Clemson University Center for Watershed Excellence

2008 S.C. Water Resources Conference - Addressing Water Challenges Facing the State and Regio

Using GIS to Prioritize Green Infrastructure Installation Strategies in an Urbanized Watershed

2014 S.C. Water Resources Conference - Informing Strategic Water Planning to Address Natural Resource, Community and Economic Challenge

Results of an Intensive Water Quality Study of the Middle and Lower Savannah River Basin

2010 S.C. Water Resources Conference - Science and Policy Challenges for a Sustainable Futur

A Local Correlation Score to Monitor Sensor Drift of Real-Time Environmental Data

2012 S.C. Water Resources Conference - Exploring Opportunities for Collaborative Water Research, Policy and Managemen

Moving Forward: Refinement of the INTELLIGENT RIVER, A Basin-Scale Monitoring Instrument

2012 S.C. Water Resources Conference - Exploring Opportunities for Collaborative Water Research, Policy and Managemen

Multi-year research on the use of constructed wetlands for advanced wastewater treatment

The use of constructed wetlands for tertiary wastewater treatment is emerging as a cost-effective wastewater treatment technology. Constructed wetlands are theoretically designed and operated so that the target constituents have ample time to interact with wetland substrates and microbiota to effect constituent removal necessary to achieve water quality discharge limits. Unfortunately, engineering natural systems is complicated and operational criteria are poorly defined. Long-term research is needed that compares design configurations as well as performance since each constructed wetland system is subjected to a variety of stochastic events (i.e. wind speed and direction, sedimentation due to pulsed rain events, plant dispersal and plant succession). The 650-acre constructed wetland system in Augusta, Georgia was developed in three phases, beginning with a 60-acre pilot study that evaluated use of the technology for ammonia and BOD removal. The pilot study was operated from 1997 – 1999. Design changes resulting from the pilot study were incorporated into Phases 2 and 3, which were completed in 2000 and 2002 respectively. During 2003-2004, an innovative optimization study was conducted to compare performance criteria between wetland cells of different design configurations, age, planting schemes, and operational criteria such as depth and flow. The cells were monitored using multiprobe HydroLab® technology. Water quality analyses included BOD, TSS, nitrate+nitrite, TKN, ammonia, ortho- and total phosphate. Continuous weather data were also collected using a GroWeather® monitoring station. Results of this research indicated that wetland cell performance was similar regardless of design, age, planting scheme, flow rates and various operational manipulations. The study suggested cell orientation to prevailing winds and duckweed cover may have impacted treatment efficiency. Nitrogen removal may also have been compromised by nitrogen import from large colonies of roosting redwing blackbirds as well as blue-green algae blooms. There is also evidence that suggests preferential flow patterns and stagnant zones within the cells may be potentially decreasing efficiency and overall removal performance. A tracer study is planned to evaluate aboveground and belowground processes that may alter the theoretical homogenous flow design of constructed wetland systems.Sponsored by: Georgia Environmental Protection Division U.S. Geological Survey, Georgia Water Science Center U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia Water Resources Institute The University of Georgia, Water Resources Facult

Preliminary Data from a Comprehensive Savannah River Study: The First 6 Months

Proceedings of the 2007 Georgia Water Resources Conference, March 27-29, 2007, Athens, Georgia.Southeastern Natural Sciences Academy has initiated a two year comprehensive study to assess the upstream impacts on water quality in the Savannah River with emphasis on the Augusta urban corridor. One of the driving forces of the study is characterization of the upstream contribution of oxygen demanding substances to the Savannah Harbor. The ongoing study began in January 2006 and encompasses the physical, chemical, and biological domains of limnology. We have employed both Eulerian and Lagrangian approaches through continuous collection of data from static multiparameter probe stations and through flow based chemistry sampling events, respectively, with stations spanning from River Mile 148 (near Plant Vogtle) to River Mile 215 (above Augusta, GA). This presentation represents a portion of the first 6 months of collected Eulerian and Lagrangian data. Preliminary Eulerian results showed that, on average, temperature and conductivity increased steadily from river mile 215 to river mile 148 with the highest variability for both parameters at the downstream station. The overall trend for pH showed no net change from River Mile 215 to 148 but pH increased by nearly 1 unit at River Mile 202 and was most variable at that location. The overall trend for dissolved oxygen showed a net loss of ~0.5 mg O2/L from River Mile 215 to 148 but increased by an average of 1.5mg O2/L at River Mile 202 and remained elevated through River Mile 185. Lagrangian sampling results for the May sampling event showed that increases in conductivity from River Mile 215 to 148 mostly resulted from downstream increases in sodium, alkalinity (as CO3), sulfate, chloride, potassium, calcium, and iron. Total organic carbon, almost entirely in the dissolved phase, increased from River Mile 215 to 148. This increase was equivalent to ~700 kg C added to the river over that reach, none of which was characterized as a biologically oxygen demanding substance (BOD5) but may have been characterized as an oxygen demanding substance under harsher conditions (COD).Sponsored and Organized by: U.S. Geological Survey, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Natural Resources Conservation Service, The University of Georgia, Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of TechnologyThis book was published by the Institute of Ecology, The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602-2202. The views and statements advanced in this publication are solely those of the authors and do not represent official views or policies of The University of Georgia, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Georgia Water Research Institute as authorized by the Water Resources Research Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-397) or the other conference sponsors