Prepared in cooperation with Johnson County Wastewater Effects of Wastewater Effluent Discharge and Treatment Facility Upgrades on Environmental and Biological Conditions of Indian Creek, Johnson County, Kansas, June 2004 through June 2013 Scientific Investigations Report 2014–5187 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey A C B D Cover. Background photograph: Indian Creek near College Boulevard in Johnson County, Kansas, March 2012. Front cover photographs: A, U.S. Geological Survey monitoring station on Indian Creek at Indian Creek Parkway in Johnson County, Kansas. B, Middle Basin Wastewater Treatment Facility in Johnson County, Kansas. C, Tomahawk Creek in Johnson County, Kansas, February 2012. D, Water-quality monitoring instrumentation on Indian Creek at State Line Road in Johnson County, Kansas. Effects of Wastewater Effluent Discharge and Treatment Facility Upgrades on Environmental and Biological Conditions of Indian Creek, Johnson County, Kansas, June 2004 through June 2013 By Jennifer L. Graham, Mandy L. Stone, Teresa J. Rasmussen, Guy M. Foster, Barry C. Poulton, Chelsea R. Paxson, and Theodore D. Harris Prepared in cooperation with Johnson County Wastewater Scientific Investigations Report 2014–5187 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Department of the Interior SALLY JEWELL, Secretary U.S. Geological Survey Suzette M. Kimball, Acting Director U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2014 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, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Although this information product, for the most part, is in the public domain, it also may contain copyrighted materials as noted in the text. Permission to reproduce copyrighted items must be secured from the copyright owner. Suggested citation: Graham, J.L., Stone, M.L., Rasmussen, T.J., Foster, G.M., Poulton, B.C., Paxson, C.R., and Harris, T.D., 2014, Effects of wastewater effluent discharge and treatment facility upgrades on environmental and biological conditions of Indian Creek, Johnson County, Kansas, June 2004 through June 2013: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2014–5187, 78 p., http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/sir20145187. ISSN 2328-0328 (online) iii Acknowledgments The authors thank Susan Pekarek, Doug Nolkemper, Tamara Lorenzen, and Aaron Witt of Johnson County Wastewater for technical assistance and providing data and information about wastewater treatment at the Douglas L. Smith Middle Basin and Tomahawk Creek Wastewater Treatment Facilities. The authors also thank Tony Holt and other staff members of the Johnson County Wastewater Water-Quality Laboratory for support in coordination of water-sample analysis. The authors also thank Mark Ellersick, University of Missouri, for his assistance with the statistical analyses of periphyton and macroinvertebrate data. The authors also appreciate the assistance of Jenny Lanning-Rush, U.S. Geological Survey, with the analysis and interpretation of land use data. And last, but not least, the authors thank the U.S. Geological Survey staff that assisted with data collection, analysis, and interpretation including Andrew Clark, Patrick Finnegan, Jackline Gatotho, Justina Gonzalez, John Hamill, William Holladay, Derrick Holmes, Brian Klager, Eric Looper, Benjamin Prewitt, Patrick Rasmussen, and Andrew Toth. Donald Wilkison of the Missouri Water Science Center and Paul Bradley of the South Carolina Water Science Center provided helpful reviews that improved earlier drafts of this report. iv Contents Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................................................iii Abstract ...........................................................................................................................................................1 Introduction.....................................................................................................................................................2 Purpose and Scope .......................................................................................................................................4 Description of Study Area ............................................................................................................................4 Previous Investigations.................................................................................................................................5 Methods...........................................................................................................................................................7 Data Collection ......................................................................................................................................7 Middle Basin and Tomahawk Creek Wastewater Treatment Facility Effluent Data .........7 Previously Collected Data ..........................................................................................................7 Discrete Water-Quality Samples ...............................................................................................7 Continuous Water-Quality Monitoring......................................................................................8 Streambed-Sediment Samples ..................................................................................................8 Habitat Assessment ....................................................................................................................8 Light Intensity ......................................................................................................................8 Physical-Habitat Characteristics .....................................................................................9 Periphyton .....................................................................................................................................9 Periphyton Communities ....................................................................................................9 Periphyton Biomass ...........................................................................................................9 Macroinvertebrates ....................................................................................................................9 Data Analysis .......................................................................................................................................10 Stream-Water Chemistry Data ................................................................................................10 Periphyton Data .........................................................................................................................11 Macroinvertebrate Data ...........................................................................................................12 Stream Metabolism Data ..........................................................................................................12 Quality Assurance and Quality Control ...........................................................................................12 Stream-Water Chemistry Data ................................................................................................12 Streambed-Sediment Chemistry Data ....................................................................................13 Periphyton Data .........................................................................................................................13 Macroinvertebrate Data ...........................................................................................................13 Environmental Conditions in Indian Creek ...............................................................................................13 Streamflow ...........................................................................................................................................14 Stream-Water Chemistry ...................................................................................................................15 Specific Conductance, pH, Water Temperature, and Dissolved Oxygen .........................15 Turbidity, Suspended Solids, and Suspended Sediment .....................................................25 Dissolved Solids and Major Ions .............................................................................................28 Nutrients ......................................................................................................................................28 Nutrients in Wastewater Effluent ...................................................................................28 Nutrient Concentrations Upstream and Downstream from Wastewater Treatment Facilities .............................................................................................34 Computed Total Nitrogen and Total Phosphorus Concentrations and Loads .........37 Biochemical Oxygen Demand .................................................................................................43 v Indicator Bacteria ......................................................................................................................44