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SEDIMENT BASED TURBIDITY ANALYSES for REPRESENTATIVE SOUTH CAROLINA SOILS Katherine Resler Clemson University, [email protected]

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SEDIMENT BASED TURBIDITY ANALYSES for REPRESENTATIVE SOUTH CAROLINA SOILS Katherine Resler Clemson University, Kresler@Clemson.Edu Clemson University TigerPrints All Theses Theses 8-2011 SEDIMENT BASED TURBIDITY ANALYSES FOR REPRESENTATIVE SOUTH CAROLINA SOILS Katherine Resler Clemson University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_theses Part of the Engineering Commons Recommended Citation Resler, Katherine, "SEDIMENT BASED TURBIDITY ANALYSES FOR REPRESENTATIVE SOUTH CAROLINA SOILS" (2011). All Theses. 1203. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_theses/1203 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses at TigerPrints. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Theses by an authorized administrator of TigerPrints. For more information, please contact [email protected]. SEDIMENT BASED TURBIDITY ANALYSES FOR REPRESENTATIVE SOUTH CAROLINA SOILS A Thesis Presented to the Graduate School of Clemson University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science Biosystems Engineering by Katherine E. Resler August 2011 Accepted by: Dr. Calvin B. Sawyer, Committee Chair Dr. John C. Hayes Dr. Charles V. Privette, III ABSTRACT Construction activities have been recognized to have significant impacts on the environment. Excess sediment from construction sites is frequently deposited into nearby surface waters, negatively altering the chemical, physical and biological properties of the water body. This environmental concern has led to strict laws concerning erosion and sediment control, such as imposing permit conditions that limit the concentration of suspended solids that can be present in effluent water from construction sites. However, sediment concentration measurements are not routinely used to detect and correct short- term problems or permit violations because laboratory analysis of sediment concentrations is time-consuming and costly. Nevertheless, timely, accurate field estimation of sediment loading could be facilitated through the development of empirical relationships between suspended solids and turbidity. Previous research indicates that turbidity measurements may be a more practical method of estimating sediment loads by indirectly relating sediment concentration to turbidity. In addition, recognition of turbidity as an indicator of pollution in surface runoff from disturbed areas has resulted in efforts by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to implement turbidity effluent limitation guidelines to control the discharge of pollutants from construction sites. Therefore, given the importance of a proposed turbidity limit, focus of this research is to determine relationships between representative soils and corresponding turbidity as a function of suspended sediment concentration and sediment settling. Turbidity is not only a function of suspended ii sediment concentration, but also of particle size, shape, and composition; so this research was needed to analyze turbidity responses based on sediment characteristics of representative South Carolina soils. First, accuracy and precision of commercially available nephelometers needed to be quantified for use in subsequent sediment/ surface water analysis and potential regulatory compliance. Analysis of accuracy and precision for instruments showed that even though meters may be very precise, they could also be inaccurate. However, three of the four meters that performed well provided statistically accurate and precise results. It was also found that formazin calibration standards may be a better standard than AMCO EPA standards for surface water analysis. Utilizing representative South Carolina soils, both relationships of turbidity to sediment concentration and turbidity to settling time were used to form mathematical correlations. Turbidity versus suspended sediment concentration and turbidity versus settling time correlated well when top soil and subsoils were classified based on their predominant South Carolina region and their measured clay content. Derived trends for suspended sediment concentration to turbidity correlated well with either a linear or log relationship (R 2 values ranging from 0.7945 to 0.9846) as opposed to previous research utilizing a power function or the assumption of a one-to-one relationship. For the correlation of turbidity and sediment settling time, trends were well correlated with a power function (R 2 values ranging from 0.7674 to 0.9347). This relationship suggests Stoke’s Law was followed; where smaller particles remain in suspension longer and contribute more to turbidity compared to soils with less clay content. iii Altogether, results of this research provide a step in determining potential site- specific equations relating sediment concentration to turbidity and sediment settling time to turbidity. With this knowledge, results could ultimately aid in the design of future sediment basins of South Carolina and provide information for potential regulatory compliance. iv DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated, first and foremost, to my parents, Dave and Susan Resler, who passed on to me an insatiable thirst for knowledge and a desire to explore and discover. Due to their unshakable faith and support, I have learned the courage and tenacity to reach my goals and to always give my all. My work is also dedicated to my siblings, Chris, Jay, Nick, and Steph. Despite their insistence of having no involvement in my endeavor, countless phone calls providing support attest otherwise. Always ready to pick up my spirits and to offer me much needed encouragement, to my siblings I owe a debt of gratitude. And finally, I dedicate this work to my grandparents. Grandma Jane and Pop-Pop provided an irreplaceable support network close to Clemson for five years, not to mention endless hospitality, and I cannot thank them enough for the multitude of ways they have seen me through this journey. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I first want to acknowledge the South Carolina Certified Erosion Prevention and Sediment Control Inspection Program for funding this research. Secondly, I want to express my sincere appreciation for my thesis advisor, Dr. Calvin Sawyer for the opportunity of a research assistantship. I am forever grateful for the rewarding and challenging experience. I also want to thank Dr. Sawyer as well as my committee members, Dr. John Hayes and Dr. Charles Privette for sharing their wisdom, enthusiasm and time throughout this project. Finally, I would like to recognize several individuals that helped with the completion of this research by either assisting with soil collection or laboratory procedures. This includes Lance Beecher, Chris Bellamy, Stephen Pohlman Jr., Laurens County NRCS, SCDNR, and my fellow graduate students Clark Chewning, Zach Smoot and Elizabeth Tempel. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page TITLE PAGE ....................................................................................................................... i ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ ii DEDICATION .....................................................................................................................v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. ix LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................x LIST OF ACRONYMNS ................................................................................................. xii CHAPTER ...........................................................................................................................1 1. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................1 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ..................................................................................5 A. Suspended Solids ...................................................................................5 B. Construction Sites ..................................................................................9 C. Sediment Control Structures ................................................................10 D. TSS Measurements ..............................................................................15 E. Turbidity ..............................................................................................17 F. Turbidity Measurements ......................................................................17 G. Future Turbidity-Based Regulations ....................................................23 H. Relationships to Total Suspended Solids…………………………….24 I. Particle Size Distributions & Particle Settling Velocities....................26 3. ACCURACY AND PRECISION OF PORTABLE TURBIDITY METERS..............................................................28 A. Abstract ................................................................................................29 B. Introduction ..........................................................................................31 C. Procedures ............................................................................................35 D. Results and Discussion ........................................................................44 E. Conclusions ..........................................................................................51 vii 4. TURBIDITY ANALYSES BASED ON SEDIMENT CHARACTERISTICS OF REPRESENTATIVE SOUTH CAROLINA
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