Progress 04/15/18 to 04/14/22
Outputs
Target Audience:Target audiences throughout the project included: 1) Graduate students and postdoctoral scholars engaged in the project: A total of five graduate students have participated in the project, spanning three different Departments (Sociology, Social Sciences, Civil Engineering, Earth and Environmental Sciences) and three different Colleges at Syracuse University. These graduate students are learning from each of the PIs and one another in a multidisciplinary setting. Although not directly paid by this grant (supported through Syracuse University funds), two postdoctoral scholars, Lidiia Iavorivska and Michael Dunaway, both contributed to project objectives and analyses. 2) Researchers and scientists beyond Syracuse University: Project members have reached several scientific audiences: -USDA Project Directors: All PIs and co-PIs attended the USDA project directors meeting in January 2021. As part of attending, all spoke about our ongoing project, and Kelleher prepared a one-page slide and short presentation on our major findings. -Colloquiums at other Universities: Co-PI Schewe gave a colloquium to the Rural Sociology and Agricultural Economics department at Penn State University. Schewe presented preliminary spatial analysis of manure and biosolids conservation behaviors and their link with water quality measures. Co-PI Zeng presented a virtual seminar to the Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering department at the University of Colorado Boulder. Zeng discussed the CEC screening method developed as part of this project. -Conferences: All project members have shared findings at national and international conferences. Presentations associated with the project have been made at the Geological Society of America Fall Meeting, the International Symposium on Society and Resource Management, the Rural Sociological Society, and the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting. 3) Undergraduate students at Syracuse University: All PIs and co-PIs have lectured on the topic of organic micropollutants in our courses in Departments ranging from Sociology, to Environmental Engineering, to Earth and Environmental Sciences. Multiple co-PIs also supported undergraduate researchers who engaged with this project. 4) The Public: Organized by co-PI Schewe, the project team gave a 1.5 hour webinar on our major findings to a group of NY water quality experts. We had 36 people in attendance from academic (SUNY-ESF), federal (USDA), and state (NY DEC) agencies, as well as members of the public Changes/Problems:The one major challenge we have encountered is impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic. This has led to delays in lab work and also slowed the progress of our manuscripts. We also experienced unexpected instrument breakdown episodes that caused a delay during the final stage of our sample analysis. While we are at the end of our grant, we will continue to see through several publications related to this work. ? What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Multidisciplinary communication skills: All graduate students, through participation in quarterly check-in meetings and through individual meetings with PIs, co-PIs, and other graduate students, are learning communication skills for interacting with scientists outside their departments and from different backgrounds than their own. These multidisciplinary experiences are shaping their ability to communicate outside of their discipline. Oral and written presentation skills: All graduate students are receiving training in presentation skills through their participation at annual meetings in their discipline. All graduate students are also working towards the preparation of manuscripts for journal submission, honing their written communication skills. Environmental Engineering PhD student Shiru Wang received training in the development and application of a new passive sampling-based screening workflow to identify CECs in addition to those already quantified using the grab sampling-based screening workflow. Ms. Wang also received training in the application of screening-level risk assessment approach to evaluate the potential for biological effects associated with CECs. Ms. Wang served as the mentor for one undergraduate student who participated in laboratory work during spring 2020 (before the pandemic). She is currently preparing a first-authored manuscript based on her findings. Earth and Environmental Science PhD student Ruta Basijokaite has received training in scientific programming, geospatial analysis, hydrological analysis, the analysis of large datasets, and machine learning as part of this project. Ms. Basijokaite is currently performing statistical analysis on organic micropollutant results at all survey sites, and working to connect these observations with the watershed characteristics and hydrological functioning across our 20 study sites. She is currently preparing a first-authored manuscript based on her findings. Postdoctoral Scholar Lidiia Iavorivska has received training in conducting literature reviews, mentoring graduate students, and professional development. Ms. Iavorivska is leading a literature review focused on peer-reviewed articles that use model simulations to study organic micropollutants. Social Science PhD candidate Krushna Ranaware has received training in administrative data analysis and weighted statistical analysis by helping to prepare a report and preliminary analysis of the Biosolids and Manure survey. Sociology PhD candidate Trent Fenner has received training in weighted survey analysis by helping to prepare a report and preliminary analysis of the Biosolids and Manure survey. An undergraduate student (Environmental Engineering, Syracuse University) participated in sample analysis in the lab of co-PD Teng Zeng during spring 2020. This undergraduate student learned skills in passive sampler extraction and data management How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Our results have been shared with communities of interest in the following ways: -Scientific presentations: To date, the PIs and several graduate students have shared research products and findings at major conferences and colloquiums at Land Grant Institutions. -Publicly available reports: The PIs have uploaded a publicly available report on survey outcomes that PI Schewe has been sharing with interested parties across the state (and beyond). -Education of undergraduates: PIs Kelleher and Zeng have both presented some of their work in courses to undergraduate scientists and engineers, reaching a broad audience who were previously unaware of the implications of CECs on water quality. -Other USDA PDs and POs: All PIs were in attendance for the USDA PDs meeting and shared our findings with the broader community of USDA funded PDs and POs. There were many opportunities for engagement and sharing of our ongoing work throughout this meeting with other PDs doing similar work. We have made several contacts as part of these interactions. -Presentations on our findings to local stakeholders: In December 2021, we held a 1.5 hour webinar to share the major findings of our project with local stakeholders, including those working for NY DEC, local Universities, and the USDA. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Goal 1: To understand basic patterns of human behavior and decisions regarding the application of manure and biosolids using surveys from New York agriculturalists In the final year of our project, analysis of survey data included spatial analysis of agricultural conservation behaviors and understanding the impact of those behaviors by linking survey data with SPARROW and micropollutant data. Analysis, that will be included in two manuscripts in development, shows that there is significant spatial clustering of conservation behaviors including the use of soil testing and buffer zones around waterways and that conservation behaviors and commodity systems (i.e., dairy versus beef versus corn) has significant impacts of water quality measures. Analysis has included Moran's I, Local Anselin Moran's I, OLS regression, and geographically weighted regression. Goal 2: To perform a first assessment of CEC types and concentrations across different spatiotemporal scales in agricultural watersheds of central New York We expanded our suspect screening analysis to cover 7 tire-derived compounds that have recently been highlighted in other CEC occurrence studies in North America. We also refined our nontarget screening analysis to prioritize 14 previously uncharacterized CECs at stream sites featuring higher impacts of wastewater inputs or diffuse pollution. With suspect and nontarget screening, we confirmed a total of 109 and 86 compounds in passive samplers and grab samples, respectively. We also finalized the calculations of field sampling rates for 37 CECs that occurred at more than five different stream sites with a minimum of seven passive-grab data pairs. We applied these field sampling rates to perform a comparative analysis of CEC load estimation by passive and grab sampling. We are finalizing a manuscript summarizing these results for submission in the near future.. Goal 3: To provide a theoretical evaluation of the potential ecotoxicological risks that offsite transport of CECs poses to ecosystems downstream of agricultural watersheds. We applied two screening-level risk assessment methods to evaluate potential for biological effects associated with CECs. We implemented the exposure-activity ratio approach to screen for the potential for in vitro vertebrate-centric sublethal effects associated with CECs based on exposure-response metrics available through EPA's ToxCast high-throughput screening database. We also assessed the potential for in vivo lethal effects toward aquatic species assemblages associated with CECs by calculating multi-substance potentially affected fractions based on acute EC50 data derived from log-normal species sensitivity distributions. We found that the exposure-activity ratios and multi-substance potentially affected fractions determined by passive and grab sampling data agreed within a factor of two. Goal 4: To identify data-driven relationships between CEC presence/absence and watershed characteristics and human behavior & Goal 5: To develop relationships between likely hydrologic pathways and timing of CEC occurrence and presence/absence To meet Goals 4 and 5, we have completed a thorough study that is in final draft form (ready to be submitted in the next few weeks) addressing empirical relationships between CEC concentrations/presence and (1) hydrological processes and weather variables through time, and (2) land cover through space. We found that certain compounds experienced minimal temporal variations, while other showed great variations due to changing hydroclimatic conditions. Similarly, our correlation analysis showed that the majority of commonly detected compounds have negative correlations with instantaneous and long-term streamflow and precipitation variables highlighting not only important climate-CEC interactions, but also that long term hydrologic conditions likely an important role in shaping observed CEC concentrations. Our distance weighted land cover analysis revealed that land cover in close proximity to the sampling location is expected to have greater effect on total number of detected compounds, while watershed scale land cover should be assessed for approximating concentrations of persistent CECs. We have several in progress manuscripts related to these goals: [Goal 1] R Schewe, L Iavorivska, and C Kelleher, Relating human behavior to concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus across New York State [in preparation - to be submitted in May 2022] Ourfindings suggest that BMPs do not have a uniform effect but instead interact with the features of the local watersheds and waterways to influence their effectiveness. Overall, our analyses highlight areas where promotion of BMPs could be targeted, to achieve the greatest improvements in nutrient load in waterways. [Goal 2, 3, 4] S Wang, R Basijokaite, B L Murphy, C A Kelleher, T Zeng, Combining passive sampling with suspect and nontarget screening to characterize organic micropollutants in streams draining mixed-use watersheds [in preparation - to be submitted in April 2022] In this manuscript, we couple passive and grab sampling with high-resolution accurate mass screening to identify and quantify CECs in streams draining mixed-use watersheds in central New York. Our analysis establishes the in-stream occurrence patterns of CECs in relation to wastewater inputs and diffuse pollution within the studied watersheds. Our results also support the utility of passive and grab sampling for estimating field sampling rates of CEC for time-weighted load estimation. Our screening-level calculations of exposure-activity ratios and multi-substance potentially affected fractions support risk-based prioritization of CEC mixtures. [Goal 4, Goal 5] R Basijokiate, S Wang, C Kelleher, T Zeng, The impacts of hydrology and human behavior on organic micropollutants across central New York. [In preparation - to be submitted in April 2022]. Our results show that in addition to varying water quality levels among different sites, CEC behavior is highly variable among compounds, with variability being correlated with different streamflow and precipitation variables. In addition, we show that different proportions of land cover (e.g., whole watershed versus sampling location) can be highly useful in predicting the number of detected compounds as well as their concentrations using the percentage of urban and agricultural land cover. [Goal 5] J Wade, C Kelleher, A Ward, R Schewe, The Navigable Waters Protection rule does not protect a diverse array of wetland sizes. [Under review] In our research, we evaluate how the shift from the statutes of the Clean Water Rule to the NWPR have affected the jurisdictional status of over 2,000,000 wetland acres in New York State. We find that by revising the definition WOTUS, the NWPR is likely to homogenize the spatial distribution and size of wetlands, potentially threatening the recognized ecosystem services provided by these landscape features. [Goal 5] L. Iavorivska, C. Kelleher, T. Zeng, Water quality modeling of fate and transport of contaminants of emerging concern: from land to streams. [in progress] Description: The article is focused on a thorough review of the existing water quality models for simulating the interactions between pollution sources and environmental pathways that govern the distribution and delivery of CECs to and within water systems. By synthesizing current scientific literature, we aim to highlight the avenues for advancing models as a tool for a quantitative analysis of the fate and transport of emerging chemicals across spatial and temporal scales to better inform their pollution control and risk assessment.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Hannah, D. M., Abbott, B. W., Khamis, K., Kelleher, C., Lynch, I., Krause, S., & Ward, A. S. (2022). Illuminating the invisible water crisis to address global water pollution challenges. Hydrological Processes, 36( 3), e14525. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.14525
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Basijokaite, R., Wang, S., Kelleher, C., Zeng, T. (2021). Environmental Drivers Explain Variability of Contaminants of Emerging Concern. AGU Fall Meeting, New Orleans, LA, USA, December 2021.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Schewe, R., Kelleher, C., Zeng, T., Iavoriska, L., and Ranaware, K. (2021). Agricultural Conservation and Water Quality in NY State Int'l Symposium on Society and Resource Management, Virtual, June 2021.
|
Progress 04/15/20 to 04/14/21
Outputs
Target Audience:Target audiences in Year 3 included: 1) Graduate students and postdoctoral scholars engaged in the project: A total of five graduate students are participating in the project, spanning three different Departments (Sociology, Civil Engineering, Earth and Environmental Sciences) and three different Colleges at Syracuse University. These graduate students are learning from each of the PIs and one another in a multidisciplinary setting. Although not directly paid by this grant (supported through Syracuse University funds), recently recruited postdoctoral scholar Lidiia Iavorivska is also working on two manuscripts related to this project. Lidiia is equally benefitting from the interdisciplinarity of our project themes, interacting with multiple graduate students and PIs. 2) Researchers and scientists beyond Syracuse University: PI Kelleher and Co-PIs Zeng and Schewe all attended the USDA project directors meeting in January 2021. As part of attending, all spoke about our ongoing project, and Kelleher prepared a one-page slide and short presentation on our major findings. This spring, Co-PI Schewe gave a colloquium to the Rural Sociology and Agricultural Economics department at Penn State University. Schewe presented preliminary spatial analysis of manure and biosolids conservation behaviors and their link with water quality measures. R. Schewe, C. Kelleher, L. Iavoriska, and K. Ranaware. Agricultural Conservation and Water Quality in NY State. M.E. John Lecture, Penn State University, February 2021. [symposium, virtual] Both PI Kelleher and Co-PI Schewe shared ongoing findings associated with this project at national conferences. Kelleher presented at the Geological Society of America Fall Meeting, and Schewe presented at the International Symposium on Society and Resource Management. These citations are shown below. Kelleher presented on our work focused on relating organic micropollutant concentrations to spatial predictors and hydrological behavior. Schewe shared results of our ongoing work in July 2020. R. Schewe, C. Kelleher, Diluting the Water of the United States: agriculture and the Clean Water Act" with Christa Kelleher. Int'l Symposium on Society and Resource Management, July 2020. [Presentation, virtual] C. Kelleher, T. Zeng, R. Schewe, R. Basijokaite, S. Wang, K. Ranaware, T. Fenner, Detecting Chemicals of Emerging Concern Across Central New York: Imprints from Hydrology and Human Behavior, Geological Society of America Annual Meeting, October 2020. [Presentation, virtual] 3) Undergraduate students at Syracuse University: PI Kelleher spent one lecture in Fall 2020 discussing organic micropollutants in EAR 205 (Water and Our Environment), a course taught to 100 undergraduates at Syracuse University. Co-PI Zeng also spent a lecture covering organic micropollutants to 33 Civil and Environmental Engineering undergraduates in Fall 2020. In addition, one undergraduate student (Environmental Engineering, Syracuse University) participated in sample extraction and analysis in Spring 2020 (before Co-PI Zeng's laboratory shutdown due to the pandemic). This student is not funded by this project but is directly contributing to project outcomes. 4) The public: Co-PI Schewe completed a preliminary draft of our survey analysis. This report is publicly available on our project website at the following link:https://ckellehe.expressions.syr.edu/usda-cny-organic-micropollutants/usda-outcomes/ Changes/Problems:The only major challenge we are encountering is due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This pandemic has resulted in the required closure of labs at Syracuse University. While some members of the project team are able to perform research activities from home, this has halted the chemical analysis of passive samplers and continued analysis of grab samples. The strain of the pandemic on all project members will likely slow analysis and preparation of manuscripts. Beyond lab closure, all graduate students are struggling with mental health issues. PIs have limited time as they have been forced to move their courses online. Progress is therefore slower than we would like, though we are still very much making progress. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Multidisciplinary communication skills: All graduate students, through participation in quarterly check-in meetings and through individual meetings with PIs, co-PIs, and other graduate students, are learning communication skills for interacting with scientists outside their departments and from different backgrounds than their own. These multidisciplinary experiences are shaping their ability to communicate outside of their discipline. Oral and written presentation skills: All graduate students are receiving training in presentation skills through their participation at annual meetings in their discipline. All graduate students are also working towards the preparation of manuscripts for journal submission, honing their written communication skills. Environmental Engineering PhD student Shiru Wang received training in the development and application of a new passive sampling-based screening workflow to identify micropollutants in addition to those already quantified using the grab sampling-based screening workflow. Ms. Wang also received training in the application of an exposure-activity ratio approach to assess the potential for biological effects associated with micropollutants in streams. Ms. Wang served as the mentor for one undergraduate student who participated in laboratory work during spring 2020 (before the laboratory closure). She is currently preparing a first-authored manuscript based on her findings. Earth Science PhD student Ruta Basijokaite has received training in scientific programming, geospatial analysis, hydrological analysis, the analysis of large datasets, and machine learning as part of this project. Ms. Basijokaite is currently performing statistical analysis on organic micropollutant results at all survey sites, and working to connect these observations with the watershed characteristics and hydrological functioning across our 20 study sites. She is currently preparing a first-authored manuscript based on her findings. Postdoctoral Scholar Lidiia Iavorivska has received training in conducting literature reviews, mentoring graduate students, and professional development. Ms. Iavorivska is leading a literature review focused on peer-reviewed articles that use model simulations to study organic micropollutants. Social Science PhD candidate Krushna Ranaware has received training in administrative data analysis and weighted statistical analysis by helping to prepare a report and preliminary analysis of the Biosolids and Manure survey. Sociology PhD candidate Trent Fenner has received training in weighted survey analysis by helping to prepare a report and preliminary analysis of the Biosolids and Manure survey. Training for one undergraduate researcher: An undergraduate student (Environmental Engineering, Syracuse University) participated in sample analysis in the lab of co-PD Teng Zeng during spring 2020. This undergraduate student learned sample extraction and data analysis skills. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Our results have been shared with communities of interest in the following ways: -Scientific presentations: To date, the PIs and several graduate students have shared research products and findings at major conferences and colloquiums at Land Grant Institutions. This year, we added three presentations on this work; considering the limitations of COVID, we consider this to be good progress. -Publicly available reports: The PIs have uploaded a publicly available report on survey outcomes that PI Schewe has been sharing with interested parties across the state (and beyond). -Education of undergraduates: PIs Kelleher and Zeng have both presented some of their work in courses to undergraduate scientists and engineers, reaching a broad audience who were previously unaware of the implications of CECs on water quality. -Other USDA PDs and POs: All PIs were in attendance for the USDA PDs meeting and shared our findings with the boader community of USDA funded PDs and POs. There were many opportunities for engagement and sharing of our ongoing work throughout this meeting with other PDs doing similar work. We have made several contacts as part of these interactions. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We have recently filed for a no-cost extension, such that our project will end in April 2022. Given our progress over the last year, the majority of what we hope to do over the next year of the project is to complete any in progress tasks and submit project-supported manuscripts for peer-review. While we have shared our results and findings with the scientific community, we have not yet reached the local NY community. In Year 4, we aim to convene a mediated modeling workshop to share our findings with local agricultural landowners, extension agents, state scientists and agencies (including DEC and USGS), and local Nongovernmental Organizations. In Year 4, we also plan to share major findings on our project website - maps (without identifying information) summarizing our survey results, a briefing to the DEC and members of the public on survey results, and CEC occurrence across our study watersheds.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Goal 1: To understand basic patterns of human behavior and decisions regarding the application of manure and biosolids using surveys from New York agriculturalists In year 3, analysis of survey data included spatial analysis of manure and biosolids behaviors, other agricultural conservation behaviors, and understanding the impact of those behaviors. Analysis, that will be included in two manuscripts in development, shows that there is significant spatial clustering of some conservation behaviors and that conservation behaviors and commodity systems (i.e., dairy versus beef versus corn) has significant impacts of water quality measures. Analysis has included Moran's I, Local Anselin Moran's I, OLS regression, and geographically weighted regression. Goal 2: To perform a first assessment of CEC types and concentrations across different spatiotemporal scales in agricultural watersheds of central New York Building on data collection in Year 2, we spent Year 3 engaged in laboratory analysis. We concluded suspect screening of micropollutants and quantified the concentrations of 79 and 94 micropollutants in grab samples and passive samplers, respectively. We applied hierarchical cluster analysis using the binary occurrence and z-score standardized concentration data of micropollutants to visualize their occurrence patterns across 20 sites. We further applied partial least squares regression analysis to identify watershed characteristics that partly explained the variability in micropollutant occurrence. We also derived the field sampling rates for 32 micropollutants using paired grab and passive sampling data to compare the performance of these two sampling methods for concentration monitoring and mass load estimation. We are currently pursuing nontarget screening of micropollutants to identify compounds that uniquely occurred in passive samplers but not captured by the suspect screening method. Goal 3: To provide a theoretical evaluation of the potential ecotoxicological risks that offsite transport of CECs poses to ecosystems downstream of agricultural watersheds. We applied the exposure-activity ratio approach to prioritize micropollutants and sites with high potential for biological effects for the mean exposure scenario. We further compared the summed exposure-activity ratios of micropollutants at each site to evaluate whether grab and passive sampling provided comparable assessment of biological effects associated with micropollutants. Goal 4: To identify data-driven relationships between CEC presence/absence and watershed characteristics and human behavior We are currently using hierarchical clustering and principal component analysis to explore how patterns of concentration and presence/absence for organic micropollutants may identify different groupings amongst study sites. Preliminary analyses on grab sample presence/absence and concentration data have been completed, and will continue into Year 3. Our preliminary work shows that considering more proximal land cover yields stronger relationships to CEC presence/absence and concentrations. Goal 5: To develop relationships between likely hydrologic pathways and timing of CEC occurrence and presence/absence We have used a variety of quantitative analyses to explore spatial and temporal CEC concentrations. To analyze how land cover impacts the number of total detected CECs, we used Ordinary Least Squares model to analyze at what distance land cover has the best correlation with detected number of compounds. To explore how hydrology affects CEC occurrence, we used linear regression to analyze the relationship between concentrations of compounds with high detection frequency and hydrologic variables like flow percentile, instantaneous streamflow, baseflow and runoff contributions,4-day, 7-day, 14-day flow average and cumulative precipitation. In addition, to examine temporal CEC changes we analyzed concentration percentage differences in order to compare temporal variability among compounds as well as study sites. We have several in progress manuscripts related to these goals: [Goal 1] R Schewe, K Ranaware, L Iavorivska, and C Kelleher, Relating human behavior to concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus across New York State [in preparation - to be submitted in July 2021] In this manuscript, we examine agricultural conservation behaviors reported from surveys of New York agriculturalists and their link with Nitrogen and Phosphorous loads in waterways. We find: 1) that there is significant spatial clustering (Moran's I and Local Anselin Moran's I) of agricultural conservation behaviors, indicating that farmers' decisions are influenced by their local context. Using OLS regression, we also find that: 2) several agricultural conservation behaviors, where farmers go for trusted information on manure and biosolids, and what commodities they produce are significantly related to N and P loads in waterways. [Goal 2, 3, 4] S Wang, R Basijokaite, B L Murphy, C A Kelleher, T Zeng,Passive sampling for wide-scope screening of organic micropollutants in mixed-use watersheds [in preparation - to be submitted in August 2021] In this manuscript, we utilize passive and grab samples collected from across central New York to (i) to apply suspect screening in combination with passive and grab sampling to characterize the composition and concentrations of OMPs in streams draining mixed-use watersheds; (ii) to compare the performance of passive and grab sampling for OMP concentration monitoring, mass load estimation, and biological effects prioritization; (iii) and to develop a nontarget screening workflow to prioritize unknown compounds exhibiting characteristic occurrence patterns in passive samplers for retrospective analysis. [Goal 4, Goal 5] R Basijokiate, S Wang, C Kelleher, T Zeng, The impacts of hydrology and human behavior on organic micropollutants across central New York. [In preparation - to be submitted in September 2021]. In this manuscript in preparation, we use a variety of numerical techniques and observations to explain variations in CEC presence/absence and concentrations across multiple CNY watersheds. Our primary objectives are to determine (1) how the proximity of land cover empirically correlates to CEC presence/absence and concentrations, (2) how seasonality relates to CEC presence/absence and concentrations, and (3) whether variations in streamflow at various timescales are related to CEC presence/absence and concentrations. [Goal 5] J Wade, T Fenner, C Kelleher, R Schewe, The Navigable Waters Protection rule does not protect a diverse array of wetland sizes. [In preparation - to be submitted in June 2021] In our research, we evaluate how the shift from the statutes of the Clean Water Rule to the NWPR have affected the jurisdictional status of over 2,000,000 wetland acres in New York State. Our results indicate that the NWPR will result in up to a 20% loss in protection of New York wetland acreage in comparison to previous regulatory schemes. Furthermore, we show that the NWPR preferentially removes protection from upland and geographically-isolated wetlands, which may lead to a net loss in wetland denitrification potential. [Goal 5] L. Iavorivska, C. Kelleher, T. Zeng, Water quality modeling of fate and transport of contaminants of emerging concern: from land to streams. [in progress] By synthesizing current scientific literature, we aim to highlight the avenues for advancing models as a tool for a quantitative analysis of the fate and transport of emerging chemicals across spatial and temporal scales to better inform their pollution control and risk assessment. This synthesis will facilitate in moving the field of environmental and water quality modeling towards comprehensive evaluation of CECs that get transported into water systems from multiple sources, including better integration of the land and stream phases.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
R. Schewe, C. Kelleher, Diluting the Water of the United States: Agriculture and the Clean Water Act. International Symposium on Society and Resource Management, July 2020. [Presentation, virtual]
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
C. Kelleher, T. Zeng, R. Schewe, R. Basijokaite*, S. Wang*, K. Ranaware*, T. Fenner*, Detecting Chemicals of Emerging Concern Across Central New York: Imprints from Hydrology and Human Behavior, Geological Society of America Annual Meeting, October 2020. [Presentation, virtual]
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
R. Schewe, C. Kelleher, L. Iavoriska, and K. Ranaware*. Agricultural Conservation and Water Quality in NY State. M.E. John Lecture, Penn State University, February 2021. [symposium, virtual]
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Under Review
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
D. M. Hannah, B. W. Abbott, K. Khamis, C. Kelleher, I. Lynch, S. Krause and A. Ward, Illuminating the invisible water crisis to address global water pollution challenges. [Under review]
|
Progress 04/15/19 to 04/14/20
Outputs
Target Audience:Target audiences in Year 2 included: 1) NY Agriculturalists: The Biosolids and Manure survey was sent to a stratified random sample of NY agricultural landowners just prior to the end of Y1. During Y2, this survey was completed by 1,474 agricultural landowners, resulting in a response rate of 40.9%. The target audience reached by the survey and through survey responses was New York agriculturalists, including producers of dairy, beef, corn, and hay. 2) Department of Environmental Conservation Staff: In October 2019, email interviews were conducted with DEC staff regarding preliminary survey data. Preliminary data suggesting higher than expected usage of Class A biosolids products were discussed, as Class A applications do not require DEC permits. 3) Members of the public encountered during sampling trips: During our Year 2 sampling efforts at 20 streams across central New York, we encountered many recreational anglers or other members of the public. This was especially true as many of our sampling sites are located in parks or areas where recreational fishing is permitted. When approached, we explained our project goals and activities. We reached around 20 members of the public with informal education. 3) Graduate students engaged in the project: A total of four graduate students are participating in the project, spanning three different Departments (Sociology, Civil Engineering, Earth Sciences) and three different Colleges at Syracuse University. These graduate students are learning from each of the PIs and one another in a multidisciplinary setting. 4) One high school summer intern (Fayetteville-Manlius High School) and one summer undergraduate researcher (Mechanical Engineering, Duke University) participated in sample analysis as part of this project over summer 2019 (May - August). Changes/Problems:The only major challenge we are encountering is due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This pandemic has resulted in the required closure of labs at Syracuse University. While some members of the project team are able to perform research activities from home, this has halted the chemical analysis of passive samplers and continued analysis of grab samples. The strain of the pandemic on all project members will likely slow analysis and preparation of manuscripts. For this reason, we intend to pursue a no-cost extension to ensure we have a fourth year of the project. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Multidisciplinary communication skills: All graduate students, through participation in quarterly check-in meetings and through individual meetings with PIs, co-PIs, and other graduate students, are learning communication skills for interacting with scientists outside their departments and from different backgrounds than their own. These multidisciplinary experiences are shaping their ability to communicate outside of their discipline. Oral and written presentation skills: All graduate students are receiving training in presentation skills through their participation at annual meetings in their discipline. All graduate students are also working towards the preparation of manuscripts for journal submission, honing their written communication skills. Environmental Engineering PhD student Shiru Wang is receiving training in the preparation, deployment and extraction of passive samplers. Wang also received training in the development and application of screening workflows to identify and quantify micropollutants in sample extracts. Ms. Wang presented part of the preliminary results from this project at an analytical chemistry workshop organized by the Florida International University. Wang also served as the research mentor for one high school student and one undergraduate student who participated in laboratory research during summer 2018. Earth Science PhD student Ruta Basijokaite has received training in scientific programming, geospatial analysis, hydrological analysis, and the analysis of large datasets as part of this project. Ms. Basijokaite is currently performing statistical analysis on organic micropollutant results at all survey sites, and working to connect these observations with the watershed characteristics and hydrological functioning across our 20 study sites. Social Science PhD candidate Krushna Ranaware has received training in administrative data analysis and weighted statistical analysis by helping to prepare a report and preliminary analysis of the Biosolids and Manure survey. Sociology PhD candidate Trent Fenner has received training in weighted survey analysis by helping to prepare a report and preliminary analysis of the Biosolids and Manure survey. Masters in Public Administration student Kaitlyn Simmons has been receiving training in administrative data analysis and survey analysis through her contributions to code survey data and preparing a policy brief on biosolids policy. Training for one undergraduate researcher: An undergraduate researcher (Mechanical Engineering, Duke University) spent the summer working in the lab of co-PI Teng Zeng. This undergraduate researcher acquired analytical and communication skills through their participation in summer research. This undergraduate researcher gave an oral presentation as part of the summer undergraduate research program in co-PI's department. Training for one high school researcher: A high school researcher (Fayetteville-Manlius High School) spent the summer working in the lab of co-PI Teng Zeng. This high school researcher acquired analytical and communication skills through their participation in summer research. This high school researcher prepared and presented a research poster upon completion of the research internship. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?There has been limited dissemination of results to communities of interest in Y2 - primarily through field visits, DEC interviews, and survey outreach. Communication to communities of interest will primarily occur in Y3 and, if a no-cost extension is granted, in Y4. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Survey Analysis: Year 3 will include spatial analysis of survey data and multivariate regression analysis to identify key predictors of biosolids, manure, and conservation behaviors. The survey report will be shared with stakeholders via the website, DEC briefings, and agricultural commodity meetings. Comparing Survey Reports with In Situ Geospatial Information: Several survey questions asked survey participants to report soil and waterway characteristics either on or in proximity to their agricultural land. In Year 3, we aim to compare reported soil type and proximity to nearby rivers or other bodies of water with geospatial analysis to link geocoded survey results with USDA soil survey data and the National Hydrography Dataset. Contextualizing Pollutant Concerns with Proximity to Unregulated Waterways: Recent changes to the Waters of the United States Rule have been made by the Environmental Protection Agency. In Year 3, we aim to compare geocoded locations from NY agricultural landowners with an assessment of waterways that have been impacted by changes to this rule. Extracting Passive Sampler Observations: We plan to standardize an in-house protocol to measure the uptake rates of organic micropollutants by passive samplers, which would allow us to extract their time-average concentrations for further comparative analysis with grab sample data. Analyzing Passive Samplers with Grab Samples: The community of environmental scientists and engineers who use passive samplers primarily treat these as qualitative tools. We aim to compare results from our passive sampler extractions with grab samples, to infer how these two tools can be used in tandem to provide a more complete picture of the occurrence of organic micropollutants in central New York. Implementing a Risk-Based Framework: The organic micropollutants that we have detected include those that pose no threat versus those that pose a high threat to aquatic communities and/or humans. In Year 3, we aim to apply (EPA method) combined with our grab sample observations to refine and implement a risk-based assessment of our study sites. This assessment will be contextualized with reported pollutant concerns of NY agricultural landowners. Developing a Model to Explain Pathways of Organic Micropollutants Through Watersheds: Currently, there are limited examples of hydrological modeling applied to simulate organic micropollutants. To address this challenge as well as our project goals, we are working to develop a framework for how we could relate differences in concentration through time and through space to streamflow observations, and how we can use multiple organic micropollutants to separate the influences of faster flow paths (e.g., interflow, runoff during periods where the hydrograph is driven by stormflow) from slower flow paths (e.g., groundwater contributions when the hydrograph is primarily baseflow). We have also begun preliminary analysis to identify the likely spatial footprint of organic micropollutant sources, based on knowledge of the behavior of organic micropollutants and geospatial/hydrological characteristics. Preparing manuscripts for peer-reviewed publication: In Year 3, we aim to prepare two manuscripts for submission to peer-reviewed journals. One publication will be jointly led by two PhD students. Disseminating Results to Communities of Interest: In Years 3 and 4, we aim to convene a mediated modeling workshop to share our findings with local agricultural landowners, extension agents, state scientists and agencies (including DEC and USGS), and local Nongovernmental Organizations. In Year 3, we also plan to share major findings on our project website - maps (without identifying information) summarizing our survey results, a briefing to the DEC and members of the public on survey results, and CEC occurrence across our study watersheds.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Goal 1: To understand basic patterns of human behavior and decisions regarding the application of manure and biosolids using surveys from New York agriculturalists Accomplishments: In Year 2, we have received survey responses, coded survey responses, and performed preliminary analysis of survey data. The resulting response rate was 40.9%, the functional response rate (usable surveys) was 24%. Preliminary analysis of this survey dataset has begun, and is revealing useful patterns regarding conservation behaviors, perceptions of soil types and testing, manure application behaviors, biosolids behavior, nutrient testing and application, and pollution concerns. In addition, 45 annual reports from Biosolids Land Application permit holders have been coded and analyzed, to reveal patterns of behavior around biosolids application in New York state. Goal 2: To perform a first assessment of CEC types and concentrations across different spatiotemporal scales in agricultural watersheds of central New York Accomplishments: In Year 2, we completed our planned sampling at all sites, and additionally conducted higher temporal resolution sampling at two sites. This completes our planned sampling for the project. We have performed suspect and target screening of organic micropollutants for all 26 sets of passive samplers deployed during May and July 2019 and grab samples collected along with these passive samplers. Organic micropollutants with high matching scores with online mass spectral libraries have been confirmed with authentic reference standards for both passive samplers and grab samples. The concentrations of confirmed organic micropollutants were also quantified for grab samples. The concentrations in passive samplers will be quantified pending availability of compound-specific uptake rate data. Mass spectra collected for both passive samplers and grab samples have been compiled for future non-target screening. Goal 3: To provide a theoretical evaluation of the potential ecotoxicological risks that offsite transport of CECs poses to ecosystems downstream of agricultural watersheds. We have compiled concentrations and streamflow observations to estimate potential loads of organic micropollutants. We will pursue more activities to meet this goal in Year 3. Goal 4: To identify data-driven relationships between CEC presence/absence and watershed characteristics and human behavior We are currently using hierarchical clustering and principal component analysis to explore how patterns of concentration and presence/absence for organic micropollutants may identify different groupings amongst study sites. Preliminary analyses on grab sample presence/absence and concentration data have been completed, and will continue into Year 3. Goal 5: To develop relationships between likely hydrologic pathways and timing of CEC occurrence and presence/absence We have performed preliminary analysis of hydrological processes, in terms of streamflow, at all sites, to explore similarities and differences in streamflow behavior across sites. We have also used a geospatial survey to identify potential sources of organic micropollutants across all study watersheds.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Rebecca Schewe, Christa Kelleher, Teng Zeng, Farmer Behavior, Hydrology, and Water Pollution: Chemicals of Emerging Concern from Manure and Biosolids Application, Rural Sociological Society, Richmond, VA, August 2019. (Oral presentation)
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Rebecca Schewe, Christa Kelleher, Teng Zeng, Farmer Behavior, Hydrology, and Water Pollution: Chemicals of Emerging Concern from Manure and Biosolids Application, Int'l Symposium on Society and Resource Management, Oshkosh, WI, June 2019. (Oral presentation)
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Rebecca Schewe, Christa Kelleher, Teng Zeng, Farmer Behavior, Hydrology, and Water Pollution: chemicals of emerging concern from manure and biosolids application with Christa Kelleher and Teng Zeng. American Association of Geographers, Washington, D.C., April 2019. (Oral presentation)
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Shiru Wang, MaryGail Perkins, David Matthews, Sharon Moran, Christa Kelleher, Rebecca Schewe, Teng Zeng, Assessing organic micropollutants in lakes and creeks in Upstate New York. 15th Annual LC-MS/MS Workshop on Environmental and Food Safety, Miami Beach, FL, May 30, 2019. (Oral presentation)
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Progress 04/15/18 to 04/14/19
Outputs
Target Audience:During Year 1, our goals were to prepare and initiate surveys of agriculturalists, through a contract withCornell's Survey Research Institute, to visit and identify sites of interest, and to complete seasonal sampling for emerging contaminants at rivers across central NY. The target audience of the survey outreach during year 1 was New York agriculturalists, including producers of dairy, beef, corn, and hay. Outreach to agriculturalists during year 1 included mailings to introduce the project and mailings of a survey. The target audience of survey research during year 1 also includes staff at the New York Department of Environment and Conservation. Outreach to DEC staff during year 1 included phone calls and emails to introduce the project and emails to introduce the survey and invite feedback on project design. As part of survey deployment, PIs included their phone numbers and email addresses, and spoke with many interested parties who received this survey. Outreach as part of our passive sampler deployment has included members of the public who we have encountered on our field days as well as a local fishery on Lake Oneida, who helped us secure a passive sampler along their river access point. While not intentional outreach activities, these interactions have helped PIs and graduate students hone their communication of project objectives and activities. Our project team meets monthly to discuss ongoing activities and accomplishments, and this has led to many opportunities for learning for graduate students. Given the diverse expertise across our team - social science, hydrology, and organic chemistry - students are also gaining domain knowledge in all areas that is broadening their context for the project.Efforts to date include informal instruction on best practices for interdisciplinary collaboration to project graduate and undergraduate students. Changes/Problems:Given that our project was initiated in April 2018, we were not able to hire graduate students to work on this project til August 2018, nearly halfway through our first year. This has delayed expenditures for student support. We anticipate supporting additional students in Year 2, to accelerate these expenditures so they begin to approximate our planned expenditures laid out in our project budget. In a new development, Syracuse University, in an effort to support faculty, no longer requires PDs to fund tuition in addition to graduate salary from sponsored programs. PD and Co-PDs budgeted to cover tuition for project graduate students, but given this change, will be reallocating this funding to other needs that are already arising in the course of the project. The PD will be in touch with Program Managers about this change, and to observe any rules required due to this budgetary change. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Training activities: To date, three graduate students and one undergraduate student have been mentored as part of this project. These students span multiple departments across campus, and are being mentored by PD and Co-PDs. All graduate students are pursuing their PhDs. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?While we do not yet have many results to share with communities of interest, we havecreated and are maintaining a project website:https://cnyom.weebly.com/. We have already shared this website with a few agriculturalists who have received surveys and are interested in learning more about our project. We plan to use this website to share results with stakeholders in the future. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?In pursuit of our major goals above, our plans during Year 2 include: -Continued survey analysis: Co-PD Schewe, in collaboration with two graudate students, will continue analysis of survey results, with the goal of understanding basic patterns of human behavior and decisions regarding the application of manure and biosolids using surveys from New York agriculturalists. -Completing spring sampling: All PDs and Co-PDs are planning to assist with the deployment and retrieval of passive samplers at the same 20 sites used for summer sampling. Our goal is to deploy samplers in May2019. This additional data collection scheme during a period of the year with higher streamflow will contrast our findingsfrom a lower flow period that we obtained in summer 2018. -Water quality assessment: Following sampler retrieval, Co-PD Zeng will perform additional chemical analysis to screen for and quantify the presence of additional organic micropollutants. -Statistical modeling & ecotoxicological risk assessment: PD Kelleher and Co-PD Zeng, in collaboration with two PhD students, aim to identify patterns through space and time in concentrations and presence of organic micropollutants, and to explain these patterns using complex spatial datasets describing upstream land use and hydrologic context. We aim to prepare this work for scientific publication in a peer-reviewed journal at the end of Year 2 or the start of Year 3. As part of this work, researchers will developan ecotoxicological risk framework based on water quality results. -Hydrologic modeling: To lay the groundwork for hydrologic modeling in Year 3, PD Kelleher, in collaboration with a PhD student, will begin to collect data and build a hydrologic model framework that will be used to simulate transport of one or more chemicals of emerging concern. This framework will be based on extensive literature review to build on past work simulating the transport of these chemicals. -Event sampling: All project members will assist with the design and data collection for high-temporal resolution water quality sampling to assess how the presence of organic micropollutants may vary at finer temporal scales, especially in response to changing streamflow. Decisions regarding event sampling (where, when, and how) will be performed at a subset of sites (e.g., 2 - 4) that will be selected basedon the water quality data obtained from summer (already completed) and spring (to be completed in Spring 2019) sampling. This analysis will be completed during summer and fall 2019, with potential for additional data collection in spring 2020.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Events: We conducted two rounds of initial site screening in June 2018 and identified 20 priority sites. We deployed five passive samplers at the first five sites on July 26, 2018 and retrieved them on August 20, 2018. We deployed another five passive samples at the next five sites on August 1, 2018 and retrieved them on August 22, 2018. We deployed ten passive samples at the last ten sites on September 1, 2018 and retrieved them on September 21, 2018. At all sites, we collected grab samples upon deployment and retrieval of the passive samplers. Products: Our goal as part of the first year of our project has been to create products that will serve us for the duration of the project. We have created and are maintaining a project website: https://cnyom.weebly.com/. We have also written a mission statement and a publication plan. Major accomplishments in terms of the major accomplished goals in this past year include: 1. We have identified 20 priority sites to be used for the duration of our project. We identified, visited, sampled, and screened samples of sites to select 20 different locations that span a range of land covers, are easily accessible, and contain a range of organic micropollutants. We have opted to use the term "organic micropollutants" instead of "chemicals of emerging concern" for future reporting because the latter arguably captures a broader suite of contaminants (e.g., algal toxins) than those targeted in this project. 2. Following site selection, we have completed passive sampler deployment at 20 sites around central NY. Grab samples were obtained when samplers were deployed and when samplers were removed. No samplers were lost. One sampler was disturbed (due to being in an area with high foot traffic), and this site has been removed from future analysis. 3. We have processed all 40 grab samples and 20 passive samplers from the 20 priority sites surveyed during the first sampling campaign in 2018. Duplicate grab samples (500 mL each) were filtered, spiked with internal standards, and extracted by a mixed-mode solid-phase extraction method. Triplicate passive samplers were dissembled, spiked with internal standards, and extracted following best practices recommended in previous studies. We analyzed sample extracts for organic micropollutants on a liquid chromatograph interfaced with an ion trap-Orbitrap high resolution mass spectrometer. 4. We have identified a total of 46 organic micropollutants in grab samples collected from all 20 sites. Between 4 and 36 micropollutants were quantified at each site, with concentrations ranging from <10 to >10,000 ng/L. Most of these micropollutants are pharmaceuticals, pesticides, household/industrial chemicals, and their transformation products. Three compounds, 2-hydroxyatrazine (a transformation product of atrazine) and two household/industrial chemicals benzothiazole and galaxolidone, were detected at all sites. Eighty percent of the sites were likely impacted by wastewater discharges to varying extents as reflected by the detection of sucralose, an artificial sweetener that is used as a wastewater tracer. 5. We have initiated an in-depth search to identify relevant spatial data layers for characterizing our sites. Currently, we have identified 30+ spatial data layers that will be incorporated in Y2 analysis. 6. A mail survey was sent to a stratified random sample of 1,600 New York Agriculturalists. The survey includes questions on biosolids management, manure management, and farmer and farmer characteristics. The survey was pre-tested with staff at the New York Department of Environment and Conservation and was pilot tested with 50 agriculturalists before mailing.Survey analysis to date has included pilot testing and revision, descriptive statistics, factor analysis, and spatially weighted regression.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Rebecca Schewe, Christa Kelleher, and Teng Zeng (2019) Farmer Behavior, Hydrology, and Water Pollution: chemicals of emerging concern from manure and biosolids application, American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C., April 4, 2019.
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