Survey of Reservoir Greenhouse gas Emissions

file:///P:/PDF_Harvest/ScienceInventory/ScienceInventoiyHarvest/600.

Survey of Reservoir Greenhouse gas
Emissions

Beaver Creek Upgrourid Reservoir Water Quality Survey

Jake Beaulieu
27 June, 2022

1. Background

Between 2020 and 2023 the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) will survey water quality and
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from 108 reservoirs distributed across the United States (Figure 1). The
objective of the research is to estimate the magnitude of GHG emissions from US reservoirs.

All reservoirs included in this study were previously sampled by the USEPA during the 2017 National Lakes
Assessment (2017 NLA). Data from the 2017 NLA can be found at the EPA website (https://www.epa.gov/national-
aquatic-resource-surveys/data-national-aquatic-resource-surveys). Data for Beaver Creek Upground Reservoir
can be found under SITEJD NLA17_OH-10007.

Afield sensor is used to measure chlorophyll a. dissolved oxygen. pH, specific conductivity, water temperature,
and turbidity near the water surface at a minimum of 15 locations within each reservoir. Water samples are
collected from the deepest site for analysis of nutrients and chlorophyll a.

This preliminary report presents water quality results for Beaver Creek Upground Reservoir. These data will be
included in a formal peer-reviewed publication to be submitted for publication in 2024.

Ecoregions

Coastal Plains
Northern Appalachians
Northern Plains
Southern Appalachians
Southern Plains
Temperate Plains
Upper Midwest
Western Mountains

Leaflet (https://leafletjs.com) | Tiles © Esri — Source: Esri, i-cubed, USDA, USGS, AEX, GeoEye, Getmapping, Aerogrid, IGN, IGP,
UPR-EGP, and the GIS User Community

Figure 1. Location of the 108 Reservoirs Included in Study.

2. Beaver Creek Upground Reservoir Survey Design

The Beaver Creek Upground Reservoir survey design included 15 sampling sites that were sampled on
2020-07-27. Water chemistry samples were collected from a 9.1m deep site nearby the dam (Figure 2). Click on
any of the sites to see the site id, water temperature. pH, turbidity, and dissolved oxygen at the water surface.

+	Sample sites

II i	sensor sites

Leaflet (https://leafletjs.com) | Tiles © Esri — Source: Esri, i-cubed, USDA, USGS, AEX, GeoEye, Getmapping, Aerogrid, IGN, IGP, [g
UPR-EGP, and the GIS User Community	

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Figure 2. Location of the 15 sampling sites in Beaver Creek Upground Reservoir.

3. Lake Disturbance and Trophic Status

Lake condition can be classified by degree of disturbance relative to undisturbed lakes (i.e. reference lakes) within
the ecoregion. Degree of disturbance can be based on a wide variety of metrics, but here we use nutrients (total
phosphorus (TP), total nitrogen (TIM)), turbidity, chlorophyll a, and dissolved oxygen (DO). All lake disturbance
values are least disturbed.

Chemical Condition Indicators Measured at Water Chemistry Site

Threshold Values	Observed Values

parameter

units

least disturbed

moderately disturbed

most disturbed

concentration

status

DO

mg/l

>5

>3 & <5

<3

11

least disturbed

turbidity

NTU

<37

>3.7 & <5.38

>5.38

0.43

least disturbed

TP

ug/l

<49

>49 & <82

>82

19

least disturbed

TN

ug/l

<1105

>1105 & <1699

>1699

952

least disturbed

4. Within-lake Spatial Patterns

A field sensor was used to measure water temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, and turbidity near the water surface
at all sampling sites. Data are reported in figures and tables below. Hover the curser over any point in the figures
to reveal the sitelD corresponding to the adjacent data table. Alternatively, click on any row in the data table to
reveal the location of the sampling site on the map.

Turbidity, dissolved oxygen, and temperature were relatively constant at 0.1 m depth throughout the reservoir. This
likely reflects the simple shape of the reservoir and the lack of natural tributary inputs and outflows.

water
sitelD temp

2	20.63

3	20.74

4	20.82

5	20.63

6	20.63

7	20.8

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Survey of Reservoir Greenhouse gas Emissions

file:///P:/PDF_Harvest/ScienceInventory/ScienceInventoiyHarvest/600.



water

sitelD

temp

8

20.8

9

20.62

10

20.87

11

20.88

12

20.63

13

20.53

14

20.57

15

20.63

sitelD

pH

2

5.23

3

10.24

4

6.23

5

5.16

6

5.11

7

5.92

8

6.39

9

5.02

10

6.34

11

6.47

12

4.95

13

5.6

14

6.87

15 7.51

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