H'll
U.S. EPA Office of Research
and Development's Science
To Achieve Results (STAR)
Research in Progress
Vol.2 Issue 4 June 1998 A product of the National Center for Environmental Research and Quality Assurance
WATER and WATERSHED RESEARCH
In recent years, the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), other federal agencies
and the states have made an integrated "wa-
tershed approach" the cornerstone of their
water quality protection programs. This year,
in response to the Vice Presidential Clean
Water Initiative, EPA has developed a Clean
Water Action Plan, whose primary goals in-
clude placing greater emphasis on watershed
management. To help environmental agencies
better manage water quality by improving the
understanding of how watersheds function
and how people's activities affect water quality,
EPA, through its "Science to Achieve Results"
(STAR) research program, joined forces with
the National Science
Foundation (NSF) and the Department of
Agriculture to support the "Water and Water-
sheds" research program. This program sup-
ports research that cuts across disciplines, to
elucidate important principles for assessing,
protecting and restoring watersheds. This
report summarizes research funded in 1995
through 1997. Findings will be available
starting in 1999 as the projects, typically sup-
ported for three to four years, complete data
analysis and peer review. In addition to
articles in professional journals,
summary research results
reports will be prepared
at that time.
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INTEGRATED RESEARCH:
EMPHASIZING THE HUMAN
DIMENSION
Watersheds are the basic units of land, surface water and groundwater
that integrate water flow, ecosystem dynamics and water quality renewal. The
ecology of aquatic life is intimately coupled to conditions of a watershed's
terrestrial ecosystems. We do not sufficiently understand how stresses from man's
activities, such as land development, pollutant releases, deforestation, river
channelization and agricultural use, affect these linked watershed processes.
Consequently, there is a special focus in this program on research that integrates
socioeconomic studies, taking into account the human factors associated with
watershed stress along with analyzing data on ecological impacts.
BACKGROUND:
CURRENT U.S. WATER QUALITY
IMPACTS
For 25 years, the United States has made a great deal of progress
cleaning up waters polluted by "point source" discharges such as sewage plants
and industrial facilities. However, states' assessments find serious remaining water
quality problems in much of the nation. The most common causes of today's
problems are "nonpoint sources" of pollution, such as runoff from agriculture,
forestry, land development or historic or current mining locations. While many
areas have far better water quality than at any time in the preceding century,
other areas are experiencing moderate to severe declines in surface- and ground-
water quality. In these places, it is common to find serious impacts on fish and
wildlife, including decreased fish and shellfish catches, and in rarer cases there
have been documented risks to human health.
Specific Problems:
Current examples of such problems in the U.S. include:
1) bans on fishing, shellfishing or recreational water use because waters violate health standards for
chemicals or fecal bacteria introduced from the watershed;
2) declines in numbers, health or reproductive success of fish, waterbirds and other aquatic life in
the lakes, rivers and streams of pollution-impaired watersheds;
3) coastal fish kills and human health risks from hazardous algal blooms that scientists believe can
be stimulated by excess nutrient loads from watersheds; and
4) declines in coastal fish populations due to oxygen-depleting pollution, such as the "dead zone"
off the Gulf Coast in which shrimp and fish landings sometimes decline to zero, thought to be
related to nutrients carried by the Mississippi River.
More information on these and other issues is available from EPA's Clean Water Action
Plan website, http://www.epa.gov/cleanwater/.
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RESEARCH SUPPORTED BY THE WATER AND
WATERSHEDS PROGRAM
This program addresses multiple stresses affecting watersheds,
and early warning signals of emerging impacts. Included is research on
ecology, hydrology and environmental management. An important
criterion for project selection is that there is good promise for transferring
results from one area to others.
Integrated Watershed Projects Relevant to Multiple Land-Uses.
The University of Maryland is developing a complex ecosystem model
that takes into account economic factors, including land values under various
uses, in predicting aquatic ecosystem conditions in a mid-Atlantic watershed.
This will support projections of how policy alternatives would influence land
use and ecological quality. A similar multidisciplinary project, to inform state
policy decisions about land use planning alternatives for the Illinois River
watershed, is being conducted by a team from the University of Oklahoma
and Oklahoma State University. A project on multiple land uses, water
quality and ecological conditions at the University of Georgia will predict
aquatic impacts in Georgia, using a refined set of technical indicators for
stream ecosystem health.
Estuarine and marsh ecosystems can be severely impaired by increased
nitrogen inputs, diminishing fish survival and otherwise degrading the
ecoysystem. The Marine Biological Laboratory of Woods Hole is conduct-
ing field studies to refine models of impacts on juvenile fish and other aspects
of the food web due to increased nitrogen inputs in the watershed. In a
second phase, these researchers are working with the University of Connecti-
cut and the Social and Environmental Research Institute of Leverett,
Massachusetts to determine how their coastal ecological modeling can best
be made useful to local planners and citizens making coastal zone land use
decisions. »
The University of Oregon and
Oregon State University are studying
effects of changes in flow, sediment loads and
food chain ecology on Columbia River
salmon stocks, some of which are
endangered. Salmon recovery will
depend on the availably
of stream habitat with
coldwater patches,
needed prey organisms
and other factors. This
study will help
determine how the "carrying capacity" of
streams for salmon can best be defined
based on physical and biological charac-
teristics. Another study supporting
habitat restoration for at risk fish stocks is
being conducted by the University of
California at Davis. They are focusing on
striped bass, salmon and smelt in the
lower Sacramento River, and will will
predict likely outcomes of water quality
management alternatives by developing a
model that includes hydrology, water
quality and biological factors. Potential
remedies include restoring streambank
habitats, curtailing or rescheduling water
diversions and reducing specific pollutant
sources.
Sedimentation is being studied by
the University of Minnesota, using
models based on observed impacts of
forestry, mining and road building. The
University of North Carolina is assessing
the success of local jurisdictions' regula-
tory programs to reduce impacts of
erosion from housing construction, road
building and agriculture on the ecological
health of watersheds. They are compar-
ing streams' biological conditions to
determine which regulatory approaches
are most effective. Stream reforestation
research is being conducted in the
mid-Atlantic region by the University
of Delaware, Pennsylvania State
University and the Academy of
Natural Sciences of Philadelphia.
They will document ecological
benefits of wooded streams com-
pared to those where
woods are cleared,
together with
I gathering informa-
tion about the pros
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and cons of reforestation strategies
from the perspectives of area landown-
ers.
The University of Illinois is
conducting research on restoring the
ecology and productive human uses of
floodplains and floodplain rivers. They
are working with state agriculture,
water and natural history agencies to
assess economic factors such as farm
production, recreation values and
flood damages along with the natural
factors of hydrology and floodplain
forest ecology for a portion of the
Illinois River. Results are expected to
help agencies better balance costs and
benefits of floodplain management
and restoration options.
Reducing acidification of high
elevation lakes and their watersheds is
one objective of programs to control
air emissions of nitrogen and sulfur, as
mandated by the Clean Air Act. On-
going monitoring is tracking atmo-
spheric deposition and its impacts. To
support extrapolations of regional
conditions based on data from
intensively monitored lakes, the
University of Maine and the Univer-
sity of Virginia are jointly developing
analytic and modeling tools. These
will support assessments and predic-
tions of water quality and forest
productivity for use by EPA, states and
regulated industries in impact
assessments.
The University
of Washington is
comparing watershed
processes in west Pacific basins to
improve the ability to predict large-
scale runoff of dissolved and particu-
late materials based on climate,
geology, ecology and land use. Model
development will be compared and
coordinated with related research
through an international network of
scientists and water resource manag-
ers. Another collaborative interna-
tional project involves Pennsylvania
State University and the Bulgarian
Academy of Sciences. Techniques for
modeling multireservoir hydrologic
systems, developed by an international
institute, will be combined with
Pennsylvania State's existing geo-
graphic information system-based
watershed models to better predict
locations of water quality improve-
ments based on pollution reductions
in upstream locations.
Urbanized Watersheds
The University of Washington
is developing rehabilitation methods
for channelized streams in older and
newly urbanizing areas. Factors
considered include aesthetic prefer-
ences, degrees of aquatic ecological
protection and costs for alternate
designs. Marquette University is
refining methods for assessing benefits
of flood control and restoration
projects in urban and suburban
watersheds near Milwaukee, to better
balance flood control needs with
the ecological benefits of
preserving or restoring
A-. habitat.
Almost the entire drainage area
of the Los Angeles basin is urbanized,
with most wetlands eradicated. The
University of California at Los
Angeles is analyzing the many
pollution sources that threaten coastal
water quality and the ecological
integrity of small remaining areas of
habitat such as salt marshes. Data
include levels and impacts of DDT,
trace metals, industrial organic
chemicals, nutrients and other
pollutants from sewage, industrial
disposal, street runoff and airborne
sources. Results will be incorporated
with runoff and hydrology models to
help local managers set remediation
priorities.
Several other studies involve
simultaneously assessing socioeco-
nomic and ecological aspects of urban
impacts. The University of Georgia
and Georgia Institute of Technology
are testing hypotheses that citizens'
values and commitments to preserving
watershed conditions are influenced
by their perceptions of how rapidly
impacts are occuring, and of the
degree to which they expect that
desirable future environmental
conditions can be attained or main-
tained over various time scales,
including conditions to be experienced
by future generations. Boston
University, working with the Marine
Biological Laboratory at Woods
Hole, is involving stakeholder groups
in a Boston area watershed
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STAR: Building a foundation for sound environmental decisions
to develop management models
applicable to land-use decisions at
multiple spatial scales. Other urban-
ization impact assessment methods are
being developed by the Virginia
Polytechnic Institute and State
University, for the upper Roanoke
River watershed, the Institute for
Ecosystem Studies of Millbrook, New
York, for a Baltimore area sub-
watershed, and Cornell University,
which is developing a river and aquifer
simulation model intended to be
applicable to many Northeastern
watersheds. Yale University is
surveying peoples' attitudes about
nature and economic conditions in
watersheds with various combinations
of urbanization and environmental
quality, with an eye to evaluating how
restoring degraded watersheds can
contribute to improved socioeconomic
conditions.
Lake Tahoe, on the border of
California and Nevada, is a model for
the growing number of lake water-
sheds on boundaries between
urbanizing areas and pristine moun-
tain landscapes. This watershed
presents intense needs to reconcile
multiple uses. The Lake and undevel-
oped lands are unique ecological and
recreational resources, while devel-
oped and partially developed lands are
very highly valued for current and
potential resort, vacation home, other
commercial and urban uses. The
University of California at Davis is
building on a large body of previous
ecosystem research to address the
specific scientific questions involved in
developing an ecologically sound and
economically feasible erosion control
management plan for the area.
Agricultural Watersheds
In the agricultural midwest,
perhaps the single greatest impact on
water quality is from stream
channelization, which increases
erosion, destroys vegetation and
eliminates or reduces abundance of
many fish. The University of Illinois is
surveying drainage district commis-
sioners and farmers to assess current
practices in channelization and
associated watershed usage and
maintenance factors. Researchers will
compare this information with data
from state-wide fisheries collections.
Results will be of immediate use in
discussions among drainage district
managers, state fish and wildlife
managers and farmers on the most
effective practices to meet farmers'
needs while preserving or improving
stream fishery conditions.
Also in the "cornbelt plains"
ecoregion, Ohio State University is
correlating remote sensing data with
biological data to assess risks to
streams affected by channelization,
streambank defoliation and changing
land use. The "index of biotic
integrity" applied in this study
incorporates data on aquatic food
chains and streambank habitat
condition. Iowa State University, the
University of Michigan, the Univer-
sity of Minnesota and Oregon State
University are attempting to develop
an "alternative landscape design" to
support watershed planning for the
western corn belt. They are incorpo-
rating data on terrestrial vegetation,
birds, stream condition and aquatic life
with hydrology and agrichemical
tranport modeling. They will project
potential crop and land use scenarios
for 25 years to predict impacts on
water resources, ecosystem function
and socioeconomic conditions.
Runoff from crops, livestock and
poultry production and sewage can
produce nutrient levels that exceed
natural uptake, depleting oxygen and
killing aquatic life. The University of
Louisville, the University of Michigan
and Transylvania University are
using stream data from EPA's Environ-
mental Monitoring and Assessment
Program to assess relationships
between nutrient enrichment and
ecological impacts across "ecoregions"
(areas with distinct geologic and
ecological characteristics). A team at
the University of Minnesota is
assessing streams in a number of
agricultural ecoregions, comparing
ecological conditions with each
watershed's farm, forest, habitat
management and sewage treatment
practices. Results are expected to be
of use in local restoration decisions.
Research on reducing nutrient
enrichment impacts is also being
conducted by the University of
Wisconsin and the Ohio State
University. They are developing water
quality and socioeconomic analyses for
upper Mississippi River watersheds.
Agricultural runoff degrades this
region's streams and rivers, and a
significant portion of the nutrients that
cause Gulf of Mexico oxygen depletion
are also believed to originate there.
Approaches under development are
intended to provide farmers and
resource managers with useful
information on specific soil and water
conservation systems most likely to
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reduce excess nutrient release.
In Oregon's Tillamook Bay
watershed, Oregon State University is
assessing water quality from forested
subwatersheds to the north to dairy
farming areas and partially urbanized
subwatersheds to the south. They are
studying local perceptions of aquatic
environmental health, which often
differ from scientific assessments, to
help support more effective planning
to protect water quality in the rivers
and the Bay.
Coliform bacteria tests used in
routine surface water monitoring do
not distinguish cells from sources likely
to pose health risks, such as human
sewage or livestock wastes, from those
from natural sources unlikely to also
carry human disease organisms. The
University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill is using new genetic
typing methods to determine whether
it is possible to better distinguish
coliform sources that may indicate
health threats from those that may
not.
Pesticides can be carried long
distances through watersheds in their
original forms, or as breakdown
products that still pose health and
ecological risks. The University of
Virginia is studying the transport and
breakdown of atrazine, one of the
most widely used herbicides. Factors
considered will include rapid transport
through rock or soil flowpaths, and
enhancement by colloid particles,
which are more prevalent in some
geologic and agricultural settings than
in others.
Water quality in the tropics is
particularly impaired by agriculture
that fragments forests and reduces soil
and water retention. The University of
Hawaii and the East-West Center are
studying data on bamboo and other
farming practices in Vietnam to predict
impacts of various land use alterna-
tives.
Statistical Design for
Watershed Research.
At Pennsylvania State Univer-
sity, a team of modelers, statisticians
and natural resource scientists is
refining statistical approaches to
watershed sampling design. The
objective is to take into account the
natural variability of biological and
physical data sets, so that sampling
can be targeted most cost-effectively.
The work has implications for hydro-
logical, ecological and landscape
characterization data.
Groundwater Quality
Murray Sate University in
Kentucky is studying the interaction of
the relatively poorly understood
"hyporheic" zone where streams and
groundwater connect. Studies of
bacteria, algae and invertebrates will
gather basic data about how condi-
tions in these zones can have impor-
tant influences on streams' ecological
condition.
The Baylor College of Medi-
cine at the University of Texas and
the University of California at Irvine
are investigating chemical and physical
processes underlying natural disinfec-
tion of groundwater contaminated by
human gastrointestinal viruses. Viral
sources can include septic tanks and
groundwater recharge basins.
The New York State Department of
Health is studying rates at which
groundwater bacteria break down
sewage. Findings may help develop
ways to enhance natural
bioremediation of wastes. The
University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign is also investigating
processes that could affect
bioremediation of industrial wastes
and sewage. They are modeling how
groundwater travelling waves affect
transport of soluble organic pollutants.
Successful modeling would provide
simpler ways to compute dispersion
and breakdown rates.
Stanford University is develop-
ing a hydrologic model of how
heterogeneity of soils and rocks affects
transport rates of dissolved substances.
This will support more accurate
modeling of pollutant transport at
some contaminated sites.
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Toxicology of Widespread
Aquatic Pollutants
A grant to Princeton University
supports fundamental research on
processes affecting the aquatic toxicity
of mercury. Mercury contamination
from a variety of industrial sources is
an especially widespread problem,
affecting aquatic food chains through-
out the United States and leading to
many public health advisories against
fish consumption. Methods to
mitigate mercury pollution are a top
priority for EPA and the states. The
Princeton research will test whether
polysulfides increase the rate at which
bacteria methylate mercury in the
absence of oxygen. Investigators are
also determining the rates at which
mercury will be released to the
atmosphere. If confirmed, this
polysulfide hypothesis could be a
breakthrough in understanding the
factors that affect how toxic mercury
will be in natural food webs.
Gold mining, particularly using
cyanide extraction, can release toxic
chemicals to water bodies. Impacts
vary depending on interactions of
extraction techniques with local
hydrology and rock, soil and water
characteristics. Arsenic is a common
contaminant. The University of
Nevada, the Desert Research
Institute of Reno and the University
of California at Davis are studying
arsenic contaminated gold mining pit
lakes in the Humboldt River Basin.
Impacts include genetic damage in a
food chain species, indicating likely
long-lasting toxic impacts. The study
includes assessing options for dealing
with the contamination problem using
focus groups that include representa-
tives of the mining industry, the
conservation community, farmers and
other area residents.
Cadmium is a highly toxic metal
associated with historic industrial
impacts and some on-going releases.
To analyze natural processes that may
diminish toxic impacts, the University
of Kansas and Wichita State Univer-
sity will study how humic and fulvic
acids released by soils and plants bind
cadmium and reduce toxicity under
various conditions. The University of
Southern Mississippi is conducting
laboratory studies and field work in the
Misssissippi River to test the hypothesis
that bacterial effects on manganese,
which is a model for toxic metals such
as lead, zinc, and others, are strongly
influenced by seasonal temperature
changes.
Another high risk group of
pollutants are chemicals containing
halogens, the chemical group that
includes chlorine. The most toxic
forms are haloaromatics. Artificial
haloaromatics include PCBs, DDT and
other industrial chemicals and
pesticides. The University of South
Carolina is investigating how some
organisms thrive in coastal sediments
heavily polluted by haloaromatics.
These include worms, bacteria and
other bottom-dwelling animals that
___ break down both artificial
and natural
haloaromatics.
The study will
attempt to identify the mechanisms
by which they detoxify the chemi-
cals, looking at enzymes, gene
characteristics and antibody activity.
Aquatic Ecology
Cornell University is focusing
on a potentially critical component of
lake ecosystems' recovery from
pollution: the dormant (diapaused)
eggs of planktonic animals. Eggs can
remain in bottom sediments for many
years and emerge in response to
natural or human-induced changes in
water quality. Some eggs remain alive
after more than two decades in
sediments polluted with mercury and
other contaminants. Comparisons of
sediment dating, showing when eggs
were deposited, to chemical data on
the history of lake pollution, will
answer questions about how
diapaused eggs may lead to faster
recovery of lake food webs following
long periods of pollution.
The University of Wisconsin
and the Institute of Ecosystem
Studies of Millbrook, New York are
studying how wetlands and other
sources of humic acids mitigate the
effects of excess phosphorus, the
principle nutrient that causes eutrophi-
cation and oxygen depletion in lakes.
Coastal Carolina University
and the Baruch Marine Laboratory,
both of South Carolina, are testing the
hypothesis that oyster reefs signifi-
cantly affect the chemistry and biology
of shallow estuaries, helping to sustain
the bays' food webs.
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Public Policy and
Institutional
Arrangements
Three awards support institu-
tional and policy studies for water-
sheds and regional water-use areas.
The University of Arizona and
Indiana University are comparing
water resource management practices
in Arizona, California and Colorado.
They will assess results of policies and
institutional arrangments for allocating
and storing surface water and
groundwater. One important factor
may be the degree to which coordi-
nated ("conjunctive") management of
surface and groundwater is central to a
state's institutional approach.
A study of the Rio Grande/Rio
Bravo Basin is being conducted by the
Houston Advanced Resarch Center
and the Institute Tecnologico y de
Estudios Superiores in Monterrey,
Mexico. The project brings together
scientists from the two nations to
complete analyses of surface and
groundwater availability and condi-
tions. They will analyze potential
outcomes of alternate binational water
management scenarios, based on
future projections of socio-economic
and ecological factors.
A grant for market economics
research has been ^
awarded to the
University of
Arizona. Economists and water users
in California's central valley will test a
computerized "smart market" for
allocating and exchanging water use
rights. The smart market integrates
more information, such as user needs
and willingness to pay, than do simpler
tools such as bulletin boards. About
50 water users have volunteered to
participate. Results will provide water
use managers with information on
whether prices to users, and efficiency
of water marketing, can be improved
with smart market tools.
Weather, Watershed
Hydrology and Climate
Change Modeling
Five grants have been
awarded for studies of watershed
impacts of precipitation, long-term
climatic shifts and other weather
phenomena. Utah State University is
developing a hydrologic model
applicable to the semi-arid areas that
compose much of the western U.S. It
is hoped that the model will better
predict streamflow in mountainous
western areas, where water availability
is often the most critical factor in
natural resource management.
A new way to model rainfall-runoff
relationships is being tested by
"Kansas State University. This
"Geomorphological Artificial
Neural Network" approach may
improve abilities to predict watershed
runoff with less site-specific physical
data than is usually needed. The
University of Nebraska is refining a
model to predict climate-related
changes in flows, floods, sediment
transport and other hydrologic
characteristics over geologic time
frames. The University of California
at Davis is developing a rainfall model
based on very detailed time series data
of storm events. The approach used,
"fractal-multifractal" modeling, is
expected to increase accuracy in
predicting rain patterns.
The Marine Biological Labora-
tory at Woods Hole and the Univer-
sity of New Hampshire are undertak-
ing a complete description of water
and nutrient inputs from land-based
sources into the Arctic Ocean, based
on 15 years of data on precipitation,
flow and material fluxes. Another
study of the delivery of materials from
major watersheds to the ocean is
being done by the University of
Washington. In this "test of concept"
grant, a model based on the Amazon
watershed is being tested with data on
flow and carbon delivery in East and
Southeast Asia. This may allow
scientists to better predict bio-
geochemical processes in large
watersheds based on data gathered
throughout the world.
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APPLICATIONS OF RESULTS AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS FOR RESEARCH
The analyses of ecological and socioeconomic factors that are the cornerstone of the integrated watershed studies
supported by this program are producing planning and decision support tools based on scenarios of demographic and
economic changes expected in various watersheds. These results will be of use to regional and local environmental agencies
charged with planning for future environmental protection needs, and are particularly relevant to watershed management
programs to be sponsored under the new Vice Presidential Clean Water Initiative. It is already being found that in many
cases such assessment tools developed in particular watersheds are transferable to other watersheds with similar ecological
and physical characteristics. In 1998, the water and watersheds program is continuing emphasis on the multidisciplinary
approach, based on the theme that the best watershed science is accomplished when researchers take into account the
human dimensions of environmental problems and solutions.
STAR Research Projects Described in this Report
1995 EPA Funding
University of Maryland
Integrated Ecological Economic
Modeling and Valuation of Watersheds
Marine Biological Lab (MA)
Tracing the Fate of Nitrogen Inputs
from Watersheds to Estuaries
Stanford University (CA)
Diffusion Rate Limitations in
Heterogeneous Porous Media:Model
Structure, Scale and Ecologic
Characterization
Ohio State University
Integrated Planning, Forecasting, and
Watershed Level Ecological Risk
Assessment Techniques: A Test in the
Eastern Cornbelt Plains Ecoregion of
Ohio
U. California-Irvine
Baylor College of Medicine (TX)
Norwalk Virus-like Particles (VLPs)for
Studying Natural Groundwater
Disinfection
Cornell University (NY)
The Role of Long-lived Zooplankton
Diapausing Eggs: Response and
Recovery of Impacted Lakes
University of Virginia
The Role of Colloidal Particles in the
Transport of Chemicals Through an
Agricultural Watershed
Oregon State University
University of Oregon
Geomorphic, Hydrologic and
Ecological Connectively in Columbia
River Watersheds: Implications for
Endangered Salmonids
University of South Carolina
Resistance of Communities to Chronic
Haloaromatic Contamination by
Biogenic and Anthropogenic Sources
University of Georgia
Influences of Watershed Land Use on
Stream Ecosystem Structure and
Function
Princeton University (NJ)
The Role of HG(II) Reduction and
Chemical Speciation in Controlling the
Concentration of Mercury and its
Methylation in Natural Waters
University of Minnesota
Formation and Propagation of Large-
Scale Sediment Waves in Periodically
Disturbed ountain Watersheds
U. California-Davis
Modeling Temporal Rainfall Via a
Fractal Geometric Approach
University of Arizona
A Comparative Institutional Analysis of
Conjunctive Management Practices
Among Three Southwestern States
U. North Carolina-Chapel Hill
Detecting Fecal Contamination and its
Sources in Water and Watersheds
University of Louisville (KY)
An Ecoregion-Specific Comparison of
Stream Community Responses to
Nutrient Gradients Using Both Survey
Utah State University
Scaling Up Spatially Distributed
Hydrologic Models of Arid Watershed
U. Illinois-Urbana
Traveling Wave Behavior During
SubsurfaceTransport of Biologically Re-
active Contaminants: Implications for
in situ Bioremediation
Murray State University (KY)
A Comparison of Agriculture vs.
Forested Basins: Carbon and Nutrient
Cycling within the Hyporheic Ecotone
of Streams
SUNY-Albany (NY)
In situ Assessment of the Transport
and Microbial Consumption of
Oxygen in Groundwater
Houston Advanced Research Center
(TX) Water and Sustainable
Development in the Binational Lower
Rio Grande/Bravo Basin
1995 NSF Funding
U. Wisconsin-Madison
Insstitute of Ecosystem
Studies (NY) Alternative _< i -^
States of Lake *" 1
Ecosystems: Control by
Phosphorus, Humics,
and the Food Web
Coastal Carolina University (SC)
Baruch Marine Laboratory (SC)
Oyster Reefs as Structural and
Functional Components of Tidal
Creeks: an Ongoing Ecosystem
Experiment
Kansas State University
Development of Geomorphological
Artificial Neural Networks (GANNs) for
Modeling Watershed Runoff
University of Kansas
Wichita State University Metal
Binding and Aggregation of Fulvic
Acids
Marine Biological Laboratory (MA)
University of New Hampshire
Contemporary Water and Constituent
Balances for the Pan-Arctic Drainage
Sysstem: Continent to Coastal Ocean
Fluxes
University of Washington
Towards a Model of the Biogeochem-
istry of Large-Scale River Basins: An
Application to the Pacific Rim
University of Southern Mississippi
Variability of Dissolved Trace Elements
in Rivers and Streams: Seasonal Redox
Effects
University of Arizona
Water Market Design
U. Nebraska-Lincoln
Late Pleistocene to Modern Landscape
Evolution and Climatic Change, Loire
and Arroux Rivers, Burgundy Region of
France
1996 EPA Funding
University of California, Davis
An Integrated Approach to Assessing
Water Management Options in a
Major Watershed: Extending a
Hydrodynamic-Water Quality Model
to Include Biological and Politico-
Economic Components
University of North Carolina
University of Maryland Develop-
ment and Application of Spectro-
scopic Probes for Measurement of
Microbial Activity in Aquatic
Ecosystems
Pennsylvania State University
Large Scale Disturbances and Small
Scale Responses
University of Michigan
Carbon Exchange Dynamics in a
Temperate Forested Watershed
(Northern Michigan): A Laboratory
and Field Multidisciplinary Study
University of Minnesota
Integrating Modeling and
Management of Agriculturally-
Impacted Watersheds, Issues of Spatial
and Temporal Scale
University of Washington
Urban Stream Rehabilitation in the
Pacific Northwest: Physical, Biological,
and Social Considerations
University of Nevada-Reno
Desert Research Institute
Geochemical, Biological and
Economic Effects of Arsenic and Other
Oxyanions on a Mining Impacted
Watershed
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STAR: Building a foundation for sound environmental decisions
University of North Carolina
Effectiveness of Regulatory Incentives for
Sediment Pollution Prevention: Evaluation
Through Policy Analysis and
Biomonitoring
University of Illinois
Watershed Protection in Agricultural
Environments: Integrated Social,
Geomorphological, and Ecological
Research toSupport Ecosystem-based
Stream Management
Oregon State University
Iowa State University
University of MinnesotaModeling Effects
of Alternative Landscape Design and
Management on Water Quality and
Biodiversity in Midwest Agricultural
Watersheds
University of California-Los Angeles In-
tegrated Urban Watershed Analysis: The
Los Angeles Basin and Coastal
Environment
1996 NSF Funding
Illinois State Water Survey
Strategic Renewal of Large Floodplain
Rivers
Academy of Natural Sciences,
Philadelphia (PA)
Streamside Reforestration: an Analysis of
Ecological Benefits and Societal
Perceptions
University of Hawaii
East West Center (HI)
Influence of Forest Fragmentation on
Watershed Functions in Northern
Vietnam
1997 EPA Funding
University of Georgia
Community Values and the Long-Term
Ecological Integrity of Rapidly
Urbanizing Watersheds
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and
State University (VA) Landscapes
and Waterscapes: An Integrating
Framework for Urbanizing Watersheds
U. California - Davis
An Integrated Watershed Approach to
Evaluate and Model Ecosystem Effects of
Erosion and Pollutant Transport in
Urbanized Subalpine Landscapes
University of Wisconsin
An Integrated Ecological and Socio-
Economic Approach to Evaluating and
Reducing Agricultural Impacts on Upper
Mississippi River Watersheds
University of Maine
Linking Watershed-Scale Indicators of
Changes in Atmospheric Deposition to
Regional Response Patterns
Oregon State University
A Study of Effects of Natural and
Anthropogenic Processes on Tillamook
Bay and its Watershed: An Integrated
Process Study and Land-Use Perspective
University of Oklahoma
Ecological Risks, Stakeholder Values and
River Basins: Testing Management
Alternatives for the Illinois River
Marquette University (Wl)
Risk Based Urban Watershed
Management - Integration of Water
Quality and Flood Control Objectives
Institute of Ecosystem Studies (NY)
Impact of Social Systems on Ecology
and Hydrology in Urban-Rural
Watersheds: Integration for Restoration
1997 NSF Funding
Yale University (CT)
Connecting Ecological and Social
Systems: Watershed Research Relating
Ecosystem Structure and Function to
Human Values and Socioeconomic
Behaviors
Marine Biological Laboratory (MA)
Social and Ecological Transferability of
Integrated Ecological Assessment
Models
Marine Biological Laboratory (MA)
Integrated, Ecological-Economic
Modeling of Watersheds and Estuaries
at Multiple Scales
Pennsylvania State University
Comprehensive Watershed Manage-
ment: A Spatial Water Quality
Assessment System (SWQAS)
Cornell University (NY)
Development and Implementation of
Decision Support Systems for Predicting
Economic and Ecological Impacts of
Alternative Land and Water Manage-
ment Policies in Urbanizing Regions
Further information is available from
the following Internet Websites:
EPA/NCERQA: http://www.epa.gov/
ncerqa
NSF, Environmental Research
Opportunities: http://www. nsf.gov/
geo/egch/envresop.htm
NSF, 1995 Water and Watersheds
awards: http://www.nsf.gov/geo/
egch/wws95awd.htm
NSF, 1996 Water and Watersheds
awards: http://www.nsf.gov/geo/
egch/wws96awd.htm
United States
Environmental Protection Agency
Mail Code 8701R
Washington, D.C. 20460
Offical Business
Penalty for Private Use
$300
EPA/600/F-98/017
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