Students will work in groups of 4 (or 3) and carry out all aspects of one of the projects detailed below. Many of this year's projects will once again center around tributary 3 of Potash Brook in South Burlington. This stream has been identified as an impaired waterway in Vermont. Each project will have a consultant that will be available to review project plans, help interpret results, and other assistance as needed. The lab instructors will provide technical assistance in sampling and laboratory analysis. Deadlines throughout the semester exist for certain tasks; consult the task table. Each group will present their findings (~15 minutes) on Friday, November 30th during the regularly scheduled lab period.

The outcome will be a Powerpoint presentation and a concise technical report similar to one provided by an environmental consulting firm (an example report will be available). The report must include the following:

1. summary
2. purpose and introduction (including a short review of recent literature related to the project topic)
3. site description
4. methods used
5. results, interpretation and conclusions
6. chain-of-custody records (if applicable)
7. quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC).

Sampling protocol and laboratory QA/QC will be demonstrated during the first weeks of the semester. Following these procedures will be an integral part of the success of each project.

Tributary 3 of Potash Brook (see map) runs from South Burlington near the University Mall, through UVM farms, near a golf course, through East Woods and into Lake Champlain. Potash Brook has been in the news in the past few years because of a controversy over the construction of a new Lowe's (downstream near Route 7) and because of planned expansion upstream in South Burlington. During rain events, stream flow increases as does the potential for pollutant movement. The overall objective of this project is to determine the impact of storm events on pollutant mass loading in Potash Brook.

An informative website for Englesby Brook, another impaired stream in our area can be found through this site:

Map of Vermont USGS stream gages

Project Titles and Brief Descriptions (with potential consultants):

1. Potash Brook: biological assays (E. coli, DO).  Possible questions--How do the concentrations of fecal coliforms vary along Potash Brook  relative to land-use ?  How do they vary with flow?  Storm events will be the most interesting and critical  aspect to sample.

Consultant: Alan McIntosh or Eamon Twohig

2. Potash Brook: chemical assays (phosphate, nitrate, ammonium, conductivity, pH). Possible questions--see above.

Consultant: Alan McIntosh or Don Ross or Joel Nipper

3a. Potash Brook:  measure stream flow, develop a rating curve and install an automated sampler (to take stream samples during storm events).  Possible questions--How does the stream respond to precipitation events?  How does flow vary on a diuranl basis? 

Consultant: Joe Bartlett or Joel Nipper

4. UVM farm: Test a new technology (slag byproduct of electric arc furnace) for its ability to remove P from runoff from the bunk silo at the UVM farm.  Possible questions:  Does the slag remove appreciable amounts of P from the runoff?  Does it remove  other contaminants as well?

Consultant: Alexandra Drizo / Don Ross / Eamon Twohig 

5. UVM constructed wetland: Test a new series of slag filters for their ability to remove P from milkhouse waste and barnyard runoff at the UVM farm.  Possible questions:  What fraction of the incoming P is removed by the filters?  Does this change over time? Do they remove  other contaminants as well?

6. Local groundwater: source or sink?  Install, sample and analyze groundwater wells around the constructed wetland and the bunk silo at the UVM farm.  Possible Questions:  Is the direction of groundwater movement similar to that of the surface water?  Does the shallow groundwater contain elevated concentrations of nutrients?  If so, can the source be traced?

Consultant: Tom Broido, ATC Associates Inc. or Don Ross

7. Carbon and nitrogen in watershed soils and sediments, implications for carbon budgets.  Possible Questions: Can a general carbon budget be constructed for the area of the UVM farm?  What are the implications for additional carbon storage?

Consultant: Jen Jenkins

8. Phosphorus in surrounding soils and in stream sediments.  Sample and analyze soils and sediments for available forms of P. Possible Questions: Is there evidence that P is moving from the fields into the riparian area and into Potash Brook?  What areas are potential sources for P and what areas are potential sinks?

Consultant: John Amadon, soils consultant

9. Further investigation of processes in the 'natural' wetland (upstream near the interstate).  Possible Questions: Does the wetland function as a filter? Is it a source or sink for nutrients such as phosphate and nitrate?  What is the flow between Potash and the wetland?

Consultant: Jen Jenkins or Don Ross or Alan McIntosh or other

10. Air quality (outdoor) issues: Measure particulates and/or other contaminants in and around the UVM farm and Potash Brook.  Possible Questions: Does the UVM farm contribute gaseous and/or particulate contaminants to the atmosphere?  Does the  interstate (I-89)

Consultant: Heidi Hales / Ben Whitney, Air Pollution Control Division, VT DEC

11. Air quality (outdoor) issues: Maintain wet/dry atmospheric deposition sampler and weather station.  Perform periodic sampling for other atmospheric contaminants.  Collect and analyze precipitation samples for nitrate, sulfate and pH. Possible Questions: Is the pH of the precipitation acidic?  Is it similar to that collected at the NADP site in Underhill, VT?  What is the variability in nitrate and sulfate, and which is more prevalent?

Consultant: Don Ross with help from the VT DEC

12. Air quality (indoor) issues: Investigate the indoor air quality (IAQ) in various UVM buildings, expanding on previous work.  Measure fungal spore counts, CO, and CO₂.  Possible Questions: Are there campus buildings with IAQ issues?  Is the new Davis Center healthy?  Does Aiken 116 have a good reason to put you to sleep?

Consultant: Stephen Znamierowski and/or Tom Broido, ATC Associates Inc.