Water Data to Answer Urgent Water Policy Questions: Monitoring design, available data, and filling data gaps for determining the effectiveness of agricultural management practices for reducing tributary nutrient loads to Lake Erie
Lake Erie Nutrient Case Study Briefing Sheet (2 pages)
Lake Erie Nutrient Case Study Report Executive Summary (13 pages)
Lake Erie Nutrient Case Study Report (169 pages) Summarizes water monitoring programs through December 2014
Addendum to the Lake Erie Nutrient Case Study Report (27 pages) Summarizes new water monitoring and conservation incentive programs that started in spring, 2015
Frequently Asked Questions about the Lake Erie Nutrient Case Study
Lake Erie Nutrient Case Study Report Press Release.
This case study is the first in a series of three reports evaluating the availability of water data needed to address urgent water policy issues, through the project Toward Sustainable Water Information (more information here)
Lead Researcher and Project Manager, Elin Betanzo came to the Northeast-Midwest Institute in 2012 as a Senior Policy Analyst specializing in water quality and water infrastructure issues. She is the project lead for Toward Sustainable Water Information, a project focused on securing water data to support decision making in the Northeast-Midwest region. In this capacity she serves as both the project manager and a lead researcher on case studies investigating the water quality data regarding the effectiveness of agricultural management practices in the Lake Erie drainage basin, and water quality data regarding potential shale gas development impacts on surface water and groundwater in the Susquehanna River Basin. Prior to joining the Northeast-Midwest Institute, Elin was a hydraulic engineer and water planning manager at the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission where she led water system master planning and hydraulic modeling, from source water through existing and planned infrastructure. Elin also spent nearly 10 years at the Environmental Protection Agency in the Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water developing and implementing regulations under the Safe Drinking Water Act, and serving as the National Tribal Drinking Water Coordinator.
Elin holds a Master of Science in Environmental Engineering and a Water Quality Management Certificate from Virginia Tech. She also has a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Piano Performance from Carnegie Mellon University. Elin is a Professional Engineer registered in Maryland and Virginia, and a certified water system operator. In 2014 she was appointed to the Federal Advisory Committee on Water Information.
Elin was born and raised in the Detroit area and currently resides in the great state of Michigan.
(photo by Sue O’Callaghan)