Linking Stream Health and Land Use in the University of Delaware Experimental Watershed
| Author(s) | Tara L. Harrell | |
| Date Accessioned | 2024-10-16T18:51:31Z | |
| Date Available | 2024-10-16T18:51:31Z | |
| Publication Date | 2002-04 | |
| Abstract | Student researchers of the University of Delaware Water Resources Agency (UDWRA) have delineated an experimental watershed through the University of Delaware campus, which includes both the northern Piedmont Plateau and the southern Coastal Plain. The purpose of this project is to continue to research the link between stream health and certain types of land use and update the watershed report card for the Piedmont Plateau and the Coast Plain while exploring different methods and procedures. The land use in these areas is rapidly changing, and the amount of impervious services, such as roads and driveways, is increasing. A negative relationship between land use and stream health was found in the Piedmont Plateau, and a report card for establishing a user-friendly way of tracking watershed health through the years was developed. Stream sampling and chemical surveys were completed at each of the sampling stations through the watershed. The New Zealand National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NZ-NIWA) donated a Stream Health Monitoring and Assessment Kit for research. The Overall Watershed Health Grade of the Piedmont Watershed was a C+, which has fallen from a B- in 2001. The stream in this watershed with the highest percentage of impervious cover had the lowest stream quality, in agreement with the hypothesis of this report. The Coastal Plain in 2002 received an Overall Watershed Report Card Grade of C, which is another decrease in total watershed health. The Coastal Plain Watershed received a C+ in 2001. Tributary 3, which had the lowest percentage of impervious cover, had the highest water quality grade. The stream with the lowest overall grade had the highest amount of negatively impacting land uses and highest percentage of impervious cover. Future researchers will be able to update and modify the Experimental Watershed Report Card to monitor temporal changes in the surrounding land. | |
| URL | https://udspace.udel.edu/handle/19716/35254 | |
| Language | en_US | |
| Part of Series | IPA | |
| dc.rights | Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International | en |
| dc.rights.uri | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ | |
| Title | Linking Stream Health and Land Use in the University of Delaware Experimental Watershed | |
| Type | Thesis |