Great Miami River Watershed Network Seminar
Nutrient Impairment of Surface Water: Cutting edge research, trends, and solutions
September 11, 2019
MVRPC and the Miami Conservancy District partnered again to present in-depth content on the latest data and research regarding Phosphorus and Nitrogen pollution in Ohio’s waters, and in particular in the Great Miami River. Below are short introductions to our four speakers and their presentations. Presentation slides are also available.
Mike Ekberg – Miami Conservancy District – Current state of the Watershed
Current data and results on nutrients in rivers and streams in the Great Miami River Watershed. Research includes real time in stream nutrient level monitoring, tracing nutrient sources, and modeling of river response to point and nonpoint pollution reductions.
Presentation: Nutrient impairment of surface Water
Elizabeth (Libby) Dayton, PhD, The Ohio State University – Research and results on phosphorus in surface waters and agricultural best management practices
Dr. Dayton is a Soil Scientist in the School of Environment and Natural Resources at The Ohio State University. Dr. Dayton received a B.S. in Environmental Science from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and a M.S. and Ph.D. in Soil Science from Oklahoma State University. As part of the Soil & Environmental Chemistry Research Group at OSU, Dr. Dayton has an active research program, one aspect of which is focused on mitigation of non-point source agricultural pollution. With continuing problems of surface water quality degradation, Ohio agriculture is under increased pressure to reduce phosphorus field runoff. A robust functioning Ohio P Risk Index will give framers a tool to manage field scale P runoff, while sustaining agricultural productivity and protecting surface water quality. The index has significant water quality implications statewide, considering that misapplied phosphorus has a high likelihood of degradation Ohio’s surface water and is a major contributor to harmful algal blooms. The revised phosphorus risk index can help Ohio farmers better work toward meeting the 40% phosphorus reduction target in the Western Lake Erie.
Presentation: On-Field Ohio Are water quality targets achievable?
Silvia Newell, PhD – Research on nutrients in surface waters
Professor Newell has a Ph.D. in Geosciences from Princeton University. Her dissertation focused on biogeochemical cycling of nitrogen in low-oxygen marine environments in Chesapeake Bay and the Arabian Sea. Currently, her work at Wright State focuses on hypereutrophic Lake Taihu in China, Lake Erie, and Ohio waterways. The Newell Lab works to quantify the changes to our natural systems from nitrogen loading and attempts to mitigate them. Newell’s labs studied nitrogen levels in the Lower Great Miami River and how they are affected by water treatment plants along the river, and nitrogen’s role in algal blooms. They specifically studied if the nutrients are released naturally by sources going into the river or are linked to the treatment plants.
Presentation: The role of nitrogen as a driver of harmful algal blooms
Derek Schlea – Limno Tech – Use of modeling to predict river response o nutrient reductions
LimnoTech worked with the Miami Conservancy District (MCD) to select and apply a water quality model to support nutrient management of the Lower Great Miami River (LGMR). A partnership of WRRFs with permitted outfalls to the LGMR, in conjunction with the MCD, have been investigating the causes and impacts of nutrient enrichment of the lower section of the Great Miami River as it relates to the renewal of individual National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits. This project required development and calibration of a water quality model that can accurately simulate water quality in the LGMR under a range of environmental conditions and can be used to evaluate the effects of nutrient reduction scenarios.
Presentation: Lower Great Miami River Nutrient Management Project