Decreasing trends in total suspended solids and cumulative effects of nonpoint source projects in the Cuyahoga River Watershed,OH |
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| Institution: | 1. Center for Environmental Measurement and Modeling, Office of Research and Development, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati, OH, USA;2. Neptune and Company, Inc., Los Alamos, NM, USA;1. Department of Biology, University of Minnesota, Duluth Campus, 207 Swenson Science Building, 1035 Kirby Dr, Duluth, MN 55812, United States;2. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Bureau of Fisheries Management, La Crosse, WI 54603, United States;3. The Brule River Sportsmen''s Club, 6460 E. County Hwy B, South Range, WI 54874, United States;4. US Fish and Wildlife Service, Lodi Fish and Wildlife Office, 850 South Guild Ave. Suite 105, Lodi, CA 95240, United States;1. Environment and Climate Change Canada, 4905 Dufferin Street, 2nd Floor, Toronto, Ontario M3H 5T4, Canada;2. Department of Biology and Institute for Great Lakes Research, Central Michigan University, Biosciences 2402, Mount Pleasant, MI 48859, USA;3. SUNY Brockport, 350 New Campus Dr., B45 Lennon Hall, Brockport, NY 14420, USA;4. Long Point Waterfowl and Wetlands Research Program, Birds Canada, Box 160 (Courier: 115 Front Road), Port Rowan, Ontario N0E 1M0, Canada;1. Department of Geological Sciences & Engineering, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada;2. Water Quality Monitoring and Surveillance Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Burlington, Ontario, Canada;1. Department of Environmental Science, Penn State Erie – The Behrend College, Erie, PA 16563, USA;2. Department of Mathematics, Penn State Erie – The Behrend College, Erie, PA 16563, USA |
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| Abstract: | Using the US EPA’s Grants Reporting and Tracking System (GRTS), we test if completion of best management practices (BMPs) through the Clean Water Act Section (4)319 National Nonpoint Source Program was associated with a decreasing trend in total suspended solids (TSS) load (metric tons/year). The study area chosen had 21 completed projects in the Cuyahoga River watershed in northeastern Ohio from 2000 to 2018. The 4319 projects ranged from dam removal, floodplain/wetland restoration to stormwater projects. There was an overall decreasing trend in TSS loads. We identified three phases of project implementation and completion, where phase 1 had ongoing projects, but none completed (2000–2004). The steepest decrease in loads, identified as phase 2 (2005–2011), was associated with completion of low-head dam modification and removal projects on the mainstem of the Cuyahoga River. A likely decreasing trend was associated with projects completed in the tributaries, such as natural channel design restoration and stormwater green infrastructure (phase 3). Pairing sediment reduction estimates from projects with the river’s flow normalized TSS loading trend, we estimated that the 4319 effort may account for a small fraction of the TSS load reduction. Other stream restoration projects (non-4319) have also been done in the Cuyahoga watershed by other organizations. However, trying to compile these other projects is challenging in larger watersheds having multiple municipalities, agencies, and nonprofits doing restoration without better coordinated record keeping and monitoring. While a decreasing trend in a pollutant load is a desirable water quality outcome, determining what contributed to that trend remains difficult. |
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| Keywords: | Load reductions Cumulative effects Diffuse pollutants Urban Grants Reporting and Tracking System (GRTS) Best management practices (BMPs) |
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