EPA Report to Congress 2000 (latest available on web)

EPA Report to Congress 2000(latest available on web)

Provided to Dr.G. Powell by Dr. D. Monreau, NCSU for this website

Uses for which assessments were made

• Aquatic life support • Fish consumption • Primary contact recreation (swimming)• Secondary contact recreation • Drinking water supply• Agricultural

Rivers and Streams

Rivers and Streams

Lakes, Ponds, and Reservoirs

Estuarine Waters

Estuarine Waters

Oxygen Balance in Streams

Balance between

Supply and Demand

Oxygen Supply

Sauration Concentrations for Dissolved Oxygen

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Temperature, degrees C

Sat

urat

ion

Con

cent

ratio

n, m

g/l

867768595041

Temperature, degrees F

Oxygen Resources of Streams

Atmosphere

WaterOxygen

O2

Conc. Saturation(equilibrium)

Temperature of Tar River at Tarboro,NC 1974-1994Selected Sampling Times

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Month of Year

Tem

pera

ture

, deg

C

from USGS NASQAN data

86

77

68

59

50

41

32

oF

Saturation Concentration for Dissolved Oxygen in Tar River at Tarboro

0123456789

101112131415

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Month

Sat

urat

ion

Con

cent

ratio

n, m

g/l

Water Quality Standard = 5 mg/l

Oxygen Demand

Atmospheric Oxygen

Dissolved Oxygen

Bacteria Organic matter CO2

BIOCHEMICAL OXIDATION OF ORGANIC MATTER

IN STREAMS

Water

Biological Oxidation of Organic Matter

• Carbohydrate Oxidation: CxHyOz + O2 bacteria CO2 + H2O

• Algal cell oxidation: (CH2O)106(NH3)16 H3PO4 + 1.2 O2 bacteria

CO2 + H2O

Algae = 34.3% C; 7.1% H; 51.8% O; 6.0% N; 0.8% P (15 lb algae/lb N)

Nitrogen CycleAnimal protein

Organic N

Plant protein

Organic N

Ammonia

NH3 and NH4+

Nitrites NO2-

Nitrates NO3-

Atmospheric

N2

Waste material, death & decay

decay

O2

O2Anaerobic (O2 absent) Aerobic (O2 present)

lightning

nitrogen-fixing bacteria

bacteriabacteria

bacteriabacteria

Hydrolysis is a chemical decomposition process that uses water to split chemical bonds of substances.

hydrolysis

The Oxygen Sag-Net Effect of Supply and Demand

Decay of Organic Matter

Dissolved Oxygen

Degradation Recovery Zone Zone (dearation > (reaeration > dearation) reaeration)

0 xc , tc

O2 O2 O2 O2 O2 O2 O2

Saturation Concentration

Dissolved Oxygen Profile of Neuse River under 1995 Loading Conditions

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120

Distance from Falls Lake, miles

Dis

so

lved

Oxyg

en

, m

g/l

Raleigh Johnston Co. Goldsboro WWTP WWTP WWTP

Nutrients

Dead algae

N

PC

N

P

DissolvedOxygen

Sunlightt

Creation of Dead Zones in Estuaries

Algae

Low DO Zone

1 lb N

16.7 lb algae

1.2 lb O2/lb algae

20 lb O2/lb N

Approximate chemical formula for algal cells: (CH2O)106(NH3)16H3PO4

C= 34.3% H = 7.1% O = 51.8% N = 6.0% P = 0.8%

respiration

synthesis At 0.0015 lb NH3/day/person (0.00124 lb N/day/person),oxygen demand associated with algal growth =0.025 lb/day/person

Generally exerted in lakes or estuaries where reaeration is low.

Raleigh

Durham

Approximately 160 river miles

Nutrient Loads in Neuse River Basin by Source

Estimated Distribution of Nitrogen Loads in the Neuse River Basin

Agriculture, 61%Point Sources, 13%

Urban, 5%

Forest, 13%

Load = point +export from land = 21.8 million tons/yr = 5.5 lb/ac/yr

Urban, 7%

Forest, 7%

Point Sources, 24%Agriculture, 57%

Estimated Distribution of Phosphorous Loads in the Neuse Basin

Load = point + export from land = 2.35 million lbs/yr = 0.59 lb/ac/yr

= 0.45 million lbs

Chesapeake Bay Watershed

Maryland

Delaware

New York

District of Columbia

Virginia

West Virginia

PennsylvaniaSusquehanna

James

Potomac

Appox. 160 mi.

Threats to the Bay and RiversNUTRIENTS

SEDIMENTS

TOXIC CHEMICALS

HABITAT LOSS

OVERFISHING

Estimated 1985 Base Nutrient Loads

Distribution of Nitrogen Load by Sources

Forest

Agriculture

Point Source

Atmospheric Deposition

Development

Total =303 million lbs/yrDHM

Distribution of Phosphorous Load by Sources

Point Source

Agriculture

DevelopmentForest

Atmospheric Deposition

Total =23.8 million lbs/yrDHM

Water Pollutant Loads

Unit Waste-loading factors for Municiapl WasteSource: Viessman and Hammer, 1998. Water Supply and Pollution Control.

Typical LoadsLoad, lb/capita/day per 100,000 Persons

Range Typical lbs/day 106 lbs/yr

Without ground kitchen waste:BOD5 0.13-0.24 0.180 18,000 6.570 Suspended solids 0.13-0.25 0.200 20,000 7.300 Ammonia 0.004-0.008 0.007 7,000 2.555 Organic Nitrogen 0.013-0.026 0.020 2,000 0.730 Total nitrogen 0.020-0.031 0.027 2,700 0.986 Organic phosphorous 0.002-0.004 0.003 300 0.110 Inorganic phosphorous 0.004-0.007 0.006 600 0.219 Total phosphorous 0.007-0.011 0.008 800 0.292

With ground kitchen waste: BOD5 0.18-0.26 0.220 22,000 8.030 Suspended solids 0.20-0.33 0.260 26,000 9.490

(Mass Loadings)

Nonpoint Source Loads of Nitrogen

in the United States

Input to fields

Export to streamsDeliveryto estuaries

Decay

INPUTS1 ton/ac = 3.125 lb/ac.

AppliedNitrogenLoadsFromCommercialFertilizer

Lbs/ac<3.13.1-6.36.3-12.512.5-21.9>21.9

AppliedNitrogenLoadsFromAnimalManure

INPUTS1 ton/sq.mi. = 3.125 lbs/ac

Lbs/ac<3.13.1-6.36.3-12.512.5-21.9>21.9

INPUTS1 ton/sq.mi. = 3.125 lb/ac

NitrogenLoadsFromAtmosphericDeposition

Lbs/ac<3.13.1-4.14.1-5.35.3-6.3>6.3

March, 2000

water.usgs.gov/nawqa/

Nitrogen Export by Region

Median Annual Export of Nitrogen from Watersheds to Streams

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

NE

Mid

AtG

lf

SE

At-

Glf

GLk

Ohi

o

Ten

n

Up

MS

Low

MS

Re

d-R

ny

Mo

Ark

-Re

d

TxG

lf

Rio

Grn

d

Up

CO

Low

CO

Grt

Bsn

NW CA

US

Tot

al E

xpor

t, k

g/h

a/yr

10

8

6

4

2

Lb/ac1 kg/ha = 0.89 lb/ac1 lb/ac = 1.12 kg/ha

Phosphorous Export by Region

Export of Phosphorous from Watersheds of the United States to Streams

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

NE

Mid

AtG

lf

SE

At-

Glf

GLk

Ohio

Tenn

UpM

S

Low

MS

Red-R

ny

Mo

Ark

-Red

TxG

lf

Rio

Grn

d

UpC

O

Low

CO

Grt

Bsn

NW CA

US

Hydrologic Unit

Exp

ort

, kg

/ha/y

r

0.9

0.7

0.5

0.3

0.1

lb/ac