Checklist for Potomac/Mid-Atlantic Hydrologic Observatory

 

Name: David Jennings and S. Taylor Jarnagin

 

Institution: United States Environmental Protection Agency/Office of Research and Development

 

Number of watersheds:  5 ñ 10 catchments / sub-watersheds in the Clarksburg Special Protection Area (CSPA), Montgomery County, Maryland.

 

For each watershed where monitoring is going on, provide the following (copy to additional pages as needed)

 

1. Geographic coordinates for a reference point in the watershed or at the basin outlet:

 

39.23 N, 77.27 W

 

2. Number of sites being monitored within the watershed, with the range or average size of drainage areas (where relevant):

 

There are 5 specific water quality/quantity and biota sites with an average watershed area of 5 km2.

 

3. Parameters being monitored (list by category, e.g. streamflow; groundwater levels; meteorological variables ñ precip, relative humidity, wind speed, components of radiation balance; temperature; water quality constituents ñ nutrients, metals, organics, microorganisms, etc.; if there are different suites monitored at different sites, give approximate number of sites where each group of parameters is being monitored).

 

Streamflow, Water Quality , Biota, Precipitation and Stream Channel morphology  are being monitored in the vicinity of 5 pour point locations in the CSPA.

 

A. USGS streamglow gauges funded by the USEPA,

 

USGS #01643395  Soper Branch at Hyattstown, MD

USGS #01644368  Little Seneca Creek tributary near Clarksburg, MD

USGS #01644370  Little Seneca Creek tributary at Brink, MD

USGS #01644375  Little Seneca Creek tributary near Germantown, MD

USGS #01644380  Cabin Branch near Boyds, MD

 

B. Water Quality, Biota and Precipitation monitored by Montgomery County, Maryland, http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/mc/services/dep/SPA/2001annualreport/clarksburg.pdf

 

 

C. Stream channel morphology monitored by the USEPA, Montgomery County and University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) via repeat high-resolution LIDAR collects.

 

4. Period(s) of record:

 

…               Water Quality and Biota period of record = 5 years (Montgomery County survey).

…               Streamflow and Precipitation period of Record = since November 2003 (USGS flow gages and Montgomery County precipitation gage).

…               Stream channel morphology  = LIDAR collects 12/02 and 3/04.

 

5. Frequency of record:

 

…               Water Quality and Biota frequency of record =  yearly survey.

…               Precipitation frequency of record =  hourly survey.

…               Streamflow frequency of record =  continuous @ 5 - 15-minute intervals.

…               Stream channel morphology frequency  = LIDAR collects at 18 ñ 24 month increments.

 

 

6. Titles of current project or projects or scientific and management objectives of monitoring:

 

Science Themes:

 

…               Effectiveness of Best Management Practices (BMP) to mitigate impacts of development/imperviousness on water resources.

…               Relationship of imperviousness, water quantity/quality and biotic integrity in developing catchments.

…               Integration of water quantity and remote sensing data to quantify the impact of development on streamflow variability and stream channel morphology.

 

7. Names of Principal Investigators on current projects:

 

Mr. David B. Jennings and Dr. S. Taylor Jarnagin