Number of the Month: 1500 Dams

John Cronin

There is now one less than the approximately 1500 dams that block the natural flow of Hudson River tributaries -- and the herring love it. Immediately upon removal of a crusty old metal barrier on the Wynants Kill in Troy, NY, thousands of alewife rushed up the stream to exercise their historical spawning rite -- the first time in 85 years. 

Alewife or Branch Herring. (Pomolobus Pseudoharengus). By Sherman F. Denton. Chromolithograph, 1895-1909. From the New York State report titled “Fish and Game of the State of New York.”

Riverkeeper picks up the story:  

The project – a collaborative effort by Riverkeeper, the state Department of Environmental Conservation and the City of Troy – is the first of its kind in the Hudson River estuary. It signals the potential for many more such projects under a new state initiative.

“The restoration of historic spawning habitat is an important component of DEC’s river herring fisheries management plan,” Acting DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said. “This barrier mitigation project is the first of its kind on a tributary of the Hudson River estuary and will also help reduce localized flooding and improve water quality.”

River herring are one of the most important species which return to the Hudson from the Atlantic to spawn. Since the 1960s, river herring populations up and down the Atlantic Coast have significantly declined due to overharvest and the loss of spawning habitat. Federal and state biologists prioritize the restoration of this habitat as one of the best ways to encourage herring stocks to recover from current historic lows.

Following the removal of a metal barrier May 4 by the City of Troy, the DEC observed hundreds of alewives, a species of herring, entering the stream. American eel, white sucker, yellow perch and other fish have also gained access to the Wynants Kill.

The dam removal was funded by the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) through a Hudson River Estuary Program Grant for “Tributary Restoration and Resiliency,” awarded to the City of Troy in January of this year.

“We’re very proud of the City of Troy for being first in this initiative. By helping to restore life to this stream, Troy is demonstrating that communities can not only benefit from the river, they can also benefit the river in return,” Riverkeeper Captain John Lipscomb said. “The river is better off today than before Troy took this action. How many communities can say the same?”

More from Riverkeeper at this link.

Ocean Acidification Damages Coral Reefs

JoJo Burridge, '15

News about CO2 pollution is commonplace, but what you may not know is what happens with the CO2 that is released into the atmosphere. During the past 200 years the amount of anthropogenic (originating by human activity) CO2 released into the atmosphere has increased greatly. The excess CO2 in the atmosphere is absorbed into the oceans. Half of the excess CO2 from the atmosphere is in the upper 10 % of the oceans due to the slow mixing processes of the oceans. This results in chemical changes in the ocean which has caused an estimated 0.1 pH decrease in the oceans. 

Via Hoegh-Guldberg, O., et al., (2007) ,"Coral Reefs Under Rapid Climate Change and Ocean   Acidification." Science 318.5857: 1737-742. Web.

As the CO2 is absorbed by the ocean, it bonds with the seawater to form carbonic acid. The acid releases a bicarbonate ion and a hydrogen ion. The hydrogen ion bonds with free carbonate ions in the water which then forms a bicarbonate ion. Marine animals would normally use the carbonate for making calcium carbonate, a main component in shells and skeletons. After the chemical changes that take place due to the hydrogen ions there is less carbonate available to the marine animals.

Studies have shown that pre-industrial CO2 emissions have doubled to 401ppm, leading to a 40% decrease in coral calcification and growth. This is because of the inhibition of aragonite formation due to the decrease in carbonate-ion concentrations. Carbonate accretion will decrease greatly when CO2 in the atmosphere approaches 480 ppm and carbonate ion concentrations will drop below 200 μmol kg−1 in the oceans causing aragonite saturation values of 3.3 in oceans. Fossil records prove similar behaviors in calcified organisms in the Triassic time period where the atmospheric CO2 levels reached levels five times as high as today's. The concern for today's organisms is that they may not have the capacity to adapt fast enough to our rapidly changing environment. If things continue at current rates, reef erosion will likely cause the diversity of corals to decline, leading to reduced habitat complexity and loss of biodiversity, including certain fish and invertebrates associated with coral. 

There are many synergies connected to the decline of coral reefs.  A synergy is when an outcome is dependent on the interaction of multiple factors and this outcome is greater than the separate effects added together.  Some examples include reef-dependent organisms becoming rare or extinct, and effects on macroalgae and phytoplankton. There will also be effects on coastal protection, fisheries, and tourism. In order for the coral to maintain their growth rate or physical extension, they may reduce their skeleton densities. This can increase the erosion from grazing animals and storm damage. 

The erosion can cause loss of structural complexity reducing habitat quality and diversity, and the ability to absorb wave energy.  With the deterioration of the reef fisheries and tourism is affected because it is the coral and the fish that people like to see.  As the amount of CO2 emissions increases the consequences on the reef, previously explained, become more extensive and unmanageable meaning they may become irreversible.  Decreasing rates of reef accretion, increasing rates of bio-erosion (biological breakdown of calcareous reef materials), rising sea levels, and intensifying storms may cause a wide range of coastal barriers to decline. 

Conserving the Spawning Habitat of Lake Sturgeon in the Laurentian Great Lakes, St. Lawrence River and Tributaries

A prehistoric fish drastically threatened by alteration of its spawning grounds, habitat fragmentation, and confinement due to dam construction, the lake sturgeon needs more advocates for its protection. Though the Laurentian Great Lakes, St. Lawrence River and its tributaries have been home to lake sturgeon longer than humans have been alive, and sturgeon have weathered all the stresses of two million centuries of existence, humans have managed to decrease its numbers and restrict its habitat range through dams, habitat alterations, overfishing and other activities.

The spawning of lake sturgeon is largely influenced by water temperature, current, type of substrate and quantity of vegetation. Restocking efforts have vastly improved lake sturgeon numbers In the St. Lawrence River and Laurentian Great Lakes but issues about the quality of the bottoms of these aquatic systems have become an important factor in developing restoration and protection strategies fro spawning lake sturgeon.

Lake sturgeon spawning in a rocky river in Wisconsin. (2010)

Gravelly substrate is a preferred characteristic of sturgeon spawning grounds. One study examined three reported spawning locations in a channel between lakes Erie and Huron. It was found that the bottom substrate was either round cobble (one location) or coarse gravel (two locations) (Manny and Kennedy, 2002). The location of the sites were at varying depths, but the water velocity was similar to conditions in which sturgeon were known to spawn historically. It is speculated that increased eutrophication of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River has resulted in loss of gravel beds due to an increase in plant matter and other anthropogenic influences.

A better understanding of the location, quality and success of spawning sites in the Great Lakes and connecting waterways is vital to conservation of Lake Sturgeon. All species and subspecies of sturgeon are imperiled worldwide due to the impacts of human activity. Here in the United States, Atlantic Sturgeon, which spawn in the Hudson River, were declared an endangered species in 2012. If the Lake Sturgeon is to avoid the same fate, further research regarding its life history and spawning habitat is essential.

Lake sturgeon called the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River home many millennia before humans existed. The more we know about their life history and requirements, the better they will be protected.  

Going Beyond the Barrel

The rain barrel, the most commonly used equipment for the harvesting of rainwater, collects rain for outdoor, non-potable water uses such as watering gardens or even for rinsing off your car. Building your own barrel is easy and an excellent way to conserve water at home.

At Clarkson, I worked alongside Chelsea Farinacci and advisors Sue Powers and Amanda Lavigne, of the ISE, to expand water conservation on campus by using harvested water to flush toilets. Our hope is that one day rainwater collection could be used generally in community planning, which would save not only water but energy and money.

Going beyond the rain barrel is about incorporating external water sources -- -- alternative sources not connected to the residential plumbing system -- into the future internal plumbing of homes for uses other than drinking water.  As shown in the image, the barrelconnects to the rain gutter and a collection container equipped with a spigot. Once connected to home plumbing, it will allow the rainwater to power porcelain thrones – in other words, the system we are developing at ISE will allow non-potable water to flush our toilets. 

Approximately 27% of a household’s water use comes from flushing the toilet. The average person uses about 20 gallons a day in toilet flushes (EPA 2014). The United States population was at 316.1 million in 2013. That makes approximately 5.75 billion gallons of water being flushed each day in the U.S. (Population 2013). All this is going on top of more frequent droughts. Currently the solution to droughts is to “use backup sources in different watersheds/recharge zones” (EPA 2014). If rainwater collection and use becomes more widespread, communities will be more adapt for drought, and our aquifers will not be depleted as quickly. The rain replenishes the aquifer over time it does not immediately add to the supply.

Rainwater must go through obstacles before reaching groundwater, such as flowing through the soil where it can be taken up by plant roots, insects, and microbes. With our system we collect rainwater directly from our roofs rather than with the energy-draining process of pumping it out of the ground. The water would still remain in cycle and the amount of water contributing to the wastewater treatment plant would remain the same. This process does not account for the possible decrease in water to our ecosystems. But the amount of rain captured is much less than storm water that runs off homes and impervious surfaces into the local environment or, in many cases, into stormwater systems. Run off is a common problem that arises with impervious surfaces that cause rain water to buildup and mold surfaces which have a negative effect on infrastructure. In some cases, however, capturing rain is a tradeoff that must be measured against its impact on the balance of local ecosystems.

Have you ever wondered why we flush toilets with drinking water? Why treat the water you won’t ingest?

There are current systems in place that use a lot of energy for water treatment. Some of these systems use UV light treatment, multiple pumps, and filters to make sure the collected water is treated to EPA safe drinking water standards.  Rainwater is characterized as grey water in many states like New York, where rainwater is simply not defined in theNew York State codes. However it is defined in the International Code Commission’s (ICC) International Green Construction Codes (IgCC).

Currently there are 16 states with rainwater harvesting. These states have different regulations and benefits for participating in rain harvesting for plumbing purposes.  Only a few of the 16 states have adopted the ICC green construction codes: Arkansas, Colorado, New Hampshire, and Washington have adopted IgCC codes within the local governments. District of Columbia, Florida, Maryland, North Carolina, Oregon, Rode Island have adopted it state wide.

New York State codes are transitioning to ICC authority. It is questionable as to what will change in the state’s building code and if the state will adopt the IgCC. To go beyond the barrel, we are looking to either adopt a rainwater conservation code from the IgCC or to create a new and improved New York State codes through the ICC code approval. This code will allow New York residents to participate in conserving rainwater. New York’s codes may change to adopt the ICC green codes or may not. Either way, adopting the habit of conserving water is crucial for the future development of the nation.

Referenced:

Booz Allen Hamilton. 2013. U.S, Green Building Council U.S. Green Jobs Council. IgCC.  <www.usgbc.org/Docs/Archive/General/Docs6435.pdf >

Environmental Protection Agency. (2013, December 16). Water_Trivia_Facts. Retrieved November 6, 2014,  <http://water.epa.gov/learn/kids/drinkingwater/water_trivia_facts.cfm>

Population_Estimates. (2013, July 17). Retrieved November 6, 2014, from <http://www.census.gov/popest/about/terms.html>