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Buffalo River (New York)
Project Status:
modeling is complete
Watershed
Characteristics
The Buffalo River watershed encompasses approximately 445 square miles
and and drains portions of Buffalo and Wyoming counties in western New
York state, including three major subwatersheds: Cayuga, Buffalo, and
Cazenovia Creeks. The Buffalo River is a tributary to Lake Erie and
discharges to a Federal navigation channel at Buffalo Harbor in Buffalo,
New York.
Land use within the watershed
is primarily agricultural and woodland in the upper basin; and primarily
developed and industrial in the lower basin. The terrain consists of
gently rolling dissected glacial plateau along the Lake Erie shoreline.
Streambank erosion is a considerable
source of contamination in the Buffalo River, where ice scour during
winter months flushes polluted sediment into the river and streams.
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 Buffalo
River is
a designated Area of Concern
Degradation
of benthos, loss of fish and wildlife habitat, and severely impacted
macro invertebrate community in the water column
Health
advisory for the consumption of carp
Industrial
pollution from grain mills, chemical companies, coke and steel
making operations, oil refinery, wastewater facility, inactive
hazardous waste sites (32), combined sewer overflows, and various
point and non-point sources
Contaminants
include mercury,
chromium, nickel, cadmium, PCBs and
PAHs; many are EPA priority pollutants
Dredged
material from the navigation channel exceeds the criteria for
open lake placement
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Modeling Approach
BASINS was used to develop a GIS database and update
land use/land cover. The SWAT model was used to evaluate
sub-watershed sediment transport and yields. SWAT modeling
was also used to predict ice scouring damage, spring storm event sediment
generation, and sediment yields at the inlet of the Federal navigable
channel. ECOMSED modeling was then used to track cohesive
sediments contributed at the channel inlet and those already in the
navigation channel.
Modeling was completed in
August of 2004. Training for state and local partners took place in
September of 2004.
Use and Applications
The Natural Resource Conservation
Service and the Erie
County Department of Environment and Planning will use these models
to advise on the implementation of best management practices throughout
the Buffalo River watershed. State and Federal agencies can also use
the models to analyze watershed-scale sedimentation impacts on the Federal
navigation channel.
Project
Partners
Great
Lakes Center, SUNY Buffalo State College
Buffalo
River Partnership
The Friends of the Buffalo
& Niagara Rivers
Erie County
Department of Planning
Great Lakes
Program, State University of New York at Buffalo
Great Lakes United
Remedial
Action Plan Advisory Committee
New York State
Department of Environmental Conservation
USDA Natural Resource
Conservation Service
For
more information—or to obtain digital data for advanced modeling
purposes—contact:
Brent LaSpada
USACE, Buffalo District
1776 Niagara Street
Buffalo, NY 14207
Phone: (716) 879-4446
Brent.R.Laspada@usace.army.mil
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