Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Patterns And Sources Of Anthropogenic Contaminants In The Otter Creek Watershed, Madison County, Kentucky, Elijah J. Wolfe

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Stream systems are often affected by anthropogenic activities that affect water quality and stream ecosystems. Land use typically determines the type and quantity of anthropogenic contaminants entering natural waters. The Otter Creek watershed (170 km²; Madison County, Kentucky) consists predominantly of pasture and rural housing, with some cropland. The basin also receives runoff from the town of Richmond and a sewage treatment plant operates within the watershed. We measured concentrations of nutrients (phosphate, ammonium, nitrate) and fecal microbes to discover levels of anthropogenic contaminants affecting water quality and to identify contaminant sources.

We sampled 4 times in the …

Patterns And Sources Of Anthropogenic Contaminants In The Otter Creek Watershed, Madison County, Kentucky, Elijah D. Wolfe, Walter S. Borowski, Jacob L. Robin

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Stream systems are often affected by anthropogenic contaminants that affect water quality and stream ecosystems. Land use determines the type and quantity of contaminants present in natural waters. The Otter Creek watershed (170 km²; Madison County, Kentucky) consists predominantly of pasture and rural housing, with some cropland. The basin also receives runoff from the town of Richmond and a sewage treatment plant operates within the watershed. We measured concentrations of nutrients (phosphate, ammonium, nitrate) and fecal microbes to discover levels of anthropogenic contaminants affecting water quality and to identify contaminant sources.

We sampled 4 times in the summer …

Patterns Of Anthropogenic Nutrient Contaminants In The Otter Creek Watershed, Madison County, Kentucky, Elijah D. Wolfe, Walter S. Borowski, Jacob L. Robin

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

We measured nutrient concentrations within the Otter Creek watershed (Madison County, Kentucky) to: (1) discover levels of anthropogenic contaminants affecting the water quality; (2) compare these measurements to a national data set; and (3) identify nutrient sources. The watershed mainly drains rural land characterized by cattle grazing, but also drains the town of Richmond. We sampled throughout the watershed to gain a representative perspective of nutrient levels and specifically targeted localities of suspected anthropogenic nutrient sources. Water samples were passed through a 0.45 mm filter, placed in pre-acidified vials, and measured one to two days after collection. Nutrients – ammonium, …

Sources Of Nutrient And Escherichia Coli Contamination Within The Otter Creek Watershed, Madison County, Kentucky, Nathaniel C. Crockett, Walter S. Borowski

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

The Otter Creek watershed exhibits dissolved nutrient (ammonium, NH₄; nitrate, NO₃; phosphate, PO₄) and Escherichia coli contamination that compromises its water quality. The watershed covers a substantial portion of Madison County and consists of Lake Reba, Dreaming Creek, and east and west forks, all of which enter the trunk of Otter Creek before flowing into the Kentucky River. Suspected contaminate sources include leaky sewage system pipes, runoff from pasture land, and septic system leachate. We collected 330 water samples on three occasions during summer 2014 to determine the extent and sources of contamination. Nutrients …

Sources Of Nutrient And Fecal Microbe Pollution In Otter Creek, Madison County, Kentucky, Kandice L. Smith, Walter S. Borowski

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

We measured nutrient (nitrate, ammonium, phosphate) and fecal microbe concentrations in surface waters of the Otter Creek watershed, Madison County, Kentucky to access sources of these contaminants. The watershed is approximately 12.5 miles long covering ~169 km² (41,832 acres). The watershed includes East Fork, West Fork, and Dreaming Creek, all tributaries to the main trunk of Otter Creek. The upper portion of the main trunk and Dreaming Creek drain urban areas of Richmond, but 85% of total watershed area is agricultural land, used mainly for grazing cattle. Rural residential areas and woodlands also occur.

The principle contaminants are nutrients …

Point Source And Non-Point Source Pollution In A Secondary Stream: Nutrient Concentration And Fecal Microbe Counts In Tates Creek, Madison County, Kentucky, Walter S. Borowski, Krisopher H. Carroll, Bethany Gabbard

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Nutrient concentration and fecal microbe counts are elevated in Tates Creek, a stream that emanates from the town of Richmond, KY, passes by a conventional sewage treatment plant that discharges into the stream, and winds for 13 miles through pastureland and a series of small communities on septic systems before entering the Kentucky River. The sewage treatment plant shut-down operations during our study and we monitored dissolved nutrients (ammonium, nitrate, and phosphate), fecal microbes (total coliform and Escherichia coli), and stream biota before and after treatment operations ceased. Sampling occurred 4 times in both 2011 and 2012 between May …

Nutrient And Fecal Microbe Assessment Of The Water Quality Of Tates Creek, Madison County, Kentucky, Walter S. Borowski, Kristopher H. Carroll

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Tates Creek is a significant tributary to the Kentucky River that has shown high levels of microbial and nutrient pollution in the past (Kentucky River Watershed Watch). We sampled the waters of Tates Creek more comprehensively by collecting stream water at 25 stations along its 13-mile length from its headwaters to the Kentucky River. Most samples were collected at the confluence of major tributaries to also access the water quality of tributary streams. Samples were collected four times between May and August 2011 during dry periods as well as immediately after a rainfall event. We measured ammonium (NH₄^{+ …}

Nutrient And Fecal Microbe Assessment Of The Water Quality Of Tates Creek, Madison County, Kentucky, Krisopher H. Carroll, Walter S. Borowski

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Tates Creek is a significant tributary to the Kentucky River that has shown high levels of microbial and nutrient pollution. We sampled the waters of Tates Creek comprehensively by occupying 25 stations along its 13-mile length, collecting stream water at the confluence of major tributaries from its headwaters to the Kentucky River. Samples were collected four times between May and August 2011 during dry periods as well as immediately after rainfall events.

We measured ammonium (NH₄⁺), nitrate (NO₃^-) and phosphate (PO₄^-) concentrations using colorimetry. Microbial samples were measured for total coliform …

Determination Of Caffeine As A Marker For Septic Tank Contamination Of Wilgreen Lake, Rosemary Onjiko, Susan Godbey, Walter S. Borowski, Darrin Smith, Lori Wilson

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Wilgreen Lake in Richmond, Kentucky, has been listed by both the state and the Environmental Protection Agency as an “impaired” lake due to excess nutrients, which may be in part contributed by domestic septic systems. Caffeine can be used as an anthropogenic marker to estimate the contribution of septic tank effluent to the lake. We have modified existing analytical methods to produce a viable method for the determination of caffeine in environmental water samples and applied the method to water samples collected from Wilgreen Lake. The modified method allows determination of caffeine in a concentration range of 75 to 10,000 …

Using E. Coli And Bacteroides Distribution And Abundance In A Eutrophic Lake As A Tracer For Nutrient Inputs, Wilgreen Lake, Madison County, Kentucky, Theresa A. Aguiar, Walter S. Borowski, Alice C. Layton, Larry Mckay

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Wilgreen Lake is a eutrophic lake that has been listed on the EPA’s 303d list as nutrient impaired. Potential sources of this impairment are likely from humans, cattle manure, and fertilizers. We suspect that the majority of nutrients originate from human sources, namely from septic tank effluent emanating from key housing developments ringing the lakeshore. We test our hypothesis with conventional microbial assays (Escherichia coli) and RT-PCR techniques (Bacteroides).

We took water samples at 19 sampling locations on 4 occasions, and measured the abundance of Escherichia coli using IDEXX methods. Corresponding sub-samples slated for potential PCR …

Fecal Microbe Distribution And Abundance Used As A Possible Proxy For Nutrient Source Identification In Eutrophic Wilgreen Lake, Madison County, Kentucky, Theresa A. Aguiar, Walter S. Borowski

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Wilgreen Lake is a eutrophic lake that has been listed on the EPA’s 303d list as nutrient impaired. Potential sources of this impairment are from humans, cattle manure and fertilizers. We suspect that the majority of nutrients originate from human sources. As a possible proxy for nutrient input, we test our hypothesis by examining fecal microbe distribution and abundance in the lake.

We took water samples at 19 sampling locations on 4 occasions. Sampling spanned 26 June to 15 August with the last 3 sampling events occurring at roughly two-week intervals. These samples were then processed using IDEXX methods, which …