For more information on the USGS-the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment, visit http://www.usgs.gov or call 1-888-ASK-USGS. For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications, visit http://www.usgs.gov/pubprodTo order this and other USGS information products, visit http://store.usgs.gov Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.Although this information product, for the most part, is in the public domain, it also may contain copyrighted materials as noted in the text. Permission to reproduce copyrighted items must be secured from the copyright owner. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataEffects of urban development on stream ecosystems in nine metropolitan study areas across the United States : the quality of our nation's waters / by James F. Coles ... [et al.].p. cm. -(Circular ; 1373) Quality of our nation's waters Includes bibliographical references and index. ForewordThe United States has made major investments in assessing, managing, regulating, and conserving natural resources such as water, minerals, soils, and timber. Sustaining the quality of the Nation's water resources and the health of our ecosystems depends on the availability of sound water-resources data and information to develop effective, science-based policies. Effective management of water resources also brings more certainty and efficiency to important economic sectors. Taken together, these actions lead to immediate and long-term economic, social, and environmental benefits that make a difference to the lives of millions of people (http://water.usgs.gov/nawqa/applications/).Two decades ago, the Congress established the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program to meet this need. Since then it has served as a primary source of nationally consistent information on the quality of the Nation's streams and groundwater; how water quality changes over time; and how natural features and human activities affect the quality of streams and groundwater. Objective and reliable data, water-quality models and related decision support tools, and systematic scientific studies characterize where, when, and why the Nation's water quality is degradedand what can be done to improve and protect it for human and ecosystem needs. This information is critical to our future because the Nation faces an increasingly complex and growing need for clean water to support population, economic growth, and healthy ecosystems. For example, two thirds of U.S. estuaries are impacted by nutrients and dead zones that no longer fully support healthy fish and other aquatic communities. Forty-two percent of the Nation's streams are in poor or degraded condition compared to reference conditions. Eighty percent of urban streams have at least one pesticide that exceeds criteria to protect aquatic life. Groundwater from about 20 percent of p...

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A 1990 nitrogen and phosphorus mass balance calculated for eight National Stream Quality Accounting Network (NASQAN) basins in the Albemarle‐Pamlico Drainage Basin indicated the importance of agricultural nonpoint sources of nitrogen and phosphorus and watershed nitrogen retention and processing capabilities. Basin total nitrogen and phosphorus input estimates were calculated for atmospheric deposition (which averaged 27 percent of total nitrogen inputs and 22 percent of total phosphorus inputs); crop fertilizer (27 and 25 percent); animal‐waste (22 and 50 percent, respectively); point sources (3 percent each of total nitrogen and total phosphorus inputs); and biological nitrogen fixation (21 percent of total nitrogen inputs). Highest in‐stream nitrogen and phosphorus loads were measured in predominantly agricultural drainage areas. Intermediate loads were observed in mixed agricultural/urban drainage areas; the lowest loads were measured in mixed agricultural/forested drainage areas. The difference between the sum of the nutrient input categories and the sum of the in‐stream nutrient loads and crop‐harvest nutrient removal was assigned to a residual category for the basin. The residual category averaged 51 percent of total nitrogen inputs and 54 percent of total phosphorus inputs.

Abstract:The Chickahominy River, arising near Richmond, Virginia, flows southeast toward Newport News, which impounds the river for much of its water supply. Much of the bottomland between the two cities is flooded for extended periods annually. Sediment-deposition rates estimated from tree rings were used in conjunction with multi-element analyses of sediments and of selected growth rings from oak trees to estimate amounts of trapped sediment and trace elements. Mean rates of deposition at eight study sites range from 0.7 to 5.7 mm/yr and are related to stream gradient, stream power, percent wetland, hydroperiod, and land use. Deposition rates are highest downstream from the confluence of upper basin tributaries near Richmond, where stream power is low and there is a high percentage of emergent/shrub-scrub wetlands; rates decrease along downstream reaches toward the Chickahominy reservoir. Tree-ring data suggest that mean sedimentation rates were greater during the last 50 years than during the previous 30-year period, possibly because of urban expansion in the upper basin. Sites nearest the urban area have the highest rates of sedimentation and the highest concentrations of most trace elements in sediments. Trace elements concentrated in sediment include zinc, lead, chromium, copper, nickel, tin, and cadmium. Concentrations in tree rings of zinc, copper, nickel, and lead were generally proportional to those in sediment at a site, and some inter-site correlations were also observed. Unusually high concentrations of zinc were detected in some tree rings, including some that formed before 1950. Concentrations of zinc and lead in the most recently formed rings of those trees suggest that sediment concentrations of those elements may have declined relative to earlier periods. The trapping of substantial amounts of sediment and trace elements by these forested wetlands demonstrates their importance in the maintenance of water-quality.

In the late 1800s, John Wesley Powell, second Director of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), proposed gaging the flow of rivers and streams in the Western United States to evaluate the potential for irrigation. Around the same time, several cities in the Eastern United States established primitive streamgages to help design water-supply systems. Streamgaging technology has greatly advanced since the 1800s, and USGS hydrographers have made at least one streamflow measurement at more than 37,000 sites throughout the years. Today, the USGS Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program supports the collection and (or) delivery of both streamflow and water-level information for more than 8,500 sites (continuous or partial record) and water-level information alone for more than 1,700 additional sites. The data are served online-most in near realtime-to meet many diverse needs; more than 640 million requests for streamflow information were fulfilled during the 2017 water year (October 1, 2016-September 30, 2017).

The Chickahominy River drains 790 km ~ in southeastern Virginia, including approximately 155 km ~ of dense commercial, industrial, and urban development in the upper basin near R~chmond, Virginia. Previous studies have shown that total stream concentrations of trace metals and nutrients increased during storms, suggesting resuspension of contaminated sediments and (or) stormwater influxes of pollutants. The possible role of wetlands in maintaining water quality is of concern because the river furnishes about 46 percent of the water supply for the City of Newport News. Particle sizes of sediments and their corresponding total concentrations of carbon, nitrogen, copper, nickel, lead, and zinc were determined to assess their distribution within wetlands adjacent to the river. Except for Zn, concentrations of all measured constituents in the <63-urn-particle fraction were lower downstream of Richmond, suggesting that most contaminants are retained in the upper basin. Zinc concentrations increased along downstream reaches, peaking at 510 mg kg-' approximately 8 km below the confluence of Upham Brook with the Chickahominy River. Lead concentrations up to 192 mg kg-' were measured in sediments along Upham Brook near Richmond. Concentrations of Zn and Cu were highest in streambed sediments and lowest in elevated forested wetlands. The results suggest that the developing regions of the basin have a significarlt effect on sediment chemistry within the basin and that wetlands play a role in retaining these sediment-borne contaminants in upper reaches of the basin. Studies are underway to assess the stablity of these sediments and the capacity of these contaminated wetlands to continue fo assimilate them.

The mission of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is to assess the quantity and quality of the earth resources of the Nation and to provide information that will assist resource managers and policymakers at Federal, State, and local levels in making sound decisions. Assessment of water-quality conditions and trends is an important part of this overall mission. One of the greatest challenges faced by waterresources scientists is acquiring reliable information that will guide the use and protection of the Nation's water resources. That challenge is being addressed by Federal, State, interstate, and local water-resource agencies and by many academic institutions. These organizations are collecting water-quality data for a host of purposes that include compliance with permits and water-supply standards; development of remediation plans for a specific contamination problem; operational decisions on industrial, wastewater, or water-supply facilities; and research on factors that affect water quality. An additional need for water-quality information is to provide a basis on which regional and national-level policy decisions can be based. Wise decisions must be based on sound information. As a society we need to know whether certain types of water-quality problems are isolated or ubiquitous, whether there are significant differences in conditions among regions, whether the conditions are changing over time, and why these conditions change from place to place and over time. The information can be used to help determine the efficacy of existing water-quality policies and to help analysts determine the need for, and likely consequences, of new policies. To address these needs, the Congress appropriated funds in 1986 for the USGS to begin a pilot program in seven project areas to develop and refine the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. In 1991, the USGS began full implementation of the program. The NAWQA Program builds upon an existing base of water-quality studies of the USGS, as well as those of other Federal, State, and local agencies. The objectives of the NAWQA Program are to Describe current water-quality conditions for a large part of the Nation's freshwater streams, rivers, and aquifers. Describe how water quality is changing over time.° Improve understanding of the primary natural and human factors that affect waterquality conditions. This information will help support the development and evaluation of management, regulatory, and monitoring decisions by other Federal, State, and local agencies to protect, use, and enhance water resources. The goals of the NAWQA Program are being achieved through ongoing and proposed investigations of 60 of the Nation's most important river basins and aquifer systems, which are referred to as study units. These study units are distributed throughout the Nation and cover a diversity of hydrogeologic settings. More than two-thirds of the Nation's freshwater use occurs within the 60 study units and more than two-thirds of the people served by public water-supply systems ...