Dave Rus (USGS), representing an interagency group that also includes:

1. Proposed National Sediment and Water-Quality Monitoring Program Piloted in the Mississippi River Basin – A Synopsis Dave Rus (USGS), representing an interagency group that also includes: Dale W. Blevins (USGS), Charlie Demas (USGS), John Gray (USGS), Dave Heimann (USGS), Art Horowitz (USGS), Chuck E. Shadie (COE), Jim Stefanov (USGS), Rick Wilson (USGS), Andy Ziegler (USGS), and many other USGS/COE colleagues 2010 Missouri River Natural Resources Committee Conference Nebraska City, Nebraska, March 19, 2010

2. Presentation Outline • Need for monitoring program • The proposed program • The program’s approach • Next steps

3. Sediment can be costly • Sediment damages in North America (mostly in US) total $20-$50 BILLION annually (ARS-USGS) • COE dredging programs in MRB alone total ~$1billion annually • EPA, NOAA, USDA, others have major investments in MRB • Program need • Proposed program • Programapproach • Next steps

4. Sediment (or lack thereof) can be detrimental • As much as 25 mi2 Louisiana coast lost annually • Northern Gulf of Mexico hypoxia • Endangered species management • Reservoir lifespans • Flood impacts • Program need • Proposed program • Programapproach • Next steps

5. Proposal workgroup • A COE/USGS group met to address • Consistency issues • Monitoring shortcomings • The result? (besides lots of meetings/conference calls) • A COE/USGS proposal for aNational Sediment & WQ Monitoring Program • Program need • Proposed program • Programapproach • Next steps

6. Vision: A National Sediment & WQ Monitoring Program USGS/COE Proposal that will… Establish a long-term, base-funded, network-designed national monitoring program to generate sediment, nutrient, and sediment-associated chemical concentrations, loads, budgets and temporal trends that are integrated within existing networks. Mississippi Basin will be the pilot program that grows into a national network • Program need • Proposed program • Programapproach • Next steps

7. Program Objectives • Establish a monitoring program capable of: • Accurate sediment/chemical budgets • Budgets at critical spatial/temporal scales • Constraining/quantifying uncertainty • Determine trends/loads relevant to the various economic/ecologic/restoration activities of a river • Program need • Proposed program • Programapproach • Next steps

8. National Program Cost/Benefits • 400-450 stations at $75-$90M annually • Pilot program in Mississippi River Basin proposed at $17.6M in FY2012 • National program cost is <1% of estimated sediment costs/damages • Ergo, if the program facilitates a 1% reduction in sediment damages, it will pay for itself • Program need • Proposed program • Programapproach • Next steps

9. MRB Pilot Program - Scope • 68 stations • Max use of USGS gages & programs • Constituents • Suspended sediment (full gradation) • Nutrients, ions, trace metals, pesticides • Bed material (2 samples per year) • Bedload (Evaluated at 6 sites – 2 on the Missouri) • Program need • Proposed program • Programapproach • Next steps

10. Monitoring approach • An emphasis on using surrogates • Surrogates are related to sediment/chemicals in the water and are measured continuously • Need to calibrate a surrogate model with traditional sampling data • Background • Proposed program • Program approach • Next steps

11. Surrogates • Streamflow, Turbidity, acoustic backscatter, ultraviolet nitrate, laser-based sensors UV Nitrate Turbidity Acoustic Backscatter Laser-Based • Background • Proposed program • Program approach • Next steps

12. Sampling • Traditional sampling • 12-20 samples/year • Using Federal Interagency Sedimentation Project (FISP) samplers • Background • Proposed program • Program approach • Next steps

13. Synthesis of monitoring data waterwatch.usgs.gov • All data online in near-real time and publicly available • ID principal sources/sinks of sediment, nutrients, other QW constituents • Identify phase of transport of sediments as a function of location, flow, other variables • Background • Proposed program • Program approach • Next steps

14. MRB Pilot Prelude? • Interest in initiating Louisiana MRB monitoring in 2010 (Science and Technology Program – COE and Louisiana). • Proof-of-concept / demonstration for surrogate monitoring, and shake-out for methodologies/protocols. • Will enable us to “hit the ground running” in 2012 • Background • Proposed program • Program approach • Next steps

15. What’s next? • Proposal being considered by senior leadership within the USGS and COE for inclusion as a 2012 budget initiative • In the meantime, sharing the concept to potential partners and stakeholders • Background • Proposed program • Program approach • Next steps

16. Thanks for listening Remnant dunes at the Nebraska City marina following high water of June 2008 Dave Rus (402) 328-4127dlrus@usgs.gov Nebraska Water Science Center Proposal team leader: John Gray (703) 648-5318 jrgray@usgs.gov USGS Office of Surface Water