U.S.
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Water-Resources Investigations Report 03-4116
Prepared
in cooperation with
National Park Service
By Donna Belval
Ebner, Donald S. Cherry, and Rebecca J. Currie
A study was done of the effects of a closed
landfill on the quality of water and streambed sediment and the benthic
macroinvertebrate community of an unnamed stream and its tributary that flow
through Blue Ridge Parkway lands in
west-central Virginia. The primary water source for the tributary is a 4-inch
polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe that protrudes
from the slope at the base of the embankment bordering the landfill. An unusual
expanse of precipitate was observed in
the stream near the PVC pipe. Stream discharge was measured and water and
streambed sediment samples were
collected at a nearby reference site and at three sites downstream of the
landfill in April and September 1999. Water
samples were analyzed for major ions, nitrate, total and dissolved metals, total
dissolved solids, total organic carbon,
and volatile and semivolatile organic compounds, including organochlorine
pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls
(PCBs). Streambed sediment samples were analyzed for total metals, total organic
carbon, percent moisture, and volatile
and semivolatile organic compounds, including organochlorine pesticides and
PCBs.
The benthic macroinvertebrate community
within the stream channel also was sampled at the four chemical sampling
sites and at one additional site in April and September. Each of the five sites
was assessed for physical habitat quality.
Water collected periodically at the PVC pipe discharge between November 1998 and
November 1999 was used to conduct
48-hour acute and 7-day chronic toxicity tests using selected laboratory test
organisms. Two 10-day chronic toxicity tests
of streambed sediments collected near the discharge pipe also were conducted.
Analyses showed that organic and inorganic
constituents in water from beneath the landfill were discharged into the
sampled tributary. In April, 79 percent of inorganic constituents detected in
water had their highest concentrations at the
site closest to the landfill; at the same site, 59 percent of inorganic
constituents detected in streambed sediments were at
their lowest concentration. The low dissolved-oxygen concentration and
relatively low pH in ground water from beneath the
landfill probably had a direct effect on the solubility of metals and other
constituents, resulting in the high concentration of
inorganic constituents in water, low concentration in sediment, and the
development of the precipitate. Most constituents in
water in April were progressively lower in concentration from the landfill site
downstream. The highest concentrations for 59
percent of constituents detected in sediment were at the farthest downstream
site, suggesting that the inorganic constituents
came out of solution as the stream water was exposed to the atmosphere. In
September, 52 percent of inorganic constituents
detected in water were at their highest concentrations at the site nearest the
landfill. Of inorganic constituents detected in
streambed sediments in September, 60 percent were at their highest
concentrations near the landfill. A storm that occurred a
few days prior to the September sampling probably affected the preceding
steady-state conditions and the distribution of
constituents in sediment along the stream. Concentrations of many inorganic
constituents in water remained elevated at the
farthest downstream site in comparison to the reference site in April and
September, indicating that concentrations did not
return to background concentrations. In April and September, most of the 17
organic compounds detected in water, including
volatile organic and semivolatile organic compounds, were collected in samples
near the landfill, and most concentrations were
below their respective reporting limits. Probably because of their volatility,
few organic compounds were detected at sites
downstream of that site. A total of 17 discrete organic compounds were detected
in sediment samples in either April or
September, including trichloroethene and tetrachloroethene along with their
degradation products, 1, 1-dichloroethane and
1,2-dichloroethene; and 4, 4' DDT.
All benthic macroinvertebrate community
metrics indicated significantly better conditions at the reference site in
comparison to
the site nearest the landfill. At the reference site and at three other sites,
the taxa collected included several macroinvertebrates
that would normally be found under good stream-quality conditions; those
collected at the site near the landfill comprised primarily
very tolerant macroinvertebrates, including snails, oligochaetes, and a
pollution-tolerant dipteran.
The reaction of test organisms to samples of
the water discharged from the PVC pipe showed acute toxicity in 10 out of 11
independent tests from November 1998 to November 1999. Organism mortality was
observed in every acute test at 100-percent
sample strength, and a 48-hr LC50 (the lethal concentration that
causes 50-percent mortality of the test organisms after a defined
period of exposure) was exceeded 89 percent of the time. Chronic
toxicological impairment was reported for Ceriodaphnia dubia
with survival and reproduction impaired at 50- and 25-percent concentration
of the sample water, respectively. No impairment
occurred at 12.5-percent concentration. Overall, the three most notable factors
indicating stressed and (or) impacted conditions in
the stream near the landfill consisted of (1) the layer of fine metal oxide
precipitate in the streambed at and below the site nearest
the landfill; (2) the significantly depressed numbers of benthic
macroinvertebrate fauna, particularly of sensitive or pollution-intolerant
groups; and (3) the consistent acute toxicity of water to Ceriodaphnia dubia.
CONTENTS
Abstract
Introduction
Study Design and Methods
Site selection
Water chemistry
Streambed sediment chemistry
Ecological sampling and toxicity testing
Quality
assurance and quality control
Water
and Streambed Sediment Quality
Ecotoxicology
Benthic macroinvertebrates
Habitat assessment
Field measurements
Water column toxicity testing
Sediment toxicity testing
Summary
and Conclusions
References Cited
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