Lizzie Site

A hierarchical sampling strategy is ongoing through an Interagency Agreement through USGS and EPA NERL for the Lizzie hog farm (5 km2), the Middle Swamp watershed (140 km2), the Little Contentnea Creek watershed (470 km2), and the Contentnea Creek watershed (2,600 km2). Lizzy site is kind of a "half watershed." They are currently sampling on one side of stream so far, but will be moving to the other side. Jim Tesoriero (USGS Raleigh) has left the project and Steve Harden is the new project chief. The Lizzy site is a 4-5 km2 catchment with a hog farm on site. The main land use is corn/soybeans/wheat crops, on which hog waste is sprayed. A project on alternative hog waste treatment/use may be coming soon, as that is what the farmer would like to see happen. The farmer has been mostly cooperative, with some requests for prior notice for certain types of sampling work.

USGS began streamflow collection in 1999. Collection is ongoing at Lizzie stream and Middle Swamp, but not at an intermediate tributary, Sandy Run, which was a bad site. Water quality was collected on a monthly basis (major ions, nutrients) in the past, but collection may or may not be ongoing. Jim Tesoriero currently has a paper on groundwater ages and nitrogen in internal USGS review. A groundwater model was developed or is being developed as part of the EPA MIMS effort. Some water quality data and head data is available for wells, but few wells have continuous head recording. All data for the site is available in public domain.

For a detailed description of past work and future plans, see the FY2001-FY2002 work plan.