Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2011KY169B

Delineating solute inputs to the headwaters portion of the Cane Run/Royal Spring basin

Institute: Kentucky
Year Established: 2011 Start Date: 2011-03-01 End Date: 2012-12-31
Total Federal Funds: $5,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $10,532

Principal Investigators: Alan Fryar, James Dinger

Project Summary: The Cane Run/Royal Spring karst basin is located in the southern part of Scott County and the north-central part of Fayette County, Kentucky. Cane Run flows northwest a distance of approximately 17 miles to its confluence with North Elkhorn Creek in Georgetown. The basin is marked by mixed land uses: urban and suburban in the headwaters and at the outlet, rural and agricultural at points in-between. Water quality in the basin is known to have been affected by bacteria, sediment, and nutrients. We will monitor nutrients (including nitrate, nitrite, and ammonium), other anions, and stable isotopes of water on a biweekly basis during one year at seven sampling sites. Data will be analyzed by standard graphical techniques, such as bivariate plots. Statistical approaches such as principal component or hierarchical cluster analyses will also be employed. Spatial and temporal trends in solute and isotope concentrations will be sought, as well as relationships between concentrations and hydrologic parameters (e.g., precipitation and stream stage, which are monitored at several sites in the basin).