Current Studies

In recent years, West Virginia's Potomac drainage rivers and their watersheds have become threatened by development, and industrial and agricultural growth. To determine the effects of these changes in the watershed, our research program focuses on identifying and testing innovative solutions to environmental problems, as well as continuing water quality data collections in the Cacapon River. 

A Bit of History: Major Water Quality programs

The Institute's work builds on the groundbreaking baseline study of the Cacapon River begun in 1988.  This baseline was acknowledged at the time as the most detailed scientific picture of an entire river ever completed.

Cacapon River Baseline study

Greenbrier River Baseline study

In 1992, at the invitation of the Greenbrier River Watershed Association, the Cacapon Institute began an intensive baseline study of the water quality and ecological health of the Greenbrier River in southeastern West Virginia.  Four years later, the results were published in "Greenbrier: A Scientific Portrait of a West Virginia River".

The study found that, overall, the Greenbrier River's water quality is very good.  It supports the river's legally- designated uses, which include swimming, fishing and as a source of drinking water.  However, at times, particularly after rainstorms, the river is burdened by non point source pollutants that wash into the river from surrounding lands.

Cacapon Baseline Benthic macroinvertebrate study

(Now available on the web.  Learning From Life on the Bottom: Streambed creatures provide clues to the Cacapon's health.  An addendum to Portrait of a River: The Ecological Baseline of the Cacapon River.  Cacapon Volume 8 No. 2 (163 KB, PDF))

As part of the Cacapon River baseline study from 1988-1992, benthic macroinvertebrates were collected.  These are the small animals without backbones (invertebrates) that live on the river bottom (benthos) and are visible without magnification (macro).  These animals are often used to provide important clues to the river's health because they are biological indicators.  An indicator species is one that, by its presence, absence or abundance relative to other organisms, indicates environmental conditions.

This study, published in 1998, found that overall the river is relatively healthy.  Diverse benthic communities were found throughout the Cacapon watershed.  In the Lost River headwaters, however, unexpectedly high species diversity suggests moderate nutrient enrichment.  This is of concern.  If the river's nutrient load increases, numerous studies suggest benthic communities will suffer.  Just as too much fertilizer on a lawn can kill grass, too many nutrients in a stream can overwhelm life. 

Lost and North Rivers Water Quality Study

The major focus of this research project was to determine the effect of land use practices and non-point source pollution on rivers and watersheds. The project focused especially, but not only, on farming practices and land development. The Lost River (headwaters of the Cacapon) contains the major study sites because of the heavy concentration of poultry houses, and hence the heavy application of nutrient-rich poultry litter as fertilizer, in those two watersheds and because there is some increase in land development in those two places. The North River (a major tributary of the Cacapon), still a relatively pristine stream, was used as a control watershed. Funded by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Potomac Headwaters Resource Alliance and our members.  Check out our new Interactive Maps of these study areas!

South Branch of the Potomac Water Quality Study

The South Branch of the Potomac water quality study was complementary to the Lost and North Rivers study.  The South Branch watershed, much larger than the Lost, contains municipal and industrial point sources and varying levels of agricultural intensity; it was included to determine if water quality patterns in the Lost River were typical of other Potomac Headwater streams.  Funded by USFWS and Potomac Headwaters Resource Alliance.

Comparison of Save Our Streams and Professional Stream Assessment Methods, Year 2000

In recent years, the science of using animals to assess the vitality of a river ecosystem has gone public. Volunteer monitoring programs, such as the Isaak Walton League's pioneering Save Our Streams (SOS) program, have sprouted up around the country. The SOS and other volunteer methods are similar in general design to the methods used by professionals, but tailored to the capabilities of non-professionals.