Water Quality Monitoring in the Urban Rivers and Upper Bay

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Water Quality Monitoring in the Urban Rivers and
Upper Bay

• Presented by
• Jennifer Cragan
• Environmental Scientist

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Narragansett Bay Facts

• Bay area 147 mi2
• Watershed area 1600 mi2
• Population ? 2 million
• 60 MA / 40 RI
• 25 Million/yr in fish and shelling landings
• 400 Million/yr generated from tourism

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Issues in Urban Waters

• Water Quality
• Habitat Quality
• Industrial Users WWTFs
• How is the River Impacted?

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• Our Urban Rivers
• Listed on the EPA 303(d) List for impairments for
• Nutrients
• Pathogens
• Metals
• Biodiversity Impacts
• Low DO
• Excess algal growth
• Why?

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What impacts water quality?

• Anthropogenic Inputs
• Point sources
• Industrial Users past and present (Atlantic
  Chemical)
• WWTFs
• Metals, nutrients, organics, suspended solids,
  biologically oxygen demanding waste, grease, oil
• Non-point sources
• Run-off from roads, agriculture, septic system
  leaching, golf courses
• Impervious surfaces (roads, parking lots)
  increase the magnitude of the impact of NPS on
  water quality. Urban areas

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What impacts habitat quality?

• Anthropogenic Inputs
• Point sources
• Industrial Users past and present (Atlantic
  Chemical)
• WWTFs
• Metals, nutrients, organics, suspended solids,
  biologically oxygen demanding waste, grease, oil
• Non-point sources
• Run-off from roads, agriculture, septic system
  leaching, golf courses
• Impervious surfaces (roads, parking lots)
  increase the magnitude of the impact of NPS on
  water quality. Urban areas
• WATER QUALITY!

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What does the NBC do about this?

• Routine water quality monitoring
• Implementation of Pretreatment Program
• CSO Abatement Project

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Weekly River Sampling Locations
Blackstone 2 Woonasquatucket 6 Moshassuck
7 West 2 Providence 1 Total 18
Twice Monthly Bay Sampling Locations
Providence 14 Seekonk 7 Total 21
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River Bacteria Sampling

• Sample 5 urban rivers at 18 sample locations
  every week
• Rivers are sampled every Monday and Tuesday,
  regardless of rainfall
• Then re-sampled on Thursday if bacteria results
  are high
• This sampling allows us to closely study and
  track the effects of our Combined Sewer Overflows
  (CSOs)

Woonasquatucket River
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Data Supports IM Departments CSO Maintenance
Program

• CSOs usually work well during dry weather
• However, regulators can get clogged with trash
  and debris, causing dry weather discharges
• CSOs can overflow into the rivers during wet
  weather or when regulators become clogged with
  debris
• Sampling data provides IM with an alert system to
  minimize effects of these dry weather discharges

Combined Sewer Overflow
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Woonasquatucket River Sampling

• Woonasquatucket River - part of the Phase I
  project focus area
• General decrease observed
• Improved maintenance of CSO regulators by IM

Maintenance Work by IM is improving water quality
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CSO Abatement Project

• The new tunnel will help store this water and
  then allow the plant to provide a high level of
  treatment
• A reduction in overflow volume of approximately
  40 is expected after Phase I facilities are
  complete
• Sampling data will be able to show the beneficial
  effects of the CSO abatement project

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Bay Sampling in the Providence and Seekonk Rivers

• Since 2003, NBC has sampled for fecal coliform
  biweekly from May to December
• Provides valuable data that can be used to assess
  treatment upgrades and discharge permit changes
• Data available to assist EPA DEM with special
  investigations in the Bay

New NBC Research Vessel, The R.V. Monitor,
Acquired in 2004
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Recent Bay Fecal Coliform Results
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How are we doing?

• Clean Water Act 1972
• Unlawful to discharge pollutants from a point
  source to navigable waters
• Creation of the Pretreatment Regulations within
  the Clean Water Act 1978
• 1981 - NBC establishes Pretreatment Program
• BNR, UV disinfection, WW Upgrades

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Pretreatment Program Metals Loadings to Fields
Point 1981 - 2005
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What else do we do?

• River Clean Ups
• Special Projects
• Education and Outreach

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Woonasquatucket River Clean Up
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Refrigerator found Floating in the
Woonasquatucket River during a river clean up
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Boom Deployment

• Boom deployed on Woonasquatucket River
• Extremely successful
• BUT
• Labor intensive
• Impedes river transport
• Most items captured were hard-to-dispose-of items

50 foot boom deployed for one week
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Wet Weather CSO studies
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Conclusions

• Pathogen Monitoring has helped IM more quickly
  locate and clear blockages
• 2004 Providence and Seekonk Rivers Removed from
  the 303(d) List for metals
• With upgrades at Bucklin Point and the CSO
  Abatement Project currently under way, bacteria
  levels are expected to greatly diminish as the
  completion of these projects progress.
• The CSO Abatement Project will help bring
• these areas
• closer to meeting the Fishable and Swimmable
• goals of the Clean Water Act.

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RI MA WWTFs - Upper Bay Watershed