Beaver Lake and its Tributaries: 2012 Source Water Quality Report

Transcription

1 Beaver Lake and its Tributaries: 2012 Source Water Quality Report Beaver Water District January 31, 2013 Ray Avery Our mission is to serve our customer s needs by providing high quality drinking water that meets or exceeds all regulatory requirements and is economically priced consistent with our quality standards.

2 Contents Weather and Climate... 3 Air Temperature... 3 Precipitation... 3 Tributaries... 4 USGS Flow and Water Quality... 4 BWD Long Run Lake Water Surface Elevation Stratification LakeESP Intake Profiles Water Quality BWD Intake USGS Lake Profiles and Water Quality USGS Lake Water Quality Works Cited

3 Weather and Climate Air Temperature 2012 was the warmest year on record since 1895 with an average temperature of 60.9 F in Northwest Arkansas (1). The month of March 2012 was the warmest March to date with an average temperature of 59.3 F (11.3 F above normal). The rest of the spring was also warmer than normal with monthly average temperatures at least 4 F greater than the 30 year average (Figure 1). Precipitation Climate data were compiled from the Southern Climate Center for Climate Division 1(CD1) which included Benton, Washington, Carroll, Madison, Boone, and Newton Counties, Arkansas was a severely dry year in Northwest Arkansas (2) with 33.2 inches of total rainfall. This is a inch departure from normal or 73% of normal. It was the driest year since 1980 which had 29.0 inches of rain (3). A record dry spell occurred from April June when only 5.18 inches of rain fell (Figure 2). The western portion of CD1 saw the least amount of rainfall with Fayetteville reporting a meager inches which is a inch departure from normal for the station (4). This was the 4 th driest year for Fayetteville since Figure 1: Average monthly temperature and rainfall in Northwest Arkansas (CD1). Monthly averages within CD1 have been calculated by giving equal weight to all of the Cooperative Observer Network (COOP) stations reporting both temperature and precipitation within CD1(Benton, Washington, Carroll, Madison, Boone, and Newton Counties). 3

4 Jan-1 Feb-1 Mar-1 Apr-1 May-1 Jun-1 Jul-1 Precipitation (inch) Cumulative Precipitation (inch) Aug-1 Sep-1 Oct-1 Nov-1 Dec-1 Precipitation (inch) Cumulative Precipitation (inch) Figure 2: Precipitation in 2012 recorded by the USACE at Beaver Dam. Tributaries USGS Flow and Water Quality We currently support three real-time stream gages that are operated in cooperation with the USGS according to a Joint Funding Agreement (JFA). The gages are located at the White River near Fayetteville, AR ( ), War Eagle Creek near Hindsville, AR ( ), and Richland Creek at Goshen, AR ( ) (Figure 3). The gages at White River near Fayetteville, AR and War Eagle Creek near Hindsville, AR performed well during 2012 with 100% and 95.6% operational uptime respectively. The Richland Creek at Goshen, AR gage does not perform as well as White River near Fayetteville, AR or War Eagle Creek near Hindsville, AR and the data was unavailable or estimated for 82 days in 2012 resulting in 77.6% operational uptime. The maximum discharge occurred in March at all three sites (Figure 4). In 2012 water quality samples were only collected 5 times on a fixed frequency and during 3 storm events. Many of the parameters (Mn, Fe, TOC, DOC, TP, TSS, etc.) increased as discharge increased indicating that nonpoint sources were the likely origin. Conversely, parameters that increased in concentration (TDS, SO 4, Cl -, and Mg) as discharge decreased likely originated from point sources. (Figure 5-Figure 10). 4

5 Figure 3: Study area with locations of monitoring sites. 5

6 Jan Feb Mar Apr Daily Mean Discharge, cubic feet per second May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec White River near Fayetteville, AR Richland Creek at Goshen, AR War Eagle Creek near Hindsville, AR WQ Sample Figure 4: Daily mean discharge for the USGS gaging stations located in Beaver Lake Watershed. Yellow dots show the dates of water quality sampling in

7 Figure 5: Time series of water quality parameters collected by the USGS at three gaging stations located in the Beaver Lake Watershed,

8 Figure 6: Time series of water quality parameters collected by the USGS at three gaging stations located in the Beaver Lake Watershed,

9 Figure 7: Time series of water quality parameters collected by the USGS at three gaging stations located in the Beaver Lake Watershed,

10 Figure 8: Time series of water quality parameters collected by the USGS at three gaging stations located in the Beaver Lake Watershed,

11 Figure 9: Time series of water quality parameters collected by the USGS at three gaging stations located in the Beaver Lake Watershed,

12 Figure 10: Time series of water quality parameters collected by the USGS at three gaging stations located in the Beaver Lake Watershed,

13 BWD Long Run The BWD Long Run is a monthly water quality sampling trip of 9 locations in the watershed (Figure 3). The Long Run which started in 1993 was originally 7 sites but 2 sites have been added recently (Site 15 in 2006 and Site 17 in 2011). In June of 2009 construction began on the Dead Horse Mountain Road Bridge over the West Fork of the White River and our sampling site was moved downstream to the Harvey Dowell Road Bridge. Water quality data from the 2012 Long Run are found in Figure 11-Figure 14. The Long Run sampling sites are described below: White River at Elkins, AR (Site 5) is sampled from the Washington County road 44(WC44 also known as Mt. Olive Rd.) Bridge around 2.5 miles upstream of the Hwy. 74 Bridge. The drainage area for this site is 116,686 acres and comprises 15.2% of the land area in the Beaver Lake Watershed. Land use and Land cover (LULC) for the drainage area is 1% urban, 3% transitional, 86% forest, and 9% pasture. Middle Fork White River at Black Oak, AR (Site 7) is sampled from the WC51 (S. Harris Dr.) Bridge 1.1 miles North of E. Black Oak Rd. The drainage area for this site is 42,918 acres and comprises 5.6% of the land area in the Beaver Lake Watershed. LULC for the drainage area is 1% urban, 5% transitional, 80% forest, and 14% pasture. West Fork White River near Fayetteville, AR (Site 16) is sampled from the WC195 (Harvey Dowell Rd.) Bridge 0.7 miles North of AR16. The drainage area for this site is 79,483 acres and comprises 10.3% of the land area in the Beaver Lake Watershed. LULC for the drainage area is 24% urban, 1% Barren, 1% Water, 7% transitional, 38% forest, and 29% pasture. Monitoring for this site began in June of 2009 as a result of not being able to access Site 8 during construction of the Dead Horse Mountain Road Bridge over the West Fork of the White River. Site 16 is 1.5 miles downstream from Site 8 and the drainage area for Site 16 is 4,300 acres larger than that of Site 8. White River near Fayetteville, AR (Site 10) is sampled from the WC48 (Wyman Rd.)Bridge 1.4 miles North from Site 16. This site includes drainage from Lake Sequoyah, Middle Fork White River and West Fork White River. The drainage area for this site 256,177 acres and comprises 33.5% of the land area in the Beaver Lake Watershed. LULC for the drainage area is 12% urban, 1% Barren, 3% Water, 7% transitional, 49% forest, and 29% pasture. White River near Wyman, AR (Site 13) is sampled from the riverbank just off WC3302 (Zimmer Rd.) at Bank s Farm. This site includes drainage from Site 10 and effluent from the City of Fayetteville s Paul R. Noland Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP). The drainage area for this site is 257,782 acres and comprises 33.72% of the land area in the Beaver Lake Watershed. LULC for the drainage area is 15% urban, 2% Water, 6% transitional, 59% forest, and 18% pasture. War Eagle Creek near Huntsville, AR (Site 15) is sampled from the Madison County road 53 (MC53) Bridge just downstream from the US412 Bridge. The drainage area for this site is 13

14 105,675 acres and comprises 13.8% of the land area in the Beaver Lake Watershed. LULC for the drainage area is 1% urban, 6% transitional, 75% forest, and 18% pasture. War Eagle Creek at War Eagle, AR (Site 9) is sampled from the Benton County road 98 (BC98 or War Eagle Rd.) Bridge just downstream from the War Eagle Mill. The drainage area for this site is 197,534 acres and comprises 25.8% of the land area in the Beaver Lake Watershed. LULC for the drainage area is 4% urban, 8% transitional, 46% forest, and 42% pasture. Pond Overflow East of Parson s Landfill (Site 12) is sampled from the stream bank just off WC93 (Sonora Rd.). The drainage area for this site 1,071 acres and comprises 0.1% of the land area in the Beaver Lake Watershed. LULC for the drainage area is 12% urban, 1% Barren, 10% transitional, 41% forest, and 36% pasture. Nelson Hollow at Rogers Group Inc., Lowell Quarry (Site 17) is sampled from the BC612 (Nelson Hollow Rd.) ditch at the point the effluent from mine dewatering is discharged. The drainage area for this site is 1,211 acres and comprises 0.1% of the land area in the Beaver Lake Watershed. LULC for the drainage area is 13% urban, 7% Barren, 10% transitional, 47% forest, and 23% pasture. This site is sampled intermittently when the quarry is dewatered and has been omitted from Figure 11-Figure 14. WQ Index A water quality index (WQI) is a simple and concise method for expressing ambient water quality information and a useful tool for describing the state of the water column, sediments and aquatic life and for ranking the suitability of water for use by humans, aquatic life, wildlife, etc. A modified version of the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment WQI was used in the BWD- WQI (5). The BWD-WQI is based on the Assessment Criteria for White River table from ADEQ 305b 2008 (6). The BWD-WQI looks at 16 water quality parameters (Table 1) and calculates three statistics: the number of variables not meeting objective, (Scope); the number of times the objective is not met, (Frequency); and the amount that the variable exceeded the objective (Amplitude). These statistics are then combined to produce a single value between 0 and 100 where increasing values indicate better water quality. Once the WQI value has been determined, water quality is ranked into the following categories: Excellent WQI=95-100; Good WQI=80-94; Fair WQI=65-79; Marginal WQI=45-64; and Poor WQI=0-44. In 2012, the average WQI values from the Long Run Sites (Figure 15) were good and ranged from 83.2 at White River near Wyman, AR (Site 13) to 94.3 at White River at Elkins, AR (Site 5). A summary of excursion from WQI objectives for each site is found in BWD_WQI_Calculator3.xls. 14

15 Water Quality Figure 11: Water quality data collected from 8 sites on the Long Run. 15

16 Figure 12: Water quality data collected from 8 sites on the Long Run 16

17 Figure 13: Water quality data collected from 8 sites on the Long Run 17

18 Figure 14: Water quality data collected from 8 sites on the Long Run 18

19 Water Quality Parameter Table 1: BWD-WQI objectives Non-compliance if: Value1 Value 2 Unit Ammonia, NH3-N compute 1.3 mg/l BOD > 8 mg/l Chloride, Cl > 20 mg/l Copper, Cu > 12.9 mg/l Dissolved Oxygen < 6 mg/l E. Coli > 126 mg/l Iron, Fe > 1 mg/l Manganese, Mn > 0.05 mg/l Nitrogen, Total > 15 mg/l ph <> 6 9 Phosphate, PO4-P > mg/l Phosphorous, Total > 1 mg/l TDS > 160 mg/l Temp ecoregion C TOC > 3 mg/l Turbidity > 17 NTU MF White River at Black Oak, AR Nelson Hollow at Rogers Group Lowell Quarry Pond overflow East of Parson's Landfill War Eagle Creek at War, Eagle, AR War Eagle Creek near Huntsville, AR WF White River at Stonebridge WF White River near Fayetteville, AR White River at Elkins, AR 75 White River Near Fayetteville, AR White River near Wyman, AR Figure 15: Water Quality Index annual averages from the Long Run sites,

20 Lake Water Surface Elevation In 2012, the lake was in the conservation pool for 306 days and in the flood pool for 60 days (16.4% of the time). The maximum volume stored occurred on April 1 st (1,813,401 acre-ft.) and the minimum was on December 30th (1,359,779 acre-ft.) The difference between maximum and minimum volume stored is equivalent to over 220,000 Olympic sized swimming pools. The maximum one day increase in elevation was 1.7 ft. and the maximum one day decrease was -0.6 ft. (Figure 16). During 2012, a total of 858,318 acre feet (279.7 billion gallons) were removed from the lake. This volume was removed categorically as, billion gallons to produce power, 27.7 billion gallons lost to evaporation, 25.6 billion gallons used by drinking water suppliers, and 9.6 billion gallons unaccounted for (seepage etc.). During the year there was also a total of billion gallons of inflow into the lake, plus some directly onto the lake surface (Figure 17). Beaver Lake Water Surface Elevation (feet above mean sea level) 1,130 1,125 1,120 1,115 1,110 1,105 1, Beaver Tailwater Stage (feet above mean sea level) Elevation (ft) TW Stage (ft) Figure 16: Water surface elevation at Beaver Dam and Beaver Tailwaters recorded daily at 7AM. 20

21 Beaver Lake Water Removed in 2012 total 279,684,137,550 gallons Power 78% Water Supply 9% Evaporation 10% Unaccounted Losses 3% Figure 17: Percent volume removed from Beaver Lake by category. Stratification LakeESP The LakeESP was sent off for yearly calibration and maintenance on January 11 th, 2012 and was redeployed on April 12 th. The dissolved oxygen sensors were cleaned monthly due to biofouling. Copper screen will be installed for 2013 to reduce this biofouling. Intake Profiles Profiles were conducted at the BWD intake weekly when the lake was stratified and monthly when mixed. Depth and time evaluations were used to display data variances over time and depth for temperature, dissolved oxygen, specific conductivity, chlorophyll a, turbidity, ph, and oxidation reduction potential (ORP). These data from 34 DT profiles were then interpolated to create color contour graphs, referred to as isopleths (Figure 18-Figure 24). Isopleth plots have the advantage of distilling hundreds of data points in three dimensions into one figure. 21

22 The lake at BWD s intake stratified on March 27 th and mixed on November 16th. You can see how the record high temperature in March led to strong thermal stratification during the summer (Figure 18). Dissolved oxygen (Figure 19) started depleting in April and the hypolimnion became anoxic in mid-may. Increased bacterial decomposition in the anoxic hypolimnion is likely responsible for the high conductivity from July to November (Figure 20). Chlorophyll-a peaked near the surface in mid-may but was seen deeper in June through August (Figure 21). Turbidity for the year peaked after the storm in late March (Figure 22). In the months of May through August ph was above 8 near the surface (Figure 23). Surface ph values above 8.0 reflect algae photosynthesis. ORP values reveal strong reducing conditions within the hypolimnion during the months of August and October (Figure 24). Ferric iron (Fe [III]) binds phosphorus under high (greater than +200mV) ORP values. Reduction of ferric iron to ferrous iron (Fe[II]) releases phosphorus into the water column as ORP values drop below +200 mv. At first phosphorus release doesn t significantly increase internal P loading. Both ferrous iron and soluble phosphorus diffuse into the water column. As this water mixes with dissolved oxygen at the metalimnion, iron oxidizes and binds once again. Once sulfide reduction starts (when ORP<+100mV) insoluble iron-sulfide bonds form, taking iron out of solution. Phosphorus continues to diffuse into the hypolimnion but no longer binds with iron as it mixes with dissolved oxygen. At this point anoxic conditions result in phosphorus loading of the epilimnion. Conditions for internal phosphorus loading to the epilimnion were present at the intake from late July until mid-october. Phosphorus release from the sediments can be seen in Figure 26 from August through September as the increased concentration of Total Phosphorus near the bottom ( MSL). Figure 18: 2012 Temperature isopleth at the BWD intake. 22

23 Figure 19: 2012 Dissolved Oxygen isopleth at the BWD intake. Figure 20: 2012 Specific Conductivity isopleth at the BWD intake. Figure 21: 2012 Chlorophyll-a isopleth at the BWD intake. 23

24 Figure 22: 2012 Turbidity isopleth at the BWD intake. Figure 23: 2012 ph isopleth at the BWD intake. Figure 24: 2012 Oxidation Reduction Potential (ORP, mv) isopleth at the BWD intake. 24

25 Water Quality BWD Intake During 2012 raw water quality at the intake was very stable as a result of the drought conditions. The 1110 valves were open from the beginning of the year till June 29 th. The 1104 valves were opened from June 30 th till November 16 th. The 1098 valves were opened on November 17 th and remained open until the end of the year. Results of the laboratory analysis are found in Figure 26-Figure 31. Total Algae in 2012 from the integrated photic zone peaked at 16,515 units/ml on September 13 th which coincided with the peak of MIB (Figure 25). MIB remained above the threshold detection limit of 5 ng/l for 89 days in Geosmin rose above the threshold detection limit of 5 ng/l for one week in May which coincided with a peak in total algae surface integrated geosmin mib Algae (units/ml) Geosmin and MIB (ng/l) Figure 25: Total algae, Geosmin, and MIB near the Intake,

26 Figure 26: 2012 BWD intake water quality parameters. Data is colored by elevation of the sample point. 26

27 Figure 27: 2012 BWD intake water quality parameters. Data is colored by elevation of the sample point. 27

28 Figure 28: 2012 BWD intake water quality parameters. Data is colored by elevation of the sample point. 28

29 Figure 29: 2012 BWD intake water quality parameters. Data is colored by elevation of the sample point. 29

30 Figure 30: 2012 BWD intake water quality parameters. Data is colored by elevation of the sample point. 30

31 Figure 31: 2012 BWD intake water quality parameters. Data is colored by elevation of the sample point. 31

32 USGS Lake Profiles and Water Quality In calendar year 2012 we monitored 6 sites in the lake. The trips are scheduled to collect samples from the epilimnion only two times per year when the lake is mixed and from 3 depths 4 times per year when the lake is stratified. We collected samples and 6 profiles from War Eagle Creek above White River near Lowell, AR ( ), Beaver Lake at Hwy 412 Bridge near Sonora, AR ( ), Beaver Lake near Lowell, AR ( ), Beaver Hwy 12 near Rogers, AR ( ), and Beaver Lake near Eureeka Springs, AR ( ). We also collected samples and 12 profiles from Beaver Lake downstream of Hickory Creek Landing near Springdale, AR ( ). Depth and distance evaluations were used to display data variances over distance from the dam and depth for temperature, dissolved oxygen, specific conductivity, and ph. These data from 6 profiles were then interpolated to create isopleths (Figure 32-Figure 35). Only the epilimnion is sampled at Beaver Lake downstream of Hickory Creek Landing near Springdale, AR ( ) and this is represented as a single wide boxplot in Figure 36-Figure

33 Figure 32: Temperature ( C) isopleths from USGS lake profiles on 6 dates. Profiles from six sites ( , , , , , and ) were collected in January through November

34 Figure 33: Dissolved oxygen (mg/l) isopleths from USGS lake profiles on 6 dates.. Profiles from six sites ( , , , , , and ) were collected in January through November

35 Figure 34: ph isopleths from USGS lake profiles on 6 dates. Profiles from six sites ( , , , , , and ) were collected in January through November

36 Figure 35: Conductivity (µs/cm) isopleths from USGS lake profiles on 6 dates. Profiles from six sites ( , , , , , and ) were collected in January through November

37 USGS Lake Water Quality Figure 36: Distribution of WQ parameters separated by strata for six sites in Beaver Lake, The colors represent samples from different strata with red, blue, and green respectively representing the distribution of samples from the epilimnion (e), metalimnion (m), and hypolimnion (h). The sites are in order from left (upstream) to right (downstream) and abbreviated as follows: 412= , WE= , HC= , BWD= , 12= , and Dam=

38 Figure 37: Distribution of WQ parameters separated by strata for six sites in Beaver Lake, The colors represent samples from different strata with red, blue, and green respectively representing the distribution of samples from the epilimnion (e), metalimnion (m), and hypolimnion (h). The sites are in order from left (upstream) to right (downstream) and abbreviated as follows: 412= , WE= , HC= , BWD= , 12= , and Dam=

39 Figure 38: Distribution of WQ parameters separated by strata for six sites in Beaver Lake, The colors represent samples from different strata with red, blue, and green respectively representing the distribution of samples from the epilimnion (e), metalimnion (m), and hypolimnion (h). The sites are in order from left (upstream) to right (downstream) and abbreviated as follows: 412= , WE= , HC= , BWD= , 12= , and Dam=

40 Figure 39: Distribution of WQ parameters separated by strata for six sites in Beaver Lake, The colors represent samples from different strata with red, blue, and green respectively representing the distribution of samples from the epilimnion (e), metalimnion (m), and hypolimnion (h). The sites are in order from left (upstream) to right (downstream) and abbreviated as follows: 412= , WE= , HC= , BWD= , 12= , and Dam=

41 Works Cited 1. National Climactic Data Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Temperature Rankings, December Arkansas, Climate Division 1. [Online] NOAA-NCDC. [Cited: January 8, 2013.] 2. Southern Regional Climate Center. Drought Help: Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI). [Online] [Cited: January 8, 2013.] 3. Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program. Southern US Drought Tool. [Online] [Cited: January 10, 2013.] 4. National Weather Service. 2012: Warmest Year on Record. Tulsa, OK. [Online] [Cited: January 16, 2013.] 5. Water Quality Index Technical Subcommittee. CCME Water Quality Index 1.0 Technical Report. CCME: Water Quality Index. [Online] [Cited: October 30, 2009.] 6. ADEQ Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report. ADEQ - Water Div - Water Quality Planning Branch Home Page:. [Online] [Cited: January 1, 2012.] 7. USGS. USGS Beaver Lake at Hwy 412 bridge near Sonora. National Water Information System: Web Interface. [Online] United States Geological Survey, January 1, USGS White River near Fayetteville, AR. National Water Information System: Web Interface. [Online] United States Geological Survey, 1 1, USGS White River near Goshen, AR. National Water Information System: Web Interface. [Online] United States Geological Survey, January 1, USGS Richland Creek at Goshen, AR. National Water Information System: Web Interface. [Online] United States Geological Survey, January 1, USGS War Eagle Creek near Hindsville, AR. National Water Information System: Web Interface. [Online] United States Geological Survey, January 1,

42 12.. USGS War Eagle Creek above White River nr Lowell. National Water Information System: Web Interface. [Online] United States Geological Survey, January 1, USGS Beaver Lake ds Hickory Ck Landing nr Springdale,AR. National Water Information System: Web Interface. [Online] United States Geological Survey, January 1, USGS Beaver Lake near Lowell. National Water Information System: Web Interface. [Online] United States Geological Survey, January 1, USGS Beaver Hwy 12 bridge near Rogers, AR. National Water Information System: Web Interface. [Online] United States Geological Survey, January 1, USGS Beaver Lake near Eureka Springs, AR. National Water Information System: Web Interface. [Online] United States Geological Survey, January 1, USACE. Summary of Daily Project Data - Monthly Charts. Water Management, Little Rock District, Corps of Engineers:. [Online] United States Army Corps of Engineers, January 1,