Middle Susquehanna Subbasin Survey 2001
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Publication 222 May 2002 Middle Susquehanna Subbasin A Water Quality and Biological Assessment, July – September 2001 The Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) monitors and assesses the six major subbasins (Figure 1) of the Susquehanna River Basin on a rotating schedule. SRBC conducted the Year-1 survey of the Middle Susquehanna Subbasin from July to September 2001. This survey included a point-in-time sample and assessment of the water quality, macroinvertebrate community, and habitat. SRBC surveyed the Middle Susquehanna Subbasin previously in 1984 and 1993. Historical data from these surveys as well as all other subbasin surveys are available from SRBC. Subbasin survey Table of Contents information is used by SRBC staff and others to: n evaluate the chemical, Description of the Middle biological, and habitat Susquehanna Subbasin . 2 conditions of streams in the basin; Methods Used in the n identify major sources Subbasin Survey . 3 of pollution and Results/Discussion . 6 lengths of stream impacted; Upper Half of the Middle n maintain a database Susquehanna Subbasin . 7 that can be used to document changes Lower Half of the Middle in stream quality Susquehanna Subbasin . 10 over time; Conclusions . 15 n review projects affecting water quality References . 16 in the basin; and D. Gavin n identify areas for more Figure 1. The Susquehanna River Basin Subbasins. Acknowledgements . 16 intensive study. Appendix . 17 SRBC will conduct a detailed Susquehanna River Year-2 study of a priority watershed Basin Commission . 20 in the Middle Susquehanna Subbasin during 2002 and 2003. The priority For More Information . 20 watershed will be selected based on results from the Year-1 survey and input from local interests. SRBC Report by: will work with area groups to provide Susan R. LeFevre, additional data to aid in remediation or protection efforts. Biologist G. Hirschel Susquehanna River near Wilkes-Barre. 1 Description of the Middle Subbasin The Middle Susquehanna Subbasin drains an area of The Middle Susquehanna Subbasin is a mixture of approximately 3,700 square miles from Ulster to Sunbury, urban and rural lands that include forest, agriculture, Pennsylvania, which includes portions of the counties abandoned mines, and cities (Figure 3). The major urban Tioga, Lycoming, Bradford, Sullivan, Susquehanna, centers in this area are Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, Pa. A Wayne, Lackawanna, Wyoming, Luzerne, Columbia, section of this subbasin was heavily mined and remnants Montour, Carbon, Schuylkill, and Northumberland. of the industry, such as coal slag piles, abandoned mines, Three different ecoregions are found within this area: and abandoned mine drainage (AMD) still impact the water quality of many miles of streams and rivers n Northern Appalachian Plateau and Uplands throughout the Lackawanna and Wyoming Valleys. n North Central Appalachians n Central Appalachian Ridges and Valleys (Omernick, 1987) (Figure 2). D. Gavin Figure 2. Ecoregions and Counties in the Middle Susquehanna Subbasin 2 3 D. Gavin Figure 3. Land Use in the Middle Susquehanna Subbasin Methods Used in the Subbasin Survey DATA COLLECTION U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (USEPA’s) During the summer of 2001, SRBC visited 106 sites Rapid Bioassessment Protocols for Use in Streams and throughout the Middle Susquehanna Subbasin and took Rivers (RBP III) (Plafkin and others, 1989). Sampling water quality samples at all sites. Appendix A contains was performed during the summer, when base flow was a list with the sample site number, the station name sustained primarily by ground water. (designated by stream mile), a description of the sampling Water Quality location, the ecoregion, and the drainage size category. A portion of the water sample was separated for Macroinvertebrate samples were taken at all but three laboratory analysis, and the rest of the sample was used for sites due to excessive low flow (HNL 0.1), no riffle habitat field analysis. A list of the field and laboratory parameters (SUSQ 125.0A/B), or deep iron precipitates (NPT 0.1). and their units is found in Table 1. Measurements of flow, Habitat was rated at all sites where a macroinvertebrate water temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, conductivity, sample was collected and at NPT 0.1. alkalinity, and acidity were taken in the field. Flow was The sites were sampled once in this Year-1 sampling measured using standard United States Geological Survey round in order to provide a point-in-time look at stream (USGS) methodology. Temperature was measured with characteristics throughout the whole subbasin. Samples a field thermometer in degrees Celsius. A Cole-Parmer were collected using a slightly modified version of the Model 5996 meter was used to measure pH. Dissolved 2 3 Table 1. Water Quality Parameters Sampled in the Middle Susquehanna Subbasin. Field Parameters Habitat Flow, instantaneous cfsa Conductivity, �mhos/cmc Habitat conditions were evaluated using a modified Temperature, °C Alkalinity, mg/l version of RBP III (Plafkin and others, 1989; Barbour and pH Acidity, mg/l b others, 1999). Physical stream characteristics relating Dissolved Oxygen, mg/l to substrate, pool and riffle composition, shape of the Laboratory Analysis channel, conditions of the banks, and the riparian zone Specific Conductance, �mhos/cm Total Sodium, mg/l pH Total Potassium, mg/l were rated on a scale of 0-20, with 20 being optimal. Alkalinity, mg/l Chloride, mg/l Other observations were noted about weather, substrate Total Suspended Solids, mg/l Sulfate - IC, mg/l material composition, surrounding land use, and any other Total Nitrogen, mg/l Total Fluoride, mg/l relevant features in the watershed. Total Ammonia - N, mg/l Total Copper, �grams/ld Nitrite - N, mg/l Total Iron, �grams/l Nitrate - N, mg/l Total Lead, �grams/l DATA ANALYSIS Total Phosphorus, mg/l Total Manganese, �grams/l Seven reference categories were created for data analysis. Total Organic Carbon, mg/l Total Nickel, �grams/l The 15 sites on the main stem of the Susquehanna River Total Hardness, mg/l Total Zinc, �grams/l were grouped into the same reference category in order to Total Calcium, mg/l Total Aluminum, �grams/l compare them to each other and observe how the water Total Magnesium, mg/l Total Orthophosphate, mg/l quality changes downstream. All the other sites in the a cfs = cubic feet per second Middle Susquehanna Subbasin were divided into reference b mg/l = milligram per liter c categories based on ecoregions (Omernick, 1987) and �mhos/cm = micromhos per centimeter drainage size. The three ecoregions were Ecoregion 60 d �grams/l = micrograms per liter (Northern Appalachian Plateau and Uplands), Ecoregion Table 1. Water Quality Parameters Sampled in the Middle Susquehanna Subbasin. 62 (North Central Appalachians), and Ecoregion 67 (Central Appalachian Ridges and Valleys) (Figure 2). All oxygen was measured with a YSI 55 meter, and the sites within each ecoregion were divided into small conductivity was measured with a Cole-Parmer Model drainage areas (<50 square miles) and medium drainage 1481 meter. Alkalinity was determined by titration of areas (>50 square miles). a known volume of sample water to pH 4.5 with 0.02N H2SO4. Acidity was determined by titration of a known volume of sample water to pH 8.3 with 0.02N NaOH. Taxonomic Richness: the total number of taxa in the One 500-ml bottle and two 250-ml bottles of water sample. Number decreases with increasing stress. were collected for laboratory analyses. One of the 250- ml bottles was acidified with nitric acid for metal analysis. Percent Contribution of Dominant Taxa: the The other 250-ml bottle was acidified with sulfuric acid percentage of the taxon with the largest number for nutrient analysis. Samples were iced and shipped to of individuals out of the total number of the Pa. Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau macroinvertebrates in the sample. Percentage increases of Laboratories in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. with increasing stress. EPT Index: the total number of Ephemeroptera Macroinvertebrates (mayflies), Plecoptera (stoneflies), and Trichoptera Benthic macroinvertebrates (organisms that live on the (caddisflies) taxa present in a sample. Number stream bottom, including aquatic insects, crayfish, clams, decreases with increasing stress. snails, and worms) were collected using a modified version Ratio of EPT to Chironomidae: the total of RBP III (Plafkin and others, 1989). Two kick screen number of individuals in the orders Ephemeroptera, samples were obtained at each station by disturbing the Plecoptera, and Trichoptera divided by the number of substrate of representative riffle/run areas and collecting Chironomidae (midges) in a sample. Ratio decreases dislodged material with a one-meter-square 600-micron with increasing stress. mesh screen. Each sample was preserved in 95 percent Shannon-Wiener Diversity Index: a measure of the denatured ethyl alcohol and returned to SRBC’s lab, taxonomic diversity of the community. Index value where the sample was sorted into a subsample of at decreases with increasing stress. least 100 organisms. Organisms in the subsample were identified to genus, except for midges and aquatic worms, Hilsenhoff Biotic Index: a measure of organic which were identified to family. pollution tolerance. Index value increases with increasing stress. 4 5 Water quality was assessed by examining 32 water Benthic macroinvertebrate samples were analyzed using quality parameters, including nutrients, major ions, and six metrics: Taxonomic Richness; Percent Contribution