# Presentation: 930706

## TURKEY CREEK & ADJACENT EXPERIMENTAL WATERSHEDS STUDIES UPDATE

- Devendra Amatya, USDA Forest Service,
- Center for Forested Wetlands Research

*3**rd** Project Cooperators’ Meeting, Santee Experimental Forest, SC*
*February 08, 2006 *

## COLLABORATORS & COOPERATORS

- FS Southern Research Station
- National Council for Air & Stream Improvement
- Francis Marion National Forest
- College of Charleston
- US Geological Survey
- JJ&G Company/ Tetra-Tech, Inc.
- University of Krakow, Poland
- SC Department of Transportation
- Florida A& M University** **

## PRESENTATION OUTLINE

- Location & History of Watersheds
- Long-term Data
- Past Studies
- Current Issues/Problem Areas
- Ongoing Collaboration/Studies
- Potential Studies Collaboration and Funding

## National Forest

- Santee Experimental Forest
- 1938

- Cooper River

*National Forest*

*Private Lands*

**Turkey **
**Creek**

*Charleston*

## SANTEE EXPERIMENTALWATERSHEDS DEVELOPMENT

***WS 77 (160 ha): 1******st****** Order, Pine/Hardwood – 1963***
***WS 78 (5,000 ha): 3******rd****** Order, Mixed land use- 1964***
***WS 79 (500 ha): 2******nd****** Order, Mixed land use- 1965***
***WS 80 (206 ha): 1******st****** Order, Pine/Hardwood, 1968***
***Poorly drained, low gradient***
***Discontinued by 1984***

- Weather Station

**77**

**78**

**SEF**

**80**

**79**

## Re-Monitoring after Hugo in 1989

**WS 79**

- Fox Gulley Creek

**Turkey Creek**

- 205 ha –
- Control

- 155 ha - Treatment

**Re-Monitoring after Hugo in 1989**

- Rainfall
- Weather
- Stream flow
- Water quality
- Water table
- Soils
- Vegetation

**Vegetation badly damaged/destroyed**
**WS 80 – Non-salvage harvest**
**WS 77 – Salvage harvest**

## PAST STUDIES

***Hydrologic Budget, Soil Moisture, ET***
***Rainfall-Runoff Relationships***
***Drainage and Flooding Issues ***
***Plot Scale Prescribed Burning Effects on Stream Chemistry***
***Effects of Soil Type on Pine Growth***
***Effects of Hugo on Forest Stands***

## CURRENT ISSUES OF INTEREST

- Developmental/Urbanization Impacts
- Effects of land management: harvesting, thinning, fertilization, prescribed burning, Biomass removal
- Effects of Best Management Practices
- Impacts of land use change and natural disturbances (Fire, Hurricanes, Floods)
- Water quantity and quality – Surface/Subsurface
- Wetland and Eco-Hydrologic Functions
- _Cumulative effects on a watershed/basin scale _

## SITE, DATA & TOOLS

- Undisturbed Reference Watersheds
- Field & Lab experimental monitoring
- Long-term hydrology & water quality data
- Hydrologic and biogeochemical processes, Water and nutrient budgets/pathways
- Scientific analyses and recommendations
- Model development and management tools
- Assessment of scenario analyses

## HYDRO-DB DATA SHARING(US FS, CFWR, COFC)

- USFS and LTER
- CLYMDB
- Long-term Hydrology Data from Exper. Watersheds
- 23 FS Sites
- Intersite comparisons: Fire and Flooding Effects, Forest Health
**Santee Watersheds (77, 80)**
- 1989 – 2001
*Water Quality*

## WATER BUDGET – WS80 (Harder, 2004)(CFWR, COFC)

- 2003: R = 1671mm, O = 795 mm, O/R = 48%
- 2004: R = 962mm, O = 73 mm, O/R = 8%
- LT Avg: R=1290 mm, O =294 mm, O/R = 23%
- Pre-Hugo ~ 20.6%
- ET = R – O = 996 mm
- LT PET ~ 1000 mm

*Water Table vs Outflow*

## EFFECTS OF HUGO(CFWR, COFC)

- ANNUAL OUTFLOWS

- 5-YR AVERAGE ANNUAL
- NUTRIENT CONCENTRATIONS

## EFFECTS OF PRESCRIBED BURNING (CFWR, FMNF)

- Pre-Burning: 1996-99, Jan-Apr 2003
- 81% of 160 ha area of WS 77 Burned: May 2003
- Post-Burning: Oct 03 – Dec 05
- 50% and 43% increase inoutflows on Burned (77) in 2004 and 05 compared to Expected if not burnt

## DRAINMOD TESTING ON WS80 (Harder, 2004)(CFWR, NCASI, COFC)

- 160 ha WS 80
- Poorly drained soil, pine+hardwood mixed
- Jan 03 - Jun 05
- Monthly outflow predictions good (E = 0.92, AMD = 11 mm)
- LT Avg Flow= 320 mm
- LT Avg ET = 996 mm

## WETLAND HYDROLOGIC FUNCTIONS(SRS, CFWR, FAMU)

- Joseph Amoah, PhD Candidate
- Collaboration w/FAMU
- FS SRS CRC Support
- Weather, Flow, WT
- WS 77, 80 & 79
- GIS interfaces
- DRAINMOD

## BIOMASS REDUCTION STUDY (CFWR, JFSP,  NIFC)

**BIOMASS REDUCTION STUDY**** **(CFWR, JFSP,  NIFC)

- Comprehensive Fire Effects of Biomass Reduction on Stream Hydrology and Water Quality

- Control

- Treatment

## SC DHEC and BCDCOG >>TMDL for DO

**Subwatershed boundaries for CHS Harbor WQ **
**Model  (Jordan, Jones & Golding, 2005)**

**Santee experimental forested watersheds monitoring**
**stations used for CHS Harbor WQ model by**
**  ****(Jordan, Jones & Golding, 2005)**

**Charleston**

**Cooper River**

**SC DHEC and BCDCOG >>TMDL for DO**

**Turkey Creek**

## TURKEY CREEK WATERSHED-SCALE STUDY

**TURKEY CREEK WATERSHED-SCALE STUDY**

- 5,000 ha ( 50 sq.km) area
- 11.4 km stream length
- 6.74 km2 water/wetlands
- 3rd order stream
- 3 m to 12 m a.m.s.l.
- ~ 1370 mm rainfall (Avg)
- ~ 860 – 1950 mm range
- Tmin= -8.5oC; Tmax= 37.7oC Tavg= 18.4oC
- ~ 1000 mm PET
- Flow data : 1964-76
- SW: 16.85 Mm3 (337 mm)
- Runoff ~ 24% of Avg P
- GW: N/A yet
- Non-tidal (Tidal ~ 6 km D/S)

*Funding Support: FS SRS, CCS Program*

## TURKEY CREEK WATERSHED - Land Use

## Slide 20

## Aerial Composites for Land Use Changes

**1963**

**1968**

**1978**

**1999**

## CURRENT STUDIES

- Stream flow dynamics of Turkey Creek watershed compared to adjacent smaller forested watersheds using current and historical stream flow data (2004-06).
- Monitor water quality of streams and tributaries
*Water quality impacts of activities on National Forest Lands (Forest Service Goal 2004-08).*

## Slide 23

## MONITORING STATIONS

- ~ 5,000 ha

- New USGSgauging station
- WQ/Sampler

- New weather
- Station/Rain gauge
- and Deep wells

- Rain gauges

- Weather
- Station

**MONITORING STATIONS**

## Turkey Creek Rainfall and Weather Data

## Turkey Creek Weather Data

## Turkey Creek Flow Data

## OTHER OBJECTIVES

- Flow dynamics of the watershed before the Hurricane and 15 years after the Hurricane by resuming the monitoring.
- Stream chemistry and Water quality of the Turkey Creek watershed compared to managed forests.
- Carbon dynamics, Green house gas and other eco-system studies
- Long-term hydrologic effects of land use change on stream flow and GW dynamics.
- Hydrologic models (SWAT, DRAINWAT) for evaluating the effects of land use change and management including harvesting, thinning, prescribed burning, biomass treatments on hydrology and water quality.

## WATER QUALITY MONITORING

***Biweekly Grab Sampling ***
- ISCO Auto Sampler
- With USGS Flow Gauging Datalogger
- Sampling protocol
- Nutrients, Sediment
- pH, DO, T, TOC, Hg
- Model calibration/validation
*USGS, CFWR, NCASI, FMNF ???*

## Trace Greenhouse Gas Fluxes From Bottomland Hardwood Floodplains

- Objectives
- Characterize the trace greenhouse gas (CH4, N2O) fluxes from BLH forests;
- Provide a reference for norms that could be expected from restored BLH forests.
- Sample riparian zone from different sized streams (Fox Gulley branch, Turkey Creek, Nicholson Creek)

*(*USGS/BRD, CFWR, COFC)

## APPROACH

- Static chambers used to collect and measure trace gas fluxes

- Other measurements:
-    Water table depth
-    Soil moisture
-    Soil & air temperature
-    Physical & chemical soil properties

## SURFACE-SUBSURFACE HYDROLOGIC STUDY

- Use of Historic Rain and Outflow Data (1964-76)
- Rainfall variability and spatial estimate
- Storm Event Hydrographs: Peak Flow rates, Time to Peak, Storm volume and duration, Base flow, and Event Runoff/Rainfall ratios
- Ground water-Surface water interaction
- Seasonality and Hugo effects
- College of Charleston, FS CFWR
*SC Sea Grant Program ???*

## WATER TABLE DYNAMICS STUDY

- Establishment of shallow GW wells  (Auto & Manual)
- By Gradient, Soils & Vegetation (land use) type
- Assessing wet areas, S/SS Water and  WT and Outflow relationships, Models
- FMNF, CFWR, COFC, NRCS
*FMNF ??*

## MODEL DEVELOPMENT & APPLICATION

- DRAINWAT, DRAINMOD-GIS, SWAT
- All GIS data layers
- Catchment delineation
- Model parameterization
- Catchment monitoring
- Catchment management data
- Model Calibration/Validation
- Scenario Analyses
*Potential Funding Agency:**FS SRS, NCASI ???*

## A COLIFORM TMDL STUDY

**A COLIFORM TMDL STUDY**

- Turkey Creek at Rd 251 and FM SC 402
- Station RS-02483
- HUC: 03050201040
- EPA 2004(d) list
- Impaired for Fecal Coliform
- Use: Recreational
- Berkeley County, FS CFWR
*SC DHEC EPA 319  Grant*

## STREAM BIOLOGY STUDY

- Main & Tributary Streams
- Wetlands
- Stream Geomorphology
- Biological Indicators
- Fish Habitat (Cray Fish)
- FMNF, COFC, Berkeley County, FS CFWR, SC DHEC, USGS
*Potential Funding Agency:**FMNF ???*

## NATO/CCMS PILOT STUDYIntegrated Water Management

*Exchange and combine expertise in water system research considering different dimensions and interactions.*
*Contribute to the knowledge of IWM given the wide variety of conditions in various basins/watersheds *
- 5th Workshop (Nov-Dec 05), Turkey
- 17 Countries (9) – River/Watershed Plans
- USA – **Turkey Creek, SC**
- Physical characteristics, Hydrology, Land use, Socio-economics, Stakeholders, etc.
- Final Meeting/Publication with WS78

***Science***

***Management***

***Policy***

***Societal Needs***

***Objective of IWM Pilot Study***

## Socio-economics – demographicsTurkey Creek / Coastal SC / U.S.A.

| population | In millions | Sector 1 | % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Population growth 
1995 - 2000 |  5%  | Sector 2 | % |
| Life expectancy | ~ 65-70 years | Sector 3 | % |
| Literacy | ~ 80-90 % | Sector 4 | % |
| Primary sector | Fishery | Sector 5 | % |
| Secondary sector | Civil Service | Sector 6 | % |
| Tertiary sector | Forestry/Industry | Sector 7 | % |
| Quaternary  | Recreation | Sector 8 | % |
|  |  | Sector 9 | % |

## Project Urban Growth 1970-2030

**Project Urban Growth 1970-2030**
**Charleston Area, South Carolina**
**(Cooper River Basin and Surroundings: 2540 sq.km. ~ 0.5 ml pop)**

**Cooper River**

*Berkeley*

*Charleston*

*Dorchester*

*BCD Tri-County Govt*

***Francis Marion National Forest***

**Notes:**
Projected growth in Charleston area.  From USC Strom Thurmond Inst.  Shows change from 1970-2030; note how development engulfs the Francis Marion National Forest.