Third Annual West Virginia

1
Finding Solutions Through On-Going Research

• Tony Szwilski, Director
• Center for Environmental, Geotechnical and
  Applied Sciences (CEGAS)

2
Taxonomy, Life History Distribution Studies of
Mollusks

• Dr. Ralph Taylor Recently completed
• Study The Freshwater Mussels of the New River
  Gorge National River, funded by National Park
  Service.
• A survey of the Land Snails of the New River
  Gorge, funded by WV Dpt. Natural Resources
• 3rd yr/of 5yr study of disturbance of Mussel
  population as a result of a construction project
  in the Muskingum River, Desden OH funded by
  Dresdon Energy Corp.
• Environmental assessment of bridge repair, on the
  Guyandotte River, funded by DOH.

3
Impacts on Benthic Organisms Fish Species

• Dr. Mike Little
• Long-term impacts of land use on fish
  distribution in tributaries of the Potomac River
  North Branch.
• Impact of mining, timber, agriculture
• Impacts of culverts on the distribution on
  Appalachian fish
• Watersheds in Whites, Pinnacle, Huff Hurricane
• Relationship between impoundments and downstream
  periphyton diversity and biomass.
• Production of periphyton blooms impact on water
  quality, benthic diversity and biomass.

4
Freshwater Research

• Dr Charles Somerville
• Biogradation of Chlorinated Ethenes
• Funded by DoD-EPSCOR
• Finding ways to destroy chlorinated solvents
  using anaerobic and aerobic bacteria
• Bio-indicators of Water Quality
• Multidisciplinary study 505 miles Ohio River
• Studying the frequency distribution of
  antibiotic resistant fecal coliform bacteria
• Microbial Community Structure

5
Impact of Water Resources on Economic Growth
(CEGAS/DEP)

• Center for Business Economic Research
• Potential growth areas (internal/external), based
  on recent economic trends.
• Out-of-state industry impact on water use.
• Potential future water needs in identified growth
  areas by industry/ household.
• Compare population trends existing water data
  where future competition for water resources.

6
WV Water Resource Information Management Plan
(GEGAS/DEP)

• Reconcile Information Sources and Develop
  Strategic Plan.
• Identify existing sources of data in state.
• Develop Partnerships with interested entities
• Information Metrics and Data Collection
  Protocols, Guidelines.
• Database Platform and Networking
• Establish database platforms formats for
  web-based access of data