Halfway home: three years’ of monitoring and assessment results in the Lake Allatoona/Upper Etowah River Watershed
Author(s)
Morrissey, Charles
Stribling, James B.
Millard, Christopher
Davie, Steven R.
Shelton, Steve
Advisor(s)
Editor(s)
Carroll, G. Denise
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Abstract
The long-term environmental monitoring
program for the Lake Allatoona/Upper Etowah River Watershed
(LAUE) is probability-based and rotating basins,
with sites randomly selected and stratified within nested
12- and 10-digit USGS HUC subwatersheds. Sampling
and analysis for the ecological monitoring component of
the WA began in December 2005 and years 2 and 3 in
November/December 2006 and 2007, respectively. As a
result, ecological assessments (based on physical habitat,
geomorphology, water chemistry, and biology [benthic
macroinvertebrates (i.e., aquatic insects, snails, and
worms)]) have been completed for 158 stream and river
locations distributed throughout the upper watershed, and
at 11 sites targeted for different land use activities. Three
years of ecological monitoring has resulted in a cumulative
master list of 334 genera of benthic macroinvertebrates
representing 124 families. Using a multimetric index
(MMI) calibrated for Georgia Level 3 ecoregions,
biological data were organized and interpreted in the context
of composite characteristics (metrics) relative to reference
conditions. Forty-two (42) percent of the sites were
rated as either poor or very poor, which translates to 1,225
kilometers (km) of biologically degraded channel length
in the LAUE. Overall, the LAUE is in need of stressor
reduction; however, there are specific areas of the watershed
(described as 10- and 12-digit HUC subwatersheds,
and individual streams) that are in better condition, and
would benefit from activities preventing or minimizing the
introduction of new stressor sources; there are others in
need of stressor reduction.
Sponsor
Sponsored by:
Georgia Environmental Protection Division
U.S. Geological Survey, Georgia Water Science Center
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service
Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia Water Resources Institute
The University of Georgia, Water Resources Faculty
Date
2009-04
Extent
Resource Type
Text
Resource Subtype
Proceedings