In collaboration with the University of Delaware, College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment (CEOE) the DGS, and the USGS, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) has installed a Greenspan Aqualab® automated nutrient analyzer at the USGS Nanticoke at Bridgeville Gaging Station, Delaware, to monitor nutrient levels and other water quality parameters in the river. Together with streamflow, the concentrations are used to determine nutrient loads from the Nanticoke River watershed above the gaging station to downstream receiving waters and the Chesapeake Bay. The Aqualab® samples and analyzes nutrient concentrations (NO3-, NH4+, and reactive P) four to six times daily and measures physical parameters (Dissolved O2, pH, turbidity, specific conductivity) 12 times per day.

Work on this project is led by Dr. William Ullman (CEOE, Ullman@udel.edu). DGS staff members participating in the project are Steve McCreary, who assisted with the installation of electrical and plumbing systems of the facility, and Scott Andres, who is responsible for management of the project database and collaborative analysis of the data.