The emergence of hydraulic fracturing has led to the rapid expansion of natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale deposit in portions of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Millions of gallons of water are needed per fracturing event and will likely put a substantial strain on regional surface and ground water supplies, as well as lead to changes in stream flow that may alter available habitat for freshwater biodiversity and other ecological processes in adjacent freshwater ecosystems. There is a great need for the development of region-wide flow policies to protect stream ecosystems and enhance long-term management of aquatic resources. To that end, this project will develop model(s) that predict ecological responses to flow alteration within the Marcellus Shale region of the Appalachian Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC).
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