Biological Resources of the Delaware River and Related Environmental Issues

1. Biological Resources of the Delaware River and Related Environmental Issues Kenneth J. Wagner, Ph.D

2. 0:20 Background for K. Wagner • Born and raised in the Delaware River (DR) basin (New Jersey, across the river from Philadelphia) • Escaped to NH for college (Dartmouth); extradicted in 1977 to Trenton for state service • Four years with NJDEP, including monitoring work on the DR, during which Ken lived 300 ft from the DR at Washington’s Crossing • Escaped again, to NY for grad school (Cornell) – not yet recaptured • 23 years of water resource consulting, based in New England, but working all over, including in DR basin

3. 0:50 Background for DRBC • The Delaware River Basin Commission was formed in the early 1960s through multi-state and federal agreement, putting management of the watershed under an authority other than individual states or feds • Representatives of each state and US government sit on the commission and make decisions • Withdrawal and discharge permits are issued by DRBC • DRBC staff conduct studies and make recommendations • Scientific, economic and political elements all rolled into a watershed approach to water resource management

4. 2:50 Background for DRBC Addresses issues in: • 13,539 square miles • 236 watersheds (HUC 11) • 4 states: DE, PA, NJ, NY • 42 counties • 838 municipalities • 25 congressional districts • 2 EPA Regions • 5 USGS offices

5. 4:00 Background for DRBC • The DRBC has a recent plan with key result areas • Recognizes the complications and interactions associated with water resources and watershed activities • Implementation is always a challenge

6. 5:00 Biological Groups of Interest • Periphyton – attached algae • Aquatic Plants – emergent or submergent vascular plants • Benthic Macroinvertebrates – bugs and other aquatic invertebrates • Fish – best known stream biota • Reptiles and Amphibians – snakes, turtles, frogs, salamanders with strong link to water • Birds and Mammals – water dependent species Some are more “charismatic” than others…

7. 6:50 Periphyton • Photosynthetic plants or bacteria growing attached to some substrate • Affected by substrate, light and water quality • Limited water quantity effects; mainly presence and velocity • Most often used as water quality indicators

8. 8:25 Periphyton • Shifts among groups are meaningful; some field assessment possible with training • Requires lab techniques for best quantity measurement • Microscopic analysis of algal types is very useful, but requires considerable training and equipment

9. 8:50 Aquatic Vascular Plants • Provide food and shelter for many other groups • Types and density usually determined by substrate and light; only a few use water as a nutrient source • Water quantity impacts related to presence of adequate water and flows that may destabilize community • Patchy distribution over space and time expected; recovery from disturbance is fairly rapid

10. 10:15 Aquatic Vascular Plants • Hot button issue is invasive species • Native species may be replaced by invaders, altering ecology • Not all new species are invasive, and not all native species are non-nuisances • Yet invasive species represent a major ecological and economic threat

11. 11:40 Benthic Macroinvertebrates • Invertebrate fauna living among the substrate materials • Typically feed on algae, terrestrial inputs (e.g., leaves) or each other • Sensitive to substrate and water quality • React to a lesser degree to water quantity; mainly presence and velocity • Sensitive to food resources; especially periphyton, drifting particles and leaf packs • Mussels are the most threatened among benthic invertebrates, and are affected by both water quantity and quality issues

12. 15:10 Benthic Macroinvertebrates • Insects, Annelids, Crustaceans and Molluscs are the main groups

13. 16:05 Benthic Macroinvertebrates • Abundance is important, although hard to characterize • Shifts among groups are very meaningful • EPTs vs. Chironomidae • Similarity indices • Functional feeding groups

14. 17:40 Fish • Vertebrate biota with wide variety of forms and ecology • Consume some algae, mostly invertebrates, often each other • Sensitive to cover (substrate, vegetation, banks), water quantity (depth, velocity), and water quality (especially oxygen and temperature)

15. 18:20 Fish • Types of fish present usually linked to water quality • Amount of fish present usually linked to physical habitat and by extension to water quantity – but this may not always be true

16. 18:45 Fish • Primary groups include salmonids (trout), cyprinids (minnows) and centrarchids (bass/sunfish)

17. 19:20 Fish • Shifts among groups are very meaningful • Trout vs. other species • Fluvial specialists vs. fluvial dependents vs. habitat generalists

18. 20:30 Fish • Shifts within groups are very meaningful • Size distribution (length or weight) • Growth rate (age vs. length or weight) • Condition factor (length vs. weight, evidence of parasites and disease)

19. 21:10 Reptiles and Amphibians • Most forms are dependent on water during at least part of life cycle • “Hibernation” over winter creates vulnerability • National trends in decline: pollution, habitat loss, disease or other cause (or all of the above)? • Many protected forms; requires site specific knowledge of populations when planning projects

20. 22:10 Birds and Mammals • River is a source of food for many forms, shelter for some • Water dependent bird species are highly visible and popular • Water dependent mammals have variable “appeal” • Greater range and less complete dependence complicates impact analysis

21. 23:20 Key Delaware River Bio-Resources • Periphyton • Used as WQ indicators; NWQA project, Limbeck and Smith 2007 • Generally indicate good quality in most of DR basin • Upper DR less rich, less diverse, less pollution tolerant, and more indicative of clean conditions than Lower DR, which is indicative of elevated nutrient levels • Some evidence of siltation and substrate instability • Limbeck & Smith. 2007. Pilot Study: • Implementation of a Periphyton Monitoring Network • for the Non-Tidal Delaware River. DRBC, Trenton, NJ

22. 26:15 Key Delaware River Bio-Resources • Aquatic vascular plants • Submergent Valisneria, Elodea, Potamogeton represent most biomass in Upper DR; reduced over a decade (1989-1997) presumably by reduced ammonia in discharges • Emergent Nuphar, Peltandra, Pontederia, Zizania, Typha and Phragmites represent most biomass in Lower DR; sequesters up to 10% P, <1% N in marshes • Invasive species threats not quantified • (http://www.state.nj.us/drbc/public.htm)

23. 28:10 Key Delaware River Bio-Resources • Macroinvertebrates - freshwater • Used as WQ indicators around discharges for compliance and to classify streams • 8 species of mussels protected Federally endangered Dwarf Wedge Mussel

24. 29:35 Key Delaware River Bio-Resources • Macroinvertebrates - saltwater • Horseshoe crab decline prompted harvest restrictions • Shellfish harvest restrictions due to WQ

25. 30:40 Key Delaware River Bio-Resources • Fish • Major recreational resource – Versar creel census, state tributary surveys • Freshwater, saltwater, anadromous, catadromous fish present and important • Economic driver – recreational and commercial $ can be huge • Political driver - fish don’t vote, but fishermen do • Habitat used as a surrogate for fish abundance in instream flow studies

26. 32:25 Key Delaware River Bio-Resources • Versar 2003 Delaware River Creel Census, for PA FBC • 7.5 month period, 120,000 angler trips, 2/3 non-tidal, 1/3 tidal • Shad, herring, striped bass were primary species, catch down from a decade ago, but perceived to be due to lower effort • Trout and bass from Upper DR • not discussed,but also significant • Catch and release practices dominate

27. 33:10 Key Delaware River Bio-Resources • Upper DR coldwater fishery • Discharge from Cannonsville Reservoir creates coldwater conditions for 27 miles • Another 50 miles of “coolwater” fishery; esp. smallmouth bass, but some trout • Mainly rainbow and brown trout in DR, but many brook trout in tributaries, esp. headwaters

28. 34:40 Key Delaware River Bio-Resources • Commercial eel fishery • Catadromous eels live in freshwater in spring/summer, return to saltwater to spawn in the fall • Caught in eel weirs, an old native american technique • Worldwide food market

29. 35:30 Key Delaware River Bio-Resources Non-support from pH, mercury, PCB and bacteria

30. 36:10 Key Delaware River Bio-Resources • Reptiles and amphibians • 5 reptiles and 4 amphibians on protected list; bog turtle is prime example • Bog turtle habitat widespread in DR corridor, prefer open (non-forested) wetlands • May overwinter in undercut banks or areas prone to flood/drought

31. 37:00 Key Delaware River Bio-Resources • Birds and Mammals • Many water birds are resident • Major resource for migratory birds • Water dependent mammals common: beaver, muskrat, otter; bears and deer common in river corridor (esp scenic designated area) • Multiple bird species have come off protected list as a result of DR programs (Eagle, Great Blue and Little Blue Heron, Cliff Swallow)

32. 38:10 Delaware River Issues • From DRBC Plan ppt: • Upper Region • •Funding for strategic watershed planning • Stream buffers • Basin transfers & efficiency • Support for local planning • Flow management • Fisheries & Recreation • Special Protection Waters program Notes from experience: Ecological integrity starts with the headwaters; the further up in the watershed the withdrawal, diversion or discharge, the more contentious it will be. There is an ongoing effort to upgrade tributary classifications for better protection of resources

33. 39:40 Delaware River Issues (from plan) Upper Region Water Supply System

34. 40:15 Delaware River Issues (from plan) From DRBC Plan ppt: Central Region • Comprehensive watershed management • Environmental education • Regional water supply & land use planning • Fish habitat & water quality • Recreation & flow mgmt • Power generation • Partnerships Notes from Experience: Aside from protection of small tributaries (see Upper DR issues), improving the main river corridor to extend scenic status and related benefits has been proposed This is an area of more active development and land use conversion (agric to residential); heightened competing uses is expected

35. 41:30 Delaware River Issues (from plan) Notes from Experience: Poor water quality is an overriding consideration in this area Many established industrial uses and navigation will collide with recreational uses if WQ improvements are made Salinity intrusion with reduced freshwater flow is a primary supply concern • From DRBC plan ppt: • Lower Region • Adequate supply, suitable quality • TMDLs & water quality standards • Salinity impacts: industry, drinking water & the estuary • Watershed planning • Tourism & recreation • Navigation • Partnerships, coordination & stewardship

36. 43:00 Delaware River Issues (from plan) Lower Region Water Supply System (includes Central and Lower from issues summary)

37. 43:25 Delaware River Issues • From DRBC Plan ppt: • Bay Area Issues • Non-point source issues • Water supply enhancement options • Science-based regulations • Watershed-based planning & management • Collaboration • Salinity impacts • Wetlands & oyster habitat Notes from Experience: WQ impacts on shellfish, water supply, and recreation remain primary concerned, not really emphasized in the list on the left There is ongoing effort and controversy on the science-based regulation of key contaminants, along with pollutant trading Water quantity is less an issue here

38. 44:25 Example: Hoffman Springs Project • Water withdrawn from headwater springs in Lehigh County of PA • Permit issued by DRBC with input from PADEP • Questions regarding impacts on downstream fish • Now through 10+ years of monitoring • Applied site-specific model of flow-habitat-fish abundance to one stream segment • Variability with overall flow regime evident, but impact of withdrawal not discernible • Changing habitat appears to be a major factor

39. 46:05 Hoffman Springs Project

40. 46:55 Hoffman Springs Project 36 cfs 0.3 cfs Average daily flow is 1.7 cfs 4.0 cfs

41. 48:45 Hoffman Springs Project

42. 51:20 Hoffman Springs Project Relationship of flow to fish biomass

43. 52:55 Significance = 0.013 R2 = 0.82 Hoffman Springs Project Relationship of pool availability to fish biomass

44. 54:10 Hoffman Springs Project

45. 54:20 Hoffman Springs Project East Stream – change in pool area from 2004-05 storm

46. 54:50 Hoffman Springs Project • CONCLUSIONS • Ontelaunee Creek headwaters support a thriving trout population; water quality is suitable, although certain human activities represent a threat • Natural variability in flow impacts fish abundance; withdrawal may have a negative influence during dry periods, but any such effect is masked by the larger natural pattern • Factors other than flow affect fish abundance; management for more or bigger fish could be accomplished with habitat manipulation (pools)

47. 56:20 Overall Conclusions and “Tips” • DR has a lot of valuable biological resources and represents an economic driver (commercial and recreational) as a result • Water quality and water quantity are linked and must both be considered in management decisions • Some of the desirable features of DR are a result of human actions (e.g., coldwater fishing due to deep water releases from constructed reservoirs); it is not a system “apart from humans” • Undesirable features center on pollutant inputs and consumptive water withdrawals; the further upstream these occur, the greater the impact

48. 57:35 Overall Conclusions and “Tips” • While all bio-resources deserve consideration, fish are the pivotal resource; they have measurable value, no where else to go, and the community may not recover quickly after damage • Protected species represent the greatest regulatory “hook”; approval of a project becomes much more difficult if protected species may be impacted • While the DRBC has political shortcomings, it is a highly appropriate institution by virtue of its watershed focus, and offers a single point of contact and defined process for evaluating projects and making management decisions

49. 59:00 Overall Conclusions and “Tips” • When evaluating a possible withdrawal, consider: • Where does it occur relative to known bio-resources? • When does it occur relative to the needs of specific biota? • What is the magnitude of withdrawal compared to the range of possible flows at the point of withdrawal? • What other factors mitigate or exacerbate any impact of the withdrawal? • What economic and socio-political drivers are important in addition to biological impacts?

50. Delaware River Bio-Resources Questions and Comments? Get good info before reacting; it is easy to be mislead!