Nitrification in Four Acidic Streams in Southern New Jersey
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
/ U.S. DEPARTMENT W COMMERCE National Technical Information Service PB-278 052 -//- Nitrification in Four Acidic Streams in Southern New Jersey Geological Survey, Trenton, N J Water Resources Div Jan 78 PB 278 052 NITRIFICATION IN FOUR ACIDIC STREAMS IN SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Water-Resources Investigations 77-121 Prepared in cooperation with the State of New Jersey, Department of Environmental Protection REPRODUCED BY NATIONAL TECHNICAL INFORMATION SERVICE U. S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE SPRINGFIELD, VA. 22161 BIBLIOGRAPHIC DATA 1. Report No. 3. Recipient's Accession No. SHEET USGS/WRD/WRI-78/016 4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date NITRIFICATION IN FOUR ACIDIC STREAMS Jan 1978 IN SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY 7. Authors) 8. Performing Organization Rtpt< James C. Schornick, Jr. and Nell M. Ram No- USGS/WRI-77-121 9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Projeet/Task/Work Unit No. U.S. Geological Survey (WRD) Rm. 420 Federal Building 11. Contract/Grant No. P.O. Box 1238 Trenton. N.J. 08607 12. Sponsoring Organization Name and Address 13. Type of Report & Period U.S. Geological Survey (WRD) Covered Rm. 420 Federal Building Final P.O. Box 1238 14. Trenton. N.J.. 08607_____ IS. Supplementary Notes Prepared in cooperation with the State of New Jersey, Department of Emiir onmenta 1 Protection_______ ______________________ 16. Abstract*, chemical and microbiological data from four characteristically acidic streams in southern New Jersey were used to evaluate seven factors related to the proclivity .o each stream to nitrify under the influence of secondary sewage effluent. pH, water temperature, and dissolved oxygen were used as indicators of stream conditions while neutralization of alkalinity, nitrogen species trends, BOD/NOD incubations, and nitri fying bacteria densities served as actual nitrification indicators. Hay Stack Brook showed strong evidence for nitrification on the basis of all four nitrification indica tors while Landing Creek was nitrifying little if at all. Hammonton Creek is apparent ly nitrifying, but because of the uncertainty in the downstream trends of the nitrogen species, and a lower level of alkalinity neutralization, it is nitrifying less than Hay Stack Brook. Squankum Branch showed some evidence for nitrification on the basis of the BOD/NOD incubations. The acidic character of these streams does not appear to be an exclusive factor in determining whether the stream will undergo nitrification. 17. Key Words and Document Analysis. 17o. Descriptors *New Jersey, *water quality, *riitrification, pH, acidic streams, nitrogenous oxygen demand, nitrifying bacteria, chemical properties, water pollution effects, biological oxygen demand. I7b. Ideatjfi«fa/OpeiHEnd«d Terns ' ' ; "'- Hay fftack Brook, Hammonton Creek, Landing Creek, kum Branch Jc. COSATI F.eld/Group 18. Availability Statement 19. Security Class (This No restriction on distribution Report) Prepared for NTIS by U.S. Geological Survey, 20. Security Class f' WRD *g 22. IJNCLASSIFIEP I from* NTIS.M mcv. ».7») ENDORSlP BY ANS AMD UNESCO. TT^ T«S FORM MAY BE REPRODUCED uscoWM-oe S2M-P74 NITRIFICATION IN FOUR ACIDIC STREAMS IN SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY By James C. Schornick, Jr. and Neil M. Ram U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Water-Resources Investigations 77-121 Prepared in cooperation with the State of New Jersey, Department of Environmental Protection UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR CECIL D. ANDRUS, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY V. E. McKelvey, Director For additional information write to: U.S. Geological Survey Rm. 420 Federal Bldg. P.O. Box 1238 Trenton, N.J. 08607 CONTENTS Page Abstract........................................... 1 Introduction....................................... 1 Acknowledgments............................... 2 Background......................................... 2 Nitrification in streams and below waste-water outfalls.................................... 4 Approach........................................... 6 Sampling sites................................ 7 Results............................................ 7 pH............................................ 13 Temperature................................... 18 Alkalinity.................................... 18 Nitrogen species.............................. 20 Organic nitrogen.............................. 22 Organic carbon................................ 22 Biological oxygen demand...................... 22 Bacteriological enumeration................... 42 Summary............................................ 46 References......................................... 49 ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1-4. Maps showing locations of sampling sites on................. 8 1. Hay Stack Brook............. 8 2. Hammonton Creek............. 9 3. Landing Creek............... 10 4. Squankum Branch............. 11 5. Diagram showing distances between sampling sites.................... 12 6-13. Graphs showing distribution of nitrogen species.................. 24 6. Hay Stack Brook: First sampling............ 24 7. Hay Stack Brook: Second sampling........... 25 8. Hammonton Creek: First sampling............ 26 9. Hammonton Creek: Second sampling........... 27 10. Landing Creek: First sampling............ 28 III ILLUSTRATIONS--Continued Page 11. Landing Creek: Second sampling........... 29 12. Squankum Branch: First sampling............ 30 13. Squankum Branch: Second sampling........... 31 14-20. Graphs showing oxygen consumption curves for ATU inhibited and uninhibited water samples during laboratory incubations............ 35 14. Hay Stack Brook: First sampling............ 35 15. Hay Stack Brook: Second sampling........... 36 16. Hammonton Creek: First sampling............ 37 17. Hammonton Creek: Second sampling........... 38 18. Landing Creek............... 39 19. Squankum Branch: Second sampling........... 40 20. Squankum Branch: Second sampling........... 41 21. Graph of nitrosomonas water incubation: Hay Stack Brook...... 44 22. Graph of nitrobacter water incubation: Hay Stack Brook...... 45 TABLES Table 1. Description of waste treatment plants....................... 13 2. Chemical analyses for Hay Stack Brook........................ 14 3. Chemical analyses for Hammonton Creek......................... 15 4. Chemical analyses for Landing Creek........................ 16 5. Chemical analyses for Squankum Branch....................... 17 IV TABLES--Continued Page Alkalinity neutralization attributable to nitrification..... 21 Biological analyses for Hay Stack Brook and Hamraonton Creek......... 32 Biological analyses for Landing Creek and Squankura Branch......... 33 Summary of stream conditions and properties affecting the occurrence of nitrification....... 47 V CONVERSION OF ENGLISH UNITS TO INTERNATION SYSTEM (SI) UNITS The following factors may be used to convert the English units published herein to the International System of Units Multiply English Units To Obtain SI Units Length inches (in) 2.54 centimeters (cm) feet (ft) 30.48 centimeters (cm) miles (mi) 1.609 kilometers (km) Area square miles square kilometers (mi 2 ) 2.590 Ckm 2 ) Flow cubic feet per second cubic meters per second (ftVs) .02832 Gn 3 /s) million gallons cubic meters per second per day (mgd) .04381 GuVs) VI NITRIFICATION IN FOUR ACIDIC STREAMS IN SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY By James C. Schornick, Jr. and Neil M. Ram ABSTRACT Four characteristically acidic streams in southern New Jersey were investigated to determine the effect of secondary sewage effluent on nitrification in the receiving waters. Chemical and microbiological data were obtained at four sites on each stream. From these data seven factors were evaluated to determine the proclivity of each stream to nitrify. pH, water temperature, and dissolved oxygen were used to describe the general condition of the streams, while neutralization of alkalinity, nitrogen species concentration trends, biological and nitrogenous oxygen demand incubations, and nitrifying bacteria densities were used to determine the actual presence of nitrification in each stream. Each stream had a unique distribution of conditions, making it possible to qualitatively rank the streams according to their proclivity to nitrify. Hay Stack Brook showed strong evidence for nitrification on the basis of all four nitrification indicators, whereas Landing Creek showed little, if any, evidence of nitrification. Hammonton Creek is apparently nitrifying, but because of the uncertainty in the downstream trends of the nitrogen species and a lower level of alkalinity neutralization, it is nitrifying less than Hay Stack Brook. Squankum Branch also showed some evidence for nitrification, mostly on the basis of the biological and nitrogenous oxygen demand incubations. Thus, although these streams are acidic in character, acidity does not appear to be an exclusive factor in determining whether a stream will undergo nitrification. INTRODUCTION The introduction of concentrated liquid wastes into natural waters can have a significant deoxygenating effect on a receiving stream. Secondary waste-water treatment plants have been designed to decrease the amount of oxidizable carbonaceous 1 material discharged into receiving streams so as to minimize their effect on the dissolved-oxygen concentration of a stream. A properly designed and operated waste*water treatment plant can remove most of the oxidizable carbonaceous material, but a significant amount of biological oxygen demand (BOD) can still remain in the effluent. This second component of the waste load consists of oxidizable nitrogenous material made up of reduced forms of