Regional Water Quality NEWSLETTER DATE: Report for May 2018 A Tempe, Glendale, Peoria, Chandler, Phoenix, ADEQ, CAP, SRP, Epcor NSF Central Arizona-Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research ASU Regional Water Quality Partnership 1
SUMMARY 1. Geosmin concentrations in Saguaro Lake Epilimnion ranged from 378-445 ng/l while the hypolimnion of Saguaro Lake had 21 ng/l. SRP is trying to avoid releases from the spillway of Stewart Mountain Dam even though repairs to the hydroelectric system are still underway. The Salt River at Blue Point Ridge had 18.5 mg/l of Geosmin which is similar to the hypolimnion of Saguaro Lake. Quarterly reservoir sampling results had Geosmin levels in upstream Salt River Reservoirs ranging from 40.6 to 13.2 ng/l in the epilimnions. Geosmin levels in Canyon Lake ranged from 73-42 ng/l. At the time of sampling, almost all samples were below detection limits for MIB in the canals and WTPs while Geosmin levels were below the threshold level of 10 ng/l in the canals and water treatment plants. Higher Geosmin levels in the canals and water treatment plants should be expected at the time of newsletter publication. Groundwater pumping on the South Canal will help dilute Geosmin concentrations and CAP diversion will help dilute Geosmin concentrations to a lesser extent in the Arizona Canal. 2. The DOC concentrations were 3.1-3.8 mg/l in the Arizona Canal and DOC concentrations were 1.2-3.9 mg/l in the South Canal. The DOC concentrations in the Canals and WTPs were lower than the concentrations observed in April and groundwater pumping in the South Canal continued to lower DOC concentrations. DOC concentrations in the Saguaro Lake ranged from 5.3 to 6.1 mg/l which is an increase as compared to April sampling. DOC concentrations in upstream Salt River reservoirs ranged from 4.6-6.3 mg/l which represent elevated levels throughout the Salt River reservoirs. Of particular concern is elevated nitrogen levels with total dissolved nitrogen (TDN) levels up to 1.38 mg/l in the reservoirs. Elevated nitrogen levels could stimulate algal growth and increase algal related water quality parameters as sunlight intensity and temperatures increase. The current levels of Geosmin already provide evidence of algal related water quality issues. TDN levels were also above 2 mg/l in the South Canal as a result of groundwater pumping. 3. Reservoir releases continue to be primarily from Saguaro at the time of sampling and the levels of Geosmin in the Saguaro epilimnion are a major concern. Groundwater pumping continues to provide dilution of DOC and taste and odor compounds in the South Canal. 4. Microbial concentrations for coliforms continued to increase moderately as temperatures increase with several samples for total coliforms above 1,000 cfu/100ml. Mycobacterium samples for April were lower than the previous months with no levels exceeding 10 cfu/100ml. 1
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. Note that Mycobacterium samples require one month to process so they are from the previous month. Coliform Data - May 7-8 All Values are CFU/100ml Sample E. coli Coliform Blank Average 0 0 AZ Canal at Highway 87 average 14 1264 South Canal below CAP Cross- connect average 13 1184 Cap Canal at Cross-connect average 43 448 AZ Canal at 56th St. average 42 512 AZ Canal- Central Avenue average 16 512 Pima Average 10 824 AZ Canal above CAP Cross-connect average 31 896 Waddell Canal average 10 408 Verde River @ Beeline average 5 808 AZ Canal below CAP Cross-connect average 20 1424 head of the Consolidated Canal average 21 640 Middle of Consolidated Canal average 17 616 Head of Tempe Canal average 48 648 Mycobacterium (April) colonies Blank 1 AZ Canal at Highway 87 3 South Canal below CAP Cross- connect 4 Cap Canal at Cross-connect N/A AZ Canal at 56th St. 2 AZ Canal- Central Avenue 5 AZ Canal at Pima 3 AZ Canal above CAP Cross-connect 6 Waddell Canal 3 Verde River @ Beeline 8 AZ Canal below CAP Cross-connect 2 head of the Consolidated Canal 3 Middle of Consolidated Canal 0 Head of Tempe Canal 0 CONT Contaminated with other bacteria 2
Source Trend in supply Discharge to water supply system Salt River Verde River Reservoirs at 62% full Reservoirs At 31% full Quick Update of Water Supplies for May 7th, 2018 (during day of canal/wtp sampling May 7th, 2018) Flow into SRP Canal System Dissolved organic carbon Concentration (mg/l) ** 704 cfs 563 cfs into Arizona 4.1 mg/l Canal 140 cfs 346 cfs into South Canal 4.1 mg/l 122 cfs of CAP water into Arizona Canal Colorado River Lake Pleasant is 86.8% full (Lake Powell is 52.3% full) Lake Pleasant is* releasing 0 cfs Groundwater Pumping *** 392 cfs pumping by SRP *CAP is not releasing from Lake Pleasant **Concentration of DOC in the terminal reservoir ***CAP water is being delivered to the Arizona Canal. 392 cfs Groundwater Pumping into SRP Canals 3.0 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) Water Treatment Plants- May 7th-8th, 2018 Sample Description DOC (mg/l) UV254 (l/cm) SUVA (L/mg-m) TDN (mg/l Union Hills Inlet 2.7 0.043 1.6 0.454 Union Hills Treated 2.2 0.020 0.9 0.392 Tempe North Inlet 3.8 0.070 1.8 0.523 Tempe North Plant Treated 2.9 0.026 0.9 0.308 Tempe South Inlet 1.2 0.016 1.3 2.116 Tempe South Plant Treated 1.3 0.012 0.9 2.077 Greenway WTP Inlet 3.7 0.065 1.8 0.275 Greenway WTP Treated 2.2 0.022 1.0 0.186 Glendale WTP Inlet 3.9 0.069 1.8 0.297 Glendale WTP Treated 3.0 0.026 0.9 0.343 Anthem WTP Inlet 2.7 0.041 1.5 0.439 Anthem WTP Treated 2.9 0.043 1.5 0.453 24th Street WTP Inlet 3.7 0.067 1.8 0.224 24th Street WTP Treated 2.5 0.022 0.9 0.170 Chandler WTP Inlet 1.7 0.025 1.5 2.768 Chandler WTP Treated 1.9 0.016 0.8 1.673 Rivers and Canals- May 7th-8th, 2018 Sample Description DOC (mg/l) UV254 (l/cm) SUVA (L/mg-m) TDN (mg/l Waddell Canal 3.0 0.046 1.5 0.426 Anthem WTP Inlet 2.7 0.041 1.5 0.439 Union Hills Inlet 2.7 0.043 1.6 0.454 CAP Salt-Gila Pumping Station (April) 3.0 0.046 1.5 0.461 CAP Mesa Turnout (April) 2.9 0.046 1.6 0.476 CAP Canal at Cross-connect 2.9 0.049 1.7 0.425 Salt River @ Blue pt. Bridge 4.1 0.076 1.9 0.258 Verde River @ Beeline 2.4 0.048 2.0 0.345 AZ Canal above CAP Cross-connect 3.1 0.048 1.5 0.461 AZ Canal below CAP Cross-connect 3.5 0.062 1.8 0.301 AZ Canal at Highway 87 3.7 0.067 1.8 0.230 AZ Canal at Pima Rd. 3.7 0.067 1.8 0.572 AZ Canal at 56th St. 3.8 0.065 1.7 0.342 AZ Canal - Central Avenue 3.6 0.066 1.8 0.259 6
AZ Canal - Inlet to Glendale WTP 3.9 0.069 1.8 0.297 AZ Canal - Inlet to Greenway WTP 3.7 0.065 1.8 0.275 South Canal below CAP Cross-connect 3.9 0.073 1.9 0.262 Head of Tempe Canal 1.9 0.029 1.5 1.377 Tempe Canal - Inlet to Tempe's South Plant 1.2 0.016 1.3 2.116 Head of the Consolidated Canal 1.8 0.027 1.5 1.458 Middle of Consolidated Canal 1.8 0.028 1.6 2.649 Chandler WTP - Inlet 1.7 0.025 1.5 2.768 Reservoir Samples - May 7th-8th, 2018 Sample Description Location DOC (mg/l) UV254 (l/cm) SUVA (L/mg-m) TDN (mg/l Havasu (April) 2.8 0.047 1.7 0.559 Lake Pleasant (April) Epilimnion 3.3 0.050 1.5 0.355 3.6 0.049 1.3 0.261 Verde River at Tangle 1.2 0.021 1.8 0.106 Verde River at Beeline Highway 2.4 0.048 2.0 0.345 Bartlett Reservoir 4.7 0.061 1.3 0.610 4.1 0.071 1.7 0.720 Epilimnion 6.1 0.083 1.4 0.911 Saguaro Lake Epi - Duplicate 5.7 0.083 1.5 0.700 5.3 0.083 1.6 0.933 Salt River at Blue Point Bridge 4.1 0.076 1.9 0.258 Salt River above Roosevelt 1.9 0.051 2.7 0.140 Roosevelt Reservoir Point 1 Roosevelt Reservoir Point 2 Apache Reservoir Point 1 Apache Reservoir Point 2 Canyon Reservoir Point 1 Canyon Reservoir Point 2 5.0 5.5 5.3 4.8 4.6 4.8 0.091 0.091 0.082 0.082 0.083 0.084 1.8 1.6 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.8 0.403 0.603 0.440 0.336 0.519 0.585 4.9 4.8 6.3 4.6 5.9 4.7 0.097 0.093 0.096 0.083 0.099 0.084 2.0 1.9 1.5 1.8 1.7 1.8 0.540 0.813 1.287 0.705 1.381 0.616 7
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 May 7, 2018 Sample Description MIB Geosmin Union Hills Inlet <2.0 <2.0 Union Hills Treated <2.0 <2.0 Tempe North Inlet <2.0 2.6 Tempe North Plant Treated <2.0 2.2 Tempe South WTP <2.0 <2.0 Tempe South Plant Treated <2.0 2.0 Anthem Inlet <2.0 <2.0 Anthem Treated <2.0 <2.0 Chandler Inlet <2.0 <2.0 Chandler Treated <2.0 2.2 Greenway WTP Inlet <2.0 <2.0 Greenway WTP Treated <2.0 <2.0 Glendale WTP Inlet <2.0 2.2 Glendale WTP Treated <2.0 <2.0 24th St. WTP Inlet <2.0 2.5 24th St. WTP Outlet <2.0 <2.0 Table 2 - Canal Sampling May 7, 2018 System Sample Description MIB Geosmin CAP Waddell Canal <2.0 <2.0 Union Hills Inlet <2.0 <2.0 CAP Canal at Cross-connect <2.0 <2.0 Salt River @ Blue Pt Bridge 1.5 18.5 Verde River @ Beeline <2.0 <2.0 AZ AZ Canal above CAP Cross-connect <2.0 2.0 Canal AZ Canal below CAP Cross-connect <2.0 <2.0 AZ Canal at Highway 87 <2.0 <2.0 8
AZ Canal at Pima Rd. <2.0 2.3 AZ Canal at 56th St. <2.0 3.5 AZ Canal - Central Avenue <2.0 2.9 AZ Canal - Inlet to Glendale WTP <2.0 2.2 Head of the Consolidated Canal <2.0 <2.0 Middle of the Consolidated Canal <2.0 2.5 South South Canal below CAP Crossconnect <2.0 2.9 Tempe Head of the Tempe Canal <2.0 2.0 Canals Tempe Canal - Inlet to Tempe's South Plant <2.0 <2.0 Salt-Gila (April) 2.1 2.0 Mesa Turnout (April) <2.0 2.1 Table 3 - Reservoir Samples May 8, 2018 Sample Description Location MIB Geosmin Lake Pleasant (April) Eplimnion <2.0 <2.0 Lake Pleasant (April) 2.1 <2.0 Verde River @ Beeline <2.0 <2.0 Bartlett Reservoir Epilimnion 4.6 5.5 Bartlett Reservoir Epi-near dock 3.5 4.8 Bartlett Reservoir <2.0 <2.0 Salt River @ BluePt Bridge <2.0 18.5 Saguaro Lake Epilimnion <2.0 383.8 Saguaro Lake Epi - Duplicate <2.0 378.1 Saguaro Lake Epi-near dock <2.0 445.6 Saguaro Lake <2.0 21.3 Lake Havasu (April) <2.0 2.7 Verde River at Tangle Creek (April) <2.0 2.7 Roosevelt at Salt River Inlet (April) <2.0 2.1 Table 4 - Quarterly Lake 9
Sampling - May 8-9, 2018 Sample Description Site Location MIB Geosmin Roosevelt Lake Site 1A Eplimnion 2.2 17.7 Roosevelt Lake Site 1B <2.0 2.8 Roosevelt Lake Site 2A Eplimnion 2.1 3.6 Roosevelt Lake Site 2B <2.0 <2.0 Apache Lake Site 1A Eplimnion <2.0 27.7 Apache Lake Site 1B <2.0 9.3 Apache Lake Site 2A Eplimnion <2.0 40.6 Apache Lake Site 2B <2.0 4.4 Canyon Lake Site 1A Eplimnion <2.0 <2.0 Canyon Lake Site 1B <2.0 73.8 Canyon Lake Site 2A Eplimnion <2.0 13.2 Canyon Lake Site 2B <2.0 34.2 10