs) may obscure real ecological differences observed at the finer scale (e.g., Level IV Ecoregions, 12-digit HUCs) that in turn affect morphology assessments, water chemistry, ecosystem health evaluations, regulatory requirements, and restoration/mitigation strategies and processes. This session seeks presentations exploring the differences among adjacent or nested spatial scales.
Associated Topics: Protecting Water Quality; Policy, Government and Regulations Driving Water Quality Decisions
Keywords: Scale, classification, spatial framework
Monitoring and Research Partnerships
S35: Monitoring on the Mississippi: Using Long-Term Changes to Better Understand and Manage the Upper Mississippi River System
The Upper Mississippi River is integral to ecological and economic vitality of the Midwest. This session includes presentations on monitoring to understand change, science in support of restoration and management, and developments in river ecology gained from long-term monitoring. We welcome submissions from other long-term river monitoring programs.
Associated Topics: Protecting Water Quality; Water Quality Trends
Keywords: long-term monitoring, Upper Mississippi River, water quality, river ecology
S43: A Case Study for Successful Local and Federal Government Partnership: Over 20 Years of Protecting Water Quality Through Multi-disciplinary Approaches for Evaluating Stream Water Quality, Restoration Efforts, and Management Practices in Milwaukee, Wisconsin-area Streams
Since 2000, the U.S. Geological Survey and Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District have had a successful partnership in the Milwaukee-Area Watercourse Corridor Study. This session highlights the multi-disciplinary approaches used to monitor and assess stream water quality through ecological health assessments, studies of emerging contaminants, geomorphology and habitat studies related to restoration efforts, and evaluation of green infrastructure.
Associated Topics: Protecting Water Quality; Any of the other conference themes that apply to the region
Keywords: water quality monitoring, ecological assessments, emerging technologies, environmental drivers, green infrastructure, stream restoration
S52: Wetland Monitoring and Assessment by Great Lakes States and Tribes
Session will explore and highlight techniques employed by states and tribes across the Great Lakes region to assess wetland quality. Topics would include, but are not limited to, statistical surveys, biological assessment, rapid field methods, floristic quality indices and benchmarks, functional assessment, and tools for analysis or visualization of wetland data.
Associated Topics: Public Health/Ecological Health/Climate Change; Water Quality Trends
Keywords: biological assessment, floristic quality, long-term monitoring, functional assessment, statistical surveys
S31: Water Quality Studies on the Green Bay Estuary of Lake Michigan
Waters of the 160 km long, Green Bay freshwater estuary exhibit a strong south-to-north gradient in trophic conditions and wide temporal and spatial variation in HAB and hypoxic conditions. This session includes talks on watershed loading trends, biogeochemical linkages, water quality, DO, HAB and benthic habitat dynamics.
Associated Topics: Temporal and spatial coupling of Nutrients and Food Web; Hypoxia Issues
Keywords: nutrients stratification hypoxia HAB oxygen
Hypoxia Issues
S42: Assessing Water Quality Trends and Advancing Nutrient Reduction Efforts in the Mississippi/Atchafalaya River Basin
The Mississippi/Atchafalaya River Basin (MARB) is the largest watershed in the United States and provides necessary resources in the form of drinking water, food, and recreation to millions of people as well as critical habitat to a variety of species. However, elevated levels of nutrients can pose a threat to human health and these many water uses. This session will focus on a variety of approaches that are underway across the MARB to mitigate and reduce nutrient pollution. This session will also focus on the application of secondary data use from large or local data sets to assess and evaluate long-term water quality trends within the MARB.
Associated Topics: Nutrients; Secondary Use of Publicly Available Data
Keywords: Long-term monitoring, Secondary data use, Water quality, Trends, MARB, Nutrients, Agriculture
Monitoring to Support TMDL and 9 Key Element Plan Implementation
S32: Evaluations of Watershed Management in the Green Bay Basin
Many local, state and federal partners have been working to implement actions to reduce watershed nutrient and sediment loads in the Green Bay basin, particularly loads from agriculturally dominated landscapes. This session includes presentations on water quality monitoring from edge-of-field to tributary scale in support of TMDL, AOC, and other watershed restoration efforts.
Associated Topics: Water Quality Trends; Effectiveness Monitoring
Keywords: nutrients loading partnerships trends
Long-Term Mussel and Benthic Surveys
S26: Local Government Native Mussel Monitoring Program
Native mussel communities are critical for lake and stream health; however, large state organizations have limited resources to survey native mussel populations throughout the entire state. Carver County developed a native mussel monitoring program to survey creeks, rivers, and lakes that have never been monitored for native mussels.
Associated Topics: Any of the other conference themes that apply to the region; Long-term Mussel and Benthic Surveys
Keywords: Native Mussels