Progress 10/01/04 to 09/30/08
Outputs
OUTPUTS: The research component of this integrated project successfully documented the multiple roles of roadside ditches as contributors to flooding, droughts, and degraded water quality in downstream surface waters of NY. Two complimentary research approaches were used. Characteristics of the ditch network and its relationship to the natural stream system were evaluated for three small watersheds in central NY using field-based mapping with hand-held, Trimble GPS units, and ARC-GIS analysis. Water flow and contaminants were intensively monitored in 8 ditches in the Doolittle Creek watershed, a tributary to the Susquehanna River, using automated ISCO water samplers, bedload traps, and Tru-Trak water level recorders. Approximately 1,000 water samples and 150 bedload samples were collected and analyzed from 24 storm events over a 14 month period. Water samples were analyzed for total suspended sediment, pH, conductivity, adsorbed phosphorus, and dissolved trace metals and cations. Bedloads were analyzed for total weight and grain size distribution and included an additional 7 ditch sites monitored solely for bedload during the final 2 storm events. Rating curve data and hydrographs from each ditch were combined to determine total discharge in each ditch during each storm. The integrated discharge and chemical analyses were used to calculate and compare the total sediment and chemical loadings among the eight ditches as these were influenced by differences in the degree of scraped or exposed bottom substrate. The results of this research have been presented at several national conferences. An associated ditch extension program was developed, including a slide set, fact sheets and web site, and presented at 39 workshops or conferences to ~3,000 water resource professionals, town highway staff, and state and local government agencies across NY. A K-12 curriculum on ditches was integrated with the website and piloted in three workshops with ~100 teachers. Three additional invited presentations are scheduled for 2009. PARTICIPANTS: Schneider, Rebecca., Associate Professor, Dept. Natural Resources, Cornell University. P.I. and Project Leader responsible for methods development, overseeing data collection and summarization, extension program development, and graduate student training. Diaz-Robles, Juan. Primary Master's student, Dept.Civil and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University. Walter, Todd. P.I., Assist. Professor, Dept. Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University. P.I. responsible for guiding watershed hydrologic data analyses. Lembo, Art. Senior Lecturer - GIS. Dept. Crops and Soils, Cornell University. P.I. responsible for GIS guidance. Stephen DeGloria, Professor, Dept. Crops and Soils for guidance on GIS analyses. Trautmann, Nancy, Senior Extension Associate, Dept. Natural Resources, Cornell University. Responsible for primary leadership of the K-12 education program. Cayuga Lake Watershed Network, Sharon Anderson, Director. Responsible for assisting with extension program. Hallstead, Eric, Candor Town Highway Supervisor. Partner for Candor study site. This project provided research and extension training, including a M.S. thesis project and a Senior Undergraduate Honor's project, for one graduate student and one undergraduate student respectively, as well as laboratory and field research training for two undergraduate assistants. TARGET AUDIENCES: Target audiences included all those professionals who work on water issues across New York and regionally. Specifically the audiences included: (1) town highway supervisors and staff as the group most directly responsible for ditch management, (2) town government officials who provide leadership and funding for ditch maintenance activities, (3) state agency staff, water resource professionals, and other leaders of watershed groups who guide policy for stormwater management, and (4) additionally, K-12 students largely in middle and high school as a key group for building community awareness. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
The results of this research showed that roadside ditches significantly alter the natural drainage networks and hydrologic processes within watersheds in multiple ways: (1) roadside ditches increased the effective stream channel density by 2x or more; (2) the majority of the ditches discharge directly into headwaters; (3) significant quantities of gravel, cobble, and other bedload are deposited as deltas along the stream channel at ditch outfalls; (4) ditches intercepted ~20% of the shallow runoff from the Doolittle Cr. watershed, and rapidly shunted it farther downstream where it was discharged as a series of high velocity, point sources, like faucets, into the stream flow; (5) ditches scraped and left exposed, or which become incised by high water velocities, were a major source of suspended sediment and dissolved chemicals to the downstream waters. These research findings formed the basis of the extension program and were translated into a set of recommendations for improving ditch management, which include: (1) immediately hydroseed ditches after scraping; (2) replace scraping with regular mowing regimes wherever possible; (3) disconnect ditches from streams and, instead, divert ditch runoff to infiltration basins or constructed wetlands; (4) include ditch management as part of comprehensive, watershed-wide program to reduce total stormwater runoff by reducing impervious surfaces, improving soil health and infiltration capacity. The integration of the research findings directly into a statewide extension program has resulted in a significant increase in the awareness of this issue. There has been a visible change in response, from the early stages when audiences were frequently shocked to hear about this "new" problem. This has been replaced by a growing statewide awareness, as evidenced by 11 unsolicited invitations to speak at statewide conferences or to state agency committees, with 3 more scheduled for 2009. No formal survey of town response has been conducted, however there are anecdotal reports that ditch management practices are changing across NY. Several towns (e.g. Honeoye Lake, Schoharie, and Ithaca) have now conducted ditch outfall inventories, Green County has replaced scraping with boulders in many ditches, several towns (e.g. Dryden, Varick, Fayette) have adopted local ordinances, and Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy has created ditch demonstration sites and a video. We helped review the ditch management guidelines for NYS Dept. of Transportation and provided invited, written testimony to the NYS Legislature on stormwater management in NYS. The ditch recommendations were also included in a forthcoming book "Diet for a Small Lake: Expanded Guide to Lake and Watershed Management" (2009, Forager Press) which is a collaborative effort between NYS Federation of Lake Associations and NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation. Results from this work have formed the basis for funded grants focused on: a) ditch transport of manure- pathogens from farm fields to drinking water supplies, and b) ditch management as an adaptation to reduce impacts of flooding associated with climate change.
Publications
- Kishbaugh, S., R.Schneider, L. Raymond, S.Anderson, J. Foster, and J. Cunningham. 2009.Diet for a Small Lake: Expanded Guide to Lake and Watershed Management. Forager Press, Cleveland, OH. 250 pp.
- Luxenberg, S. 2007. Watershed partnerships and public participation: A case study of the New York City water supply watershed. Senior Honors Thesis. Dept. Policy Analysis and Management. Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
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Progress 10/01/06 to 09/30/07
Outputs
OUTPUTS: In year three, we conducted the bulk of the laboratory analyses of the water chemistry and bedload samples collected from the 8 ditches and Doolittle Creek during 24 storm events over a 14 month period in our target watershed, near Candor, NY. Water samples were analyzed for total suspended sediment, pH, conductivity, adsorbed phosphorus, and dissolved trace metals and cations. Bedload was analyzed for total weight and grain size distribution and included an additional seven ditch sites monitored solely for bedload during the final four storm events. We also integrated the rating curve data and hydrographs from each ditch to determine total discharge in each ditch during each storm. The integrated discharge and chemistry analyses allowed us to calculate and compare the total sediment and chemical loadings among the eight ditches as these were influenced by differences in the degree of scraped or exposed bottom substrate. The findings and associated recommendations for
improved ditch management were summarized in one master's thesis. A poster summarizing the research was presented at the annual conference of the Society of Wetland Scientists, in Sacramento, CA. An associated ditch extension program presented the results of the research throughout the year to build awareness among critical stakeholder groups. A wall poster summarizing the ditch recommendations was created that complements the ditch fact sheet created previously. The results were delivered as presentations to approximately 400 town highway staff, 200 town government officials, and 200 engineers and other water resource professionals at 15 conferences across New York and the surrounding region. The K-12 curriculum on ditch management was taught to 20 middle school teachers participating in GIT Ahead, an NSF-funded, Advanced Technological Education project, and ditch studies were also conducted by 20 high school students attending the Environmental Studies Summer Youth Institute in
Geneva, NY.
PARTICIPANTS: Schneider, Rebecca., Associate Professor, Dept. Natural Resources, Cornell University. P.I. and Project Leader responsible for methods development, overseeing data collection and summarization, extension program development, and graduate student training. Diaz-Robles, Juan. Primary Master's student, Dept.Civil and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University. Walter, Todd. P.I., Assist. Professor, Dept. Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University. P.I. responsible for guiding watershed hydrologic data analyses. Lembo, Art. Senior Lecturer - GIS. Dept. Crops and Soils, Cornell University. P.I. responsible for GIS guidance. Trautmann, Nancy, Senior Extension Associate, Dept. Natural Resources, Cornell University. Responsible for primary leadership of the K-12 education program. Cayuga Lake Watershed Network, Sharon Anderson, Director. Responsible for assisting with extension program. Hallstead, Eric, Candor Town Highway Supervisor. Partner for Candor
study site.
TARGET AUDIENCES: Target audiences included all those professionals who work on water issues across New York and regionally. Specifically the audiences included: (1) town highway supervisors and staff as the group most directly responsible for ditch management, (2) town government officials who provide leadership and funding for ditch maintenance activities, (3) water resource professionals, leaders of watershed groups and state agencies who guide policy for stormwater management, and (4) additionally, K-12 students largely in middle and high school are a key group for building community awareness.
PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: A one year extension of the Year 3 funds was requested and received in order to accomplish the following tasks: complete remaining sample and GIS analyses, complete development of the ditch website for professionals, complete an additional ditch stormwater fact sheet, and continue the ditch extension program.
Impacts
As a result of our roadside ditch research thus far, we have developed a new understanding of how human alterations of the landscape have been contributing to increased floods and droughts, to degraded surface water quality, and deterioration of stream health in New York and the northeastern / middle Atlantic region of the U.S. Specifically, our findings indicated that networks of roadside ditches in our study watersheds are a leading contributor because they have: (1) altered the natural watershed drainage process by extending the stream channel density by 2-4 fold, (2) captured shallow runoff from approximately 20% of the study watershed and rapidly shunted it further downstream where it is being discharged at the ditch outfalls as high velocity flow, (3) can be a significant source of suspended sediment and bedload when the ditches have exposed substrates due to scraping or incision, (4) are a conduit for road salts and other contaminants to stream water, and (5)
create deltas from the bedload rocks and gravel at numerous, random locations throughout the stream network. As a result of our associated extension program, we have observed, first, an increase in awareness by water resource professionals statewide of the importance of roadside ditch issues. As witness, the most recent eight presentations were given as an invited, guest speaker including regional conferences of the NYS Planning Federation, the NY chapter of the Federation of Floodplain and Stormwater Managers, the Catskill Watershed Summit, the North Country Stormwater Conference, and the working meeting of the Delaware River Basin Commission. We are already beginning to see some changes in actions and behavior as a result of these presentations, with respect to managing ditches and stormwater runoff. Several towns in New York have adopted roadside ditch maintenance ordinances and the Watershed Task Force for Honeoye Lake, which provides drinking water supply for communities in parts
of Ontario and Livingston Counties, has begun mapping its roadside ditch network. The most dramatic accomplishment resulted from our presentation to the Delaware River Basin Commission, which represent governors of Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania and oversees the 13,600 sq. mile watershed that supports 15 million people. The Commission enthusiastically agreed to work with their engineers and fund and implement a basin-wide program to modify existing ditch management practices.
Publications
- Diaz-Robles, J. 2007. M.S. Thesis. Evaluation of the effects of ditch management practices on suspended sediment, bedload and dissolved chemical contaminants transported to downstream receiving waters. Dept. Civil and Environmental Engineering. Cornell University. 61 pp.
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Progress 01/01/06 to 12/31/06
Outputs
The overall goals for this second year of the roadside ditch program have been to conduct the bulk of the ditch water sample data collection and to increase our extension efforts to professionals and K-12 educators. The roadside ditch project has two main research objectives that build consecutively on each other in spatial scale. Our research efforts this past year have focused on the finest scale, documenting within ditch processes and, specifically, the discharges and loadings of suspended and dissolved materials originating from ditches that vary in their extent of exposed substrate. This data collection has been highly successful, with ditch monitoring and sample processing throughout the Doolittle Creek system, a tributary to the Susquehanna River, nearly completed. Approximately 800 water samples have been collected from our 8 ditch sampling stations and the downstream creek site, across a total of 25 days representing 17 storm events. We have started the data
summarization which shows significant increases, by several orders of magnitude, in total suspended sediment load, from less than 0.01 mg/L to as much as 25 mg/L with an increase in the percent scraped or exposed substrate in the ditches, as well as very high bedloads moving during large storms. These results suggest that ditch management practices may be a significant contributor to degraded water quality in downstream receiving waters. Phosphorus and trace metal analyses, both dissolved and adsorbed, are still being conducted. We have completed the field-based, GPS mapping of all the ditches in the Doolittle Creek basin. These data are being processed using GIS analyses to determine the total contribution of ditches to the stream network. The preliminary results from the work have been presented at the annual conference of the American Water Resource Association in Baltimore (Nov. 2006), on our K-12 ditch curriculum website, as well as at more than 20 workshops to town planners and
highway departments across New York in order to get this issue before stakeholders as they work on meeting EPA Phase II Requirements in 2008.
Impacts
Already, the preliminary results of this research show that roadside ditches are a significant contributor to degraded water quality and flooding in the downstream receiving waters in our studied watersheds. Even in the largely agricultural and forested watershed of Doolittle Creek, roadside ditches intercept a major percentage of shallow storm runoff from the landscape and shunt it rapidly downhill where it is discharged, faucet-like, into the stream. When ditches are scraped and left with exposed substrates, they are a source of considerable erosion and suspended sediment that is transported during storms to the creeks where they discharge. Less obviously, these ditches are also a source of considerable bedload that is deposited as deltas along the stream edges. These findings provide new insights into the factors driving increased flooding and water quality degradation in watersheds across the United States and have important implications for the success of the
ongoing EPA Phase II Stormwater Regulations.We have given presentations of these preliminary findings, along with a draft list of recommendations, to over 1000 town planners and highway staff across New York state over the past year.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 01/01/05 to 12/31/05
Outputs
This was the first year of our 3 yr long, integrated research and extension program examining the role of roadside ditches in contributing to water quality and quantity problems in New York streams and lakes. The research goals are to quantify the role of ditches as contributors of water, suspended sediment, bedload and dissolved contaminants to a natural stream system. The primary research goal for this past year was to identify the target watershed and ditch systems, install equipment and initiate sampling, work out any problems with the sampling protocols, and collect several full rain events. We GPSed the entire ditch network of the Six Mile Creek watershed, the source of the Ithaca city water supply, which drains into Cayuga Lake and the Great Lakes system. Ditch lengths, connections to streams, and internal ditch condition were recorded. After analysis, we decided against using this watershed for the ditch water monitoring because the ditch system was highly
intertwined with the natural stream system making it difficult to separate out ditch contributions. We identified a second watershed, Doolittle Creek, located in Tioga County and draining into the Susquehanna River - Chesapeake Bay watershed. The first research goal is to compare loads and discharges among ditches that have scraped / exposed substrates with those which are vegetated. We worked collaboratively with the Town Highway Superintendent to identify 8 ditches for monitoring as well as a downstream creek site. Four ditches are vegetated to varying degrees. The remaining four are exposed substrate, with two being recently scraped and one of them being hydroseeded just prior to our data collection. Each of the sites was instrumented with an ISCO automated water sampler, powered by a marine-solar cell battery system, a Tru-Trak water level gauge, and bedload traps. July and August 2005 were characterized by extreme drought conditions which prevented sampling, however we captured
four complete rain events from September through October 2005. Approximately 500 water samples and 30 bedload trap samples were collected and are being processed. Sampling will continue this spring. Although preliminary, we have strong indications that the exposed ditches are contributing large quantities of suspended sediment and bedload downstream. Already this finding is forming the basis of our recommendation discouraging the management practice of scraping and leaving ditches exposed.
Impacts
The research is in an early phase and so there are no quantitative results or publications at this date. However, a high priority for the application of this research is to inform town planners and highway department staff who are currently addressing EPA Phase II Stormwater requirements. There are 450 towns in New York alone, e.g. MS4 towns, who must have a stormwater management plan in place within the next two years. Therefore, we felt it was critical not to miss the opportunity of presenting the issue of roadside ditches to these stakeholders. We have used photos from the first sample collections as part of our outreach program this past year to highlight the potential for sediment moving from scraped ditches. We have given seven presentations to ~200 town planners, engineers, highway staff, and lake association directors. The presentations have been well received and five towns have already listed ditch management as a high priority for their programs.
Discussions with these stakeholders has helped identify key barriers to improving ditch management, namely a lack of funding, manpower, and landowner concerns about land takings. We will be addressing these issues as the research and extension programs continue.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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