Potomac Environmental Research and Education Center
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The mission of the Potomac Environmental Research and Education Center is to utilize the tools of scientific research, restoration, education, and policy analysis to help society understand and sustain natural processes in ecosystems, watersheds, and landscapes.
Research foci for the Center include:
- Restoration of the Potomac River and its Tributaries
- Sustainability of Natural Ecosystems in Suburban Areas
- Impact of Global Climate Change on Management of Aquatic Ecosystems
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Browsing Potomac Environmental Research and Education Center by Subject "Hunting Creek"
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Item An Ecological Study of Hunting Creek 2015(2016-12-04) Jones, R. Christian; de Mutsert, Kim; Jonas, Robert; Huff, ThomasHunting Creek is an embayment of the tidal Potomac River located just downstream of the City of Alexandria and the I-95/I-495 Woodrow Wilson bridge. This embayment receives treated wastewater from the Alexandria Renew Enterprises wastewater treatment plant and inflow from Cameron Run which drains most of the Cities of Alexandria and Falls Church and much of eastern Fairfax County. Hunting Creek is bordered on the north by the City of Alexandria and on the west and south by the George Washington Memorial Parkway and associated park land. Due to its tidal nature and shallowness, the embayment does not seasonally stratify vertically, and its water is flushed by rainstorms and may readily mix with the adjacent tidal Potomac River mainstem. Beginning in 2013 the Potomac Environmental Research and Education (PEREC) in collaboration with Alexandria Renew Enterprises (AlexRenew) initiated a program to monitor water quality and biological communities in the Hunting Creek area including stations in the embayment itself and the adjacent river mainstem. This document presents study findings from 2015 and compares them with 2013 and 2014 data. In addition special studies were conducted on anadromous fish usage of Hunting Creek and Cameron Run, Escherichia coli levels in Hunting Creek and tributaries, and micropollutant levels in sediments and waters of Hunting Creek and Cameron Run.Item Anadromous Fish Survey Cameron Run 2015(2016-12-04) de Mutsert, KimThe focus of the Cameron Run fish survey is river herring, the collective name of blueback herring and alewife. River herring populations have declined drastically over their range, spurring conservation efforts since 1970, which have been intensified since 2005 with implementation of moratoria. Identifying all areas used as spawning habitat by alewife and/or blueback herring is an important component of their conservation. Since 1988, George Mason University researchers have focused a monitoring program on the spawning of these species in other tributaries such as Pohick Creek, Accotink Creek, and, less regularly, Dogue Creek. With this study Cameron Run is added, which has not been monitored for presence of river herring or other anadromous species by either George Mason or other fisheries biologists before the start of this study in 2013 (Jim Cummins, pers. comm.). Our 2013 survey provided the first confirmation of Cameron Run as River Herring spawning habitat (Allan Weaver, VDGIF, pers. comm.). Use of Cameron Run by river herring upstream from where the effluent of Alexandria Renew Enterprises enters Cameron Run signifies that the effluent does not deter river herring from using Cameron Run as spawning habitat. In 2014 we moved the collection site approximately 500 m downstream (still above the Alexandria Renew Enterprises effluent), which increased our catches, and allows us to estimate the size of the spawning population. The new location proved successful and will remain the collection site for any subsequent surveys.Item Escherichia coli abundances in Hunting Creek/Cameron Run and adjacent Potomac River 2015(2016-12-04) Jonas, RobertDuring 2015, in connection with examination of ecological and chemical parameters, a study of Escherichia coli in waters in the areas of Hunting Creek/Cameron Run and adjacent waters of the Potomac River was continued with samples being collected at the same sites as in 2014. This work provides current microbiological water quality information in these aquatic ecosystems adjacent to and receiving water from the wastewater reclamation facility operated by Alexandria Renew Enterprises (Alex Renew). As previously one basic question is whether any of these waters are impaired under the Clean Water Act in terms of their designated uses.