2001-2010
(Cycle II) Study Design
Albemarle-Pamlico
Study (ALBE), National Water-Quality Study
(NAWQA)
The
Albemarle-Pamlico Drainage study, as part
of the National Water-Quality Assessment,
follows a nationally consistent study design.
This national design allows comparisons
among river basins and regionalization
of results.
The
goals of the NAWQA program are:
- Status:
Assess the status of water quality,
- Trends:
Assess trends in water quality,
- Understanding:
Understand the factors that affect water
quality.
The
elements of the design of the 2001 (Cycle
II) sampling and analysis program for the
ALBE can, therefore, be categorized under
these goals:
Status
- Eight
sites were assessed for mercury in water,
fish, and sediment (2002).
- Thirty
wells in the Castle Hayne aquifer were
sampled for nutrients, pesticides, trace
elements, and volatile organic compounds
(2002-2003).
- A
Neuse River water-supply intake will be
sampled 1-2 times a month for nutrients,
pesticides, volatile organic compounds,
and bacteria (2002-04).
Trends
- The
Neuse River at Kinston, Contentnea Creek
at Hookerton, Swift Creek near Apex, and
Van Swamp near Hoke are sampled 1-2 times
a month for nutrients, pesticides, and
volatile organic compounds. These are
long-term stations to show trends in water
quality over time (decades).
- Twenty-five
wells near Coastal Plain agricultural
fields were sampled for nutrients, pesticides,
trace elements, and volatile organic compounds
(2002). First sampled in 1995, the wells
will be resampled in the future to detect
long-term trends in ground-water quality.
- Multiple
reaches at each of the surface-water trend
sites were assessed for fish, aquatic
macroinvertebrate populations, and habitat
(2002); these sites will be resampled
in the future to detect long-term trends
in stream fish and invertebrate communities.
Understanding
- Thirty
small basins, representing an urban land-use
gradient (ULUG)
from undeveloped to fully developed in
the Piedmont urban crescent were selected,
instrumented with stage recorders, and
will be assessed for fish, aquatic macroinvertebrate
populations, habitat, and water chemistry
(2002-2003).
- A
large-scale model (SPARROW)
was developed that uses basin and nutrient
source characteristics, routing, and nutrient
processing to predict nitrogen and phosphorus
loads in the Tar, Neuse, and Cape Fear
Rivers. The model will be recalibrated
and expanded to include recent data in
the Roanoke River and additional sites
in the Tar, Neuse, and Cape Fear Rivers
(2002-2004).
- A
series of 15 wells along a flow path located
in the Little Contentnea Creek basin will
be resampled for nutrients (2003). The
water will be age-dated. A contaminant
transport model will be developed.
The
four principal sites in the surface-water
trend network are regularly sampled (approximately
monthly) to evaluate seasonal and long-term
trends and to characterize the types of
chemicals found in the basins. Van Swamp
at Hoke drains a forested swamp in the outer
Coastal Plain and represents a minimally
developed watershed. The Neuse River at
Kinston, draining more than 2,700 square miles,
integrates drainage from forested, agricultural,
and urban lands. Contentnea Creek at Hookerton
drains 740 square miles and is composed
of more than 50-percent agricultural land.
Swift Creek in near Apex, which drains 21
square miles, was selected to evaluate changes
in a rapidly urbanizing basin; the population
in Swift Creek increased about 62 percent
between 1992 and 2000.
Additional
information:
Summary
of ALBE NAWQA Cycle II investigations
Gilliom,
R.J., Hamilton, P.A., and Miller, T.L.,
2001, The
National Water-Quality Assessment Program-Entering
a new decade of investigations: U.S.
Geological Survey Fact Sheet 071-01, 8 p.
Lapham, W.W., Hamilton, P.A., and Myers, D.N., 2005, National Water-Quality Assessment Program — Cycle II Regional Assessments of Aquifers: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2005-3013, 4 p.
