Research

RESEARCH

The South Carolina Water Resources Center operates as a catalyst for research projects and programs across South Carolina.

Clemson PSA Water Resources Research - 2018-2019
Intelligent River Materials

CLEMSON PSA WATER RESOURCES RESEARCH, MANAGEMENT & TECHNOLOGY CALL FOR RESEARCH AND EXTENSION PROPOSALS 2018-2019

PURPOSE OF PROGRAM
During the 2018-19 fiscal year, Clemson Public Service and Agriculture (PSA) received $2 million in recurring funds from the S.C. legislature to fund program support for Water Resource Research, Management and Technology and to help unify individual university programs into a more complete and integrated Water Resources Program at Clemson. The goals of the program are to:

Provide supportive research and education to establish an accurate understanding of the state’s water resources and the implications for increased demand for water.
Expand current and develop new water resource research, management and technology programs that benefit the public and support needs and priorities of South Carolina and of partner agencies (e.g., S.C. Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR), S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC), S.C. Department of Agriculture (SCDA), Farm Bureau, etc.)

Clemson PSA Water Symposium Presentations
January 13, 2020

Boyles - Targeting traits associated with the drought stress response to breed grain crops with increased water use efficiency and productivity for SC growers

Hitchcock et al - Monitoring, Modeling, and Mapping Flood Events for Rivers into Winyah Bay

Maja & Sawyer - NxtGenW: Next Generation of a Wireless Monitoring System Using Mesh & IoT Technology

Callahan - SC Adopt-a-Stream: 2019 Review of Infrastructure, Partnerships, and Achievements

Payero et al - Increasing Water Use Efficiency by Automating Irrigation Based on Real-time Soil Moisture Data Using Wireless Sensor Networks

O'Halloran et al - Improved Estimation of Surface Water Production and Groundwater Recharge by Dominant Pine Forest Types

van den Hurk & Strickland - Drinking Water Supply and Algal Blooms: Tools to Identify Noxious Algal Chemicals and Protect Drinking Water Sources in SC

Bower et al - Environmental Flows for South Carolina Streams

Majsztrik & White - Increasing Water Use Efficiency for Specialty Crop Production via Water Recapture and Sprinkler Performance Evaluation

Schlautman et al - Evaluation of a Scalable Sensor for the Early Detection and Monitoring of Algal Blooms

Narayanan & Fallen - Idealizing Plant Root Systems for South Carolina Soils as an Innovative Approach to Improve Water Use Efficiency in Agriculture

Park - Identifying Intrinsic Mechanisms of Water Sensing and Transport in Cotton and Soybean Root

INTELLIGENT RIVER RESEARCH ENTERPRISE

Buoy sensor technologies and remote data collection systems that enable advanced environmental and hydrologic monitoring to improve scientific-based decision making are developed through the Intelligent River^® Research Enterprise.

Aiken Hydrological Monitoring Evaluation Update (2017)
IRRE Related Manuscripts and Poster Presentations

Intelligent River^® Research Enterprise Intelligent River^® Research Enterprise is a real-time remote data acquisition system that is used for: monitoring the water quality of watersheds, rivers and streams; analysis of the quality of watersheds, rivers, and streams; and for providing information in the field of water quality. The Intelligent River^® Research Enterprise develops and operates hydrological observation systems to support research and provide real-time monitoring, analysis and management of water resources. The observation networks vary in purpose, scale, and density of observation platforms and sensor types. CONTACT: Chris Post at cpost@clemson.edu or (864) 656-6939.>

Intelligent River^® - Savannah River NSF MRI $3M Major Research Instrumentation Award from the National Science Foundation  (NSF Award CNS-1126344): Clemson University was awarded $3 million by the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) program to design, develop and deploy a basinwide network of computerized sensors to monitor water quality along the entire length of the 312 mile Savannah River as part of the Intelligent River® Research Enterprise. External sensors collect data on water temperature, flow rate, turbidity, oxygen levels, and the presence of pollutants. Data is displayed on the web portal- http://intelligentriver.org

Aiken Hydrological Monitoring EvaluationThe Evaluation project stemmed from the Sand River Headwaters Green Infrastructure project and took continued steps to better understand the urban watershed boundaries and sources of stormwater discharge to help prioritize future strategic green infrastructure installations.Project objectives include: quantify hydrologic flows; evaluate potential locations for further green infrastructure installation; enhance remote data acquisition capabilities; and disseminate results.

Sand River Headwaters Green InfrastructureThe Sand River Ecological Restoration Master Plan was developed for the City of Aiken in 2008 to address chronic stormwater erosion in Hitchcock Woods. The Plan led to EPA mananged American and Recovery Reinvestment Act funding for the City in 2009 to launch the Sand River Headwaters Green Infrastructure project for proposed concepts. The final project report summarizes the research associated with the green infrastructure concepts and stormwater monitoring project.

Aiken Hydrological Monitoring Evaluation Update (2017)

During 2017, the Aiken Hydrology Project focused on continued support of existing sensors as well as installation of new equipment to expand research efforts to several other watersheds which drain into the Hitchcock Woods property. Dr. Chris Post (Clemson University) and Project Engineer Kelly Kruzner have installed 8 new Maximet GMX600 weather stations, with two additional units to deploy. These weather stations are located at strategic locations across the city proper of Aiken in order to provide a better picture of the distribution of rain events over such a large area. Other installations included 3 new FTS Radar Stage Level Sensors, with one more in plan to deploy. The purpose of these sensors is to continue to support the city in its decision-making process for future stormwater management practices. The data is shared with the City and its representatives to calibrate models which will simulate rain events and be used to evaluate potential storm water management practices.

Stormwater pipe low flow Stormwater pipe high flow Aiken monitoring sensors Aiken monitoring station