STATION 1

Cultural Eutrophication in the Chesapeake BayHow do excess nutrients enter the Chesapeake Bay?While nutrients are a natural part of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem, nutrients have never been so

abundant in the environment. Before humans built roads, homes and farm fields, most nutrients were

trapped and absorbed by forest and wetland plants. As these habitats were removed to

accommodate a growing population, nutrient pollution to the Bay increased.

Almost all people and industries in the watershed—and even some outside of the watershed—send

nutrients into the Bay and its tributaries. Nitrogen and phosphorous are the two nutrients of concern in

the area. In general, these nutrients reach the Bay from three sources: wastewater treatment plants;

urban, suburban and agricultural runoff; and air pollution.

There are hundreds of wastewater treatment plants in the watershed. In 2005, watershed

jurisdictions put a new permit process in place to limit the amount of nutrients these plants

could send into rivers and streams. Computer simulations of pollution controls put in place

between 2009 and 2013 indicate that nitrogen loads to the Bay from wastewater treatment

plants and combined sewer overflows have declined 54 percent since 1985,

while phosphorous loads from the same sources have declined 72 percent.

Nutrients that run off of the land and into the water through urban, suburban and agricultural

runoff come from a range of sources, including lawn fertilizers, septic systems and livestock

manure.

Air pollution emitted by cars and trucks, industries, gas-powered lawn tools and other sources

contributes about one-third of the total nitrogen load entering Chesapeake waterways. This air

pollution can come from any location within the Bay’s “airshed,” which measures about

570,000 square miles and stretches to Canada, Ohio and South Carolina.

Nutrients can also come from natural sources, like soil, plant material and wild animal waste.

Why are excess nutrients a problem for the Chesapeake Bay?Excess nutrients fuel the growth of harmful algae blooms, which:

Block sunlight from reaching underwater grasses

During decomposition, create “dead zones” that rob the water of oxygen and suffocate marine

life

A case study in nutrients: the Conowingo Dam and Chesapeake Bay water qualityEach year, the Susquehanna River provides the Chesapeake Bay with about 41 percent of its

nitrogen loads and 25 percent of its phosphorous loads. For decades, three large reservoirs that sit

behind dams located along the lower portion of the river have held back some of the nutrient pollution

that would have otherwise entered the Bay. But recent studies have drawn attention to these

reservoirs’ changing effectiveness as “pollution gates,” with special attention paid to the reservoir

behind the Conowingo Hydroelectric Generating Station, or Conowingo Dam.

In 2012, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reported that the reservoir behind the Conowingo Dam

had lost its ability to trap sediment and attached nutrients over the long term.

In 2014, the Lower Susquehanna River Watershed Assessment (LSRWA) team released the results

of its evaluation of sediment management options at the Conowingo Dam. It found:

The reservoir behind the Conowingo Dam is trapping sediment in the short-term. Because the

reservoir is essentially full, it is trapping smaller amounts of incoming sediment and, during

large storms, sending more silt and attached nutrients over the dam and into the Bay more

often.

The nutrients that enter the river upstream and attach to particles of sediment are a bigger

threat to water quality than sediment alone.

The management and mitigation of nutrients and sediment upstream of the reservoir would be

more beneficial to Bay health than attempting to manage sediment at the dam through

dredging, bypassing or operational changes.

While the sediment that can scour from behind the dam doesn’t take long to settle to the bottom of

waterways, the nutrients that are attached to this sediment are released back up into the water

column in dissolved form. Because nutrient pollution has a lingering effect on water quality, lowering

both nutrient and sediment pollution upstream of the Conowingo Dam would benefit Bay health.

Cultural Eutrophication in the Chesapeake Bay1. What, when, where, why?2. What were some of the effects of this type of pollution on the people and ecosystem?3. What are some ways that this type of pollution can be managed?4. Describe the ways in which this type of problem could also affect the economy.

STATION 2Flint, Michigan Water CrisisFacts: Flint, located 70 miles north of Detroit, is a city of 98,310, where 41.6% of residents live below the poverty line and the median household income is $24,679, according to the US Census Bureau. The median household income for the rest of Michigan is $49,087. The city is 56.6% African-American.Flint once thrived as the home of the nation's largest General Motors plant. The city's economic decline began during the 1980s, when GM downsized its sprawling industrial complex.In 2011, the state of Michigan took over Flint's finances after an audit projected a $25 million deficit. Even though Flint's water supply fund was $9 million in the red, officials were using some of this money to cover shortfalls in its general fund. A receivership ended in April 2015, when the water fund was declared solvent and the remaining deficit was eliminated by an emergency loan.In order to reduce the water fund shortfall, the city switched water sources in 2014. While a new pipeline connecting Flint with Lake Huron was under construction, the city turned to the Flint River as a water source during the two-year transition. The Flint River had been the city's primary water source decades earlier, but Flint switched to Lake Huron in 1967, purchasing its supply through the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department.

Contaminated Water Supply:Historically, the water in the Flint River downstream of Flint has been of poor quality, and was severely degraded during the 1970s, due to "the presence of fecal coliform bacteria, low dissolved oxygen, plant nutrients, oils, and toxic substances." In 2001, the state ordered the monitoring and cleanup of 134 polluted sites within the Flint River watershed, including industrial complexes, landfills and farms laden with pesticides and fertilizer. According to a class-action lawsuit, the state Department of Environmental Quality was not treating the Flint River water with an anti-corrosive agent, in violation of federal law. The river water was found to be 19 times more corrosive than water from Detroit, which was from Lake Huron, according to a study by Virginia Tech. Since the water wasn't properly treated, lead from aging service lines to homes began leaching into the Flint water supply after the city tapped into the Flint River as its main water source. Health effects of lead exposure in children include impaired cognition, behavioral disorders, hearing problems and delayed puberty. In pregnant women, lead is associated with reduced fetal growth. In everyone, lead consumption can affect the heart, kidneys and nerves. Although there are medications that may reduce the amount of lead in the blood, treatments for the adverse health effects of lead have yet to be developed.

Timeline: 

2007 - Flint prepares to tap into the Flint River as a backup water source, despite residents' concerns about sewage spills and industrial waste. Flint is the only city in Genesee County poised to use the Flint River as an emergency water source, according to the county's drain commissioner.

August 14, 2014 - The city announces fecal coliform bacterium has been detected in the water supply, prompting a boil water advisory for a neighborhood on the west side of Flint. The city boosts the amount of chlorine in the water and flushes the system. The advisory is lifted on August 20.

September 5, 2014 - Flint issues another boil water advisory after a positive test for total coliform bacteria. The presence of this type of bacteria is a warning sign that E. coli or other disease-causing organisms may be contaminating the water. City officials tell residents they will flush the pipes and add more chlorine to the water. After four days, residents are told they can safely resume drinking water from the tap.October 2014 - The General Motors plant in Flint stops using the city's water due to concerns about high levels of chlorine corroding engine parts. The company strikes a deal with a neighboring township to purchase water from Lake Huron in lieu of using water from the Flint River. The switch is anticipated to cost the city $400,000.

January 12, 2015 - The DWSD offers to reconnect the city with Lake Huron water, waiving a $4 million fee to restore service. City officials decline, citing concerns water rates could go up more than $12 million each year, even with the reconnection fee waiver.

January 21, 2015 - Residents tote jugs of discolored water to a community forum. The Detroit Free Press reports children are developing rashes and suffering from mysterious illnesses.

February 2015 - The MDEQ notes some "hiccups" in the transition, including a buildup of TTHM, a cancer-causing byproduct of chlorine and organic matter. In a background paper submitted to Governor Rick Snyder, the MDEQ states that elevated TTHM levels are not an immediate health emergency because the risk of disease increases only after years of consumption. Snyder announces a $2 million dollar grant to fix problems in the pipes and sewers.

February 26, 2015 - The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) notifies the MDEQ it has detected dangerous levels of lead in the water at the home of Flint resident Lee-Anne Walters. A mother of four, she had first contacted the EPA with concerns about dark sediment in her tap water possibly making her children sick. Testing revealed that her water had 104 parts per billion (ppb) of lead, nearly seven times greater than the EPA limit of 15 ppb.

September 8, 2015 - The Virginia Tech team issues a preliminary report indicating 40% of Flint homes have elevated lead levels.

September 11, 2015 - After concluding that Flint water is 19 times more corrosive than Detroit water, Virginia Tech recommends the state declare that the water is not safe for drinking or cooking. The river water is corroding old pipes and lead is leaching into the water, according to the study.

September 24, 2015 - A research team led by Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, a pediatrician from the Hurley Medical Center, releases a study revealing the number of children with elevated lead levels in their blood nearly doubled after the city switched its water source. In neighborhoods with the most severe contamination problems, testing showed lead levels tripled.

December 14, 2015 - Flint declares a state of emergency.

January 21, 2016 - The EPA criticizes the state's slow response to the crisis and expresses concerns about the construction of the new pipeline to Lake Huron. The agency issues an emergency administrative order to ensure state regulators are complying with the Safe Drinking Water Act and are being transparent in their response to the crisis. The EPA says it will begin testing the water and publishing the results on a government website. An EPA administrator who was notified in June about Flint's high lead levels resigns effective February 1.January 27, 2016 - A new federal lawsuit is filed in Detroit against the state, alleging the violation of the Safe Water Drinking Act.

March 31, 2016 - Lawyers, including some with the NAACP, file a class action lawsuit against Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam, PC, the state of Michigan, Governor Snyder and others. Plaintiffs seek damages for those affected by the water crisis.

Flint, Michigan Water Crisis1. What, when, where, why?2. What were some of the effects of this type of pollution on the people and ecosystem?3. What are some ways that this type of pollution could have been avoided?4. List four events from the timeline that you feel tell the story well.

STATION 3

STATION 4

A Hot, Dry Winter in California. Could It Be Drought Again?By Henry FountainFeb. 13, 2018

Atmospheric conditions that helped create the recent multiyear California drought have returned, leaving the state dry and exceptionally warm this winter and its residents wondering if another long dry spell is on the way.

A ridge of high-pressure air off the West Coast has persisted for much of the past three months, blocking many Pacific storms from reaching California and weakening others that do get through. Normally such ridges tend to come and go, but they also lingered during the 2012-16 drought, the worst in the state’s history.

“We are now seeing another year that looks like one of those drought years,” said Daniel Swain, a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability at the University of California, Los Angeles, who during the drought coined the term “ridiculously resilient ridge” to describe the atmospheric pattern.“This one is definitely a resilient ridge, but we don’t know if it’s quite reaching the ‘ridiculous’ threshold,” said Dr. Swain, who blogs about California’s weather.By one measure, at least, drought has already returned. According to the United States Drought Monitor, most of the southern half of California is now experiencing moderate or severe drought, a marked change from three months ago, when less than 10 percent of the state was in moderate drought and no part was in severe drought.The Los Angeles area has been especially dry. Dr. Swain said that Los Angeles has had only one 24-hour period with rainfall of more than one-third of an inch in nearly a year. The one exception, Jan. 8-9, was the day the Santa Barbara area just to the north was inundated with even more rain, leading to deadly mudslides.

But overall, the current conditions are far less extreme than in 2015 and 2016, at the tail end of the drought. At times in 2015 more than half the state was considered to be in extreme drought, the drought monitor’s highest category. That spring, the state imposed a mandatory 25 percent reduction in water use in urban areas.

State water officials note that this year, as a result of the drought-ending rains of a year ago, there is plenty of water in California’s reservoirs, so there are no critical supply issues that could lead to similar restrictions.

Even so, the dry, warm weather that has persisted since late fall is taking a toll, with snowpack in the Sierra Nevada — the source of about one-third of California’s water at   21 percent   of normal on Monday. Without a flurry of storms to add to the snowpack in the next few months, the low snowpack could eventually lead to supply problems, especially if dry conditions persist for the next few years.

The high-pressure ridge tends to shunt storms north toward British Columbia, said Marty Ralph, director of the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

“It’s very normal to have a ridge,” said Dr. Ralph, who studies so-called atmospheric rivers, trails of tropical moisture that in a normal year are responsible for much of California’s precipitation. “It usually breaks down at some point and packs of storms break through.”

A few studies have suggested that the persistence of such blocking ridges in certain parts of the world may be linked to climate change. But a range of conditions in the Pacific Ocean not necessarily related to climate change, including El Niño and La Niña, can contribute to the formation and positioning of a ridge, Dr. Swain said.

The thin California snowpack is also a function of high temperatures. Following a record warm summer and fall in the state, temperatures have continued well above normal this winter. In the Sierra town of Truckee, Calif., on Thursday the high temperature, 64, was 21 degrees above the historical average.

“What we’re seeing is more precipitation as rain than as snow,” said Doug Carlson, a spokesman for the state Department of Water Resources. The warmer temperatures raise the snow line, the elevation above which it is cold enough that precipitation falls as snow. They also cause what snow there is to melt faster.

Rain runs off immediately, while snowpack serves as a reservoir of water that is released over time as it melts. So, changes in the proportions of snow and rain and the rate of snowmelt can affect the availability and timing of water for people, industry and agriculture.

The snowpack conditions in the Sierra this year may be an extreme example of what scientists suggest will be the case with climate change — that as average temperatures rise, average snowpack will decline, perhaps by as much as 25 percent by midcentury.

The blocking pattern in the atmosphere has also brought warm, dry conditions to the Rocky Mountains and the Colorado River basin, said Greg Smith, a senior hydrologist with the National Weather Service in Salt Lake City.

“The pattern is very strong this year,” Mr. Smith said. Most of the storms track to the north of the region, he said, “and the storms that do come in tend to be weak.”

The situation in the lower Colorado basin — most of Arizona and parts of Utah, New Mexico, Nevada and California — is especially bad, with snow totals at or near record lows at many locations.

As in California, the upper Colorado basin — parts of Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado and Wyoming — had plenty of snow runoff last year, Mr. Smith said. But without significant snowfall by April, even the upper basin will suffer. His forecast for the runoff this year into Lake Powell, the reservoir at the junction of the upper and lower basins, is the seventh-lowest in history, with expectations that the reservoir will receive less than half of its usual supply from melting snowpack.

“There’s definitely some concern for supplies in some areas as we see these forecast numbers drop,” Mr. Smith said. “We’re kind of hopeful we’ll see a pattern change in the next couple of months. We’re running out of time.”

Could it be a Drought again?1. What conditions have made this winter potentially concerning?

2. What role did the high pressure off the west play in this development?3. How does the current situation compare to 2015-2016?4. What was the snow pack like when this article was written compared to normal?5. Why is snow a better reservoir than rain?

STATION 5Water Budget in Southern CaliforniaBelow you will see a data set representing the water budget for Southern California comparing July with January (think- what season are these months?) The data includes the average amount of precipitation that falls during that month as well as the amount of water lost due to evaporation and transpiration. Comparing those two values, it then indicates the amount of surplus water gained or the deficit of water lost for that month. Use the data provided to answer the analysis questions below.

JULY

Precipitation 0.03 inches

Evaporation/Transpiration

3.74 inches

Deficit (loss) 3.71 inches

JANUARY

Precipitation 3.50 inches

Evaporation/Transpiration

1.23 inches

Surplus (gain) 2.27 inches

Analysis Questions:

1. Why would January most likely experience a surplus while July would experience a deficit (hint: What season is it and how does that affect weather and sunlight)? Be sure to address both precipitation and evaporation/transpiration levels in your response.

2. July experienced a deficit- what resulting effect would that have on the water table?3. January experienced a surplus- what happens to that excess water? List three possibilities.4. The deficit in this case is greater than the surplus, if that pattern continues over several years, what

would that mean for Southern California? 5. What are three strategies that you could implement to conserve or recycle water? 6. The water table is basically the depth at which you can find groundwater, it fluctuates up and down

throughout the year. Describe how you think that water table moves during the transition from winter to summer.

STATION 6Water Cycle Diagram – Complete the diagram using the words provided in the word bank.

Word Bank: Precipitation; Transpiration; Condensation;Evaporation; Energy; Runoff

1. Why does liquid water turn into water vapor?

2. Is water that evaporates from the oceans fresh or salty? EXPLAIN YOUR ANSWER

3. Why does water vapor form clouds as it rises into the troposphere?

4. What are four types of precipitation?

5. What is the source of energy that drives evaporation and transpiration?