TRACKING HYDROLOGIC CHANGES IN RESPONSE TO LAND USE CHANGE IN THE COASTAL PLAIN, WILLIAMSBURG, VA

In areas that are experiencing varying degrees of development, space-for-time substitutions are often used to compare the effects of ongoing construction on watersheds and their hydrologic patterns. It is rare to find sites that are continually monitored for multi-year periods throughout varying stages of development. The Casey Property in Williamsburg, Virginia, contains a small, first-order watershed (1.4 km squared) that has been monitored for four years during pristine, land clearing, and active construction conditions. As vegetative cover decreases and impervious surface area increases, hydrograph lag times decrease with increasing hydrologic response. The impacts of ongoing urbanization in a continually monitored basin are presented in this study.