Scajaquada Creek has been identified as one the most polluted tributaries contributing to the Niagara River AOC. Natural resource agencies responsible for the health of the watershed are very keen to identify contaminant sources so that appropriate management measures could be implemented to control these new sources of pollution. We propose to identify these new sediment source areas and quantify their contributions using a combination of monitoring and modeling approaches. Monitoring will be performed using continuously recording hydrolabs and grab sampling for suspended sediment. The GIS based SWAT model will be implemented for the watershed to develop sediment budgets for subbasins and creek reaches. The model will then be calibrated and verified using monitored data. The GIS based model can then be used as a tool by the resource agencies to identify critical source areas of sediment and target appropriate management strategies for these areas.
