Treatment wetlands to improve water quality of agricultural runoff
Treatment wetlands have been successfully used to improve point and non-point sources of pollution. We are currently evaluating this technology to reduce nutrient concentrations in agricultural runoff. Several local farmers have agreed to construct wetlands and we have secured funding for three years. I am currently seeking a graduate student interested using this project for thesis research.
Protecting food safety and improving water quality
Even before the E. coli contimination incident in the fall 2006, growers and resource agencies were cognizant of the mixed messages growers receive concerning food safety and water quality protection. As a result, some recommended management practices were in direct conflict. In the winter of 2005, we proposed to monitor the potential movement of animals between border vegetation designed to protect water quality into row crops as vectors of pathogens. The scope of this work is currently being refined in light of the recent food safety incidents.
Collaborators
Dawn Mathes, (project head) Central Coast Agricultural Water Quality Coalition
Trevor Suslow, UC Cooperative Extension
Micheal Cahn, UC Cooperative Extension
San Earnshaw, Community Alliance with Family Farmers
Development of periphyton index of biotic integrity
Periphyton, algae attached to the substrates in the water column, can be used as an indicator of water quality. In this work, we are surveying streams from Santa Cruz County to Santa Barbara County to investigate how algae communities are structured by water chemistry, canopy cover, and substrate. We have secured funding for this work for three years.
Collaborators
Scott Rollins, (project head) Biology Department, Spokane Falls Community College
Jan Stevenson, Michigan State University
Yangdong Pan, Portland State University
Betty Fetscher, Southern California Coastal Water Research Project
the LOBO project developed a real time chemical sensor network deployed in Elkhorn Slough. The observing system uses in situ chemical sensors to determine chemical fluxes into, within, and out of Elkhorn Slough. The primary focus is to measure nutrients, such as nitrate, ammonium, and phosphate, with high temporal resolution and the ability to access the data in near-real time. Water properties such as salinity, temperature, and current velocity are combined with the nutrient measurements to determine important processes that affect the biogeochemistry of Elkhorn Slough.
Collaborators
Ken Johnson, (project head) Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute
We have maintained a water quality monitoring program in the Pajaro River and Elkhorn Slough watershed since 2000. This effort has had various sources of funding and has become one of the most robust sampling efforts along the Central Coast of California. As part of this effort, we periodically summarize these findings in Research Briefs for the general public.
