coldwater conference poster revamp1

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RESEARCH POSTER PRESENTATION DESIGN © 2011 www.PosterPresentations.com Abstract Materials and Methods RESULTS Results (continued) FUTURE DIRECTIONS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS REFERENCES CONCLUSONS Analysis of changes in water quality of the Allegheny River, Pennsylvania and its tributaries Emily Mashuda, Beth Dakin, Brady Porter [email protected] Abandoned Mine Drainage Most sources of AMD today are long abandoned mine sites from when regulations were less strict (PAFBC) can stress and kill fish, especially the young and developing (PAFBC) Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracking) An unconventional process to collect natural gas trapped in shale rock plays like the Marcellus Chapman EC, et al. (2012) Geochemical and strontium isotope characterization of produced waters from Marcellus Shale natural gas extraction. Environmental Science and Technology 46:3545–3553. Davis, S.N., Whittemore, D.O., Fabryka-Martin, J. (1998). Uses of chloride/bromide ratios in studies of potable water. Ground Water 36, 338–350. Evans, J. S., & Kiesecker, J. M. (2014). Shale Gas, Wind and Water: Assessing the Potential Cumulative Impacts of Energy Development on Ecosystem Services within the Marcellus Play. Plos ONE, 9(2), 1-9. PA Fish and Boat Commission (2015). The Basics of Water Pollution in Pennsylvania. Hammer, Rebecca and Jeanne VanBriesen. (2012). In Fracking’s Wake: New Rules are Needed to Protect Our Health and Environment from Contaminated Wastewater. Natural Resource Defense Council. Hopey, Don and Sean D. Hamill. (2011). DEP asks drillers to stop disposing wastewater at plants. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. [News Article] Koryak, Michael; Stafford, Linda J ; Reilly, Rosemary J. Declining intensity of Acid Mine Drainage in the Northern Appalachian Bituminous Coal Fields: Major Allegheny River Tributaries. Journal of the American Water Resources Association 40.3 (Jun 2004): 677-689. PA Fish and Boat Commission . (2016). The Basics of Water Pollution in Pennsylvania. Retrieved from: http://www.fish.state.pa.us/education/catalog/waterpollutionpa.pdf Tarr, Joel A. (2003). Devastation and Renewal: An Environmental History of Pittsburgh and its Region. University of Pittsburgh Press. VanBriesen, Jeanne M. (2011). Potential Drinking Water effects of Bromide Discharges from Coal-Fired Electric Power Plants. Retrieved from: http://www3.epa.gov/region1/npdes/merrimackstation/pdfs/Comments2RevisedDraftPermit/VanBriesenReport.pdf Vengosh, Avner, et al. (2014). A Critical Review of the Risks to Water Resources from Unconventional Shale Gas Development and Hydraulic Fracturing in the United States. Environmental Science and Technology, 48(15); 8334-8348. Warner, et al. (2013). Impacts of Shale Gas Wastewater Disposal on Water Quality in Western Pennsylvania. Environmental Science and Technology, 47(20): pp11849-11857. Wilson, Jessica M. (2013). Challenges for Drinking Water Plants from Energy Extraction Activities. CMU Dissertation, paper 254. DUQUESNE UNIVERSIT Y BAYER SCHOOL OF NATURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES Taken By: USGS Pittsburgh in the 1950s Taken By: The Atlantic Pittsburgh in 2015 Taken By: WFMJ Concentration Ratios Ratios between parameters do not change due to discharge and help to distinguish between sources of pollution A special thanks to the Colcom Foundation for their funding of the 3RQ research. Thank you to the West Virginia Water Research Institute and the 3 Rivers QUEST program. Thank you to Dr. Stanley Kabala and Dr. John Stolz for their involvement in the program. And thank you to Maria Nagle, Lauren Drumm, Dr. Maria Wheeler, and Oliver Dugas for their contributions to the data collection. Kiski Watershed is highly impacted by industrial activities in the region Ca/Sr: Ca/Mg and Br/Cl:SO 4 /Cl reflect high Sr and Br values, especially in Blacklick A comparison between Blacklick and Loyalhanna shows elevated Br/Cl and SO 4 /Cl ratios in Blacklick • Since 2013, the Br/Cl ratio in Blacklick has not changed, but the SO 4 /Cl ratio has decreased May suggest that Blacklick is still impacted by Marcellus treated water, despite 2011 DEP request to stop the release • Other reports from Warner, et al. (2013) and Vengosh, et al. (2014) also show elevated Br levels, which may suggest the continued disposal of shale gas wastewater to streams in PA Sites downstream of Blacklick reflects trend of increased Br and Sr compared to inland water values, Loyalhanna, and Con-Seward • Increased Br and Sr at Conemaugh Tunnelton, downstream of Blacklick input, compared to upstream Conemaugh Seward – A study by States, et al. (2013) reported an increase in brominated THMs associated with elevated bromide concentrations in the Allegheny River The Allegheny River supplies water to over one million people in the Pittsburgh area, and yet its use is threatened by our economic and industrial activities. As a part of 3 Rivers QUEST(Quality Useful Environmental Study Teams), a comprehensive water quality monitoring and reporting program, samples were collected biweekly from January 2013 to July 2015 from 14 sites on the Lower Allegheny River and its tributaries. Several of the measured parameters have established levels for safe drinking water quality. Chemical parameters and ratios serve as indicators for specific types of pollution including abandoned mine drainage (AMD), road salt runoff, and produced water from hydraulic fracturing for natural gas extraction. This study focuses on the Kiskiminetas River system (Kiski) and its impacts on the Allegheny River Mainstem. The Kiski system has been impacted by both AMD and Marcellus produced water. Blacklick Creek, a tributary of the Kiski that is impacted by AMD and produced water, has high levels of Strontium and Bromide making it similar to Marcellus treated water. Each site downstream of the Blacklick input reflects a similar trend in these parameters. The differences between sites shows the water quality is impacted. Background Sites selected for proximity to pollution contributors, such as AMD and brine water treatment facilities, and proximity to USGS gage stations • Some sites changed between 2013 and 2014 to better capture effects on the entire watershed 2 researchers from Duquesne collected samples biweekly from 14 sites on Allegheny and its tributaries Collected 1000 mL of unfiltered stream water and 250mL for on-site manual filtration Recorded air and water temperature, barometric pressure, dissolved oxygen, weather, precipitation, specific conductance, and pH Stream discharge data was provided by the USGS website from monitoring gages near each site Samples sent to Pace Analytical labs for analysis Levels of dissolved metals (calcium, magnesium, aluminum, sodium, manganese, strontium, and iron), alkalinity, total dissolved solids (TDS), bromide, chloride, and sulfate are tested All data is entered into the 3RQ database Historical Data was obtained from the EPA STORET database. Allegheny River at L&D2 Blacklick Creek in Josephine Filtered and unfiltered samples from C37 Br/Cl and SO 4 /Cl ratios over time Blacklick has significantly higher Br:Cl ratio than Loyalhanna Significant difference in Br:Cl between Conemaugh River upstream of Blacklick input (Seward) and downstream (Tunnelton) Only small reductions in Br in Conemaugh Tunnelton since 2009 SO 4 /Cl ratio has decreased at all sites Has decreased at both Blacklick and Loyalhanna since 2013 Br:Cl ratio in Blacklick has not decreased since 2013 Since concentrations of parameters are dependent on the stream discharge, where a higher flow dilutes the concentration, it will be beneficial to look at more ratios between concentrations to continue to look for separation to determine the greatest source of pollution at each site. It will also be beneficial to analyze the data according to the discharge where able. In the future, we will continue to look at more of the Allegheny watershed and the impacts throughout to determine the major pollution threats and the potential impacts on the water quality and habitat quality. Taken by: US EPA Br/Cl:SO 4 /Cl Ratio Bromide (Br) is a good trace element (Wilson, 2013) very low concentrations in freshwater systems deep brines become enriched in Br Br is also important because can be transformed to produce carcinogenic Trihalomethanes in disinfection process (Vengosh, 2014) Br/Cl : SO 4 /Cl in Kiski System Expect: (Wilson, 2013) Sites impacted by fracking water Higher Br/Cl, lower SO 4 /Cl AMD impacted sites- elevated SO 4 /Cl Results: All sites except Loyalhanna and Con-Seward trend towards higher Br/Cl ratios compared to expected inland surface water values Most sites have elevated SO 4 /Cl ratio compared to inland surface water values •Known history of AMD impact (Koryak, 2004) Potential influence from both AMD and fracking produced water Elevat ed bromid e stronti um sodiu m calci um chlori de TDS bariu m Fracking Impacts on Surface water (Evans, 2014) Impac ts Elevat ed acidit y/ lowers pH Elevat ed iron Elevated manganes e Elevate d aluminu m Elevat ed sulfat e (SO 4 ) Elevate d TDS AMD Impacts on Surface Water (Warner, 2013) Water acquisit ion Depletion of freshwater supplies Chemica l Mixing Use high concentrations of chemicals Spills of fracking chemicals Well Injecti on Injection of water, chemicals, and sand at high pressures to fracture rock and release oil and gas Flowback and produced water High concentrations of harmful chemicals Storage on site in open air pits and tanks Leaks of produced water wastewa ter treatme nt and disposa l Transport to facilities- spills and leaks Discharge from wastewater facilities Use as ice control on roads The process and environmental concerns Major Activity Affecting Water Quality Calcium/Strontium to calcium/magnesium ratios between sources of water Stolz Lab, 2015 Ca/Sr: Ca/Mg ratios between sources of water •Marcellus produced water (MSC) has a signature high in strontium compared to calcium • AMD and typical US waterways have a signature with low strontium compared to calcium Ca/Sr: Ca/Mg in Kiski System •The current ratios for Blacklick (black) reflects a trend toward what is expected for Marcellus produced water •Compared to historic ratios from Blacklick (1986-1988), which show a different composition with low strontium •There is a general trend moving from Blacklick; those that follow its input have a lower Ca/Sr ratio than Loyalhanna (orange) and Conemaugh at Seward (gray), to which Blacklick does not contribute

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Page 1: coldwater conference poster revamp1

RESEARCH POSTER PRESENTATION DESIGN © 2011

www.PosterPresentations.com

Abstract Materials and Methods

RESULTS Results (continued)

FUTURE DIRECTIONS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

REFERENCES

CONCLUSONS

Analysis of changes in water quality of the Allegheny River, Pennsylvania and its tributaries

Emily Mashuda, Beth Dakin, Brady [email protected]

Abandoned Mine Drainage • Most sources of AMD today are long abandoned mine sites from when regulations were less strict (PAFBC)

• can stress and kill fish, especially the young and developing (PAFBC)

Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracking) An unconventional process to collect natural gas trapped in shale rock plays like the Marcellus

Chapman EC, et al. (2012) Geochemical and strontium isotope characterization of produced waters from Marcellus Shale natural gas extraction. Environmental Science and Technology 46:3545–3553.Davis, S.N., Whittemore, D.O., Fabryka-Martin, J. (1998). Uses of chloride/bromide ratios in studies of potable water. Ground Water 36, 338–350.Evans, J. S., & Kiesecker, J. M. (2014). Shale Gas, Wind and Water: Assessing the Potential Cumulative Impacts of Energy Development on Ecosystem

Services within the Marcellus Play. Plos ONE, 9(2), 1-9. PA Fish and Boat Commission (2015). The Basics of Water Pollution in Pennsylvania. Hammer, Rebecca and Jeanne VanBriesen. (2012). In Fracking’s Wake: New Rules are Needed to Protect Our Health and Environment from Contaminated

Wastewater. Natural Resource Defense Council. Hopey, Don and Sean D. Hamill. (2011). DEP asks drillers to stop disposing wastewater at plants. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. [News Article]Koryak, Michael; Stafford, Linda J ; Reilly, Rosemary J. Declining intensity of Acid Mine Drainage in the Northern Appalachian Bituminous Coal Fields:

Major Allegheny River Tributaries. Journal of the American Water Resources Association 40.3 (Jun 2004): 677-689.PA Fish and Boat Commission . (2016). The Basics of Water Pollution in Pennsylvania. Retrieved from: http://www.fish.state.pa.us/education/catalog/waterpollutionpa.pdf Tarr, Joel A. (2003). Devastation and Renewal: An Environmental History of Pittsburgh and its Region. University of Pittsburgh Press.VanBriesen, Jeanne M. (2011). Potential Drinking Water effects of Bromide Discharges from Coal-Fired Electric Power Plants. Retrieved from: http://www3.epa.gov/region1/npdes/merrimackstation/pdfs/Comments2RevisedDraftPermit/VanBriesenReport.pdf Vengosh, Avner, et al. (2014). A Critical Review of the Risks to Water Resources from Unconventional Shale Gas Development and Hydraulic Fracturing

in the United States. Environmental Science and Technology, 48(15); 8334-8348. Warner, et al. (2013). Impacts of Shale Gas Wastewater Disposal on Water Quality in Western Pennsylvania. Environmental Science and Technology,

47(20): pp11849-11857. Wilson, Jessica M. (2013). Challenges for Drinking Water Plants from Energy Extraction Activities. CMU Dissertation, paper 254.

DUQUESNEUNIVERSITYBAYER SCHOOL OF NATURAL AND

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Taken By: USGSPittsburgh in the 1950sTaken By: The Atlantic

Pittsburgh in 2015Taken By: WFMJ

Concentration Ratios• Ratios between parameters do not change due to discharge and

help to distinguish between sources of pollution

A special thanks to the Colcom Foundation for their funding of the 3RQ research. Thank you to the West Virginia Water Research Institute and the 3 Rivers QUEST program. Thank you to Dr. Stanley Kabala and Dr. John Stolz for their involvement in the program. And thank you to Maria Nagle, Lauren Drumm, Dr. Maria Wheeler, and Oliver Dugas for their contributions to the data collection.

Kiski Watershed is highly impacted by industrial activities in the region• Ca/Sr: Ca/Mg and Br/Cl:SO4/Cl reflect high Sr and Br values, especially

in Blacklick • A comparison between Blacklick and Loyalhanna shows elevated

Br/Cl and SO4/Cl ratios in Blacklick • Since 2013, the Br/Cl ratio in Blacklick has not changed, but the SO4/Cl

ratio has decreased• May suggest that Blacklick is still impacted by Marcellus treated

water, despite 2011 DEP request to stop the release• Other reports from Warner, et al. (2013) and Vengosh, et al. (2014)

also show elevated Br levels, which may suggest the continued disposal of shale gas wastewater to streams in PA

• Sites downstream of Blacklick reflects trend of increased Br and Sr compared to inland water values, Loyalhanna, and Con-Seward

• Increased Br and Sr at Conemaugh Tunnelton, downstream of Blacklick input, compared to upstream Conemaugh Seward

– A study by States, et al. (2013) reported an increase in brominated THMs associated with elevated bromide concentrations in the Allegheny River

The Allegheny River supplies water to over one million people in the Pittsburgh area, and yet its use is threatened by our economic and industrial activities. As a part of 3 Rivers QUEST(Quality Useful Environmental Study Teams), a comprehensive water quality monitoring and reporting program, samples were collected biweekly from January 2013 to July 2015 from 14 sites on the Lower Allegheny River and its tributaries. Several of the measured parameters have established levels for safe drinking water quality. Chemical parameters and ratios serve as indicators for specific types of pollution including abandoned mine drainage (AMD), road salt runoff, and produced water from hydraulic fracturing for natural gas extraction.

This study focuses on the Kiskiminetas River system (Kiski) and its impacts on the Allegheny River Mainstem. The Kiski system has been impacted by both AMD and Marcellus produced water. Blacklick Creek, a tributary of the Kiski that is impacted by AMD and produced water, has high levels of Strontium and Bromide making it similar to Marcellus treated water. Each site downstream of the Blacklick input reflects a similar trend in these parameters. The differences between sites shows the water quality is impacted.

Background

• Sites selected for proximity to pollution contributors, such as AMD and brine water treatment facilities, and proximity to USGS gage stations• Some sites changed between 2013 and 2014 to better capture

effects on the entire watershed• 2 researchers from Duquesne collected samples biweekly from 14

sites on Allegheny and its tributaries• Collected 1000 mL of unfiltered stream water and 250mL for on-site

manual filtration• Recorded air and water temperature, barometric pressure, dissolved

oxygen, weather, precipitation, specific conductance, and pH• Stream discharge data was provided by the USGS website from

monitoring gages near each site• Samples sent to Pace Analytical labs for analysis

• Levels of dissolved metals (calcium, magnesium, aluminum, sodium, manganese, strontium, and iron), alkalinity, total dissolved solids (TDS), bromide, chloride, and sulfate are tested

• All data is entered into the 3RQ database• Historical Data was obtained from the EPA STORET database.

Allegheny River at L&D2

Blacklick Creek in Josephine

Filtered and unfiltered samples from C37

Br/Cl and SO4/Cl ratios over time• Blacklick has significantly higher Br:Cl ratio than Loyalhanna• Significant difference in Br:Cl between Conemaugh River upstream

of Blacklick input (Seward) and downstream (Tunnelton)• Only small reductions in Br in Conemaugh Tunnelton since 2009• SO4/Cl ratio has decreased at all sites

• Has decreased at both Blacklick and Loyalhanna since 2013• Br:Cl ratio in Blacklick has not decreased since 2013

Since concentrations of parameters are dependent on the stream discharge, where a higher flow dilutes the concentration, it will be beneficial to look at more ratios between concentrations to continue to look for separation to determine the greatest source of pollution at each site. It will also be beneficial to analyze the data according to the discharge where able. In the future, we will continue to look at more of the Allegheny watershed and the impacts throughout to determine the major pollution threats and the potential impacts on the water quality and habitat quality.

Taken by: US EPA

Br/Cl:SO4/Cl Ratio• Bromide (Br) is a good trace element (Wilson, 2013)

• very low concentrations in freshwater systems• deep brines become enriched in Br

• Br is also important because can be transformed to produce carcinogenic Trihalomethanes in disinfection process (Vengosh, 2014)

Br/Cl : SO4/Cl in Kiski SystemExpect: (Wilson, 2013)• Sites impacted by fracking water

• Higher Br/Cl, lower SO4/Cl• AMD impacted sites- elevated SO4/Cl Results:• All sites except Loyalhanna and Con-Seward trend towards

higher Br/Cl ratios compared to expected inland surface water values

• Most sites have elevated SO4/Cl ratio compared to inland surface water values

•Known history of AMD impact (Koryak, 2004)• Potential influence from both AMD and fracking produced water

Elevated

bromide

strontium

sodium

calciumchloride

TDS

barium

Fracking Impacts on Surface water

(Evans, 2014)

Impacts

Elevated acidity/

lowers pHElevated

iron

Elevated manganese

Elevated aluminum

Elevated sulfate (SO4)

Elevated

TDS

AMD Impacts on Surface Water

(Warner, 2013)

Water acquisition

• Depletion of freshwater supplies

Chemical Mixing

• Use high concentrations of chemicals• Spills of fracking chemicals

Well Injection

• Injection of water, chemicals, and sand at high pressures to fracture rock and release oil and gas

Flowback and

produced water

• High concentrations of harmful chemicals • Storage on site in open air pits and tanks• Leaks of produced water

wastewater treatment

and disposal

• Transport to facilities- spills and leaks• Discharge from wastewater facilities• Use as ice control on roads

The process and environmental concerns

Major Activity Affecting Water Quality

Calcium/Strontium to calcium/magnesium ratios between sources of water

Stolz Lab, 2015

Ca/Sr: Ca/Mg ratios between sources of water• Marcellus produced water (MSC) has a signature high in

strontium compared to calcium• AMD and typical US waterways have a signature with low

strontium compared to calciumCa/Sr: Ca/Mg in Kiski System• The current ratios for Blacklick (black) reflects a trend toward what

is expected for Marcellus produced water• Compared to historic ratios from Blacklick (1986-1988), which

show a different composition with low strontium• There is a general trend moving from Blacklick; those that follow

its input have a lower Ca/Sr ratio than Loyalhanna (orange) and Conemaugh at Seward (gray), to which Blacklick does not contribute