Aquatic Biological Assessment of the Watersheds of Anne Arundel County, Maryland: 2006
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Anne Arundel County, Maryland Department of Public Works Watershed, Ecosystem, and Restoration Services Aquatic Biological Assessment of the Watersheds of Anne Arundel County, Maryland: 2006 Aquatic Biological Assessment of the Watersheds of Anne Arundel County, Maryland: 2006 Prepared by: Tetra Tech, Inc. 400 Red Brook Blvd., Suite 200 Owings Mills, MD 21117-5159 Prepared for: Anne Arundel County Department of Public Works Watershed, Ecosystem, and Restoration Services 2662 Riva Road Annapolis, MD 21401 November 2008 This page intentionally left blank. Abstract The Anne Arundel County Department of Public Works’ Watershed and Ecosystem Services Program assesses water resource quality as it relates to the intended uses of the waterbodies and State regulations. One intended use of all waterbodies is the support of aquatic life. Assessment of the ability of a stream to support aquatic life can be accomplished for the entire County through probabilistic (random) site selection, sampling of biological specimens, and observations of the physical habitat and water quality. Sampling in four subwatershed-based primary sampling units in 2006 partially fulfills the DPW goal of County-wide stream assessment. The primary sampling units include Marley Creek, Bodkin Creek, Upper Magothy River, and Hall Creek. The indicators used to assess the support of aquatic life in streams include the Benthic Index of Biological Integrity (BIBI), the Rapid Bioassessment Protocol (RBP) physical habitat assessment, the Maryland Biological Stream Survey Physical Habitat Index (PHI), geomorphic conditions in the context of the Rosgen Classification of Natural Rivers, and four water quality measures (temperature, dissolved oxygen, specific conductance, and acidity). Excluding stream classification, each of these indicators was compared to established thresholds. The percentage of samples on the acceptable side of each threshold was tallied to arrive at estimates of water resource quality in the sub- watersheds. Each of the four subwatersheds rated as poor for biological condition (using the Maryland Benthic-IBI), along with different levels of physical degradation (using USEPA RBP habitat assessment and the Maryland DNR Physical Habitat Index [PHI]). Acknowledgements The principal authors of this document were James Stribling and Ben Jessup, of Tetra Tech, Inc. and Christopher Victoria of Anne Arundel County. They were assisted by Tetra Tech staff including Erik Leppo, Carolina Gallardo, John Roberts, Chad Barbour, Kristen Pavlik, Brenda Decker, and Christopher Wharton. Aquatic Resources Center (Todd Askegaard, principal), completed benthic macroinvertebrate sample sorting and identification. The appropriate citation for this report is: Stribling, J.B., B. Jessup, and C.J. Victoria. 2008. Aquatic Biological Assessment of the Watersheds of Anne Arundel County, Maryland: 2006. Anne Arundel County Department of Public Works, Watershed, Ecosystem, and Restoration Services, Annapolis, Maryland. 34 pp., plus Appendixes. For more information about this report, please contact: Christopher Victoria Watershed, Ecosystem, and Restoration Services Department of Public Works Anne Arundel County 2662 Riva Road / MS 7301 Annapolis, Maryland 21401 410.222.4240 [email protected] iii Table of Contents Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ iii Table of Contents ............................................................................................................... iv List of Tables ...................................................................................................................... v List of Figures ..................................................................................................................... v Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 Purpose of Biological and Physical Habitat Assessment .............................................. 1 Methods............................................................................................................................... 2 Network Design ............................................................................................................ 2 Field Sampling and Laboratory Processing .................................................................. 4 Data Analysis ................................................................................................................ 7 Results and Discussion ..................................................................................................... 11 Comparisons Among Sampling Units ........................................................................ 11 Individual Sampling Unit Discussions........................................................................ 13 Marley Creek .............................................................................................................. 13 Bodkin Creek .............................................................................................................. 16 Upper Magothy River ................................................................................................. 19 Hall Creek ................................................................................................................... 22 Conclusions and Recommendations ................................................................................. 25 Literature Cited ................................................................................................................. 32 Appendix A: Sample Field Sheets Appendix B: Rosgen Stream Classification Appendix C: Geomorphic Assessment Results Appendix D: Quality Control Summary Appendix E: Master Taxa List Appendix F: Individual Site Summaries iv List of Tables Table 1–Field Sampling- Alternate Sites Chosen ....................................................................................... 4 Table 2– EPA RBP Scoring ........................................................................................................................ 7 Table 3–MPHI Scoring ............................................................................................................................... 7 Table 4–MBSS BIBI Metrics...................................................................................................................... 8 Table 5–MBSS BIBI Scoring ..................................................................................................................... 9 Table 6–Maryland COMAR Standards ...................................................................................................... 9 Table 7–Summary of BIBI and habitat scores across sampling units. ..................................................... 12 Table 8–Average water quality values – Marley Creek ............................................................................ 15 Table 9–Average water quality values – Bodkin Creek ........................................................................... 18 Table 10–Average water quality values – Upper Magothy ...................................................................... 21 Table 11–Average water quality values – Hall Creek .............................................................................. 22 Table 12–Comparison of sample site biological scores to EPA RBP habitat condition. ......................... 26 Table 13–Comparison of sample site biological scores to MBSS PHI habitat condition. ....................... 26 Table 14–Reaches in which habitat and biological conditions are somewhat mismatched, as similarly characterized by both habitat assessment methods. ........................................................................... 27 Table 15–Comparison of average E channel dimensionless ratios found in this study to other sources. 27 List of Figures Figure 1 - 2006 Sampling Units. ................................................................................................................. 3 Figure 2 - Proportional distribution of BIBI assessment results for Year 3 (n=40 sites). ........................ 11 Figure 3 - Summary of Year 3 Habitat Scores .......................................................................................... 12 Figure 4 - Distribution of Rosgen stream types within the 2006 sampling units. .................................... 12 Figure 5 - Location of Marley Creek sample stations............................................................................... 14 Figure 6 - Marley Creek Habitat Scores ................................................................................................... 15 Figure 7 - Marley Creek BIBI Scores ....................................................................................................... 15 Figure 8 - Rosgen stream types observed in Marley Creek ...................................................................... 16 Figure 9 - Location of Bodkin Creek sample stations. ............................................................................. 17 Figure 10 - Bodkin Creek Habitat Scores ................................................................................................. 18 Figure 11 - Bodkin Creek BIBI Scores ..................................................................................................... 18 Figure 12 - Rosgen stream types observed in Bodkin Creek ...................................................................