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| Publications— Open-File Report |
U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2007-1372
By Michael J. Langland, Douglas L. Moyer, and Joel Blomquist
This report is available online in Portable Document Format (PDF). If you do not have the Adobe Acrobat PDF Reader, it is available for free download from Adobe Systems Incorporated.
View the full report in PDF 2.0 MB
Appendix 1 362 KB (PDF)
Appendix 2 4.3 MB (PDF)
Appendix 3 78 KB (Excel download)
Appendix 4 755 KB (PDF)
Appendix 5 56 KB (Excel download)
Appendix 6 56 KB (Excel download)
Appendix 7 5.9 MB (PDF)
Appendix 8 66 KB (Excel download)
Appendix 9 1.0 MB (PDF)
Appendix 10 795 KB (PDF)
Water-quality and streamflow data from 34 sites in nontidal parts of the Chesapeake Bay watershed are presented to document annual nutrient and sediment loads and trends for 1985 through 2006, as part of an annual evaluation of water-quality conditions by the U.S. EPA Chesapeake Bay Program. This study presents the results of trends analysis for streamflow, loads, and concentrations. Annual mean flow to the bay for 2006 (78,650 cubic feet per second) was approximately 1 percent above the long-term annual mean flow from 1937 to 2005. Total freshwater flow entering the bay for the summer season (July-August-September) was the only season classified as 'wet' in 2006. For the period 1985 through 2006, streamflow was significantly increasing at two of the 34 sites. Observed (bias-corrected) concentration summaries indicate higher ranges in concentrations of total nitrogen in the northern major river basins (Pennsylvania, Maryland, and northern Virginia) than in the southern basins in Virginia. Results indicate almost half of the monitoring sites in the northern basins exhibited significant downward bias-corrected concentration trends in total nitrogen over time; results were similar for total phosphorus and sediment. Generally, loads for all constituents at the nine River Input Monitoring Program (RIM) sites, which comprise 78 percent of the streamflow entering the bay, were lower in 2006 than in 2005. The loads for total nitrogen are below the long-term average loads at eight of the nine RIM sites and total phosphorus and sediment loads are also below the long-term average at seven RIM sites. Combined annual mean total nitrogen flow-weighted concentrations from the nine RIM sites indicated an upward tendency in 2006; in contrast, total phosphorus and sediment indicated a downward tendency.
From 1990 to 2006 for the 9 RIM sites, the mean concentrations of total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and sediment were 3.49, 0.195, and 116 milligrams per liter, respectively. Flow-weighted concentrations for phosphorus and sediment were lowest in the Susquehanna River at Conowingo, Md., most likely because of the trapping efficiency of three large reservoirs upstream from the sampling point.
For all 34 sites and all constituents, trends in concentrations (not adjusted for flow) showed 12 statistically significant upward trends and 59 statistically significant downward trends for the period 1985 through 2006. When trends in concentrations are adjusted for flow, they can be used as indicators of human activity and effectiveness of management actions. The flow-adjusted trends indicated significant downward trends at approximately 74, 68, and 32 percent of the sites for total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and sediment, respectively. This may indicate that management actions are having some effect in reducing nutrients and sediments.
Abstract
Introduction
Method of Study
Data-Set Construction
Streamflow
Water Quality
Observed Concentrations and Bias-Corrected Trends
Flow-Weighted Concentration
Non-Flow-Adjusted Trend
Flow-Adjusted Trend
Load Computation
Changes in Streamflow
Changes in Concentration
Observed Concentration
Annual Flow-Weighted Concentration
Non-Flow-Adjusted Trends in Concentration and Load
Flow-Adjusted Trend in Concentration
Changes in Load
Summary and Conclusions
Acknowledgments
References
Appendix 1. Annual and seasonal flow variations for the River Input Monitoring and 25 Multi-Agency Nontidal Monitoring Program stations
Appendix 2. Observed concentrations for the 9 River Input Monitoring Program sites and the 25 Multi-Agency Nontidal Monitoring Program sites in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, 1985-2006
Appendix 3. Concentration percentiles and Spearman rho for the 9 River Input Monitoring Program sites and the 25 Multi-Agency Nontidal Monitoring Program sites in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, 1985-2006
Appendix 4. Bias-corrected distribution and mean of observed concentrations of (A) total nitrogen, (B) nitrite plus nitrate, (C) total phosphorus, (D) dissolved inorganic phosphorus, and (E) sediment for the 25 Multi-Agency Nontidal Monitoring Program sites, Chesapeake Bay watershed, 1985-2006
Appendix 5. Non-flow-adjusted trends in concentration for the 9 River Input Monitoring Program sites and 25 Multi-Agency Nontidal Monitoring Program sites, 1985-2006
Appendix 6. Non-flow-adjusted trend in load for the 9 River Input Monitoring Program Sites and 25 Multi-Agency Nontidal Monitoring Program sites, 1985-2006
Appendix 7. Four-panel plots used to display non-flow-adjusted trend results for 9 River Input Monitoring Program sites and the 25 Multi-Agency Nontidal Monitoring Program sites in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, 1985-2006
Appendix 8. Flow-adjusted trends for the 9 River Input Monitoring Program Sites and 25 Multi-Agency Nontidal Monitoring Program sites, 1985-2006
Appendix 9. Flow-adjusted trend plots for the 9 River Input Monitoring Program Sites and 25 Multi-Agency Nontidal Monitoring Program sites, 1985-2006
Appendix 10. Graphs showing annual loads, annual-mean streamflow, mean annual load, and annual-mean streamflow for the 9 River Input Monitoring Program sites and the 25 Multi-Agency Nontidal Monitoring Program sites in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, 1985-2006
This report is available online in Portable Document Format (PDF). If you do not have the Adobe Acrobat PDF Reader, it is available for free download from Adobe Systems Incorporated.
View the full report in PDF 2.0 MB
For more information about USGS activities in Pennsylvania contact:
Director
USGS Pennsylvania Water Science Center
215 Limekiln Road
New Cumberland, Pennsylvania 17070
Telephone: (717) 730-6960
Fax: (717) 730-6997
or access the USGS Water Resources of Pennsylvania home page at:
http://pa.water.usgs.gov/.
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