WATER E-NEWS

 Vol. 5 Issue 4   

May 2006

Delaware Water Resources Center (DWRC) http://ag.udel.edu/dwrc/

UD Water Resources Agency (WRA)              http://www.wr.udel.edu/

 

This month’s issue, at http://ag.udel.edu/dwrc/newsletters/may06.htm

I.  DWRC New Student Interns; New Advisory Panel Members;

II.  Upcoming Water Resources Events:  AWRA Conference and Christina Basin Public Forum;

III.  New water resources information from USGS 

I.  DWRC NEWS

 

New student interns: Nine undergraduate students from the University of Delaware and Delaware State University were selected in April for Delaware Water Resources Center (DWRC) internships for summer 2006 through February 2007.   Delaware  from They are: and the University of Delaware having the required 3.0 minimum GPA Jennifer Boutin / Advisor: David Legates, UD Department of Geography; Belinda Gao / Advisor:  Steven Dentel, UD Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Jason Graham / Advisor: Judy Hough-Goldstein, UD Department of Entomology & Wildlife Ecology; Garrett Peters / Advisor: William Ullman, UD College of Marine Studies; Samantha Smith / Advisor: Diane Herson, UD Department of Biological Sciences; Le'Sasha Stewart / Advisor: Gulnihal Ozbay (DSU); Sarah Sturtz / Advisor  Jack Gingrich, UD Department of Entomology & Wildlife Ecology; Jarvon Tobias / Advisor:  Bill Saylor, UD Department of Animal and Food Sciences; and Elizabeth Wolff / Advisor: Scott Andres, Delaware Geological Survey.  The new internships bring to 69 the number of undergraduate projects funded by the DWRC since 2000, in collaboration with ten co-sponsors: the Delaware State University (DSU), University of Delaware’s (UD’s) College of Arts and Sciences (CA&S), College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR), College of Engineering (CENG), College of Marine Studies (CMS), Institute of Soil and Environmental Quality (ISEQ),  Department of Plant and Soil Sciences (PLSC), and Water Resources Agency (WRA), and also the Delaware Geological Survey (DGS) and Delaware Division of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC).

 

New Advisory Panel members:  New to DWRC’s Advisory Panel for 2006 are: Dr. William Guertal, U.S. Geological Survey, replacing Judy Denver; Dr. David Hansen, UD Dept. of Plant & Soil  Sciences, replacing Bill Saylor; Dr. Paul Imhoff, UD Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, replacing Steve Dentel; Dr. Shreeram Inamdar, UD Department of Bioresources Engineering, replacing Ken Lomax; Edward Lewandowski, Center for Inland Bays, replacing Bruce Richards; Andrew Manus, Nature Conservancy, replacing Carl Solberg of the Sierra Club; William Rohrer, Delaware Nutrient Management Commission, replacing William Vanderwende; and Denise Seliskar, UD College of Marine Studies, replacing Ken Price.  The 16-member statewide Advisory Panel provides guidance and expertise needed for successful DWRC research and education programs. 

 

II.  UPCOMING WATER RESOURCES EVENTS

 

Delaware Section, American Water Resources Association (DE AWRA) events:  http://www.deawra.org/Meetings/meetings.php

 

June 13, 2006: Meeting cancelled; next scheduled meeting: August 8, 2006, location to be determined. All are welcome.  Contact: Martha Corrozi, mcorrozi@udel.edu, (302) 831-4931.

June 14-16, 2006: Annual conference of the Mid-Atlantic sections of the AWRA (NJ, NY, PA, DE and Philadelphia Sections), Montclair State University's New Jersey School of Conservation, Branchville NJ (near the PA/NJ/NY nexus).  Conference theme: "Stream Restoration and Protection in the Mid-Atlantic Region".  For information, visit http://awra.org/state/new_jersey/mac2006/.

 

June 20, 2006: Christina Basin Public Forum, 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m., Delaware Center for Horticulture, 1810 N. DuPont Street, Wilmington, DE.  Host: Christina Basin Tributary Action Team formed and facilitated by Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) and the Water Resources Agency; a unit of the University of Delaware’s Institute for Public Administration (IPA-WRA).  Team members include representatives from nonprofit organizations, industry, water utilities, state and local government entities, private consultants, and residents of the Basin.

 

Contained in the larger Delaware River Basin, the 565 square mile Christina Basin spans three states, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Maryland and includes four subwatersheds: Brandywine, Red Clay, and White Clay Creeks, and the Christina River.  On April 8, 2005 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) assigned Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) to the Christina Basin.  These will require specific reductions in nonpoint sources of pollution, such as bacteria, nitrogen, and phosphorus in order to restore the rivers and streams of the Christina Basin to a healthy condition for our use and recreation.  The Christina Basin Tributary Action Team will recommend a Pollution Control Strategy (PCS) to DNREC to reduce pollution down to EPA’s targeted levels. 

 

All are welcome to the June 20th Christina Basin Public Forum, where a brief overview of the unique characteristics of the Basin, the TMDLs, and the Tributary Action Team process will be provided.  The presenters will also explain the Team’s three approaches to reduce pollution loads in the Basin.  These approaches are not mutually exclusive and are an attempt at incorporating what is most important to those who live and work in the Basin.  Each approach sites actions to reduce pollutant loads and meet the TMDLs in the Christina Basin. The intent of this forum is to facilitate discussion, identify what is most important to the stakeholders in the Basin, and encourage stakeholders’ participation on the Team.   During the forum the participants will be asked for their input regarding these approaches and actions.

 

For more information about the Christina Basin Tributary Action Team or the Public Forum contact Martha Corrozi, mcorrozi@udel.edu, or (302) 831-4931.

 

III.  NEW WATER RESOURCES INFORMATION

 

From USGS, submitted by Judy Denver:  Two new circulars, part of a series of publications on The Quality of our Nations Waters describing major findings of the National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program on water-quality issues of regional and national concern.  Local studies in this program that are included in these analyses are in the Delmarva Peninsula, Potomac River Basin, and Delaware River Basin.

 

1.  USGS Circular 1291,  Pesticides in the Nation's Streams and Ground Water, 1992-2001.  This report is a comprehensive national-scale analysis to date of pesticide occurrence and concentrations in streams and ground water.  It is based on results of sampling in 51 major hydrologic systems during 1992-2001.   It is available at: http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/2005/1291/

 

2.  USGS Circular 1292, Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in the Nation's Ground Water and Drinking-Water Supply Wells.  This report presents a synthesis of 55 VOC compounds measured in over 4000 wells.  It is the first national assessment of VOCs in the Nations major aquifer systems. It is available at: http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/circ1292/

 

Also from USGS: USGS Professional Paper 1608, A Surficial Hydrologic Framework for the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain.  This report describes a surficial hydrogeologic framework that was developed for the Mid-Atlantic coastal Plain from New Jersey through North Carolina.  The framework defines seven subregions within which the primary natural physical factors affecting the flow and chemistry of small streams are relatively consistent. The hydrologic framework and accompanying physiographic and geologic delineations are presented in digital and printed format.  It is available at: http://md.water.usgs.gov/publications/prop-1680/

 

Welcome new subscribers!  Contributions, comments and questions are always appreciated.  To unsubscribe, reply with "Unsubscribe Water E-News” in the subject line.  Water E-News serves citizens interested in topics on Delaware water resources and is published by the Delaware Water Resources Center, University of Delaware.  Our address: 113 Townsend Hall, Newark, DE 19716-2103. Phone: (302) 831-2698; fax: (302) 831-6758; Web: http://ag.udel.edu/dwrc/  Dr. Tom Sims, Director, email jtsims@udel.edu; Amy Boyd, Program Coordinator, email aboyd@udel.edu.