SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL

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SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL

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PATTERNS OF WATER
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QUALITY IN SELECTED
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MIDWESTERN
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WATERSHEDS
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Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Water Quality in
Selected Midwestern Watersheds
K. Foreman1, R. Rajagopal1, M. Skopec2, B.
Gast1, and E. Brands1 Department of Geography,
University of Iowa1 Iowa Geological Survey2,
Iowa City, IA
Cooperative State Research, Education, and
Extension Service
Grant 2001-51130-11373
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Abstract
As consumers, citizens, and professionals, we are
faced with questions such as What contaminants
are found in the water environment? Where in the
hydrological system are these contaminants found
and at what concentrations? How many people are
exposed to such contaminants at different
concentration ranges? We have access to extensive
ambient and drinking water quality data for two
major Iowa watersheds, Iowa and Des Moines
Rivers. Such data are useful in testing
hypotheses of differences in water quality within
and between watersheds (due to differences
in land use and geology) within and between
years or events (such as spring vs. winter or
flood vs. drought). Test for differences in
exposures between various population groups in
these watersheds can also be undertaken (urban
vs. rural or surface vs. groundwater).
Understanding such differences will be of
significant value in the allocation of resources
for water quality monitoring, planning, and
decision making.
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USDA Project Water Quality in Agroecosystems
Policy PBM Strategies Model
Regulations Conservation Policies
Technology Atlases GIS/SDSS Spatial Analysis
Science Spatial/Temporal
Differences Modeling MCL Violations
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• GOALS
• ? Poster Goal To improve scientific
  understanding of spatial, temporal, and
  exposure variability, uncertainty, and precision
  associated with water quality measurements.
• ? UDSA Project Goal To integrate scientific and
  technological ideas (GIS and visualization tools)
  in the context of water quality protection and
  policy.

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USDA Project Study Area
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Iowa Basin
DesMoines Basin



(Iowa Geological Survey)
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Factors Influencing Variability in Water Quality
Within and Between WatershedsHydrology
(seasons, flood/drought) Geology (source waters)
Land Use (urban/rural) Ecoregions (composite
features) Watershed Size (aggregation)
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Herbicide Detections by Type of Water Source
(Skopec, 1998)
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Boxplot Mechanics
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Total Phosphorus in Surface Water By Year
(Iowa Geological Survey)
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NitrateNitrite-N in Surface Water By Season
(Iowa Geological Survey)
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NitrateNitrite-N and Flow in an Iowa Watershed
(Iowa Geological Survey)
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Atrazine in Surface Water of Urban
Areas(upstream downstream)
US Upstream of Urban Areas DS Downstream of
Urban Areas
(Iowa Geological Survey)
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Fecal Coliform Bacteria By Ecoregion
(Iowa Geological Survey)
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Triazine Load By Watershed Size
(Iowa Geological Survey)
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Water Quality Variability By Watershed Size
(Iowa Geological Survey)
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Research Findings in a Feedback Context
Characterizing Spatial and Temporal Patterns in
Water Quality
Understanding Variability And Diversity in Water
Quality
Making Informed Water Quality Decisions and
Regulatory Policies (Specifically, allocating
resources to monitoring decisions)
F(N)
F(N)Decisions leading to what, where, when, how
often how precisely to monitor.
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Conclusion

• Scientific understanding of spatial and temporal
  patterns in water quality will lead to increased
  knowledge of variability and diversity in
  contaminants. Such knowledge can be directly put
  to use in the design and development of
  place-based water quality monitoring protection
  policies.

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Iowa River at Iowa City
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Old Mans Creek at Sharon Center