CHAPTER 4 BIOLOGICAL COMMUNITIES AND SPECIES INTERACTION

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Lower Fox River Watershed Monitoring Program

• Established in 2003
• Multi-year water monitoring program

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Overall Project Goal

• Establish a long-term monitoring program that
  improves our ability to address watershed quality
  issues (water quality, stream ecosystem
  integrity, etc.).

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Current Partners

• UWGB
• UW Milwaukee
• Arjo Wiggins Appleton Inc.
• USGS
• GBMSD
• Oneida Tribe
• 5 High Schools
• County conservation departments

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Major Project Elements

• Continuous Monitoring
• USGS, UW Milwaukee, UWGB, Oneidas, GBMSD
• Stream ecosystem monitoring
• UW Milwaukee Stream Ecology Group
• School-based monitoring

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USGS Monitoring Stations

• 3 USGS water years
• Oct. 03 through Sept. 06
• 5 stations
• Duck Creek at CTH FF
• Baird Creek at Superior Road (I-43)
• Apple Creek at CTH U (Campground)
• Ashwaubenon Creek at Creamery Road
• East River at Monroe Street (GBMSD)

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Why Here?

• Estimated sediment yield

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Objectives Water Quality and Load Monitoring

• Better understand cause/effect through event and
  continuous monitoring.
• Compare flow, P, and SS concentrations and loads
  from different source areas (urban, urbanizing,
  rural/ag).
• Identify P sources at multiple spatial scales.
• Analyze trends for each site and relative changes
  between sites with time.
• Compare loads to modeled loads.
• Assess validity of model.

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Methods / Parameters

• Daily stage / flow
• Low-flow / baseflow samples
• Event Samplers
• (10 runoff events/year)
• Analysis by GBMSD
• Total P, Dissolved P, TSS
• ?? Nitrate-Nitrite, Ammonia, TKN
• TSS correlation with SSC turbidity
• USGS will compute daily TP and sed. loads, and
  estimate DP loads

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UW-Milwaukee Real-Time Monitoring

• YSI multi-parameter sondes
• Continuous stage height,
• turbidity,
• conductivity,
• temperature,
• pH,
• DO
• Fixed stations at USGS sites, real-time
  accessible
• 4 remaining sondes installed elsewhere, locations
  to be determined

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Real-time Data

• Runoff

• Rainfall

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Baird Creek Land Use
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Ashwaubenon Creek Land Use
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Duck Creek Land Use
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Apple Creek Landuse
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East River Landuse
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Other Potential Stations

• Oneida Tribe/USGS/UWGB?
• Beaver Dam Creek
• Urban trib. to Duck Creek
• USGS / DNR
• Bower Creek at CTH MM
• (last operated 91-94 96-97)

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Large fraction of phosphorus is dissolved.
Fraction generally lower in urban areas.
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- Dissolved ortho-P fraction of total P loading
generally high, especially in small streams. -
Dissolved fraction highest in fall and winter
months.
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Supplementary Monitoring

• Track DPTP ratio along flow path
• Sediment delivery and P enrichment P Index
• High DP proportion and BMP effectiveness
• Baird Creek
• Compare rural and urbanizing conditions.
• Urban BMP monitoring.

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School-Based Monitoring Program

• Four Watersheds / Five Schools
• Baird (Luxemburg-Casco / Green Bay West)
• Duck Creek (Green Bay Southwest)
• Apple Creek (Appleton East)
• Spring Brook UF04
• (Markesan)

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School-Based Monitoring Program

• Structured to provide meaningful, long-term data
• Picture of existing conditions (Baseline)
• Changing conditions over time (Trends)
• Can be used by students, teachers, scientists and
  managers to answer questions about watershed
  dynamics and integrity. (Cause and effect
  relationships)

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Program Approach

• Modeled after a successful program in Oregon
• Standardized equipment and methods
• Annual and periodic
  training sessions
• QA/QC Protocols
• Comparison to real-time data from UWM and USGS
• Equipment calibration and maintenance by staff

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School-Based Parameters

• Physical Elements
• Temperature
• Turbidity (Clarity)
• Specific Conductance
• Streamflow

• Chemical Elements
• pH
• Dissolved Oxygen
• Soluble Reactive P
• Nitrate
• Ammonia

Habitat and Biotic Elements Habitat Macroinvertebr
ates Amphibians Birds
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How will the data be shared?

• Student Watershed Symposium (May 19)
• Project Website
• www.uwgb.edu/watershed (in development)
• Integration of overall project elements
  (USGS, UWM, and school-based
  program)
• Online database
• Data review and quality criteria
• References and resources

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Open Issues Overall Program

• Integration with other programs
• How can the monitoring data be fully utilized?
• How can the data best be used to reach least-cost
  solutions to P sediment impacts within a
  dynamic subbasin?
• Add-Ons and Spin-Offs?

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Questions?
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Where to from Here?

• Watershed monitoring to identify sources and P
  forms with greater confidence