Date of Graduation
2005
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Type
MS
Committee Chair
Jerald J. Fletcher
Abstract
The relationship between land cover characteristics and water pollutant concentrations in surface water was evaluated for 10 sub-basins in the Potomac Headwaters Region of West Virginia. Using water quality data collected between 1998 and 2004 by the West Virginia Department of Agriculture (WVDA), mean and median in-stream concentrations of fecal coliform, total phosphorus, and nitrate nitrogen were determined for specific periods of time during the sampling period. Land use categories were evaluated on a basin-wide and a floodplain-specific scale. The percentages of forest, agriculture, cropland and urban land were determined. In addition, erodibility, organic matter content and permeability were aggregated for floodplain soils. Pearson’s correlations coefficients were calculated to determine the most significant land cover characteristics in relation to water chemistry concentrations. The most significant parameters were used in a step-wise multiple regression model to determine the extent that nutrient and bacteria concentrations could be explained by land cover characteristics. It was determined that specific land cover characteristics were directly related to mean and median pollutant concentrations. These relationships formed the basis for a ranking model that prioritized each watershed in the study area by each constituent and as a combination of the three. The highest ranked watersheds represented the highest priority in terms of the need for further attention, research, funding and policy decisions.
Recommended Citation
MacQueen, A. Andrew IV, "Spatial characterization of pollution sources: An analysis of in-stream water quality data from the Potomac headwaters of West Virginia." (2005). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD). 10893.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/10893