Showing papers on "Water quality published in 1973"

Biological Field And Laboratory Methods For Measuring The Quality Of Surface Waters And Effluents

Abstract: The role of aquatic biology in the water pollution control program of the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency includes field and laboratory studies carried out to establish water quality criteria for the recognized beneficial uses of water resources and to monitor water quality. Field studies are employed to: measure the toxicity of specific pollutants or effluents to individual species or communities of aquatic organisms under natural conditions; detect violations of water quality standards ; evaluate the trophic status of waters ; and determine long-term trends in water quality. Laboratory studies are employed to : measure the effects of known or potentially deleterious substances on aquatic organisms to estimate “safe” concentrations ; and determine environmental requirements (such as temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, etc.) of the more important and sensitive species of aquatic organisms. Field surveys and water quality monitoring are conducted principally by the regional surveillance and analysis and national enforcement programs. Laboratory studies of water quality requirements, toxicity testing, and methods development are conducted principally by the national research programs.

Removal of Arsenic (V) From Water by Adsorption on Aluminum and Ferric Hydroxides

Abstract: Small water supply with arsenic removal Bibliography l. Blackwell, R. Q. Nutritional and Environmental Conditions in the Endemic Blackfoot Area. Form. Sci. (Aug. 1961). 2. Clark, B. M. Arsenical Poisoning of Humans Resulting from Cattle-Dipping Tanks. S. Afr. Med. Jour., 20:518 (1946). 3. Kao, T. M. Studies on the So-Called Endemic Blackfoot Disease in Taiwan. Jour. Form. Med. Assn., 57 (1957). 4. Report of Experiments of Drinking Water Sanitation, Taiwan Inst. of Environmental Sanitation (Jun. 1966). 5. Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater. APHA, AWWA & WPCF, Washington, D.C. (12 ed. 1965).

Use of Aquatic Invertebrates in the Assessment of Water Quality

Abstract: Pollution is essentially a biological phenomenon in that its primary effect is on living organisms. A biological investigation of a polluted lake or stream has several advantages over chemical analyses. It is less time-consuming because a single series of samples can reveal the status of the animal and plant communities which themselves represent the results of the summation of the prevailing conditions. The animals and plants provide a record of the prevailing conditions and are not affected by a temporary alleviation of a polluting effluent. Intensive studies were carried out by Gaufin and Tarzwell in 1952 and 1956 to determine the effects of organic pollution on the aquatic communities of Lytle Creek and the value of these populations as indicators of pollutional conditions. The studies revealed that little reliance could be placed upon the mere occurrence of a single species in a given locality as an indicator of pollution. In the creek the nine species of macroinvertebrates which were most numerous in the septic zone also occurred in the recovery and clean water zones, but in much smaller numbers. The septic zone had less than one fifth as many species as the clean water zone, but the total number of organisms per unit area was many times greater. The septic zone was characterized by species adapted to live in low dissolved oxygen concentrations or those able to secure their oxygen directly from the air. In the clean water zone there was a great variety of invertebrate communities, each consisting of many different species. Most of the species which occurred in the septic and recovery zones were also found in very limited numbers in the clean water zones. In addition, there was also present a wide variety of forms which were intolerant of conditions in the polluted zones. Most of these were the gill-breathing, immature stages of such insects as the mayflies, stoneflies, caddis flies, and alder flies. In evaluating the reliability of aquatic organisms as indicators of pollutional conditions and water quality, one must consider the different indicator organisms not separately but as biological associations or communities. The organisms should be considered as groups according to their morphological adaptations and physiological requirements. Several formal systems for the biological assessment of pollution based on community composition have been suggested. A reduction in community diversity has been noted in a number of rivers polluted by organic wastes. Diversity indices, based on information theory, are very useful for comparing changes in community composition in streams altered by pollution.

Water Quality and Fish Life below Sewage Outfalls

Abstract: Comparative studies of water quality and fish species diversity in stream locations immediately above and below the outfalls of 149 secondary sewage treatment plants were made in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. Sewage chlorine and turbidity increment resulting from sludge were found to be major causative factors for fish species diversity reduction below the outfalls.

An annotated bibliography of the effects of logging on fish of the western united states and canada

Abstract: This bibliography is an annotation of the scientific and nonscientific literature published on the effects of logging on fish and aquatic habitat of the Western United States and Canada. It includes 278 annotations and 317 total references. Subject areas include erosion and sedimentation, water quality, related influences upon salmonids, multiple logging effects, alteration of streamflow, stream protection, multiple-use management, streamside vegetation, stream improvement, and descriptions of studies on effects of logging. A review of the literature, a narrative on the state of the art, and a list of research needs determined by questionnaires are included b T h i s bibliography includes reports involving pest icides published by inany agencies. Recornendation fo r use of these pest icides i s not implied, I n o r t ha t the uses discussed have been registered. must be registered by appropriate S ta te and/or Federal agencies before they can be recommended. A l l uses of pest icides CONTENTS A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ON LOGGIIIG AIlD FISHERIES-A STATE;MENT ON T I E STATE OF THE ART * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Annual cycle in river water quality: A time series approach

Abstract: Regression, spectral, and cross-spectral techniques are used to examine the trends and periodicity in a 20-year record of weekly observations of eight water quality variables in the River Stour, eastern England. Linear regression shows that all except pH. and carbonate hardness have significantly increased over time. A strong annual cycle is present in the data, and cross-spectral analysis is used to model the relationship between the variables and the water discharge in time. Nitrate and noncarbonate hardness are positively correlated with discharge, whereas carbonate hardness is an inverse function.

Taste Thresholds of Halogens in Water

Abstract: 4. USGS, unpublished data, Tex. Dist., Austin, Tex. (1970). 5. Ruane, R. J. Effects of Environmental Development on Water Quality and Variation of Water Quality with Depth and Location Lower Highland Lakes. Master of Science Thesis, Environmental Health Engrg., The Univ. of Texas, Austin, Tex. (1970). 6. Dinges, W. R. & Cope, G. Water Quality Survey Waller Creek. Rept. to the Water Pollution Control Div., i Dept. of Health (1966).

Geothermal investigations in Idaho. Part 1. Geochemistry and geologic setting of selected thermal waters

Abstract: At least 380 hot springs and wells are known to occur throughout the central and southern parts of Idaho. One hundred twenty-four of these were inventoried as a part of the study reported on herein. At the spring vents and wells visited, the thermal waters flow from rocks ranging in age from Precambrian to Holocene and from a wide range of rock types-igneous, metamorphic, and both consolidated and unconsolidated sediments. Twenty-eight of the sites visited occur on or near fault zones while a greater number were thought to be related to faulting. Measured water temperatures at the 124 wells and springs inventoried ranged from 12/sup 0/ to 93/sup 0/C (degrees Celsius) and averaged 50/sup 0/C. Estimated aquifer temperatures, calculated using the silica and the sodium-potassium-calcium geochemical thermometers, range from 5/sup 0/ to 370/sup 0/C and averaged 110/sup 0/C. Estimated aquifer temperatures in excess of 140/sup 0/C were found at 42 sites. No areal patterns to the distribution of temperatures either at the surface or subsurface were found. Generally, the quality of the waters sampled was good. Dissolved-solids concentrations range from 14 to 13,700 mg/l (milligrams per liter) and averaged 812 mg/l, with higher values occurring in the southeastern part ofmore » the State. Twenty-five areas were selected for future study. Of these areas, 23 were selected on the basis of estimated aquifer temperatures of 140/sup 0/C or higher and two on the basis of geologic considerations.« less

Water quality models for total coliform.

Abstract: THE MICHIGAN SEA GRANT PROGRAM has two major objectives: (a) the syn thesis of limnological research and academic competence into a regional interdisciplinary center of information and expertise, and (b) the development of a program for viewing the Great Lakes as a natural system in fluenced by the broad spectrum of man's activities. In pursuit of these goals, Grand Traverse Bay in northwestern lower Michi gan was selected as a pilot region for study (Figure 1). Field projects have reviewed existing socioeconomic, biochemical, and physical data on the bay region, and have collected new data where needed to aid in the eventual development of predictive models for water quality. A modeling program has been established to simulate the impact of several environmental param eters on the physical and biological condi tions of Grand Traverse Bay and its water shed. This paper reports on modeling activities for predicting total coliform density in the bay. Before 1966, Traverse City, Mich., ob tained its domestic water supplies from the west arm. of the bay. Between 1956 and 1965, daily wrater quality measurements taken included total coliform and turbidity determinations. These data illustrate dis

An ecological investigation of the Portneuf River, Idaho: a semiarid-land stream subjected to pollution

Abstract: Summary The Portneuf River (mean monthly discharge near mouth 1.4-15.4 m3/s) in southeastern Idaho, U.S.A., flows through an area of reduced precipitation (approx. 33 cm/year) and is dependent on underground aquifers and snowmelt runoff from the surrounding mountains for its water. The stream was examined at ten locations, distributed over its 156-km course, during the period 1967-1971. The Portneuf River is shown to have undergone a number of changes from its natural state as evidenced by alterations in water quality and the distribution of benthic invertebrates along the stream course. Of particular interest are changes brought about by the use of the stream for irrigation and by runoff from agricultural lands, factors whose effects are magnified by the semiarid conditions of the region and by poor soil-conservation practices. However, the stream also is affected by wastes from a sewage-treatment plant, phosphate-processing operations, and an assortment of scattered urban sources. Benthic invertebrates were collected during all four seasons by means of artificial substratum samplers and during summer and autumn by a qualitative dip-net technique. In general, the samplers were more effective in obtaining a representative picture ofthe fauna. However, neither procedure alone gave as much information as the combined results. The artificial substratum collections are not believed to be representative of the usual effects of stream devvatering by irrigation withdrawal in as much as the samplers provide refugia for the benthos during the periods of reduced habitat.

Biological monitoring of the aquatic environment

Abstract: A nation-wide water quality monitoring network was operated from 1957 to 1968 by a central Federal laboratory in Cincinnati. The network was decentralized in 1968, and the responsibility for its operation was transferred to the regional offices of the Federal Water Quality Administration. Following the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency, an Office of Monitoring was established to provide overall technical coordination of the monitoring program and to standardize methodology and maintain quality control of the data. The responsibility for water quality monitoring in the EPA will be shared by the Office of Monitoring, Office of Air and Water Programs, Office of Enforcement and General Counsel, and Office of Research. Four types of monitoring have been identified-ambient trend monitoring, source monitoring, case preparation monitoring, and research monitoring. The water quality monitoring network of the EPA will consist of 5000 to 10 000 EPA-funded stations and 40 000 to 50 000 stations operated by state and local agencies. The data will be stored in a central EPA computerized system called STORET. The responsibility for quality control and the development, validation and standardization of chemical, microbiological, and biological methodology for water and waste water has been assigned to the Analytical Quality Control Laboratory (AQCL) in Cincinnati. Water quality is reflected in the species composition and diversity, population density and physiological condition of indigenous communities of aquatic organisms. Biological methodology employed in water quality monitoring in the EPA deals primarily with sample collection, sample processing, counting and identification of aquatic organisms, biomass measurements, measurement of bioaccumulation and biomagnification of pollutants, and biological data processing and interpretation. The AQCL conducts research in all areas of biological methodology for water quality monitoring, develops reference samples for quality control, and conducts agency-wide interlaboratory methods studies. An Agency biological methods manual is in preparation and will be available in 1973.

Undesirable Plant Responses with Sewage Irrigation

Abstract: A farmer using sewage effluent for irrigation is faced with the management problem of an uninterrupted supply of nutrient laden water that may contain toxic heavy metals. The yield and quality of marketable produce can be reduced if moderate levels of nitrogen are applied continuously, especially if the crop is a perennial. Plants can take up many of the minerals in sewage in excess of their needs. The plant becomes either toxic to its consumer or it dies from the mineral toxicity. Heavy metals are the biggest unknowns in the use of sewage effluent for irrigation. Once heavy metals become toxic in the soil solution, they are difficult to remove from the solution. Heavy metals will accumulate in the soil and become toxic unless the source of the heavy metals in the effluent is eliminated.

A Technique for Evaluating Algal Growth Potential in Illinois Surface Waters

Abstract: Various techniques were used to measure the algal growth potential (AGP) of Illinois surface waters, and correlation analyses showed the filterable organic mass to be the most reliable criterion. The dry weight of organic mass produced by algal growth during a 7-day incubation in natural water substrate was designated as the AGP of the water tested. The biomass produced was usually dependent on the nutrient level in the water. Mean AGPs ranged from 12 to 82 mg/1 for lake and stream sources and from 120 to 135 mg/1 for sewage sources. The procedures developed provide a diagnostic tool for planning and managing Illinois water resources. Reference: Wang, Wun-Cheng, William T. Sullivan, and Ralph L. Evans. A Technique for Evaluating Algal Growth Potential in Illinois Surface Waters. Illinois State Water Survey, Urbana, Report of Investigation 72, 1973. Indexing Terms: algae, algal growth potential, eutrophication, fluorescence, nutrients, light absorption, organic particulate matter, sewage, surface water, water quality.

Water turbidity detection using ERTS-1 imagery

Abstract: ERTS-1 images of two federal reservoirs in Kansas exhibit good correlation with suspended load. The major reservoirs in Kansas, as well as in other Great Plains states, are playing increasingly important roles in flood control, recreation, agriculture, and urban water supply. Satellite imagery may prove useful for acquiring timely low cost water quality data required for optimum management of these fresh water resources.

Drawers of Water: Domestic Water Use in East Africa

Abstract: 7 Total Social Costs THE INTERRELATION OF HEALTH AND IMPROVEMENTS The epidemiological basis for the prevention of infections related to water by improving supplies may be summarized in the following way The general model is illustrated in figure 71 Under conditions of appalling water supply the amount of illness is A Increasing the volume supplied will decrease the morbidity until a point is reached where no matter how much more water is supplied the situation will remain static with V units of disease On the other hand, improving water quality alone will reduce the disease amount to level P Improving all aspects of water supply will, at optimal purity and volume, reduce the disease level to M This residual amount will be unaffected by changes in water supply The values of A, M, P, and V will depend on the physical and social environment and on the disease being considered An aggregate model for all disease in a particular area will have a particular form depending on the environment A similar model for improvement costs may be constructed (fig 72), and the two may be compared Quantitative data for such disease models are unavailable, but qualitatively the position is as follows [FIGURE 7 OMITTED] The waterborne diseases in the strict sense are due to polluted supplies The classical waterborne diseases have a low infecting close of organisms and may produce dramatic epidemics following relatively light pollution of a large common source They reach their greatest importance in urban areas where the number of households per source is highest and for their prevention require completely pure supplies The nonclassical waterborne infections are those requiring a larger infecting dose of microbes and are usually commoner diseases than the preceding ones, though often not waterborne in more developed countries They are transmitted under conditions of heavy pollution even when sources do not supply large groups of households, and they may produce sporadic disease We know little about their extent but suspect that they are most important in urban areas with very heavy pollution of unimproved sources They are prevented by moderate protection of sources short of absolute sterility The water-washed diseases are of two types The bulk of such diseases as seen in the outpatient clinic are superficial infections of the skin and eyes These reach their peak in dry areas with both a scarcity of water for washing and a dusty environment, though a generally unsanitary habitat makes matters worse These are clearly of the water-washed category and the prime need in most rural areas is for a more accessible supply of greater volume Purity is a secondary consideration and should not delay attempts to increase the quantities available The diarrheal diseases also seem to diminish when water supplies are made more accessible Their precise etiology is still far from clear and other factors are important, so that there are variations in prevalence between areas with comparable water supplies A hot, dry climate and an unsanitary environment are both associated with much diarrhea, which is therefore common both in crowded urban and arid rural areas Where the population density rises, whether in towns or in some densely inhabited rural areas, purity becomes of greater relative importance, not only because more people use each common source but also because dense rural settlement tends to be in high-rainfall areas On the basis of evidence presented elsewhere, gastroenteric disorders appear to have both water-washed and waterborne components and reach their peak in overcrowded periurban zones where, fortunately, most can be done about them, though so far municipal authorities have paid more attention to purity than to availability of improved supplies The diarrheal diseases and typhoid cause hospital admissions and death far more often than the superficial water-washed infections; they affect treatment costs more and also provide the bulk of lost work time and the economic losses from premature death …

Ocean dumping in the New York Bight : an assessment of environmental studies

Abstract: : The report summarizes short-term studies on effects of ocean dumping in the New York Bight. The studies included hydrographic, geological, chemical, biological investigations, and a feasibility study for a remote-controlled electronic sensing system to detect the location and dump status of waste disposal vessels. Circulation patterns were estimated by current meters and by seabed and surface drifters. Chemical analyses were made of the concentration of phosphorus, nitrate, total iron, dissolved oxygen, and chlorophyll-a. Temperature, salinity, turbidity and pH were measured. Sediment samples were analyzed for organic content and the heavy metals; and biological samples for heavy metals and mercury. Included are studies of benthic meiofauna and macrofauna, zooplankton, finfish and bacteria and disposal of sewage sludge, dredge spoils and acid-iron wastes. Findings are presented and analyzed for impact on ecology, water quality, and total environmental effects. (Author)

Need for Metropolitan Water Balance Inventories

Abstract: More water balance inventories, determining the quantity and quality aspects of the fate of water as it cycles through a metropolitan area, are needed for evaluation of the hydrological effects of urbanization and related development of strategies for resource management and environmental protection. A general accounting for the overall movement of water and pollutants can be ascertained by comparing such complete inventories over successive time intervals. The status of metropolitan comprehensive water resource systems analysis is outlined, system complexities are described, and the need for inventories is explained. Serious obstacles have impeded advances, but progress is being made in a few notable instances. Investments in such research world-wide are well below levels that could be justified by the economic and environmental importance of urban water resources

Quality of Surface Water in Illinois, 1966-1971

Abstract: Surface water quality in Illinois has been determined by means of analysis of data from monthly water sampling programs. Sampling programs spanning periods of approximately 5 years have been carried out since 1945. Data for the period 1966-l971 are for 25 streams at 30 sampling locations. Data analyzed to show frequencies of median and extreme values of certain mineral constituents for specific streams and sampling periods provide baseline values for future water quality and water resource studies. Comparisons are drawn between water quality for the same stations in two or more sampling periods and with applicable Illinois Pollution Control Board regulations. Reference: Harmeson, Robert H., T. E. Larson, Laurel M. Henley, R. A. Sinclair, and J. C. Neill. Quality of Surface Water in Illinois, 1966-1971. Illinois State Water Survey, Urbana, Bulletin 56, 1973. Indexing Terms: alkalinity, ammonium, boron, cadmium, calcium, chloride, chromium, copper, fluoride, hardness, Illinois streams, iron, lead, lithium, magnesium, manganese, mineral quality, nickel, nitrate, phosphate, potassium, silica, sodium, strontium, sulfate, temperature, total dissolved minerals, turbidity, water quality, zinc.

The Development of an automated biological monitoring system for water quality

Abstract: A rapid biological monitoring system has been developed which measures changes in the swimming movements and breathing rates of fish. The monitoring system eventually may provide an early warning of developing toxicity in wastes or streams. In a series of laboratory challenges to the monitoring system, a harmless diurnal temperature change was detected as well as harmful additions of chlorine and zinc sulfate, emphasizing the necessity of follow-up physical-chemical measurements to determine the cause of a biological detection and to decide whether control measures are necessary. The monitoring system correctly differentiated an upstream spill of chlorine from a simulated in-plant spill of zinc sulfate. The sensitivity of bluegills to a simulated zinc sulfate spill (introduction of a sublethal concentration of 3 mg/I, as zinc), did not decrease after 37 weeks of exposure to a low zinc concentration (0.075 mg/I), indicating that rapid desensitization of fish exposed to industriai waste may not be a problem, at least with wastes that act similarly to zinc. The monitoring system correctly indicated a reduction in toxicity when 3 mg/I zinc was antagonized by an addition of calcium chloride, but did not detect a mixture of copper sulfate and zinc sulfate predicted to be at the threshold of detection. A harmless increase in calcium chloride caused no breathing detections. The further development and eventual use of the monitoring system in industrial plants and river basins to maintain water quality for multiple use are discussed.