Regional Water Quality NEWSLETTER DATE: Report for July 2016 A Tempe, Glendale, Peoria, Chandler, Phoenix, ADEQ, CAP, SRP, Epcor NSF Central Arizona-Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research ASU Regional Water Quality Partnership http://faculty.engineering.asu.edu/pwesterhoff/research/regional-water-quality-issues/ SUMMARY 1. Taste and Odor compounds were all below the threshold levels of 10 ng/l in the canals and water treatment plants. One Bartlett epilimnion sample was above the threshold odor level and results were similar to results observed in June. 5. SAVE the date. Friday September 23 rd will be the 2016 ASU Regional Water Quality Workshop at the Pera Club from 8:30-11:30. 2. The DOC concentrations could not be measured because of technical difficulties. However, UV absorbance values were very similar to the values observed during June sample and UV absorbance values have historically tracked DOC concentrations. In June, both Saguaro and Bartlett DOC concentrations ranged from 4.4-7.2 mg/l. The DOC concentrations in Canals and WTPs were somewhat lower as attenuation and dilution with groundwater lowered the concentrations. Dilution from groundwater was not prevalent during July sampling as groundwater pumping decreased between June and July. 3. The primary source of surface water is the Salt River at the time of sampling. CAP diversions to the Arizona Canal increased and groundwater pumping decreased as compared to June. 4. Microbial concentrations tended were similar to or less than the concentrations measured in June. Temperatures continued to increase but there was not much monsoon rainfall. 1
Topics Du Jour Microbial Water Quality Data Over the years the regional water quality center has collected data on numerous different topics but very little data has been collected on basic microbial water quality. Therefore, we have initiated microbial sampling for E. Coli, total coliforms and mycobacterium in the canal system to determine potential impacts on both water quality and sources of possible contamination. The values in the tables below for sampling in July were similar to or less than the values from sampling in June. While temperatures have been increasing, there has not been much impact from monsoon rainfall. All Values are cfu per 100 ml Sample E. coli Coliform Blank Average 0 0 AZ Canal at Highway 87 average 9 1876 South Canal below CAP Cross- connect average 19 1456 Cap Canal at Cross-connect average 21 2132 AZ Canal at 56th St. average 9 704 AZ Canal- Central Avenue average 93 1056 Pima Average 9 836 AZ Canal above CAP Cross-connect average 3 18 Waddell Canal average 0 1444 Verde River @ Beeline average 35 1520 AZ Canal below CAP Cross-connect average 12 1736 head of the Consolidated Canal average 6 864 Middle of Consolidated Canal average 5 924 Head of Tempe Canal average 3 712 Mycobacterium (June) colonies Blank 0 AZ Canal at Highway 87 3 South Canal below CAP Cross- connect 9 Cap Canal at Cross-connect 0 AZ Canal at 56th St. 2 AZ Canal- Central Avenue 0 AZ Canal at Pima 0 AZ Canal above CAP Cross-connect 1 Waddell Canal 0 Verde River @ Beeline CONT AZ Canal below CAP Cross-connect 2 head of the Consolidated Canal 4 1
Middle of Consolidated Canal 0 Head of Tempe Canal 2 CONT Contaminated with other bacteria 2
Source Trend in supply Discharge to water supply system Salt River Verde River Reservoirs at 53% full Reservoirs At 43% full Quick Update of Water Supplies for July, 2016 (during day of canal/wtp July 12th, 2016 ) Flow into SRP Canal System Dissolved organic carbon Concentration (mg/l) ** 985 cfs 596 cfs into Arizona 2.9 mg/l Canal 114 cfs 850 cfs into South Canal 3.0 mg/l 436 cfs of CAP water into Arizona Canal Colorado River Lake Pleasant is 71.1% full (Lake Powell is 57.1% full) Lake Pleasant is* releasing 2100 cfs Groundwater Pumping *** 169 cfs pumping by SRP 169 cfs Groundwater Pumping into SRP Canals *CAP is releasing 0 cfs from Lake Pleasant which was 0% of the total flow **Concentration of DOC in the terminal reservoir ***CAP water is being delivered to the Arizona Canal. 3.8 mg/l 0.5 to 1 mg/l Data from the following websites: http://www.srpwater.com/dwr/ http://www.cap-az.com/departments/water-operations/lake-pleasant http://lakepowell.water-data.com/ 3
The following views are from SRP website, and show which wells are operating along the various canals. 4
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Dissolved Organic Carbon In Reservoirs and Treatment Plants DOC = Dissolved organic carbon UV254 = ultraviolet absorbance at 254 nm (an indicator of aromatic carbon content) SUVA = UV254/DOC TDN = Total dissolved nitrogen (mostly nitrate from groundwater) July 2016 Data Sample Description Location DOC (mg/l) UV254 (l/cm) SUVA (L/mgm) TDN (mg/l Havasu (March) N/A 0.050 #VALUE! 0.4625 Lake Pleasant (March) Epilimnion N/A 0.047 #VALUE! 0.3759 Hypolimnion N/A 0.058 #VALUE! 0.2361 Verde River at Tangle N/A 0.021 #VALUE! 0.1479 Verde River at Beeline Highway N/A 0.077 #VALUE! 0.2983 Bartlett Reservoir Epilmnion N/A 0.072 #VALUE! 0.4694 Hypolimnion N/A 0.081 #VALUE! 0.4846 Epilimnion N/A 0.082 #VALUE! 1.091 Saguaro Lake Epi - Duplicate N/A 0.078 #VALUE! 0.6535 Hypolimnion N/A 0.072 #VALUE! 0.3919 Salt River at Blue Point Bridge N/A 0.064 #VALUE! 0.2522 Salt River above Roosevelt N/A 0.040 #VALUE! 0.1682 Roosevelt Reservoir Point 1 Epilmnion N/A N/A N/A N/A Hypolimnion N/A N/A N/A N/A Roosevelt Reservoir Point 2 Epilmnion N/A N/A N/A N/A Hypolimnion N/A N/A N/A N/A Apache Reservoir Point 1 Epilmnion N/A N/A N/A N/A Hypolimnion N/A N/A N/A N/A Apache Reservoir Point 2 Epilmnion N/A N/A N/A N/A Hypolimnion N/A N/A N/A N/A Canyon Reservoir Point 1 Epilmnion N/A N/A N/A N/A Hypolimnion N/A N/A N/A N/A Canyon Reservoir Point 2 Epilmnion N/A N/A N/A N/A Hypolimnion N/A N/A N/A N/A 6
Organic Matter in Canal & Water Treatment Plants Water Treatment Plants- July 11th-12th, 2016 Sample Description DOC (mg/l) UV254 (l/cm) SUVA (L/mg-m) TDN (mg/l Union Hills Inlet n/a 0.047 #VALUE! N/A Union Hills Treated n/a 0.036 #VALUE! N/A Tempe North Inlet n/a 0.051 #VALUE! N/A Tempe North Plant Treated n/a 0.028 #VALUE! N/A Tempe South Inlet n/a 0.060 #VALUE! N/A Tempe South Plant Treated n/a 0.034 #VALUE! N/A Greenway WTP Inlet n/a 0.042 #VALUE! N/A Greenway WTP Treated n/a 0.020 #VALUE! N/A Glendale WTP Inlet n/a 0.042 #VALUE! N/A Glendale WTP Treated n/a 0.019 #VALUE! N/A Anthem WTP Inlet n/a 0.043 #VALUE! N/A Anthem WTP Treated n/a 0.044 #VALUE! N/A 24th Street WTP Inlet n/a 0.059 #VALUE! N/A 24th Street WTP Treated n/a 0.029 #VALUE! N/A Chandler WTP Inlet n/a 0.068 #VALUE! N/A Chandler WTP Treated n/a 0.040 #VALUE! N/A Rivers and Canals- July 11th-12th, 2016 Sample Description DOC (mg/l) UV254 (l/cm) SUVA (L/mg-m) TDN (mg/l Waddell Canal n/a 0.047 #VALUE! 0.3855 Anthem WTP Inlet n/a 0.043 #VALUE! 0.3973 Union Hills Inlet n/a 0.047 #VALUE! 0.3700 CAP Salt-Gila Pumping Station (June) n/a 0.057 #VALUE! 0.3863 CAP Mesa Turnout (June) n/a 0.054 #VALUE! 0.3500 CAP Canal at Cross-connect n/a 0.043 #VALUE! 0.3631 Salt River @ Blue pt. Bridge n/a 0.064 #VALUE! 0.2522 Verde River @ Beeline n/a 0.077 #VALUE! 0.2983 AZ Canal above CAP Cross-connect n/a 0.041 #VALUE! 0.3656 AZ Canal below CAP Cross-connect n/a 0.048 #VALUE! 0.3560 AZ Canal at Highway 87 n/a 0.049 #VALUE! 0.3153 AZ Canal at Pima Rd. n/a 0.059 #VALUE! 0.2878 AZ Canal at 56th St. n/a 0.059 #VALUE! 0.3742 AZ Canal - Central Avenue n/a 0.058 #VALUE! 0.3692 AZ Canal - Inlet to Glendale WTP n/a 0.042 #VALUE! 0.5057 7
AZ Canal - Inlet to Greenway WTP n/a 0.042 #VALUE! 1.647 South Canal below CAP Cross-connect n/a 0.059 #VALUE! 0.3035 Head of Tempe Canal n/a 0.068 #VALUE! 0.2805 Tempe Canal - Inlet to Tempe's South Plant n/a 0.060 #VALUE! 0.5997 Head of the Consolidated Canal n/a 0.067 #VALUE! 0.2641 Middle of Consolidated Canal n/a 0.069 #VALUE! 0.2858 Chandler WTP - Inlet n/a 0.068 #VALUE! 0.2915 8
Taste and Odor MIB, Geosmin and Cyclocitral are compounds naturally produced by algae in our reservoirs and canals, usually when the water is warmer and algae are growing/decaying more rapidly. They are non toxic, but detectable to consumers of water because of their earthy-musty-moldy odor. The human nose can detect these in drinking water because the compounds are semi-volatile. Since compounds are more volatile from warmer water, these tend to be more noticable in the summer and fall. The human nose can detect roughly 10 ng/l of these compounds. Our team collects samples from the water sources and raw/treated WTP samples. Table 1 - Water Treatment Plants July 11, 2016 Sample Description MIB (ng/l) Geosmin (ng/l) Union Hills Inlet 2.2 <2.0 Union Hills Treated 2.9 <2.0 Tempe North Inlet <2.0 <2.0 Tempe North Plant 3.4 2.2 Treated Tempe South WTP 2.0 <2.0 Tempe South Plant 2.0 3.6 Treated Anthem Inlet 3.8 <2.0 Anthem Treated 3.9 <2.0 Chandler Inlet 2.5 <2.0 Chandler Treated 2.5 2.5 Greenway WTP Inlet 4.1 <2.0 Greenway WTP Treated 4.6 2.1 Glendale WTP Inlet ns ns Glendale WTP Treated <2.0 <2.0 24th St. WTP Inlet 5.0 4.3 24th St. WTP Outlet <2.0 <2.0 Table 2 - Canal Sampling July 11, 2016 9
System Sample Description MIB (ng/l) Geosmin (ng/l) CAP Waddell Canal 2.7 <2.0 AZ Canal South Tempe Canals Union Hills Inlet 2.2 <2.0 CAP Canal at Crossconnect 3.4 <2.0 Salt River @ Blue Pt Bridge 2.0 <2.0 Verde River @ Beeline 4.3 4.5 AZ Canal above CAP <2.0 <2.0 Cross-connect AZ Canal below CAP Cross-connect 3.0 <2.0 AZ Canal at Highway 87 3.0 <2.0 AZ Canal at Pima Rd. 3.0 <2.0 AZ Canal at 56th St. 3.7 2.0 AZ Canal - Central 3.4 2.6 Avenue AZ Canal - Inlet to Glendale WTP ns ns Head of the Consolidated Canal Middle of the Consolidated Canal South Canal below CAP Cross-connect Head of the Tempe Canal Tempe Canal - Inlet to Tempe's South Plant 2.1 <2.0 2.1 <2.0 <2.0 <2.0 2.0 <2.0 2.0 <2.0 Salt-Gila (June) 2.5 <2.0 Mesa Turnout (June) 2.9 <2.0 10
Table 3 - Reservoir Samples July 13, 2016 Sample Description Location MIB (ng/l) Geosmin (ng/l) Lake Pleasant (June) Eplimnion 3.5 <2.0 Lake Pleasant Hypolimnion 8.4 3.1 (June) Verde River @ Beeline 4.3 4.5 Bartlett Reservoir Epilimnion 9.6 7.3 Bartlett Reservoir Epi-near dock 13.1 6.2 Bartlett Reservoir Hypolimnion 2.0 2.2 Salt River @ 2.0 0.1 BluePt Bridge Saguaro Lake Epilimnion 2.8 <2.0 Saguaro Lake Epi - 2.9 2.0 Duplicate Saguaro Lake Epi-near dock 2.4 <2.0 Saguaro Lake Hypolimnion 2.1 <2.0 Lake Havasu (June) Verde River at Tangle Creek (June) Roosevelt at Salt River Inlet (June) <2.0 2.7 3.2 7.6 <2.0 <2.0 11