Watershed Symposium 2019

PFAS: More Than a Mouthful

Summary:
Per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) have unique properties and are used in many consumer products. Most people in the U.S. have PFAS in their body. The Utah Department of Environmental Quality will discuss the ongoing investigations of potential PFAS contamination in Utah.

Full Abstract:
Per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) are more than just hard to say. This group of more than 3,000 man-made substances has unique and useful properties. Because of their properties, they are used in many consumer products and industrial processes. A well-known PFAS product is Teflon. However, after human blood samples indicated widespread exposure to general population, manufacturing of 2 specific types of PFAS, PFOA and PFOS, ceased in the U.S. While exposures to the general population have decreased since manufacturing ceased, most of the general population are still being exposed via consumer products. Additionally, analytical methods are only available for a limited number of PFAS. In other states, drinking water, fish, and milk have been contaminated near PFAS manufacturing facilities or where large quantities of PFAS were released. The Utah Department of Environmental Quality is currently investigating the potential for environmental PFAS contamination in Utah. After a general introduction to PFAS, the current status of the ongoing Utah investigations will be presented.

Bugs, Bacteria, and Channel Stability: SLCo Watershed Data Collection

Since 2011 SLCO Watershed Planning and Restoration Program (WPRP) has been collecting data to look at water quality in the streams and rivers of Salt Lake County. In the following years WPRP has been built up to collect bacteria and field chemistry monthly, macroinvertebrate data annually, and channel stability data from the Jordan River and all its major tributaries. This presentation aims to explain the purpose and specifics of these data collection methods, the obstacles encountered along the way, and the potential use of this information. 

WASP Historical Simulations Over the Jordan River Under Climate Change

Summary:
This study analyzes the performance of the Jordan River, UT, through the Water Quality Assessment Simulation Program (WASP) under climate change scenario RCP 6.0 through a historical timeframe from October 1, 2000 to September 30, 2009, suggesting linkages among climate change and water quality followed by implications under futuristic conditions.

Full Abstract:
Assessing climate change characteristics upon the performance of watersheds appears as one fundamental topic subject to extensive research, suggesting potential effects upon water quality characteristics. For instance, climate change characteristics have been suggested to increase the likelihood of watershed impairment, potentially due to changes in runoff patterns followed by nutrient loadings into the system. Such water quality impairment present significant concerns toward evaluating the effects upon the environmental, societal, and hydrologic characteristics, along with developing potential remedies (e.g., nutrient allocation studies, Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) studies, etc.). For this exercise, simulations are conducted upon a river system through the Water Quality Assessment Simulation Program (WASP), implementing climate change characteristics described through the Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs). Such simulations have been conducted upon the Jordan River, UT, an approximate 83-km, 51-mile reach with portions that have been indicated as impaired for low dissolved oxygen levels, potentially due to elevated water temperatures under low-flow conditions during the summer times. At the same time, such simulations over the Jordan River are implemented under a historical time frame, from October 1, 2000 to September 30, 2009, employing dynamically-downscaled climate data provided by the University of Utah’s Department of Atmospheric Sciences for applying climate projection RCP 6.0 toward yielding a radiative forcing of 6.0 watts per square meter. Then, the performance of the Jordan River simulations under RCP 6.0 climate data is compared against the model simulations under historical, observed climate data toward suggesting potential linkages among climate change and water quality. Such analyses provide insight toward determining the effects of climate change upon system performance, suggesting implications upon futuristic characteristics that tends to suggest elevated temperatures, increased levels of runoff and pollutant loadings, and hence potentially increased likelihood of system impairment.

Linkages Between the Great Salt Lake and Air Quality

Summary:
History shows how climate change, drought, & water diversion quickly reduce once thriving lake ecosystems to a fraction of their former sizes. Entire ecosystems were disrupted, economies threatened, new pollution sources (i.e., dust plumes) created, & local populations suffered. The Great Salt Lake (GSL) is on track to suffer a similar fate.

Full Abstract:
History has shown that the combination of climate change, drought, and water diversion can quickly reduce once thriving lake ecosystems to a fraction of their former sizes (e.g., the Aral Sea, Owens Lake, and the Dead Sea). As these water bodies dried up, entire ecosystems were disrupted, industries were shuttered, economies were threatened, new pollution sources (i.e., dust plumes) were created, and local populations suffered. The Great Salt Lake (GSL) is on track to suffer a similar fate due to a combination of water diversion and drought. As the lake has receded, it has exposed more than 757 mi2 of playa. Dust plumes emanating from the playa now frequently degrade local air quality, potentially impacting the health of more than 2 million adjacent residents. A two-year study was recently completed to: 1) Determine which areas of the GSL playa currently act as dust source regions. 2) Determine how fluctuating lake levels might impact future dust production. 3) Determine if the PM10 soil fraction of the GSL playa contains potentially hazardous heavy metals. To accomplish these goals, a systematic survey of the entire GSL playa was conducted between June 2016 and August 2018 using a bicycle/trailer system. Incremental Sampling Methodology protocols were used to ensure that soil samples and in situ observations of surface crust/vegetation conditions were representative. A total of 5246 soil samples and surface crust/vegetation observations were collected/made using a GPS-derived grid system with a nominal horizontal resolution of 500m. Active GSL dust “hot spots” were identified as locations which had little or no vegetation, had either no surface crust or an erodible shallow crust, and where visible plumes of fine particulate matter could be generated by manually disturbing the surface. Dust “hot spots” matching these criteria were identified in all four quadrants of the GSL playa and comprised ~11% of the total exposed lakebed. Dust “hot spot” locations were then combined with a digital elevation model to determine their elevation distribution. This analysis revealed that the number of dust “hot spots” is linearly dependent upon the GSL elevation with slopes ranging from 6% to 13% per foot. The soil samples were composited into 122 samples which were subsequently dried and sieved. The PM10 fraction was analyzed using Inductively-Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry and Synchrotron X-ray Fluorescence to provide mass fractions for 54 elements. These results were then compared to the Regional Screening Levels established by the US Environmental Protection Agency to determine whether any of the elements might pose a risk to adjacent populations. Arsenic was the only heavy metal for which every measurement exceeded the RSLs for residential and industrial exposures. As a result, a site-specific exposure assessment should to be completed to determine if arsenic exposure poses an actual threat to human health. Learning Objectives: - Current and future water diversions of the GSL pose serious risks to maintaining water levels. - Potential impacts from a dried up GSL on residents along the Wasatch Front. - Understanding of the connections between snowpack, rivers, lakes, land, and air quality.

Why Can't I Plant Trees on the Surplus Levee?

Summary:
Overview of Salt Lake County Flood Control program and discussion of our largest project, the Jordan River Surplus Canal Levees.

Full Abstract:
Overview of Salt Lake County Flood Control program and discussion of our largest project, the Jordan River Surplus Canal Levees. The Surplus Levees are an important component of Salt Lake County’s Flood Control program. The levees were constructed in 1959 by the United States Army Corps of Engineers; Salt Lake County is the local sponsor partner. The system includes approximately 18 miles of levees. Salt Lake County Flood Control is currently working through a Levee Rehabilitation Project. Levee encroachments including utilities, residential and commercial development, and public infrastructure that are not permitted need to be resolved. This project involves coordinating with not only the USACE but many local government and private agencies. Salt Lake County is also acquiring right-of-way along most of the levee length. This presentation will cover what we have learned, what we are currently working on, and our plans to complete the rehabilitation project.

Modeling Fire-Induced Changes to River Status Flow With Deep Learning

Summary:
The potential effect of wildfire on Utah’s rivers is poorly understood. Because fires are becoming more frequent and severe, understanding their effect on river “status flow” will be an important component of Utah’s future water security. Using deep learning, we developed a powerful model for predicting flow/fire relationships.

Full Abstract:
Watershed disturbances such as wildfire can fundamentally alter water flow and water chemistry, affecting downstream ecosystems and societies. Predicting the response of streamflow to wildfire is difficult but increasingly urgent in the western U.S. given the observed increases in wildfire frequency, uncertainty in precipitation, and growing human water demand. Much of the difficulty in stream-flow prediction arises not from a lack of data (flow and geological data are available for thousands of catchments), but from a lack of capacity to extract information from these data that is socioecologically relevant. Mechanistic modelling of streamflow-wildfire response based on catchment characteristics has only been partially successful because of substantial variation in catchment characteristics including geological features deep below the surface, fire-induced biological changes on the surface, and meteorological variability. Recent advances in machine learning, particularly in Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) may have opened the door for capturing this complexity. ANNs are a special type of machine learning algorithm inspired by human learning. In an ANN, groups of artificial neurons interact and learn together, eventually allowing the network to perform tasks that would otherwise be impossible for a computer. The structure of neurons in an ANN allows it to abstract information from complex signals and explore interactions between sub-features, potentially allowing prediction of ecologically complex phenomena such as wildfire-flow response. Here, we used an ANN to analyze USGS flow data from over 4,000 watersheds in the contiguous US, 600 of which experienced a wildfire in the past 30 years. This ANN was able to predict alterations to the “status flow” (i.e. flow characteristics of flow regime) of streams affected by fire, including modification of the amount and timing of flow as well as timeframes of recovery following wildfire. We explore how this machine learning approach could usher in a new status quo in extracting maximum information from flow stations and predicting response of western watersheds to wildfire. Data-driven models that more accurately represent likely scenarios can help ensure water security for Utah’s communities in the face of rapidly accelerating changes in climate, fire frequency, land use, and resource scarcity.

N vs P: Nutrient Limitation of Harmful Algal Blooms on Utah Lake

Summary:
Utah Lake is naturally high in nutrients, but there is potential for nutrient pollution to exacerbate toxic harmful algal blooms. In July, we used bioassays to test nutrient limitation and found chlorophyll, a surrogate of algal growth, was highest in treatments with both nitrogen and phosphorus added, compared to control and N or P individually.

Full Abstract:
Water bodies across the Wasatch Front are experiencing harmful algal and cyanobacterial blooms, possibly with greater frequency and severity due to anthropogenic inputs of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). These blooms pose a threat to food and water security and human health due to cyanotoxin production. Utah Lake is a shallow, hypereutrophic lake garnering recent public attention for repeated advisories and closures due to cyanobacterial blooms. Its naturally P-rich sediments combined with cyanobacteria’s ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen have brought into question the need for management of external anthropogenic nutrient inputs. To quantify the effects of additional nutrients on algal growth, we are conducting seasonal bioassay experiments across three different lake locations to capture the spatial component of blooms (i.e., West Side, East Side, Provo Bay). We are testing four nutrient treatments: N, P, N+P, and a control added at a 16:1 ratio of DIN:SRP that reflect the new EPA limitations of P in wastewater effluent. We measured a suite of indicators to identify responses in bloom physiology, including cyanotoxin concentrations. In July, N+P additions in Provo Bay waters during a bloom, and to a lesser extent N additions in east-side waters, induced photosynthetic growth measured as higher levels of chlorophyll and volatile suspended solids concentration than the other treatments. Microcystis loosely related to blooms induced by N+P and anatoxin-a related to N additions. To date, our results indicate a N and P co-limitation and potential N limitations elicits summer blooms. as a possible mechanism affecting bloom growth and attenuation. In the future, we are conducting bioassays throughout the summer, fall and spring; conducting nutrient dilution treatments; and manipulating grazer density. Our results will help policy makers select ecologically-relevant water quality standards for Utah Lake.

Using Citizen Science to Locate Nutrient Sources to Utah Lake

Summary:
Harmful algal blooms on Utah Lake have raised the question: where do the nutrients in Utah Lake come from? We used citizen science to sample hundreds of points in the watershed three times a year, allowing us to determine where solutes are coming from and the consistency of their sources.

Full Abstract:
Anthropogenic inputs of N and P have led to eutrophication of water bodies around the world, intensifying water resource scarcity. While removing point sources has been largely effective, persistence of non-point sources has delayed or negated gains in water quality in many instances. Recent studies have shown that spatial variability of stream chemistry may not be as unpredictable as previously thought, suggesting that periodic sampling of many locations in a stream network (i.e. synoptic sampling) could identify non-point nutrient sources and quantify nutrient retention capacity. Here, we conducted a large participatory science project to synoptically sample Utah Lake’s tributaries. Utah Lake is a large, shallow, eutrophic lake that has been listed as impaired for phosphorus and total dissolved solids, but disagreements exist about the source of solutes entering the lake. We collaborated with members of the public to sample ~200 points across the 2,950 km2 Utah Lake watershed three times during 2018 (March, July, and October). We calculated spatial stability, a metric of the consistency of patterns in concentrations, and temporal synchrony for a suite of stream solutes, including phosphate, nitrate, DOC, and sulfate. We used these data to calculate a distributed mass balance of solutes throughout the watershed, quantifying how much leverage each subwatershed exerted on the overall catchment load. Solute concentrations showed extreme variation across the watersheds, attributable to differences in land use and natural catchment characteristics. For example, median phosphate concentration was 0.011 mg P/L but it ranged from 0.0015 to 0.62 mg P/L. Likewise, nitrate concentration spanned 5 orders of magnitude (0.0007 to 28 mg N/L), with a median concentration of 0.14 mg N/L. Nitrate concentration was highest in canals and point sources within Utah Valley. Chloride had high spatial stability (0.8 spearman rank correlation, SR), but soluble reactive phosphorus (the most bioavailable form of phosphorus) had low spatial stability (0.3 SR), suggesting substantial seasonal or event-level change through time. Nitrate had intermediate spatial stability (0.5 SR). The low spatial stability of phosphorus compared with other solutes could be due to two non-exclusive phenomena: 1. non-geologic sources of phosphate that are more spatially variable than weathering could be dominant and 2. biological processes could alternatively increase or decrease phosphate based on nutrient demand across space and time. We conclude that citizen science can generate insight into catchment chemistry and hydrologic processes while also increasing community connection with the watershed.

Megafires and Hurricanes: Utah Watersheds Respond to Climate Change

Summary:
In late 2018 a wildfire burned over 100,000 acres in Utah County. Following the wildfire, a storm surge from the remnant of Hurricane Rosa caused extreme runoff and erosion. We collected water samples before, during, and after the events, quantifying carbon and nutrient concentrations and biodegradability.

Full Abstract:
Climate change in the western U.S. is causing larger wildfires and more extreme precipitation events. When these two ecological changes collide, they create massive ecosystem disturbance, affecting terrestrial and aquatic environments as well as human well-being. In October 2018, such a scenario occurred when the remnants of Hurricane Rosa dumped torrential rain on a two-week old, 610-km2 burn scar in central Utah. The wildfires, flash flooding, and debris flows triggered the evacuation of approximately 10,000 residents and created a sediment plume Utah Lake that was visible from space. We collected stream water samples from 10 watersheds during and after the storm, allowing us to quantify the interactive effects of megafire and extreme rain on aquatic biogeochemical fluxes. We analyzed samples for a broad suite of physicochemical parameters including organic matter concentration and biodegradability, water isotopes, major ions, trace metals, and nutrients. While the burned and unburned streams showed various concentration-discharge relationships, the effects of the megafire were apparent in nearly every parameter we quantified, increasing particulate loading and resulting in a substantial loss of terrestrial carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus. Additionally, the urban footprint was a major predictor of concentration and variability of nutrient concentrations. Together, these findings suggest that the combination of increased wildfire and extreme storms could affect water supply for humans and ecosystem status of downstream rivers and lakes.

Feasibility Analysis for Daylighting of City Creek in Folsom Corridor

Summary:
Daylighting piped streams have become a priority for many communities. Since the 1990s there has been interest by community members in daylighting City Creek in the Folsom Corridor. This talk will discuss some of the key issues and opportunities identified during the development of the 2019 City Creek Daylighting Feasibility Study, Salt Lake City.

Full Abstract:
Daylighting of piped streams along with stream restoration have become a priority for many communities nationwide. In addition to City Creek, other examples include Waller Creek in Austin and the Trinity River in Dallas, all of which are in the midst of restoration planning and have completed associated daylighting or restoration projects. Each of these projects have also undertaken studies that attempt to identify the environment and community needs and benefits of daylighting/restoration efforts. Project benefits are often targeted at improving water quality and habitat for aquatic and riparian flora and fauna; enhancing urban greenways for pedestrians and cyclists; and encouraging redevelopment of areas around the improved stream corridors. However, challenges often exist that can include conflicts with existing development and right-of-way issues, regulations and permitting, and affordable and attainable designs that balance the hydraulics of the existing systems, design concepts and expectations, and well-established public interests and visions. City Creek emanates from the canyon of the same name in the northern reaches of Salt Lake City. The creek originally flowed freely through Salt Lake City to the Jordan River, which terminates in the Great Salt Lake. In 1909 the entire stretch of City Creek was diverted underground at the mouth of the canyon. In the 1980’s portions of the creek were daylighted and in the 1990’s the Army Corps of Engineers studied the possibility of daylighting the lowest segment of the water way – the Folsom Corridor. Since then there has been continued interest by community members and Salt Lake City Corporation in daylighting the stream. This talk will discuss some of the key issues and opportunities identified during the development of the 2019 City Creek Daylighting Feasibility Study.

Accounting for Local Variation: Bugs in the Biomonitoring System

Summary:
Aquatic Invertebrates are often collected as environmental monitors; but the design recommended by regulatory agencies is usually ineffective for most monitoring goals. Our results are especially useful to watershed groups, or foundations hoping to describe change (good or bad) in benthic community structure.

Full Abstract:
Macroinvertebrate studies have become commonplace since the acceptance and promotion of rapid bioassessment protocols. Certain assumptions are implicit to the use of these protocols whenever they are used to detect change. We examined four inter-related aspects of bioassessment sampling designs that may preclude their use (senu stricto) to describe change: (1) aspects of design, (2) assumption of variance homogeneity, (3) assumption of taxonomic completeness, (4) assumption of standard unit effort. Due to time limitations, this presentation will focus primarily on the underlying assumptions (aspects of design) and within-site variation (variance homogeneity). One of the underlying premises of the bioassessment design is that a single, large sample can sufficiently represent all the variation in a riffle, or in a reach. Therefore, assessments are conducted without true replication in the field. However, this assumption is only valid if the variation is zero—or sufficiently close to zero that the error is negligible. That is, if you were to sample the same site multiple times, can you get the same (or similar) result? Although many people using bioassessment designs promote the idea that large samples eliminate variation, this was never actually tested in bioassessment development. We examined within-site variation of a bioassessment design by collecting five replicate composite samples from five individual sites in Sublette County Wyoming. The method of collection for WY DEQ samples is to collect eight randomly placed Surber (sample area 1sq. ft.) samplers from a riffle. Thus, to collect five replicates from a riffle, 40 individual, 1-square foot samples, had to be collected and apportioned among five large 8-surber-composites samples. This requires a herculean field effort to collect a modest number of replicates. Therefore, the advantages of collecting these samples should be substantial. We found significant variation in all metrics. Moreover, the variation in taxa richness, using the most-resolute taxonomy, was sufficiently large to cause problems with both multimetric indices and predictive models (e.g., rivpacs-style monitoring). In some cases, the variation in the observed taxa richness exceeded the impairment threshold defined for rivpacs models. We did not find a significant reduction in variation through compositing. Furthermore, compositing samples actually prevents the use of more rigorous statistical designs (e.g., modeling, and covariance). Finally, there is reason to believe that these observations have widespread application (e.g., Townsend 1989) Most watershed groups, conservation groups, foundations, and water quality monitors are interested in detecting spatial/temporal changes in community structure. Our results suggest this cannot be adequately evaluated using standard bioassessment designs. Discussion will briefly include strategies to use variation to detect community changes.

Resilience of the Great Salt Lake with Historical Climate Variability

Summary:
This presentation covers the application of the Integrated Water Resources Model of the Great Salt Lake and analysis of the resilience of lake levels due to climate variability. The analysis and results will show different drivers that may impact lake levels and quantify the resilience of lake level against climate variability.

Full Abstract:
The Great Salt Lake is the largest saline terminal lake in the western hemisphere and the eighth-largest in the world. The lake supports a very diverse and unique ecosystem of wetlands, a huge population of migratory birds, and other terrestrial and aquatic wildlife. Historical records of lake levels show the lowest lake level in 1963 and the highest in 1986. The recent decadal observations indicate declining trends in lake level. The objective of this study was to analyze resilience of lake levels against observed climate variability. The resilience in this presentation refers to intrinsic characteristics of the lake to regain its lake level. This presentation includes main features of the Integrated Water Resources Model of the Great Salt Lake, the concept of resilience and the resilience of lake levels, and findings on the total lake level variability due to climate extremes. The analysis and results will help to better understand different drivers that have direct and indirect impact on change in lake levels and quantify the resilience of the lake level to climate variability.

Practitioners Tips for Low-tech Stream Restoration in Utah

Summary:
Low-tech restoration continues to be popular for restoring degraded streams in the West. To supplement published resources, we present additional information and tips that are specific for practitioners in Utah in order to estimate project costs, staffing, and permits.

Full Abstract:
Low-tech restoration, mainly beaver dam analogues and post assisted log structures, continues to be popular for restoring degraded streams in the West because it is affordable and effective. In 2019 Utah State University published a comprehensive design manual titled “Low-tech Process-based Restoration of Riverscapes” which provides excellent detail on the implementation of low-tech restoration. We provide additional information that is specific for practitioners in Utah in order to estimate project costs, staffing, and permitting timelines. We also provide helpful tips and considerations for project managers.

Watershed-Scale Nutrient Budgets and eDNA Following a Utah Megafire

Summary:
In late 2018 a wildfire burned over 600 square kilometers in Utah County. We are collecting water samples and have high-frequency chemistry stations to study the sediment and nutrient budgets of burned and unburned watersheds. We use this information to assess rate of ecosystem recovery following wildfire and potential implications for Utah Lake.

Full Abstract:
Wildfire in western forests can substantially restructure water flow through soil, groundwater, and river networks. These changes, along with disturbance of terrestrial and aquatic habitat can affect carbon and nutrient budgets with consequences for downstream reservoirs and lakes. The overall amount of runoff following a fire as well as its water quality are of great interest for the Wasatch Front and other rapidly growing urban areas in semi-arid ecosystems. Here, we report the initial results of a replicated observational study of watersheds in and around the 2018 Pole Creek Fire Complex. This “megafire” covered broad gradients of elevation, vegetation type, and human management, offering a unique opportunity to identify ecological factors and best management practices to protect wildlife habitat and watershed resources. With support from the Utah Department of Natural Resources, we instrumented 24 watersheds with flow and water chemistry sensors. These stations collected high-frequency pH, temperature, conductivity, oxygen, turbidity, and redox potential measurements, allowing quantification of snowmelt and periodic extreme precipitation event pulses, when most of the lateral flux occurs. We also collected weekly to monthly water samples from ~80 watersheds, which we analyzed for a broad suite of chemical and optical parameters. We analyzed these data to assess the role of wildfire extent and severity in determining a watershed’s ecohydrological signature and to explore ecological covariates including elevation, aspect, vegetation type, and watershed size. There were extreme and persistent differences in sediment transport and nutrient dynamics, which differed based on catchment characteristics. The burned catchments experienced repeated debris flows in the year following the fire, which disrupted aquatic life but also created new habitat, particularly in previously degraded reaches. We discuss the challenges and opportunities of high-frequency monitoring networks and more broadly the implications of increased megafires for water availability and aquatic habitat in Utah.

Challenges of Urban Stream Restoration
View presentation (Prezi)

This presentation will outline the constraints of working on streams and rivers in urban environments and the discussion with focus on how we can achieve improvements in ecological condition and function in these areas. Many urban areas have parks, golf courses, channelized reaches, infrastructure, and other constraints around rivers and other aquatic and riparian resources. While these areas can be challenging, we have had some success in improving the ecological condition and function of these important resources along the Jordan River and in other areas across the region.