1. Great Lakes Biology Updates
Jim Grazio
PA DEP- Office of the Great Lakes
18 April 2016

2. 2016 Lake Erie Trib. Assessments
DEP stream assessments
DEP biologists routinely assess the aquatic life uses of the Commonwealth’s surface waters on a rotating cycle.
We also assess other protected uses such as Water Supply, Fish Consumption, and Recreation
Requirement of the federal Clean Water Act
We typically use benthic macroinvertebrates (big bottom-dwelling bugs).

3. 2016Tributary Assessments
Lake Erie tribs. are being assessed this year for both aquatic life and recreation.
Sixty Sites!
Recreation Use Assessments Completed
Results based on fecal coliform bacteria
5 samples per site +QA samples
Aquatic Life Use Assessments underway
Water Quality- started
Benthic macroinvertebrates- November

4. Macroinvertebrates
Macroinvertebrates (bugs) are good indicators of long-term water quality
Distribution determined physical (habitat), chemical (pollution), and biological (competition/predation) factors

5. Sampling Sites

6. Water Quality Standards for Bacteria
DEP standard for fecal coliform bacteria
25 Pa. Code §93.7
May1-September 30
200/100 ml geometric mean of 5+ samples in 30d
>10% samples >400/100 ml
Oct 1-April 30
2000/100 ml max

7. Bacteria Results <200/100ml
Sample Location
Geo. Mean
Sample > 400/100 ml?
Sixteenmile Creek (Cole Rd. Lake view Country Club)
Twelvemile Creek 2 (UPS Brickyard Road)
UNT (UPS Ox Bow Rd.)
26.083
Sixmile Creek (UPS Station Road)
Fourmile Creek 3 (UPS Hartman Road)
Twentymile Creek 1 (NE Township conservation park access)
Elk Creek 1 (UPS West Lake Road)
Bear Run (DWS Naeff Road)
Elk Creek 4 behind campground store)
Little Elk Creek 1 (UPS Francis Road)
Elk Creek 3 (20m UPS Gudgeonville Road)
Brandy Run 1 USGS gage)
Sixmile Creek 2 (UPS Clark Road)
Yes
Fourmile Creek 2(UPS Cooper Rd., Penn State Erie Behrend)
Trout Run 1 Avonia Road/ Wilson Drive DWS private bridge)
Sixteenmile Creek 3 (UPS South Washington St.)
Sixteenmile Creek 2 (UPS Grist Mill Drive)
Elk Creek 2 Girard Boro Park)
Sevenmile Creek 2 (UPS Belle Road)
UNT to EC (30m UPS Franklin Center Road)
Crooked Creek 1 (UPS Crooked Creek Lane)
Mill Creek 1 (UPS Lake Pleasant Road)
Twelvemile Creek 1 (Lake Road and Shorewood Drive)
Sixteenmile Creek 1 (UPS Lake Road)
UNT (UPS Cemetary Road)
Elk Creek 6 (30m DWS Rick Road)
30m DWS West Road
Mill Creek 2 (UPS Glenwood Park Avenue)
Crooked Creek 2 (UPS Lexington Road, DWS pipe)

8. Bacteria Results >200/100ml
Sample Location
Geo. Mean
Sample > 400/100 ml?
Walnut Creek (DWS Old Sterrettania)
Yes
Fourmile Creek Four Mile Creek Road
Walnut Creek (DWS West Lake Road)
Elk Creek 9 (Dunn Valley Road/Reichert Road intersection)
Scott Run (UPS Lewis Road)
Walnut Creek (DWS Head Drive)
Eightmile Creek 1 (UPS Shades Beach Road)
Elk Creek 8 (DWS Elk Creek Road)
Brandy Run 2 (UPS Antolik Road)
Elk Creek 7 (Reichert Road UPS private bridge)
Lamson Run (UPS West Road)
Eightmile Creek 3
Trout Run 3 (DWS Kell Road)
Pontiac Street and East Lake Road
Halls Run (UPS South Creek Road)
UNT UPS Bartlett Road
Elliotts Run (UPS Buffalo Run)
Walnut Creek Millcreek square)
Mill Creek UPS Ore Docks Road
Walnut Creek (Perry Highway and Shady Avenue)
UNT UPS Chatauqua Road, Park Access
< 5 Samples
W.Br. Cascade Park off of Bayfront Parkway
Little Elk Creek 2 (DWS Crane Road)
<5 samples
Trout Run 2 South end of Fairview Cemetary)
<5 Samples
Sevenmile Creek 1 UPS East Lake Road `

9. Thermocline Profiling and Hypoxia

10. Summer Stratification

11. Thermocline Profiling and Hypoxia

12. Circulation Paterns in Lake Erie
Cyclonic Circulation
Anti-cyclonic Circulation
The Eastern basin of Lake Erie is known to have a cyclonic circulation pattern. The central basin is dominated by anti-cyclonic circulation, most likely due to its relatively flat bottom.

13. Ekman Pumping
Ekman transport is the net movement of water at 90 degrees to the right of the direction that the wind blows. Anticyclonic circulation therefore forces surface water convergence with resulting hypolimnion depression (a bowl) whereas more typical cyclonic surface circulation results in surface divergence and upwelling of tcline (a dome).

14. Bowl shaped Thermocline
Hypolimnion of central basin less than 10m deep in Sept!

15. Importance
Minimizing hypoxia in the Central Basin of Lake Erie is a stated objective of the GLWQA
Innacurrate modeling of the hypolimnetic volume of the central basin will lead to incorrect management decisions, unnecessary costs, and inadequate results.

16. Contact: Jim Grazio, Ph.D. Office of the Great Lakes jagrazio@pa.gov