Abstract. Monitoring of Wilderness lakes for potential acidification requires information on lake sensitivity to acidification. Catchment properties can be used to estimate the acid neutralizing capacity (ANC) of lakes. Conceptual and general linear models were developed to predict the ANC of lakes in high-elevation (≥2170 m) Wilderness Areas in California's Sierra Nevada mountains. Catchment-tolake area ratio, lake perimeter-to-area ratio, bedrock lithology, vegetation cover, and lake headwater location are significant variables explaining ANC. The general linear models were validated against independently collected water chemistry data and were used as part of a first stage screen to identify Wilderness lakes with low ANC. Expanded monitoring of atmospheric deposition is essential for improving the predictability of lake ANC.

Urbanization alters the delivery of water and sediment to receiving streams, often leading to channel erosion and enlargement, which increases loading of sediment and nutrients, degrades habitat, and harms sensitive biota. Stormwater control measures (SCMs) are constructed in an attempt to mitigate some of these effects. In addition, stream restoration practices such as bank stabilization are increasingly promoted as a means of improving water quality by reducing downstream sediment and pollutant loading. Each unique combination of SCMs and stream restoration practices results in a novel hydrologic regime and set of geomorphic characteristics that interact to determine stream condition, but in practice, implementation is rarely coordinated due to funding and other constraints. In this study, we examine links between watershed-scale implementation of SCMs and stream restoration in Big Dry Creek, a suburban watershed in the Front Range of northern Colorado. We combine continuous hydrologic model simulations of watershed-scale response to SCM design scenarios with channel evolution modeling to examine interactions between stormwater management and stream restoration strategies for reducing loading of sediment and adsorbed phosphorus from channel erosion. Modeling results indicate that integrated design of SCMs and stream restoration interventions can result in synergistic reductions in pollutant loading. Not only do piecemeal and disunited approaches to stormwater management and stream restoration miss these synergistic benefits, they make restoration projects more prone to failure, wasting valuable resources for pollutant reduction. We conclude with a set of recommendations for integrated planning of SCMs and stream restoration to simultaneously achieve water quality and channel protection goals.Abbreviations: BSTEM, Bank Stability and Toe Erosion Model; DEM, digital elevation model; EURV, excess urban runoff volume; REM, River Erosion Model; SCM, stormwater control measures; SWMM, Storm Water Management Model.

High nighttime urban air temperatures increase health risks and economic vulnerability of people globally. While recent studies have highlighted nighttime heat mitigation effects of urban vegetation, the magnitude and variability of vegetation-derived urban nighttime cooling differs greatly among cities. We hypothesize that urban vegetation-derived nighttime air cooling is driven by vegetation density whose effect is regulated by aridity through increasing transpiration. We test this hypothesis by deploying microclimate sensors across eight United States cities and investigating relationships of nighttime air temperature and urban vegetation throughout a summer season. Urban vegetation decreased nighttime air temperature in all cities. Vegetation cooling magnitudes increased as a function of aridity, resulting in the lowest cooling magnitude of 1.4 °C in the most humid city, Miami, FL, and 5.6 °C in the most arid city, Las Vegas, NV. Consistent with the differences among cities, the cooling effect increased during heat waves in all cities. For cities that experience a summer monsoon, Phoenix and Tucson, AZ, the cooling magnitude was larger during the more arid pre-monsoon season than during the more humid monsoon period. Our results place the large differences among previous measurements of vegetation nighttime urban cooling into a coherent physiological framework dependent on plant transpiration. This work informs urban heat risk planning by providing a framework for using urban vegetation as an environmental justice tool and can help identify where and when urban vegetation has the largest effect on mitigating nighttime temperatures.

There is growing interest for the installation of green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) to improve stormwater control, increase infiltration of stormwater, and improve receiving water body quality. Planning level tools are needed to inform municipal scale decisions on the type and extent of GSI to apply. Here, a modified methodology is developed for the EPA Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) to create SWMM for Low Impact Technology Evaluation (SWWM-LITE) that enables municipal scale assessment of stormwater control measure (SCM) performance with minimal input data requirements and low processing time. Hydrologic outputs of SWMM-LITE are compared to those for SWMM and the National Stormwater Calculator (SWC) to assess the performance of SWMM-LITE. Three scenarios including the baseline without SCMs and the installation of varying SCMs were investigated. Across the three scenarios, SWMM-LITE estimates of annual average hydrologic performance (runoff, infiltration, and evaporation) were within +/−0.1% of estimates from a rigorously developed SWMM model in the City of Fort Collins, CO, for an evaluation of 30 years of continuous simulation. Analysis conducted for 2 year (y), 10 y, and 100 y storm events showed less than +/−2.5% difference between SWMM and SWMM-LITE hydrologic outputs. SWC provided reasonable estimates of hydrologic parameters for the case study area, but was designed for site level analyses of performance of SCMs rather than on the municipal scale. A sensitivity analysis revealed that the most sensitive parameters were primarily consistent for the SWMM-LITE and the complete SWMM. SWMM-LITE has low input data requirements and processing time and can be applied for assessing the hydrologic performance of SCMs to inform planning level decisions.

Many states are adopting more stringent nutrient load restrictions, requiring utilities to invest in costly improvements. To date, substantial research has been done to independently assess the nutrient removal efficacy of wastewater treatment technologies and stormwater control measures. The analysis presented here provides a unique assessment by evaluating combinations of nutrient load reduction strategies across water supply, wastewater, and stormwater sectors. A demonstration study was conducted evaluating 7812 cross-sector removal strategies in the urban water system using empirical models to quantify efficacy of common wastewater treatment, water management, and stormwater control measures (SCMs). Pareto optimal solutions were evaluated to identify the most cost-effective strategies. To meet stringent nutrient requirements, wastewater treatment facilities (WWTFs) will likely require advanced biological nutrient removal with carbon and ferric addition. Even with these technologies, WWTFs may still be unable to obtain target nutrient requirements. In addition, municipalities can consider water management practices and SCMs to further reduce nutrient loading or provide a more cost-effective nutrient removal strategy. For water management practices, source separation and effluent reuse were frequently identified as part of the most effective nutrient strategies but face engineering, political, and social adoption barriers. Similarly, SCMs were frequently part of effective nutrient removal strategies compared to only adopting nutrient removal practices at WWTFs. This research provides the framework and demonstrates the value in using an urban water system approach to identify optimal nutrient removal strategies that can be easily applied to other urban areas.