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After (June 2013)

BigSpringRunFloodplain/WetlandRestoration

Before(April2004)

RobertWalter*1,DorothyMerritts*1,MikeRahnis*1,EvanLewis*1,JosephSweeney1,KaylaSchulte1,2,andAllenGellis3*FranklinandMarshallCollege;2OxfordUniversity;1TheWaterScienceInstitute; 3USGS

www.bsr-project.orgMarylandDNRStreamInformationExchange,November15th,2017

BSRLegacySedimentRemoval–Floodplain-WetlandEcosystemRestoration

ExistingCondition

Legacy Sediment

Flood Level

Bedrock

GravelBase Flow

~ 10 ft

Hydric Soil Hydric Soil

Legacy Sediment

RestorationTarget

Base flow

Bedrock

Gravel

IncreaseDOC&deN,reduceN,P&SedLowDOC&deN,highN,P&Sed

Activenitrification

400mg/kgP1300mg/kgN

MesicWasteland Tussock-SedgeWetMeadow

New Hydric SoilHydric Soil

NewFlood Level

~2 ft

Activedenitrification

AcknowledgementsFundingPartners:FranklinandMarshallCollege,PADeptofEnvironmentalProtection,PAChesapeakeBayCommission, EPA,andNSF(MRIandNCALM)

ProfessionalColleagues:KarenMertzman(F&M),JeffHartranft (PADEP),BillHilgartner (JohnsHopkinsUniversity,MilanPavich,AllenGellis,andMikeLangland(USGS),ScottCox(PADEP),WardOberholtzer,MarkGutshall(Landstudies,Inc.),DrewAltland (RKK),AndrewDonaldson(JMT),RobSternberg(F&M),JerryRitchie(deceased,USDA),ArtParola (Univ.Louisville), PaulMayerandKenForshay (EPA),CandaceGrandPre(F&M),LouKaplan(StroudWaterResearchCenter),LaurelLarsen(Univ.ofCalifornia,Berkeley),JasonKaye,JulieWeitzmanandPeterWilf(PennState).

StudentColleagues:LaurenManion ‘04,GrahamBoardman‘05,ChristinaArlt ’05,CaitlinLippincott‘05,Sauleh Siddiqui‘07,Yoanna Voynova ‘06,AndreyVoynov‘05,AlexandraSullivan‘06,AdamRoss‘07,MarkVoli ‘08,ChrisScheid ‘08,ZachStein‘08,JulieWeitzmann ‘08,ColetteBuchanan’08,DouglasSmith,‘08,AlisonWinterer,‘09,ZainRehman ‘09,BrianHughes,‘09,ErikOhlson ‘10,FranklinDekker‘10,StaceySosenko‘09,LizCranmer‘09,MattJenschke ’09,Wanlin Deng‘12,KatieDatin ‘12,LauraKratz ’11,AndreaShilling,‘10,Yupu Zhao,’10,DerekMatuszewski,‘10,AustinReed,‘10,AlexDiIonno,‘10,JoeGalella,‘11,ErikOlsen,‘11,AliNeugebauer,’11,ElvisAndino,‘12,PeterRippberger,‘12,AakashAhamed,‘12,Conor Neal,’12,DanielleVerna,‘12,JordanAppleyard,‘13,KaylaSchulte,‘13.AaronBlair,‘13,ErinPeck,‘14,Xinyu Deng,’15,AmberCarter,‘15,&PeterLimberg,’16,Yuning Bai,‘17.

Landowners:SweeneyFamily,KirchnerFamily,FryFamily,KeenerFamily,HouserFamily&GroffFamily(BigSpringRun),DonandRoseannMann(LittleConestoga),MooreFamily(MarshCreek),StroudWaterResearchCenter(WhiteClayCreek).

3

StreamRestorationTargets*AppliedtoBigSpringRun

i. Reducesuspendedsediment load- reduceTSS&TP

ii. Increasesurfacewaterretentiontimeonfloodplain

iii. AddDOC– enablefrequentoverbankflowtointeractwithDOC

iv. Attenuateflows– slowwatervelocity

v. Reconnectfloodplainwetlandswithsurfacewaterandgroundwater– enabledenitrificationofNO3-N(viaii-v)

*RecommendationsofEPA/CBPExpertPanelonStreamRestoration(2014)Sections3.2and3.3

4

BSRSedimentandNutrients

1. Composition ofStreambanksandUplandSoils2. Pre-restorationsourcesofsediment (suspendedsediment load)3. Pre-restorationnitrogenandphosphorusdynamics4. Post-Restorationsourcesofsediment (depositiononfloodplain)5. Post-restorationnitrogen,phosphorusandcarbonprocessing

5

000.250.5km Geomorphology-Hydrogeology:Q,T,flow,pH,DO,DOC,N,P,SedRegional SoilFingerprinting3USGSgagestations()3ISCOsamplers3Turbiditysensors18USGSIn-streampiezos29EPAshallowGWwells2Live-feedwebcams6Time-lapse cameras

Pre-RestorationMonitoring– 2008-2011

NCALMLidarDEM

East Branch

West Branch

Main Stem

N

RestorationReach(1000mstreamlength)

6

Big Spring Run Trench 3

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

0 1000 2000 3000 4000

N (ppm)

Dep

th (

cm

)

Pre-RestorationNutrientContentsofStreamBanks

3.3 lbs/ton

Big Spring Run Trench 3

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

0 200 400 600 800 1000

P (ppm)

Dep

th (

cm

) 1.1 lbs/ton

TotalNitrogen(ECA) TotalSorbed Phosphorus(ICP/EPA3051)

(1650 ppm) (540 ppm)

Voynova 2006&Weitzman2008,FranklinandMarshallCollegeBATheses 7

Big Spring Run Trench 3

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

0 1000 2000 3000 4000

N (ppm)

Dep

th (

cm

) 3.3 lbs/ton

TotalNitrogen(ECA)

(1650 ppm)

Nitrate-N(KCl-Extraction)

Zhao2010,FranklinandMarshallCollegeBAThesis

0.02 lbs/ton(10 ppm)

Pre-RestorationNitrate-NinStreamBanks

8

Pre-RestorationOrotho-PhosphateinStreamBanks0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

1800 5 10 15

Depth(cm)

PO4 (mg/kg)

BSR-SFSiteNYT2010

FieldMoist

AirDried

MeanFM

MeanAD

Mean = 1.6 mg/kg0.003 lbs/ton

Post-Restoration ~ 0.3 lbs per year reduction to suspended sediment load from 100 t/yr sediment load reduction

9Fullinwider,2010FranklinandMarshallCollegeBAThesis

BSR-SF Group 1

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0

NO3 (mg/kg)

Dep

th (

cm

)

BSR-SF Group 4

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

0 5 10 15

NO3 (mg/kg)

Dep

th (

cm

)

BSR-SF All Groups

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

0 10 20 30

NO3 (mg/kg)

Dep

th (

cm

)

Group 1

Group 2

Group 3

Group 4

Saprolite

NutrientAnalysesofUplandSoilsAdjacenttoBigSpringRun

GEO273LandscapeGeochemistrySoilPits1-4,9/29/08 10

BigSpringRunValleyBottom

1

234

11

0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

70.0

80.0

90.00 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

Depth)cm)

PO4 (mg/kg)

GEO273SoilPits

Pit1

Pit2

Pit3

Pit4

0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

70.0

80.0

90.00 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

Depth)cm)

Nitrate-N(mg/kg)

GEO273SoilPits

Pit1

Pit2

Pit3

Pit4

NutrientContentofUplandSoilsAdjacenttoBigSpringRun

Pre-RestorationSurfaceWaterNitrate-Ndiffersbybranch,andmixestoanaverageconcentrationintheMainStem

-76.265 -76.264 -76.263 -76.262 -76.261Longitude

39.991

39.992

39.993

39.994

39.995

39.996La

titud

e

RFMSLF

FORK

789101112

Nitrate (mg/L)

East BranchWest Branch

Mainstem BranchWBMSEB

DatacourtesyofPaulMayer,EPA

SampleSlamApril7,2010

12

Pre-RestorationNitrateandDOCareinverselyrelated– duetodenitrification?

0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0

Dissolved Organic Carbon (mg/L)

7

8

9

10

11

12

Nitr

ate-

N (m

g/L)

West Branch

Main Stem

East Branch

P<0.05

DatacourtesyofPaulMayer,EPA

“SampleSlam”April7,2010

13

-100-80-60-40-20

0204060

80100

120

-76.2645

-76.2640

-76.2635

-76.2630

-76.2625

-76.2620-76.2615

-76.2610

39.991039.9915

39.992039.9925

39.993039.9935

39.994039.9945

39.9950

Z D

ata

X Da

ta

Y Data

3D Graph 6

GroundwaterNitrateSources&SinksatBSR

East Branch

West Branch

Main Stem

SourceSinkNorthward Flow

DatacourtesyofPaulMayer,EPA14

15

Pre-RestorationburiedhydricsoilshavegreaterDeN ratesandDeNpotentialthanLegacySediments.

Errorbars± 1s.e.n=72p<0.05

Source:Forshay etal2016(EcologicalSocietyofAmerica)

Pre-RestorationDenitrificationPotentialofBuriedHydricSoil

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Control Disturbance WetMeadow LowMarsh Millport Banta

Hydric DeepHydric

J. Koval, MSc Thesis Results, U. Illinois, 2011

Hydric soil in situ at BSR

BSR hydric soil “planted” in functioning wetland soils.

De-

N P

oten

tial

DatacourtesyofKenForshay,EPA16

TotalC&NinStreamBankSediments

%C

%N

Weitzman 2011, MSc Thesis, Penn State University; and Weitzman et al., 2014, Potential nitrogen and carbon processing in a landscape rich in milldam legacy sediments. Biogeochemistry, 120, pp 337–357

Weitzman 2011, MSc Thesis, Penn State University; and Weitzman et al., 2014, Potential nitrogen and carbon processing in a landscape rich in milldam legacy sediments. Biogeochemistry, 120, pp 337–357

NitrificationPotentialofStreamBankSediments

Weitzman 2011, MSc Thesis, Penn State University; and Weitzman et al., 2014, Potential nitrogen and carbon processing in a landscape rich in milldam legacy sediments. Biogeochemistry, 120, pp 337–357

Weitzman 2011, MSc Thesis, Penn State University; and Weitzman et al., 2014, Potential nitrogen and carbon processing in a landscape rich in milldam legacy sediments. Biogeochemistry, 120, pp 337–357

Pre-RestorationSuspendedSedimentLoadandSourceStudy

OnedayafterHurricaneHanna,September7,2008 21

000.250.5km

SourcesofSuspendedSediment:%ContributionfromStreamBanks

NCALMlidar DEM

Sweeney Gage

Fry Gage

Keener Gage

NMean=63%

Mean=54%

Mean=33%

0 100%

0 100%

0 100%22

Pre-Restoration2-DHydraulicModeling

ArtParolaandDorothyMerritts

23

Narrowculvertunderfarmbridge

Oxbowcutoffs(insetpointbars)

Forvideolinksee:http://www.bsrproject.org/visualizations.html

KeyObservations:(1) Floodwaterrarelygoes

overbank,andwhenitdoes,itdoessoduetoconstrictionataculvertandinlow-elevationoxbowcutoffs.

(2) Shearstressesarehigh.

InsetPointBars

“Floodplain”

1.Tilepadsinstalledonlegacysedimentterracethreeyearspriortorestoration.

2.80-100%ofdepositionon“tilepads”oninsetpointbarsisfrombankerosion.

%BankErosion

3.Nodepositionontilepadson“floodplain”(i.e.,onlegacysedimentterrace).

Pre-RestorationTilePadExperiment– WhereDidDepositionOccur?

24

BSRSampleSitesforFingerprintStudy

StreamBankSediments UplandSoils

25

BigSpringRunPre-RestorationStreamBankSampling

26

ZachSteinandEricOhlson,June5,2007,BSRSite1

TraceElementSedimentFingerprinting

Bayesian InferenceAnalysis(Massoudieh etal.,2012) 27

Pre-RestorationSedimentSources– DotPlots

XRF(9majorand20traceelements) +ANOVA+Bonferroni

Upland Upland

Bank & Suspended

Bank & Suspended

B = U = S =

28

0"

20"

40"

60"

80"

100"

120"

140"

160"0" 200" 400" 600" 800" 1000" 1200" 1400"

Depth"(cm)"

P"(ppm)"

BSR"Site"4"

Site%4%

Site%4%Avg.%

0"

20"

40"

60"

80"

100"

120"

140"

160"0" 500" 1000" 1500" 2000" 2500" 3000" 3500"

Depth"(cm)"

P"(ppm)"

BSR"Site"4"

Site%4%

Site%4%Avg.%

Upland%2%

Upland%3%

Upland%4%

Upland%5%

Upland%6%

Upland%7%

Upland%8%

Suspended%1ZS%

Suspended%2ZS%

Suspended%3ZS%

Suspended%4ZS%

Suspended%5ZS%

Suspended%1EO%

TPx (avg)=941mg/kg(1.9lb/ton)

SuspendedSedimentsUplandSoils

Pre-RestorationBSRStreamBankTotalPhosphorus(TPx)

Group1=BSRSweeney-KirchnerFarmUplandEastGroup2 =BSRPre-RestorationStreamBanksGroup3 =BSRFreyFarmUplandWestGroup4 =BSRSuspendedSediment

Upland E

Upland WBank

Suspended

30

Pre-RestorationSedimentsources– DFA

7

9

11

13

15

17

19

400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000

Co(p

pm)

P(ppm)

BigSpringRun

Keener

UplandIMean

UplandIIMean

UplandIIIMean

UplandIVMean

UplandVMean

StreamBanksMean

PointBars

Suspended SedProxies

NYTSiteMean

KeenerMean

PadsMean

FryMean

SweeneyMean

MeanUpland1

MeanStreamBank

MeanSuspendedSediment(Keener)

60%StreamBank

MeanUplandII-V

MixingLine

31

Pre-RestorationSedimentSources–MixingModel

IsotopeSystematicsof210Pb,137Csand7Be

210PbT1/2 =22.3yr

137CsT1/2 =30.2yr

7BeT1/2 =53.1d

137Csat5T1/2 =151years(AD2114)32

137CsFalloutfromBombTestsinUS

Bq m-2

137CsFalloutfromGlobalBombTests

Bq m-2

In1963,three(UK,US,SovietUnion)ofthefournuclearstatessignedtheLimitedTestBanTreaty,pledgingtorefrainfromtestingnuclearweaponsintheatmosphere,underwater,orinouterspace.Francecontinuedatmospherictestinguntil1974,andChinacontinueduntil1980.Neitherhassignedthetreaty

How137CsDataAreUsed

WallingandQuine1990

Big Spring Run

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

-0.002 0.000 0.002 0.004 0.006 0.008

137Cs (Bq/g)

Dep

th (

cm

)

1963

1 m

0 m

1.3 m

Big Spring Run

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

-0.005 0.000 0.005 0.010 0.015 0.020

210Pb (unsupported) (Bq/g)

Dep

th (

cm

)

1850

210Pb 137Cs

18501963

660 yr BP1420 yr BP

AMS Dates

Pre-RestorationStreamBankIsotopeIsotope-Stratigraphy

1730

>3,000 yr BP

36

Note:Theaggregate“legacysediment”streambank137Csvalueisnotzero(~1.0-3.0x10-3Bq/g)!!

-1.00

1.00

3.00

5.00

7.00

9.00

11.00

1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47 49 51 53 55 57 59 61 63 65 67 69 71

137 Cs(Bq

/gx10

-3)

LandscapePosition

UplandSoils(6.0)

AggregateStreamBanks

(~1.0)

USGSTilePads(0.7)

StreamBankProfile(1.33)

SuspendedSediment(0.8)

Pre- andPost-Restoration137CsActivitybyLandscapePosition

137CsActivity(AverageBq/g)byLandscapePosition(Note:Blanklinesindicateno137Csactivity) 37

Big Spring Run

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

-0.002 0.000 0.002 0.004 0.006 0.008

137Cs (Bq/g)

Dep

th (

cm

)

1. Sometilepadsshowsmallamountof137Csactivity.

2. Thisactivityisthesameasexpectedfromaggregatestreambankerosion(seeinsetatleft).

AggregateActivity~1.0x10-3 Bq/g.

0.0E+00

2.0E-03

4.0E-03

6.0E-03

8.0E-03

1.0E-02

1.2E-02

137 CsA

ctivity(B

q/g)

BSR137CsActivitybyLandscapePosition

BSR137CsActivitybyLandscapePosition

38

Big Spring Run

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

-0.002 0.000 0.002 0.004 0.006 0.008

137Cs (Bq/g)

Dep

th (

cm

)

AggregateActivity~1.0x10-3 Bq/g.

StreamBankProfile

StreamBankAggregate

Bai2017,F&MThesis

UplandFarmSoils

SuspendedSediment

TilePads

Post-RestorationTilePadStudy

¯

0 25 50 75 10012.5Meters

Organic Carbon (%)

2.0 - 2.5

2.6 - 3.0

3.1 - 3.5

3.6 - 4.0

4.1 - 4.5

4.6 - 5.0

¯

0 25 50 75 10012.5Meters

Nitrate (ppm)

0 - 10

11 - 20

21 - 30

31 - 40

41 - 50

51 - 60

61 - 70

71 - 80

81 - 90

91 - 100

101 - 110

¯

0 25 50 75 10012.5Meters

Phosphate (ppm)

23 - 30

31 - 40

41 - 50

51 - 60

61 - 70

71 - 80

81 - 90

91 - 100

101 - 110

111 - 120

121 - 130

¯

0 25 50 75 10012.5Meters

Sediment (cm)

0.0 - 1.0

1.1 - 2.0

2.1 - 3.0

3.1 - 4.0

4.1 - 5.0

5.1 - 6.0

6.1 - 7.0

7.1 - 8.0

39Distribution ofC,NO3,PO4 &Sediment ontheRestored Floodplain

Walteretal.,2017

BSRSuspendedSedimentStudy

OnedayafterHurricaneHanna,September7,2008

40

KeyOutcomes

1. 85-100%of pre-restorationandpost-restorationsuspendedsedimentstormloadfromstreambanksources.

2. Consistentwithtraceelementdata.

3. Uplandfarmslopescontributelittlesoiltothesuspendedsedimentsupply.

BigSpringRunBeforeWetlandRestoration

TypicalExistingConditions(April2005)–ThreeYearsofPre-RestorartionMonitoring(2008to2011) 41

BigSpringRunAfterWetlandRestoration

November 2011 – Six Years of On-Going Post-Restoration Monitoring (2011 to Present) 42

BigSpringRunFloodplainWetlandRestoration

RestorationCompletedNovember2011- DesignedandEngineeredbyLandStudies Inc. 43Forvideolinksee:http://www.bsrproject.org/visualizations.html

Big Spring Run Floodplain Wetland Restoration

June 2012 44

• SedimentRemoved:~21,955tons

• SedimentSource:85-100%frombanks(~100%

fromwithinrestorationreach)beforerestoration

• SedimentLoadReduction:~150tons/yr

• TotalPRemoved:~50,500lbs

• TotalSorbed PRemoved*:~35,128lbs

• TotalNRemoved:~63,600lbs

• NitrateReduction:15%inbaseflow

• TotalPReduction:26%instormflow

• CarbonStorage:7,300lbs/yr

• WaterStorage:2.7milliongallonsinc. (50%)

• Groundwater:10%moreoutput

• Up/DownPeakDelayinflow:17mininc.

• SurfaceWaterT:~8-15°Cdrop• BiologicalIndicators:Shiftfromuplanddominated

toaquaticecosystemdominatedfloodplainareabasedonbiologicalindicators- vascularplants,diatoms,amphibians.

BigSpringRunFloodplain/Wetland RestorationOutcomes (2008-2017)

NCALMlidar DEM

RestorationReach

Formoreinformationsee:http://www.bsr-project.org/45

BigSpringRunSite1

BeforeExcavation9/13/11 AfterExcavation9/28/11

Observation 1:Removetheimpairment…theerodingstreambanksthatcontributetohighsuspended sedimentandnutrientloads.

46

BigSpringRunSite1

BeforeExcavation9/13/11 AfterExcavation6/18/13

Observation 1:Removetheimpairment…theerodingstreambanksthatcontributetohighsuspended sedimentandnutrientloads.

47

BigSpringRunSite1

BeforeExcavation9/13/11 AfterExcavation9/28/11

Observation 2:Reconnectthegroundwaterandspringflowwithalow,hydricfloodplain.Increasehyporheic exchange

48

BigSpringRunSite1

BeforeExcavation9/13/11 AfterExcavation6/18/13

Observation 2:Reconnectthegroundwaterwithalow,hydricfloodplain.Increasehyporheic exchange

49

WetlandsandTheirValue

Ecosystemservicestheyprovide:

• Habitatforfishandwildlife (e.g.,BogTurtles)

• Improvedwaterquality• Storingfloodwaters• Maintainingsurfacewaterflow

• ProvideDenitrification• ReducesurfacewaterT

Observation 3:Rejuvenate theecological functionoftheburiedwetland.

Banta Restoration (2004) on Lititz Run, Warwick Twp., Lancaster Co., PA

50

Pre-RestorationFlowModel

Post-RestorationFlowModel

ArtParola,Univ.LouisvilleDorothyMerritts, F&M

BridgeCrossing&NarrowCulvert

AbandonedOxbows

51Forvideolinksee:http://www.bsrproject.org/visualizations.html

KeyObservations:(1) Intherestored

condition,floodwatergoesoverbankfrequentlyandatlowflow.

(2) Shearstressesarelow.

BigSpringRunFloodplainWetlandRestoration

Stormof18September2012 52Forvideolinksee:http://www.bsrproject.org/visualizations.html

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

9/6/16 0:00 9/7/16 0:00 9/8/16 0:00 9/9/16 0:00 9/10/16 0:00 9/11/16 0:00 9/12/16 0:00

Temperature°C

Date-Time

TemperaturevsDate-Time

BSRWBGage

BSREBGage

BSRWBSensor

BSREBSensor

BSRMSGage

WBIn=90°F

Hobo4=73°F

Dirunal TemperatureChange:WBIN=90°C-68°=24°FHobo4=73°C-66°=7°F

PeakChange:WBIN– Hobo4=90°-73°=17°F

WBGageEBGage

MSGage

MSOut=69°F

24°F

53

LegacySedimentRemovalDecreases PeakSummerSurfaceWaterTemperaturebyNearly20° F

Presumablyduetothe“daylighting”ofspringsbylegacysedimentremoval.

66.0

63.5 63.7

61.7

59.2

56.3

56.3

59.066.2

84.2 58.8

9/7/16(AirT=90°F)

54

BSRRestorationExperimentResearchandFundingPartners

55