In 1938, as part of an effort to develop flood controls in the Allegheny River basin in Western Pennsylvania, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers broke ground on the Mahoning Creek Dam. By 1941, the project was complete. Although initial plans to equip the dam for hydropower were scrapped due to steel shortages associated with the nation’s accelerating war mobilization efforts, project engineers included a hydropower conduit in the final design so the dam could later be retrofitted for energy production. Seven decades later, Enduring Hydro, a Maryland-based hydropower developer, has implemented the vision of those early engineers. In partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District, the company has constructed a 6-megawatt, environmentally responsible hydroelectric facility on the Mahoning Creek Dam.

The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) has been monitoring reservoir evaporation rates for decades. Dating back to the 1960s, the TWDB has derived evaporation rates from a sparse network of Class A evaporation stations and continues to use these systems today—with some critical additions in the form of real-time data buoys on the reservoirs. Challenge: Improving Evaporation Rate Data Accuracy Though located near the reservoirs, the pan data carried with it some uncertainties as the TWDB followed research that emerged in the 1980s and proposed that accurate estimation of reservoir evaporation required measurements be taken on the lake. In 2018, the TWDB tested this theory with an experimental floating eddy that measured the exchange of gases in a closed system and helped the TWDB better understand how climate conditions influence lake resources. 

The Great Miami Wetland Mitigation Bank is the only such bank in Ohio offering stream restoration credits. It offers credits for corporations and others who want to offset the wetlands they destroy through construction by buying newly restored wetland space. But alongside that mission is another that is mapping the transport of gases as restored wetlands take shape. It is looking at the big question of whether or not newly restored wetlands are sources of greenhouse gases or sinks for them. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln, with funding from NASA, is heading up the work. Scientists with the school instrumented the mitigation bank with a number of monitoring stations to chart changes that a newly restored wetland undergoes. After all, the lands used to serve as fields for growing corn. Demand for the wetland credits is high, as Five Rivers Metroparks sold nearly a third of those available before construction ever began. In addition to the money the bank will help generate for the organization, the restored wetlands are yielding new habitat for wildlife, as well as a worthwhile study ground to chart changes that occur in newly restored wetland spaces.