Water Quality

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https://hdl.handle.net/1813/113369

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Emerging Pollutants: From College Campuses to Cayuga Lake
Allen-Gill, Susan; Lozano, Jose (New York State Water Resources Institute, 2015)
We investigated the concentrations of over 200 chemicals in the Ithaca water system, including many emerging pollutants of concern. 24-hr composite samples were collected 4 times from 5 different locations (raw drinking water, treated drinking water, wastewater influent, wastewater effluent, and Cayuga Lake). We detected many compounds at all points in the water system in varying concentrations. Pharmaceutical and personal care compounds detected most frequently and in the highest concentrations include caffeine, nicotine, metformin, atrazine, and carbamazepine. Microplastics were also detected in lake samples. Based on the influent data, there was no clear difference in concentrations when college students were in town. Ecological investigations suggest that caffeine can alter fish swimming behavior, but only at higher concentrations than those observed in Cayuga Lake. Pilot studies also suggest that small microplastics (5 μm diameter) may cause increased mortality in Daphnia magna.
Assessment of the Effectiveness of Impervious Area Reduction and Green Infrastructure at Improving Water Quality and Reducing Flooding at the Watershed-Scale
Meierdiercks, Katherine (New York State Water Resources Institute, 2015)
This project builds on work that resulted from 2014-15 funding from the New York State Water Resources Institute examining the relationship between landscape characteristics and water quality and quantity using field monitoring and geospatial datasets from the Kromma Kill Watershed in Albany County, NY. Simple statistical analyses were used to examine the correlational relationships between watershed characteristics, such as drainage density and percent impervious, and water quality and quantity. For this project, hypotheses were developed from these correlation analyses about causal relationships between landscape characteristics and water quantity and quality. These hypotheses were then tested using a rainfall-runoff model, EPA SWMM. For the second part of this project, a Siena undergraduate student used the model to examine the impact of green roofs versus constructed wetlands on water quality and quantity in the Kromma Kill Watershed. Both projects highlight the complexity of urban landscapes and the processes that control water quality and quantity in watersheds. Results suggest that watershed plans that rely only on reducing the percentage of effective imperviousness are not a “one size fits all” solution. Simply reducing the percentage of effective imperviousness through green infrastructure (GI) may not be the most effective solution for every management objective. Special attention must be paid to the type of GI utilized. For example, retention based GI (wetlands) is best utilized when centralized and reducing peak flow or selected pollutants is the main management objective. However, detention based GI (green roofs) is best utilized when it is decentralized and reducing surface runoff, runoff ratios, and all pollutants entering a system is the main objective.
Target Screening for Micropollutants in the Hudson River Estuary during the 2015 Recreational Season
Pochodylo, Amy; Helbling, Damian E. (New York State Water Resources Institute, 2015)
Monitoring studies aimed at assessing water quality and environmental risk from micropollutants are challenging to implement due to the large number of potential analytes and the spatial and temporal variability at which micropollutants occur in surface water systems. We addressed these challenges by collecting samples during the 2015 recreational season from eight sites along the Hudson River Estuary from the confluence with the Mohawk River to the Tappan Zee Bridge. We used solid-phase extraction and high performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) to quantify the occurrence of 117 micropollutants in each sample. We selected a diverse set of micropollutants including pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and industrial chemicals. We confirmed the occurrence of 83 of the micropollutants in at least one of the collected samples. Eight micropollutants were quantified in every sample collected: atenolol (β-blocker), atenolol acid (metabolite of atenolol), venlafaxine (anti-depressant), caffeine (stimulant), paraxanthine (metabolite of caffeine), sucralose (artificial sweetener), methyl benzotriazole (an industrial chemical), and DEET (an insect repellant). These data represent the first comprehensive survey of micropollutants in the Hudson River Estuary and will be invaluable for developing future research projects aimed at assessing spatial and temporal variability of micropollutant occurrence and the consequent environmental risk.
Denitrifying Bioreactors Reduction of Agricultural Nitrogen Pollution at the Watershed Scale
Geohring, Larry D.; Pluer, William T.; Morris, Chelsea K. (New York State Water Resources Institute, 2015)
Denitrifying bioreactors have the potential to reduce nitrogen loading to streams in agricultural watersheds. By passing the nitrate-rich waters of tile-drained fields through a system engineered for denitrification, the total nitrogen loading is reduced before entering sensitive aquatic ecosystems. In this project we found that intense summer storms impact nitrate removal rates in these reactors, causing in some cases for the removal rate to sharply drop for a period of time post-storm. Denitrifying bioreactors placed in existing tile-drained fields could reduce 4.5% of the total nitrogen export from the Upper Susquehanna River Basin. As a low-cost, low-maintenance strategy, denitrifying bioreactors can be expected to reduce agricultural impact on water resources. More research and design modifications are recommended to address performance during storm events.
Seasonal variability of projected future climate and its impact on the freshwater discharge to the Hudson River and water residence time of the Hudson estuary
Swaney, Dennis P.; Hong, Bongghi; Howarth, Robert W. (New York State Water Resources Institute, 2015)
Climatic sensitivity of an estuary to the nutrient pollution is highly affected by water residence time, which in turn is dependent upon the magnitude of freshwater inflows to the estuary. For example, the Hudson River/NYC Harbor Estuary has not suffered from toxic algal blooms as much as other estuaries even though it is the most heavily nutrient-loaded estuary in North America (Howarth et al., 2006). This insensitivity of the estuary to the high level of nutrient pollution is largely attributed to its short water residence time), flushing phytoplankton out before they fully grow into harmful algal blooms. Consideration of seasonal variation is highly relevant here, because the residence time of water in the lower Hudson estuary may increase significantly during the summer due to reduced freshwater discharge of the Hudson River. In addition, the light limitation from turbidity is likely to diminish during the summertime periods, facilitating phytoplankton production (Howarth et al., 2000, 2006, 2011).
Analysis of Microbial Biodiversity in the Sparkill Creek Watershed throughout a Course-based Service Learning Research Program for Undergraduates
Connors, Bernadette J. (New York State Water Resources Institute, 2015)
Citizen science groups are becoming more prevalent in many communities, raising awareness of problems that impact the larger population. The types of projects that many of these groups take on can also provide undergraduates with a service learning opportunity, their participation fostering an appreciation of their actual and future contributions to society. We developed a course-based research project that gave students a chance to explore and describe the microbiome of the Sparkill Creek. In 2010, the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation added the Creek to its list of impaired waters due to the high concentration of the indicator microbe, Enterococcus spp. This research project aimed to describe the microbial species present at selected sites along the creek. Students in three courses carried out the project. During this time, they collected and filtered water samples, isolated bacteria in pure culture, performed Gram stains, API20E biochemical analyses, 16S rDNA sequence analysis, and antibiotic sensitivity testing. Success of this course-based research project is expected to help students gain an appreciation and understanding of their role in solving a problem important to the local community and how they, as future professionals, may be able to contribute to the population-at-large.
The nitrogen biochemistry of vacant lots across an urban land reuse gradient
Conrad, Phillip; Marinos, Richard (New York State Water Resources Institute, 2021)
It is not known whether formerly residential vacant lots under varying reuse conditions are primarily a source or sink of nitrogen (N) pollution to surface waters. This study was conducted to determine how reuse intensity of properties increase N supply and N removal via denitrification. The effect of reuse intensity on N supply and N removal via denitrification were investigated, spanning undemolished vacant homes, turfgrass lots, and urban agriculture (UA). Land reuse intensity only affected soil properties in surficial soil horizons. Total N was 2.5x higher in UA soils than non-UA and nitrate was 2.6x higher in winter than summer. Despite higher soil N availability at UA sites, there were no obsered differences in denitrification activity between UA and non-UA sites. Although UA had similar denitrification activity and had high N availability compared to non-UA sites, UA only has moderate potential for runoff-driven N export, because nitrate concentrations were substantially lower than values typical for conventional agricultural soils.
Exploring the Sources, Fate, and Processing of Microplastics in Seasonally Stratified Lakes
Markley, Laura; Driscoll, Charles (New York State Water Resources Institute, 2021)
The extent of microplastic pollution in freshwaters in New York State is largely unknown. Lakes present a challenge for microplastic sampling and study due to seasonal variations in the magnitude of pollution sources. This work expands on prior sampling in Onondaga and Skaneateles lakes in central New York with additional sampling in July and November of 2021 using two sampling methods, pump and net sampling. Water samples were characterized for microplastics using visual ID and subsampled for polymer identification using ATR-FTIR. Pump sampling rarely provided counts exceeding background concentration levels, limiting interpretation of depth sampling. Microplastic concentrations found using net samples varied with time and were typically higher in Onondaga Lake compared to Skaneateles Lake. This work provides further information on the impacts of seasonal stratification on microplastic contamination and variations in the concentrations and types of microplastics among lakes.
Tracing Lawn Care Chemicals in Urban Stormwater
Dai, Ning (New York State Water Resources Institute, 2022)
Stormwater is known to transport urban pollutants into the aquatic environments. Pesticides are one of the important groups of organic pollutants associated with urban land use that impose significant risks to ecosystem health. Previous studies of pesticide occurrence in U.S. surface waters suggest that urban streams have shared pesticides “signatures”; however, few studies have directly measured the pesticide concentrations in storm sewer discharge. In this project, we collected samples directly from the storm sewers in two different municipalities in Western New York and monitored pesticide concentrations as well as a suite of water quality parameters. Overall, the detection of pesticides in our stormwater samples was less frequent and at lower levels than expected from the previous surveys of surface waters in the Northeast region, suggesting a dependence on the specific storm sewershed. The highest pesticide concentrations were detected in a summer storm after a long dry period. The extensive water quality analyses allowed us to examine the possible pollutant transport pathways. In most storms, both dissolved organic matter (indicated by dissolved organic carbon) and particulate matter (indicated by turbidity) showed higher levels at the initial stage of the storm. In comparison, the characteristics of the dissolved organic matter (indicated by specific UV absorbance at 254 nm and fluorescence excitation-emission matrices) remained relatively stable throughout the storm. Unique weather events such as the 2023 summer wildfires led to distinct stormwater quality such as elevated levels of dissolved organic carbon and inorganic nitrogen species. The finding of this study illustrated the dynamic nature of urban stormwater and highlighted the needs to assess stormwater quality over temporal and spatial scales.
Efficiency of Removing Emerging Contaminants from Wastewater Using Electron Beam
Agacik, Dilara (New York State Water Resources Institute, 2022)
Despite the implementation of regulated and established approaches to the treatment of wastewater, it is well-established that it contains a vast array of contaminant compounds. Regrettably, these conventional methods may not effectively eliminate all emerging contaminant compounds present in wastewater. Consequently, the release of undesirable compounds into the environment, including pesticides, pharmaceuticals, plasticizers, corrosion inhibitors, and other similar substances, becomes an unavoidable consequence. In pursuit of a more efficient and wide-ranging wastewater treatment strategy, radiation technology has been proposed and has gained prominence in the field as one of the novel and efficacious methodologies. The application of radiation technology in wastewater treatment has been recognized for several decades. Its implementation varies, with radiation being employed either as a standalone approach or in combination with existing methods to execute the treatment process effectively. The primary objective of this project was to achieve substantial degradation of organic compounds within wastewater effluent. This was pursued through the utilization of electron beam irradiation, administered at a carefully determined dose, in conjunction with conventional treatment methods. Wastewater samples were obtained from the effluent of the Syracuse Metro Wastewater Treatment Plant during various seasons. These collected samples were subjected to irradiation at varying doses, and subsequent analysis of the irradiated water samples was carried out using untargeted high-resolution liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS).The obtained results demonstrated that electron beam treatment exhibited substantial effectiveness in degrading contaminants. At least 80% of individual contaminant species were degraded up to 84.52% by the electron beam treatment.

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