ICPRB > Publications

Publications

Publications are listed by year

A SWAT-based optimization tool for obtaining cost-effective strategies for agricultural conservation practice implementation at watershed scales

Authors: Yaoze Liu, Tian Guo, Ruoyu Wang, Bernard A. Engel, Dennis C. Flanagan, Siyu Li, Bryan C. Pijanowski, Paris D. Collingsworth, John G. Lee, and Carlington W. Wallace Published in November 2019

The report was published in the November 2019 edition of the Journal of Science of The Total Environment.

Evaluating efficiencies and cost-effectiveness of best management practices in improving agricultural water quality using integrated SWAT and cost evaluation tool

Authors: Yaoze Liu, Ruoyu Wang, Tian Guo, Bernard A. Engel, Dennis C. Flanagan, John G. Lee, Siyu Li, Bryan C. Pijanowski, Paris D. Collingsworth, and Carlington W. Wallace Published in October 2019

The report was published in the October 2019 edition of the Journal of Hydrology.

Development of a benthic macroinvertebrate multimetric index for large semiwadeable rivers in the Mid-Atlantic region of the USA

Authors: Dustin R. Shull, Zachary M. Smith, Gordon M. Selckmann | Pub: # PRC19-1 | Published in January 2019

The report was published in the January 2019 edition of the Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Assessment.

Creating a stream health baseline for the Chesapeake basin from monitoring and model data

Authors: Claire Buchanan, Kelly Maloney, Zachary Smith, Andrea Nagel, and John Young Published in January 2019

This report describes how monitoring and model data were analyzed and combined to generate a preliminary estimate of acceptable stream health in the Chesapeake Bay basin for the 2006 – 2011 baseline period. Streams in about 73% of the basin’s 64,020 sq. miles of drainage area were evaluated with monitoring results, and output from a predictive model was used to estimate stream health in the remaining 27%. Stream health was measured with the bioregion, family-level version of the “Chessie BIBI,” a multi-metric index for stream macroinvertebrate communities. Index scores are normally expressed as one of five index ratings: Excellent or Good (well-functioning), Fair (considered satisfactory), and Poor or Very Poor (stressed or poorly-functioning). Four versions of the predictive model were developed and tested, and the selected version outputs results as three-ratings: Excellent/Good, Fair, and Poor/Very Poor. The five ratings in the monitoring data were re-grouped to match the three ratings of the selected predictive model. The monitoring- and model-based ratings were then area-weighted to reduce bias caused by uneven sample densities and aggregated to the Chesapeake basin scale, with monitoring results given preference. The combined results suggest approximately 60% of the basin’s area had acceptable stream ratings (Excellent, Good, or Fair) during 2006 – 2011. This estimate is a preliminary baseline for the Chesapeake Bay Program’s stream health goal. A final baseline estimate will be produced after a higher resolution stream layer becomes available and acceptable stream health can be estimated as a percent of the basin’s stream miles.

The Influence of Jennings Randolph Lake and Dam Operations on River Flow and Water Quality in the North Branch Potomac River

Authors: Claire Buchanan, Gordon Michael Selckmann | Pub: # 19-4 | Published in December 2019

A multi-year study began in 2018 to determine if an update of the Army Corps’ 1997 Water Control Plan for Jennings Randolph Lake is needed. Watershed and river conditions have improved significantly since the turn of the century, an outcome of regulatory enforcement, mine runoff mitigation, wastewater treatment, infrastructure improvements, forest regrowth and the abatement of acid rain. The Commission, in partnership with the Corps, has produced a draft Scoping Study report that reviews the dam’s long-running operational objectives and procedures, and assesses the current importance of these procedures in achieving the four mandates. It also reviews various modeling approaches that incorporate modern science and technology for better future management. Learn more…

2018 Filamentous Algae Monitoring Program: Potomac River Basin

Authors: Gordon Michael Selckmann | Pub: # ICPRB 19-1 | Published in February 2019

2018 Washington Metropolitan Area Drought Exercise

Authors: Policy Works LLC Published in 2019

Download the report.

Evaluating Concentrated Flowpaths in Riparian Forest Buffer Contributing Areas Using LiDAR Imagery and Topographic Metrics

Authors: Carlington W. Wallace, Gregory McCarty, Sangchul Lee, Robert P. Brooks, Tamie L. Veith, Peter J. A. Kleinman, and Ali M. Sadeghi Published in April 2018

The report was published in the April 2018 edition of the Journal of Remote Sensing.

Predicting biological conditions for small headwater streams in the Chesapeake Bay watershed

Authors: Kelly O. Maloney, Zachary M. Smith, Claire Buchanan, Andrea Nagel and John A. Young Published in December 2018

The report has been published in Freshwater Science 37, no. 4 (December 2018)

Biological Surveys of Three Potomac River Mainstem Reaches (2012-2014) with Considerations for Large River Sampling

Authors: Gordon M. Selckmann, Zachary M. Smith, Jim Cummins, Adam Griggs, and Claire Buchanan | Pub: # 18-2 | Published in 2018

The Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin (ICPRB) conducted a study to describe the biological composition of three under-represented reaches in the mainstem Potomac River Basin and determine the effort required to accurately assess large river sites for freshwater mussel and benthic macroinvertebrate populations. Located at Knoxville (MD), Carderock (MD), and Little Falls (MD), these reaches were selected because they are difficult to sample and represent gaps in spatial coverage of the mainstem in the otherwise comprehensive Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MD-DNR) Core Trend Monitoring Program. Data from the Knoxville reach will improve our understanding of the mixing zones below the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers and the relative importance of each river at the Potomac water supply intakes downstream. The Carderock and Little Falls reaches are important in identifying stresses on the river’s biological communities that could relate to upstream consumptive losses and water supply withdrawals during severe droughts. The Little Falls reach is in the only stretch of the Potomac River with a minimum flow-by requirement.

Surveys of freshwater mussel and benthic macroinvertebrate populations were conducted during late-summer low-flow periods of 2012, 2013, and 2014. The three years of the study had moderate flows overall and did not experience extreme drought or floods, so managers and researchers should view the results as a characterization of biological communities unaffected by flow extremes. In addition to recording mainstem Potomac species distributions, biological collections underwent post-collection analyses that provided an informed baseline for the collection effort required to achieve sufficiently accurate data in the future.