Hydrology and water quality in two mountain basins of the northeastern US: assessing baseline conditions and effects of ski area development

Abstract

Mountain regions throughout the world face intense development pressures associated with recreational and tourism uses. Despite these pressures, much of the research on bio-geophysical impacts of humans in mountain regions has focused on the effects of natural resource extraction. This paper describes findings from the first 3 years of a study examining high elevation watershed processes in a region undergoing alpine resort development. Our study is designed as a

Mountain Hydroclimatology and Snow Seasonality—Perspectives on climate impacts, snow seasonality and hydrological change in mountain environments

“…Thus the maximum summer discharge can be delayed by several months, and peak flood discharge can be augmented by up to 30%. Wemple et al (2007) found that suspended sediment concentrations were more than twice as high as normal levels and all major solute concentrations were higher. Evaporation losses also need to be considered from intensive ski run management through artificial snow application.…”

“…However, very few publications exist on issues such as the effects of ski resort development on catchment hydrology and water quality. Wemple et al (2007) indicated that runoff was 18-36% higher in a catchment developed for skiing because of the high percentage of impervious surfaces from ski, housing and infrastructural developments. Figure 1.…”

“…Consumptive losses from artificial snow-making are estimated to range between 13 and 37% of water used for snow-making (Eisel et al, 1988). At the same time, artificial snow increased annual precipitation by only 4% in the study by Wemple et al (2007). Vanham et al (2008) and Teich (2007) found that in the Austrian and Swiss Alps, between 20 and 40% of the total water annual water consumption goes into snow production, which is the equivalent of more than 50% of the total drinking water consumption.…”

“…Apart from changing climatic and hydrological processes, mountain environments are increasingly modified by anthropogenic influences, in particular, those from mountain recreation and infrastructure. These can affect local catchment hydrology, erosion, suspended sediment, solute and nutrient transport and water and habitat quality (Wemple et al, 2007;de Jong et al, 2008). However, very few publications exist on issues such as the effects of ski resort development on catchment hydrology and water quality.…”

Integrated management of ash from industrial and domestic combustion: a new sustainable approach for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from energy conversion

“…It is often emphasized that one of the most important aspects is the impact of tourism on resources and quality of water. Ski resorts, in addition to water intake for artificial snowing, also deteriorate the quality of water in rivers and streams due to the contamination with nutrients, bacteria, and other microorganisms by treated and untreated human waste (Pickering et al 2003;Kangas et al 2009;Wemple et al 2007). Also in connection with the progressive global warming, the demand for water for snowing of ski slopes increases.…”