National Monitoring Network Demonstration Areas

Activities in the three Network demonstration areas (DAs, formerly referred to as "pilots") — San Francisco Bay, Lake Michigan, and Delaware Estuary — are successfully improving estimates of oceanic and land-based inputs of sediment, nutrients, and contaminants to U.S. coastal waters and estuaries, and improving assessments on the sources, amounts, timing, and severity of natural and anthropogenic stressors on coastal ecosystems. Findings are useful to compare responses of different estuarine and coastal waters to these stressors, which help to facilitate water-management decisions in other U.S. waters. (Updates on the Demonstration Areas)

In addition, the DA projects continue to provide added value in innovative technology and monitoring, such as in real-time monitoring with sensors and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), which also is transferrable to other parts of the Nation.

The DA projects have been ongoing since 2007. During the first year, monitoring gaps were examined in relation to the proposed Network design. Individual reports are available and a national synthesis of findings highlights several aspects, including:

• Management issues within the DAs are relatively similar and manageable in number and represent important issues across the Nation. Some of these include nutrient enrichment, habitat degradation and restoration, contaminant monitoring, sediment management, invasive species, harmful algal blooms, and pathogens.
• Data integration and management improvements are needed to optimize the use of available monitoring data.
• Monitoring gaps are evident in all DAs related to adequate number of representative sites, sampling frequency, and additional analytes.
• Local expertise regarding monitoring and issues is paramount in the implementation of any Network design and its relevance to addressing management of water resources.

Beginning in 2008, additional monitoring was initiated in the three demonstration areas to fill in gaps needed to address water-quality issues, funded by USGS in support of the Ocean Research Priorities Plan, as well as through parternerships with local, state, regional, and federal organizations. Selected highlights include:

• In the Delaware Estuary DA, monitoring and assessment of nutrient and carbon were added to current USGS tidal stations and estuary boat run sites, and real-time monitoring (such as for temperature, specific conductance, pH, dissolved oxygen, and turbidity) were added to selected river and estuary sites.
• In the Lake Michigan DA, three new monitoring sites were added; nutrient monitoring was enhanced at 17 existing USGS sites; Semi-Permeable Membrane Devices (SPMDs) were deployed at 20 sites to assess potential toxicity from hydrophobic organic contaminants, and automated underwater vehicles (AUVs) were implemented in tributary mouths in the Milwaukee harbor environments and the bay of Green Bay.
• In the San Francisco Bay DA, real-time monitoring for suspended-sediment was expanded, and nutrient and phycotoxin monitoring was enhanced at selected sites.