(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009-04)
Sheridan, Raina M.; Carroll, G. Denise; Jackson, C. Rhett; Rasmussen, Todd C.; Shelton, James L.
Bioassessments have become useful tools for understanding and rating stream health. The most widely used bioassessments analyze macroinvertebrate communities in order to reach conclusions about water quality. Many state agencies have designed protocols for macroinvertebrate bioassessments and non-government organizations also have adopted their own protocols that are simplified but still effectively measuring stream health. We will compare results from two simplified bioassessment protocols to those produced by the Georgia EPD bioassessment protocol. Our objectives are to determine whether or not the simplified methods produce the same quality data and some inference as that of the EPD methods. We also look at seasonal differences in results to determine whether time of sampling influences results. Currently, our data is limited to four sampling sites in Statham, GA that have been sampled over the fall and winter seasons. We intend to add 11 more sites for fall and winter, and also include spring samples for all 15 sites. Assessment scores varied little over the five sites, and with this limited data set there are inconsistencies of ratings between the two simplified methods compared to the EPD methods. We have also not yet produced any evidence of water quality ratings being affected by sampling in different seasons. Previous studies have shown that at least one of the simple methods produces results consistent to more complex methods, and that macroinvertebrate community structure does undergo seasonal changes. Due to the insufficient amount of data collected at this time, we are unable to reach solid conlusions.
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2005-04)
Carroll, G. Denise; Rasmussen, Todd C.
Sewer line failures are a major cause
of stream impairment in urban areas. While many
sewer line failures can be readily identi ed and cor-
rected, other failures may be more di cult to rem-
edy. This paper examines the general problem of
sewer line failures. Speci cally, we discuss 1) the
observed causes of sewer line failures, 2) methods
for determining which streams are being a ected by
sewer line failures, and 3) strategies for pinpointing
the exact location of these failures so that they can
be repaired. Examples of sewer line failures within
Athens, Georgia, are used to illustrate the problems
with identifying these failures.