There has been a growing interest and support by many state and local programs to address aquatic resource protection and restoration at a watershed level. The desire by many programs to implement watershed management programs has become more than just a need, rather a necessity to ensure suitable water resources. However, many challenges arise when developing and sustaining watershed programs. One such challenge is that watershed programs are resource intensive. These programs require significant funds to support monitoring, research, effective management, and to provide public outreach. In addition, these programs require knowledgeable and skilled water resource professionals who can implement and manage these tasks. Integrating university-knowledge and resources into the watershed effort can meet many of these challenges. Faculty, students, and in-kind university support can contribute knowledge, technical support, research funds, and personnel to aid and enhance watershed management activities. Furthermore, connecting watershed management activities with academic work can foster the development of future environmental planning, policy, and science professionals. The overall goal of this paper is to explore the integration of service-learning in higher education within watershed management activities. The concepts and benefits of service-learning are explored in this paper. An example of a watershed-based, service-learning initiative in the Stroubles Creek watershed, Virginia is presented. In addition, perspectives gathered from the Initiative's students and project coordinator (the author) on their work experience as service-learners are provided. The lessons and recommendations presented in this paper pave way to means of sustaining and enhancing service-learning program in watershed activities. / Master of Urban and Regional Planning

Urban development significantly increases water temperatures within watersheds, primarily from the construction of impervious surfaces for buildings and pavement. While thermally enriched runoff can be harmful to aquatic life, available research and guidance on predicting these effects is limited. The goal of this assessment is to provide guidance on how to achieve necessary temperature regimes that meet aquatic health criteria for sensitive species such as trout. To address this need, the Minnesota Urban Heat Export Tool (MINUHET) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) models were utilized to simulate hourly streamflow, water temperature, and heat flux in an urban watershed in Blacksburg, VA for typical summer periods using continuous-based simulation. SWMM and MINUHET were combined in a unique, hybrid approach that emphasized each model's strengths, i.e., SWMM for runoff and streamflow, and MINUHET for water temperature. The watershed is 14.1 km², and is portion of Stroubles Creek located near downtown Blackburg, Virginia and the main campus of Virginia Tech. Streamflow, water temperature, and climate data were acquired from Virginia Tech StREAM Lab (Stream Research, Education, and Management) monitoring stations. SWMM and MINUHET were calibrated manually for the summers of 2016, and were validated for the summer of 2015. Model sensitivity analyses revealed that simulations were especially sensitive to imperviousness (SWMM predicted streamflow as outputs) and dew point temperature (MINUHET predicted water temperatures as outputs), both resulted in increased outputs of SWMM and MINUHET models, respectively. Model performance in simulating streamflow was evaluated using Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE) and correlation (R²). NSE and R² values were 0.65 and 0.7 for the SWMM Model and 0.57 and 0.55 for the MINUHET model during the validation period, indicating that SWMM performed better than MINUHET in streamflow simulation. Streamflow temperatures were simulated using MINUHET with a NSE and R² statistical values of 0.58, and 0.83, respectively, demonstrating a satisfactory simulation of water temperature. Heat loads were simulated using the MINUHET and Hybrid models, demonstrating less Percent BIAS of the Hybrid approach in simulation of watershed total heat load than MINUHET alone. Furthermore, a number of practices were implemented to reduce thermal loading within a watershed. These included infiltration practices, methods for decreasing absorption of thermal energy primarily by reducing albedo, and increased vegetation canopies. An index titled Percentage of Time Temperature Exceeded 21°C Threshold (PTTET) for trout habitat was used to represent the effectiveness of thermal mitigation practices. Installing concrete pavement (thermal diffusivity: 15×10-7 m²/s, pavement thickness: 0.20 m, and heat capacity: 4.0×106 J/m³⋅°C) and Acrylic Coated Galvalume (ACG) roofs for all pavement and roofs, respectively, in the watershed reduced heat load by 45%, and the PTTET index declined 4.5%. Installing bioretention with 61 cm of media thickness, and soil-media infiltration rate of 25 mm/hr. for 53 selected parking lots in the watershed, resulted in 11.1% reduction in watershed heat load and 1.4% reduction in PTTET. Planting forest canopies for the entire pervious area of the watershed, sufficient to shade 90% of all lands, resulted in reduction in heat load by 24% and PTTET by 4.6%. / Master of Science / Development within urbanized regions increase impervious surfaces, which further cause significant storm events in watersheds. The increased impervious surfaces result in hotter stormwater particularly during hot summers, which has diverse effects on aquatic health of downstream receiving streams. The main objective of the current study is to evaluate the thermal impact of urbanization on aquatic health habitats in Stroubles Creek Watershed, Blacksburg, Virginia. To aim this goal and achieve the thermal evaluation of the highly urbanized Stroubles Creek Watershed, a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) and a Minnesota Urban Heat Export Tool (MINUHET) models from scratch of the Stroubles Creek watershed, using Town of Blacksburg and Virginia Tech Physical Facility information were developed. This necessitated combining information from a wide variety of sources, including geologic maps, geodatabases, hydraulic models, computer-aided design (CAD) files, and scanned as-built information. In addition to the models, a hybrid model was developed that combines SWMM and MINHET outputs. The temperatures and heat loads at the downstream of the watershed were predicted using SWMM, MINUHET, and Hybrid models for two summer periods of 2016 and 2015, and the predicted temperature were compared to the criteria for survival of aquatic health such as trout. Furthermore, a number of thermal mitigation strategies such as bioretentions systems, concrete pavements (which has lighter color compared to asphalt pavements), and increased vegetation canopies were simulated within the MINUHET and SWMM models configurations to reduce simulated temperatures and heat loads at the watershed scale. The simulated temperatures and heat loads represented that concrete pavements results in better performance of thermal mitigation within watersheds than bioretention systems, and increased vegetation canopies.

As the Americans have become more aware of the impact to the environment from the human induced disturbances which includes physical, chemical and biological disturbances to the degradation of streams and rivers, many studies and experiments have been done in an attempt to restore streams and rivers to more natural conditions. At the same time, success in public education and community involvement has encouraged grass-root movements that engage people in stream restoration efforts. Stroubles Creek is a freshwater stream located in Blacksburg, Virginia. The creek has experienced considerable disturbance due to land use changes over the past 100 years. The Stroubles Creek Water Initiative (SCWI), originated by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center at Virginia Tech, has been monitoring the creek for a number of years. This paper develops a planning framework for restoring and/or rehabilitating Stroubles Creek within the Town of Blacksburg. The results of stream monitoring and other research by SCWI are used to inform the recommended planning process, while a literature review and discussion of “urban stream restoration case studies” are used to guide future decision-making related to Stroubles Creek restoration/rehabilitation. / Master of Urban and Regional Planning

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