Occurrence of Fecal-Indicator Bacteria And
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Occurrence of Fecal-Indicator Bacteria and Protocols for Identification of Fecal- Contamination Sources in Selected Reaches of the West Branch Brandywine Creek, Chester County, Pennsylvania by Peter J. Cinotto In cooperation with the Chester County Water Resources Authority and the Chester County Health Department Scientific Investigations Report 2005-5039 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey ii U.S. Department of the Interior Gale A. Norton, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey Charles G. Groat, Director U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2005 For sale by U.S. Geological Survey, Information Services Box 25286, Denver Federal Center Denver, CO 80225 For more information about the USGS and its products: Telephone: 1-888-ASK-USGS World Wide Web: http://www.usgs.gov/ Any use of trade, product, or firm names in this publication is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Although this report is in the public domain, permission must be secured from the individual copyright owners to repro- duce any copyrighted materials contained within this report. Suggested citation: Cinotto, P.J., 2005, Occurrence of fecal-indicator bacteria and protocols for identification of fecal-contamination sources in selected reaches of the West Branch Brandywine Creek, Chester County, Pennsylvania: U.S. Geological Survey Sci- entific Investigations Report 2005-5039, 91 p. iii Contents Abstract. 1 Introduction . 3 Purpose and Scope . 4 Description of Study Area . 4 Coatesville Study Reach. 4 Wagontown Study Reach . 6 Previous Studies . 6 Methods of Sample Collection and Analysis . 11 Collection and Analysis of Bacteria Within the Water Column . 11 Collection and Analysis of Bacteria Within Fluvial and Artificial Sediments. 11 Field Chemistry. 13 Water-Quality Samples . 13 Quality Assurance / Quality Control. 13 Relation of Bacteria to the Fluvial Environment in the West Branch Brandywine Creek and Its Tributaries . 14 Human and Environmental Factors Potentially Affecting Concentrations of Bacteria in the West Branch Brandywine Creek and Its Tributaries. 14 Particle Distribution of Sediments. 14 Climatic Conditions . 15 Aquatic Growth in the Water Column and Sediments . 19 Field Chemistry . 21 Nutrients and Wastewater Constituents . 22 Impervious Surfaces . 25 Sediment and Soil Filtration. 27 Dams. 29 Turbidity . 32 Potential Sources of Bacteria on Selected Reaches of the West Branch Brandywine Creek. 35 Sediment. 35 Storm Sewers. 35 Bacterial Regrowth. 36 Protocols for Assessment of Fecal Contamination Using Sandbag Samplers and Optical-Brightener Monitoring . 36 Description of Method and Equipment . 36 Results From Trial Installation of Sandbag and Optical Brightener Samplers . 36 Application of Method for Assessment of Escherichia Coli and (or) Enterococci Bacteria. 38 Construction of Samplers. 38 Installation of Samplers. 39 Analysis . 40 Natural Sediment and Sandbag Samplers . 40 Optical-Brightener Samplers. 41 Equipment List for Construction and Installation of Samplers . 41 Limitations of Samplers . 42 iv Contents—Continued Limitations of the Investigation. 42 Summary and Conclusions . 43 Acknowledgments . 45 References Cited. 45 Appendixes . 47 Glossary. 91 Figures 1. Map showing study area.