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6/06/2017 | 11:15 AM - 11:30 AM | HYDROLOGIC CONNECTIVITY AND WATER QUALITY FUNCTIONS OF GEOGRAPHICALLY ISOLATED WETLANDS IN THE CAROLINA COASTAL PLAIN | 301B

HYDROLOGIC CONNECTIVITY AND WATER QUALITY FUNCTIONS OF GEOGRAPHICALLY ISOLATED WETLANDS IN THE CAROLINA COASTAL PLAIN

Geographically isolated wetlands (GIWs) are wetlands that may not be protected by the Clean Water Act because they have no surface water connections to the “waters of the United States”. However, they are thought to provide the same benefits as other wetlands. This study investigated representatives of a large population of GIWs across an 8-county area of the North and South Carolina coastal plain to confirm whether they are connected to surface water through groundwater and how they influence the hydrologic and water quality functions of these systems. The study found that GIWs in the study area occur when shallow groundwater intersects depressions in the land surface and rises above the ground long enough to produce hydric soils. The generally coarse sandy soils lead to a strong connection between GIWs and downstream surface water bodies and an almost instant water table response to rainfall events. With respect to water quality, GIWs are a carbon, nutrient, and pollutant sink. Given the soils and hydrogeology of these systems is typical of the southeast coastal plain, these results can be extended across the study area and much of the southeast coastal plain.

C28 Land-Water Interfaces
S04 Natural and Constructed Wetlands – improving water quality and watershed health
S15 Connectivity and Effects of Carolina and Delmarva Bays, Pocosins, and other Geographically Isolated Wetlands of the Atlantic Coastal Plain

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Presenters/Authors

Robert Truesdale (), RTI International, rst@rti.org;