An Evaluation of Water Quality Parameters and Flow Dynamics In
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An Evaluation of Water Quality Parameters and Flow Dynamics in High Rock Lake, North Carolina to Assist in the Development of Nutrient Criteria for Lakes and Reservoirs in the State by Morgan Rudd Dr. Michael O’Driscoll, Advisor Dr. Grant Murray, Advisor April 26th, 2018 Master of Environmental Management Degree Candidate | May 2018 Masters project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Environmental Management degree in the Nicholas School of the Environment of Duke University EXECUTIVE SUMMARY North Carolina reservoirs have a history of eutrophication problems, and studies addressing NC lake water quality were conducted as early as the 1960s. Most of North Carolina’s lakes are manmade reservoirs, and reservoir waters may respond differently to nutrient inputs based on differences in watershed area, residence time, depth, and other variables. A better understanding of riverine discharge and water quality parameter dynamics in North Carolina reservoirs will help guide nutrient development for the state. Due to impairments associated with designated uses for water supply, recreation, and aquatic life, High Rock Lake (HRL) has been listed on North Carolina’s 303d list of impaired waters since 2004. The lake and its tributaries are impaired due to elevated turbidity, chlorophyll-a, and pH. High Rock Dam, located in Rowan and Davidson Counties in North Carolina, was constructed on the Yadkin River in 1927. HRL is primarily fed by the Yadkin River and several smaller tributaries, draining a total area of 3974 square miles. North Carolina currently has surface water standards for chlorophyll-a (40 µg/L), turbidity (25 NTU- lakes), and pH (<6 or >9), but not for nutrients. The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NC DEQ) chose HRL as a pilot study to help develop nutrient criteria for lakes throughout the state. Three distinct datasets were provided by NC DEQ for analyses: a long- term dataset of chemical and physical water quality measurements collected from 7/21/1981 to 9/13/2011, a high-frequency dataset consisting of hourly water quality measurements collected from 7/13/2016 to 10/5/2016, and a phytoplankton dataset of phytoplankton taxonomic assemblages collected from 7/21/2004 to 9/13/2011. Corresponding discharge data was used as a proxy for lake residence time, and was retrieved from the USGS Yadkin River-Yadkin College gage station upstream of High Rock Lake. Sampling stations were separated into “upper”, “mid”, and “lower” lake sections based on distance from the dam. Analysis of the long-term dataset indicated a high degree of spatial variability in water quality in HRL. Turbidity, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus decrease with increasing proximity to the dam, whereas chlorophyll-a is most elevated within the mid-section of the lake. Exceedances in the state’s turbidity and chlorophyll-a standards occurred at each lake section. The increase in chlorophyll-a concentrations seen in the mid-lake section is attributed to decreasing turbidity and increasing light availability for photosynthesis. Future analyses should identify a turbidity threshold at which light becomes a limiting resource. Analysis of data below this turbidity threshold will help clarify specific nutrient-chlorophyll relationships. The high-frequency dataset elucidated how discharge, total dissolved solids, temperature, and dissolved oxygen co-vary with chlorophyll-a. Dissolved oxygen had the largest cross- correlation value, indicating that chlorophyll-a and DO experience simultaneous increases. This is attributed to DO being a byproduct of photosynthesis, and indicates the potential to monitor DO in the future and use its concentration to determine when algal blooms will occur. Phytoplankton taxonomic assemblage varies according to lake section, with the lower- section of the lake experiencing the most elevated levels of cyanobacteria. This is of particular concern as toxic microcystins can be produced during cyanobacteria blooms, posing a threat to human health. Denton residents utilize the Tuckertown Reservoir, located downstream of HRL, as their primary water supply. Cyanobacteria should be regularly monitored for toxins. Riverine discharge appears to influence chlorophyll-a and biovolume, and future studies should aim to identify the impact of discharge, lake location, and seasonality on phytoplankton assemblage. An improved understanding of discharge-water quality relationships can help guide nutrient criteria development for the state’s reservoirs. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.! INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................................................1 2.! STUDY SITE .............................................................................................................................5 3.! METHODS ................................................................................................................................8 3.1.!Long-term chemical and physical dataset ........................................................................11 3.2.!High-frequency dataset .....................................................................................................11 3.3.!Phytoplankton dataset ......................................................................................................12 4.! RESULTS ................................................................................................................................13 4.1.!Long-term chemical and physical dataset ........................................................................13 4.2.!High-frequency dataset .....................................................................................................18 4.3.!Phytoplankton dataset ......................................................................................................23 5.! DISCUSSION & CONCLUSIONS .........................................................................................27 6.! FUTURE WORK .....................................................................................................................30 7.! REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................32 8.! APPENDIX ..............................................................................................................................35 1. INTRODUCTION Eutrophic conditions result from the enrichment of plant nutrients and can occur in fresh water, brackish, or marine systems. In the past half century, nutrient additions to lakes and rivers have increased significantly as a result of anthropogenic activity (Mainstone & Parr 2002). Point sources and non-point sources of pollution contribute to the eutrophication of aquatic systems (Yang et al. 2008). The nutrient enrichment of aquatic systems can lead to a variety of deleterious effects, such as: algal blooms, changes in food web dynamics, shifts in phytoplankton assemblage, impairment of human water supply and recreational usage, and hypoxic or anoxic conditions. While total nitrogen and total phosphorus have been identified as the primary eutrophic inducing factors, other environmental factors such as solar radiation, temperature, water velocity, and residence time can inhibit or promote eutrophication (Yang et al. 2008). Chlorophyll is the pigment found in chloroplasts that facilitates the process of photosynthesis to produce carbohydrates for the organism (Smith & Smith 2012). There are several types of chlorophyll, but chlorophyll-a is dominant in green plants and algae, and can be used as an indicator of algal abundance in aquatic systems (US EPA 2016). Measurements of chlorophyll- a are often taken to assess algal growth, with higher concentrations of the pigment corresponding to the concentration of phytoplankton in the water sample (Hambrook Berkman & Canova 2007). Excess algal growth, and thus higher chlorophyll-a concentrations, can have negative implications for the aquatic system itself and communities that utilize the waterbody (US EPA 2016). Bodies of water can be naturally oligotrophic, with minimal algal growth, or eutrophic, characterized by higher concentrations of chlorophyll-a. Levels of chlorophyll-a can become problematic when they deviate from a natural baseline and begin to negatively influence aquatic organisms or human uses of the waterbody. Several parameters influence the abundance of chlorophyll-a in aquatic systems, such as: nutrient availability, light availability and/or limitations, flow, and residence time. Studies addressing the water quality of North Carolina lakes were conducted as early as the 1960s (Weiss & Kuenzler 1976). A comprehensive analysis and determination of the trophic states of North Carolina lakes was conducted in the 1970s. Weiss and Kuenzler acknowledged that nutrient enrichment of aquatic systems is a natural process, but that accelerated nutrient enrichment is what prompted the development of the trophic state classification system in order to characterize the degree of eutrophication in lakes and reservoirs (1976). Their study demonstrated that smaller 1 lake size was typically associated with higher trophic states than larger lakes, and that lakes located in the Coastal Plain and Piedmont regions were characterized by higher trophic states than those located in the Mountain province (Weiss & Kuenzler 1976). This report generated by Weiss and Kuenzler along with input from the Water Quality Standards Advisory Group resulted in