Prepared in cooperation with the City of Baltimore, Baltimore County, and Carroll County, Maryland The Water-Quality Monitoring Program for the Baltimore Reservoir System, 1981–2007—Description, Review and Evaluation, and Framework Integration for Enhanced Monitoring Scientific Investigations Report 2011–5101 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey Cover. Map showing location of reservoirs and watersheds of the City of Baltimore, Maryland. The Water-Quality Monitoring Program for the Baltimore Reservoir System, 1981–2007—Description, Review and Evaluation, and Framework Integration for Enhanced Monitoring By Michael T. Koterba, Marcus C. Waldron, and Tamara E.C. Kraus Prepared in cooperation with the City of Baltimore, Baltimore County, and Carroll County, Maryland Scientific Investigations Report 2011–5101 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Department of the Interior KEN SALAZAR, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey Marcia K. McNutt, Director U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2011 For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment, visit http://www.usgs.gov or call 1-888-ASK-USGS For an overview of USGS information products, including maps, imagery, and publications, visit http://www.usgs.gov/pubprod To order this and other USGS information products, visit http://store.usgs.gov Any use of trade, product, or firm names 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 reproduce any copyrighted materials contained within this report. Suggested citation: Koterba, M.T., Waldron, M.C., and Kraus, T.E.C., 2011, The water-quality monitoring program for the Baltimore reservoir system, 1981–2007—Description, review and evaluation, and framework integration for enhanced monitoring: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2011–5101, 133 p. ISBN 978-1-4113-3170-9 iii Contents Abstract ...........................................................................................................................................................1 Introduction.....................................................................................................................................................3 Baltimore Drinking-Water Reservoir System ...................................................................................4 Watershed and Reservoir Characteristics .......................................................................................4 Reservoir Watershed Management and Reservoir Operation ......................................................4 Overview of Water-Quality Concerns .........................................................................................................8 Long-Term Water-Quality Concerns ..................................................................................................8 Emerging Water-Quality Concerns ..................................................................................................11 Regulatory Concerns ..........................................................................................................................12 The Water-Quality Monitoring Program...................................................................................................14 Description ...........................................................................................................................................14 Historical Perspective (1981–2007) .........................................................................................14 Current Perspective (as of 2007) .............................................................................................15 Liberty Watershed and Reservoir ..................................................................................18 Watershed Monitoring ............................................................................................18 Reservoir Monitoring ..............................................................................................18 Ashburton Treatment Facility Monitoring ............................................................19 Loch Raven Watershed and Reservoir ..........................................................................19 Watershed Monitoring ............................................................................................19 Reservoir Monitoring ..............................................................................................19 Montebello Treatment Facility Monitoring ..........................................................20 Prettyboy Watershed and Reservoir .............................................................................20 Watershed Monitoring ............................................................................................20 Reservoir Monitoring ..............................................................................................20 Review and Evaluation .......................................................................................................................21 Quality of the Monitoring Database and the Data Collected ..............................................21 Modeling to Address Water-Quality Concerns ....................................................................23 Monitoring to Address Individual Water-Quality Concerns ..............................................25 Long-Term Water-Quality Concerns ..............................................................................25 Eutrophication ..........................................................................................................25 Sedimentation ..........................................................................................................52 Distribution and Sources of Bacteria and Other Potential Pathogens ...........58 Emerging Water-Quality Concerns ................................................................................58 Disinfection By-Products .......................................................................................58 Sodium and Chloride ...............................................................................................67 Effects of Climate .....................................................................................................71 Integrated Framework for an Enhanced Water-Quality Monitoring Program ...................................75 Modified Monitoring Framework ....................................................................................................83 Enhanced Spatial and Temporal Resolution of Water-Quality Assessments ...........................86 Watersheds .................................................................................................................................86 Reservoirs ...................................................................................................................................90 Susquehanna River ...................................................................................................................93 iv Enhanced Documentation of Data and Quality of Data Collection .............................................93 Benefits of an Enhanced Water-Quality Monitoring Program ....................................................94 Summary........................................................................................................................................................94 Long-Term and Emerging Water-Quality Concerns ......................................................................95 Description of Water-Quality Monitoring .......................................................................................95 Review and Evaluation of Monitoring .............................................................................................96 Quality of Monitoring Database and Data .............................................................................96 Monitoring to Support Modeling to Address Water-Quality Concerns ............................96 Monitoring to Address Individual Water-Quality Concerns ...............................................96 Long-Term Water-Quality Concerns ..............................................................................96 Emerging Water-Quality Concerns ................................................................................99 Framework Integration to Enhance Water-Quality Monitoring ................................................100 Framework Design ...................................................................................................................100 Spatial and Temporal Resolution of Water-Quality Assessments ...................................100 Data Documentation and Quality .........................................................................................101 Implementation of Enhanced Monitoring .....................................................................................102 Acknowledgments .....................................................................................................................................102 References Cited........................................................................................................................................102 Appendix A: Water-Quality Monitoring to Support Watershed Restoration ...................................109