Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

The Republican, The Platte And Pumpkin Creek: Current Nebraska Water Policy Issues, J. David Aiken

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

Potential conflicts between surface water users and ground water users are posing perplexing challenges to Nebraska policy makers. Surface water law is the rule of priority, "first in time is first in right," as administered by the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Ground water is primarily the rule of correlative rights, as administered by local natural resources districts (NRDs). Traditionally ground water irrigators have been subject to few restrictions on drilling new wells or how much water could be used (except in the Upper Republican NRD in southwest Nebraska). Now the DNR can ban new wells in overappropriated and …

Occurrence Of Sulfonamide Antimicrobials In Private Water Wells In Washington County, Idaho, Usa, Angela L. Batt, Daniel D. Snow, Diana S. Aga

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

County (Weiser, Idaho) were collected to assess the impact of a nearby confined animal feeding operation (CAFO) on the quality of the local groundwater. All six samples were found contaminated by two veterinary antimicrobials, sulfamethazine (at concentrations from 0.076 to 0.22 μg/l) and sulfadimethoxine (at concentrations from 0.046 to 0.068 μg/l). These groundwater samples also contained elevated concentrations of nitrate and ammonium. Three of the sampled wells have nitrate levels that exceeded the maximum contaminant level set by the US Environmental Protection Agency for drinking water, with nitrate concentration as high as 39.1 mg/l. All but one well showed nitrate, …

Anaerobic Biodegradation Of Rdx And Tce: Single- And Dual-Contaminant Batch Tests, Travis S. M. Young, Matthew C. Morley, Daniel D. Snow

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

Several sites in the United States have groundwater contaminated with mixtures of high explosives and chlorinated solvents. This research examined the ability of two microbial cultures (anaerobic sludge and a facultative enrichment culture) to biodegrade single- and dual-contaminant mixtures of trichloroethene (TCE) and hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) under anaerobic conditions. In single component batch tests, both cultures degraded 0.6–1 mg RDX/L and its nitroso metabolites to below detection limits in <7 days. During initial 9-day TCE biodegradation tests, the anaerobic sludge did not transform TCE, whereas the facultative culture transformed approximately 10% of the initial 1.4 mg TCE/L. Prior to dual-contaminant batch tests, both cultures were grown in the presence of TCE. Subsequently, both acclimated cultures rapidly biodegraded mixtures of RDX and TCE. Both cultures degraded RDX and RDX-nitroso compounds to below detection limits in <4 days. In the same tests, TCE-acclimated anaerobic sludge converted TCE primarily to cis-dichloroethene (cis-DCE), while the acclimated facultative culture produced cis-DCE and other chlorinated metabolites. These preliminary results demonstrate that anaerobic bioremediation may be part of a feasible groundwater remediation …

Emerging Chemicals And Analytical Methods (2006), Matthew C. Morley, Daniel D. Snow, Chad Cecrle, Patrick Denning, Lindsey Miller

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

This review summarizes peer-reviewed literature related to analysis, occurrence, and fate of emerging chemical contaminants in the water environment. The review focuses on the following broad categories of emerging contaminants: pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs); endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs), including hormones, surfactants, and plasticizers; and brominated flame retardants (BFRs). Although many of the cited articles refer to multiple types of contaminants (particularly hormones and pharmaceuticals), each article is summarized in only one section. Articles pertaining to specific treatment methods, risk assessments, or biological effects are not included in this review, and articles covering disinfection byproducts (DBPs), fluorinated compounds, and …

Emerging Chemicals And Analytical Methods (2005), Matthew C. Morley, Daniel D. Snow, Vince Kuppig

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

Emerging contaminants in the water environment continues to be a strong research focus, as evidenced by the abundance of material published during 2004. This review summarizes peer-reviewed literature pertinent to the field of environmental engineering and science and related to analysis, occurrence, and fate of emerging chemical contaminants in the water environment, focusing on the following broad categories of emerging organic contaminants: antibiotics and pharmaceuticals; personal care products ingredients (PCPIs), endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs), halogenated compounds (particularly brominated and fluorinated compounds), and disinfection byproducts (DBPs). To maintain this focus, articles pertaining specifically to human and ecological toxicity, bioconcentration or bioaccumulation, …

Remediating Rdx-Contaminated Ground Water With Permanganate: Laboratory Investigations For The Pantex Perched Aquifer, M. L. Adam, Steven Comfort, Matthew C. Morley, Daniel D. Snow

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

Ground water beneath the U.S. Department of Energy Pantex Plant is contaminated with the high explosive RDX (hexahydro-1,3,5- trinitro-1,3,5 triazine). The USDOE Innovative Treatment and Remediation Demonstration (ITRD) program identified in situ oxidation by permanganate as a technology fit for further investigation. We evaluated the efficacy of KMnO₄ to transform and mineralize RDX by determining degradation kinetics and carbon mass balances using ¹⁴C-RDX. Aqueous RDX solutions (2–5 mg L^–1) and RDX-contaminated slurries (50% solids, w/v) were treated with KMnO₄ at 1000, 2000, 4000, and 20,000 mg L^–1. Treating an aqueous RDX solution of …

Herbicide Loading To Shallow Ground Water Beneath Nebraska’S Management Systems Evaluation Area, Roy F. Spalding, Darrell G. Watts, Daniel D. Snow, David A. Cassada, Mary E. Exner, James S. Schepers

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

Better management practices can counter deterioration of ground water quality. From 1991 through 1996 the influence of improved irrigation practices on ground water pesticide contamination was assessed at the Nebraska Management SystemsEvaluation Area. Three 13.4-ha corn (Zea mays L.) fields were studied: a conventional furrow-irrigated field, a surge-irrigated field and a center pivot–irrigated field, and a center pivot–irrigated alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) field. The corn fields received one identical banded application of Bicep (atrazine [6-chloro-N-ethyl-N’-(1-methylethyl)-1,3,5-triazine-2,4,-diamine] _ metolachlor [2-chloro-N-(2-ethyl-6-methylphenyl)-N-(2-methoxy-1-methylethyl) acetamide]) annually; the alfalfa field was untreated. Ground water samples were collected …

Herbicides In Ground Water Beneath Nebraska’S Management Systems Evaluation Area, Roy F. Spalding, Mary E. Exner, Daniel D. Snow, David A. Cassada, Mark E. Burbach, Stephen J. Monson

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

Profiles of ground water pesticide concentrations beneath the Nebraska Management Systems Evaluation Area (MSEA) describe the effect of 20 years of pesticide usage on ground water in the central Platte Valley of Nebraska. During the 6-yr (1991–1996) study, 14 pesticides and their transformation products were detected in 7848 ground water samples from the unconfined water table aquifer. Triazine and acetamide herbicides applied on the site and their transformation products had the highest frequencies of detection. Atrazine [6-chloro-N-ethyl-N’-(1-methylethyl)-1,3,5-triazine-2,4,-diamine] concentrations decreased with depth and ground water age determined with ³H/³He dating techniques. Assuming equivalent atrazine …

Sprinkler Irrigation: A Volatile Organic Compound Remediation Alternative, Roy F. Spalding, Mark E. Burbach, Mary Exner Spalding, Leyla Parra-Vicary, Dennis R. Alexander

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

Sprinkler irrigation has the potential not only to cheaply and effectively remove volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from contaminated ground water but also use the water beneficially and eliminate the costly disposal of both the remediated water and the contaminants. Removal of VOCs from water involves volatilization, which releases the VOCs from the liquid phase to the gaseous phase.

A conventionally designed sprinkler irrigation system was tested near Hastings, Nebraska, to assess its efficacy for removing VOCs in pumped ground water. VOCs in the ground water include 7,1,2-trichloroethylene( TCE), ethylene dibromide (EDB), 1,1,1-trichloroethane (TCA), and carbon tetrachloride (CT). Factors possibly influencing …

Atrazine In A Stream-Aquifer System: Transport Of Atrazine And Its Environmental Impact Near Ashland, Nebraska, Darryl A. Blum, James D. Carr, Ralph K. Davis, Darryll T. Pederson

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

The municipal wellfield for Lincoln, Nebraska, consists of 44 wells located adjacent to the Platte River near Ashland, Nebraska. The herbicide atrazine was monitored in the river and two transects of monitoring wells. The amount of atrazine transported down the Platte River in 1989, 1990, and 1991 was shown to increase each year. Induced recharge from the Platte River results in movement of atrazine from the river into the aquifer. A 21-day lag time was determined for the movement of atrazine from the river to a transect of monitoring wells 10 feet west of the bank. The role that colloids …