LONGTERM HYDROLOGIC MONITORING OF THE NORMANS KILL, ALBANY, NY

Located in Albany, New York, the Normans Kill is one of the largest tributaries of the Hudson River watershed. While the majority of the land surrounding the stream currently remains undeveloped, it is increasingly affected by the urbanization of the Capital District. Five sites on the Normans Kill were monitored weekly with the goals of providing baseline data for long term monitoring of the stream and to assess the impact of urbanization on the water quality. The first site was located at the hiker’s parking lot below the historical Normanskill Farm, which is no longer in operation. A second site was at the farm itself, and a third located just above the farm. The fourth and fifth sites were located upstream, above the effluent of a waste water treatment plant, at Guilderland’s Tawasentha Town Park and on Nott Road. A YSI meter was used to measure conductivity, dissolved oxygen, salinity, and temperature. The pH of the water, total dissolved solids, turbidity, and nitrate and orthophosphate content were also measured. Our data shows a range of total dissolved solids between 274 ppm and 449 ppm and conductivity values from 545 µS to 989 µS. Nitrate and phosphate levels varied from 0.1-0.75 ppm and 0.1-0.8 ppm, respectively. Salinity ranged 0.19 ppt to 0.46 ppt and dissolved oxygen levels varied from 55.9% to 91.1% saturation. Preliminary data indicate downstream change in water chemistry is likely associated with the wastewater treatment plant effluent. The research conducted thus far marks the beginning of a long-term hydrologic monitoring program of the Normans Kill. The second phase of this project will involve the installation of stream gaging staffs, stream flow measurements, and the development of a rating curve for the Normans Kill. We hope to expand this research with educational and outreach goals such as promoting the idea of “citizen scientists”, educating the local community about the Normans Kill, and extending educational and research opportunities to future undergraduate students as well as local K-12 schoolchildren. The citizen scientists will be able to record the station number and read the stream stage off of the gaging staff. The data will then be available to the public as an online educational tool.