Water Resource Management Commons^™

Task V Report- Estimation Of The Responsiveness Of Water Use To Changes In Rates: A Methodology And Final Estimates Using Kawc Data, G. Blomquist, W. Hoyt

KWRRI Research Reports

No abstract provided.

Fish Lateral Line Neurophysiological And Neurobehavioral Responses As A Sensitive Water Quality Monitoring System, Hong Y. Yan

KWRRI Research Reports

Cadmium is a heavy metal ion that can cause deleterious effects on aquatic animals. This study uses both electrophysiological recordings from lateral line nerves and videotaping of schooling behavior to investigate the effects of cadmium exposure on fish. The fathead minnows were exposed to cadmium at a concentration of 450 μg/1 over a 24-hr period. Extracellular recording with a silver hook electrode was used to record compound action potentials from the lateral lines of control and experimental fish. After a short time exposure (24 hr) to cadmium ions, all of the electrophysiological activities of the lateral line nerves were suppressed. …

Groundwater Study: Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Usa Georgetown, Kentucky, Gary Felton, Lyle V. A. Sendlein, Teri Dowdy, Daryl Hines

KWRRI Research Reports

An eighteen month study of the Toyota Motor Manufacturing (TMM) plant site and the surrounding area was undertaken. The basic charge for this project was to characterize the groundwater that is potentially impacted by the TMM plant site. This included occurrence, flow direction, and, if possible, velocity. Because the area is karstified (has sinkholes, springs, caves, etc.) surface water and groundwater are intimately connected and, hence, surface water was frequently an important component of this work.

Data from TMM construction plans and monitoring work done subsequent to construction were elicited from the various repositories within the TMM infrastructure. Aerial color …

Chemical And Biological Monitoring Of A Constructed Wetland On Jones Branch Treating Acid Mine Drainage, Barbara A. Ramey, George Chalfant, Jon A. Walker

KWRRI Research Reports

Acid mine drainage (AMD) from an abandoned underground coal mine in the Jones Branch watershed in McCreary County, KY, substantially reduced water quality in Jones Branch. Downstream from the mine seeps, the pH was routinely below 4.5 and concentrations of most heavy metals, especially iron, were elevated. A cattail wetland (1,022 m²) was constructed on Jones Branch in 1988-1989 to obviate the effects of the AMD. Monthly chemical monitoring was performed on the water from above, from below, from the inlet and outlet of the wetland, and from the 25 cells within the wetland. Based on chemical monitoring, …

Lead In Kentucky Soils, T. W. Struttmann, Lyle V. A. Sendlein, Dave Fletcher

KWRRI Research Reports

This study reviewed the literature on the occurrence of lead in soils and its relationship to waste oil tank leaks. Many studies have been conducted on the natural occurrence of lead in rocks, soils and water. Very low levels (0.001 mg/l to 0.01 mg/l) are found in surface and groundwater, variable levels are found in soils (from less that 10 ppm to as high as 700 ppm but more normally a high of 70 ppm), and the lead levels found in rocks range from 7 to 80 mg/kg.

Risk assessment calculations have been made by several individuals, also with variable …

Risk Assessment Plan For Petroleum Underground Storage Tanks In Kentucky, Part 1: Gasoline, Wesley J. Birge, M. D. Kercher, D. P. Keogh, L. C. Taylor

KWRRI Research Reports

This report consists of three appendix:

• I Risk Assessment Procedures and Calculations
• II BTEX Half-life Estimates in Air, Soil, Groundwater, and Surface Water
• III Environmental and Ecological Effects of BTEX

Cso Impact Assessment For Banklick Creek, Lindell E. Ormsbee, A. Reddy, S. Gruzesky, A. Jain

KWRRI Research Reports

This report contains the results of a combined sewer overflow (CSO) impact assessment study for Banklick Creek, which flows into the Licking River just south of Covington, Kentucky in Kenton County, Kentucky. This study is a component of a larger study that was conducted to determine the general impact of CSOs in the Northern Kentucky Region. The study was conducted through the Kentucky Water Resource Research Institute of the University of Kentucky and was funded by the Kentucky Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Cabinet through a grant from the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

A Survey Of Source And Finished Water Supplies For Giardia Cysts And Cryptosporidium Oocysts, Lisa Martin Sexton

KWRRI Research Reports

The occurrence of Giardia lamblia cysts and Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts was determined from source and treated drinking water supplies at selected water treatment facilities in Eastern Kentucky. Giardia and Cryptosporidium are two human protozoan parasites often found in water supplies due to fecal contamination. Characteristic cysts and oocysts were identified from large volume water samples, typically 100 gallons for raw samples and 1,000 gallons for finished water, using an indirect fluorescent antibody specific for Giardia and Cryptosporidium. Source water from four different water treatment facilities utilizing a reservoir, river, and two creeks were assayed. All sites exhibited Giardia lamblia …

Use Of Riparian Vegetated Filter Strips To Reduce Nitrate And Fecal Contamination In Surface Water, Mark S. Coyne, Robert L. Blevins, Rebecca A. Gilfillen

KWRRI Research Reports

This research assessed fecal bacteria trapping in surface runoff by grass filters and their potential to enhance NO₃^- removal via denitrification. Grass filter strips 9.0 m long trapped over 99% of the soil in surface runoff in 1992. Fecal coliform removal was less than 75%. In 1993, 9.0 and 4.5 m grass filter strips trapped 99 and 95% of the sediment, respectively. Fecal coliform trapping efficiency was 90% in 9.0 m grass filters and 75% in 4.5 m filters. Fecal streptococci trapping efficiency was 77% in 9.0 m grass filters and only 56% in 4.5 m filters. Fecal …

Kentucky Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant Sludge Survey, J. Keeling, Paul M. Mcginley

KWRRI Research Reports

A survey of solids removal from municipal wastewater treatment plants in Kentucky was conducted by the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Kentucky. The survey was made using both a mailed form and a followed up phone communication through a period from June, 1993 to April, 1994. The results of that survey were compiled using a spreadsheet program and are available on diskette from the authors. The results of the survey are also presented in the eight Tables herein.

Research Reports From Status Report: Identification Of Appropriate Standards For Corrective Action For A Release From Petroleum Underground Storage Tanks, G. Blomquist, Lyle V. A. Sendlein, Thomas Tobin, T. W. Struttmann, James S. Dinger, Paul M. Mcginley, Burl Naugle, Robert Guthries, Ralph R. Huffsey

KWRRI Research Reports

This document is a collection of research reports:

• Cost of Closure and Remediation for Petroleum Underground Storage Tanks
• Assessment of Number and Distribution of USTs
• Analysis of Potable Water Sources in Kentucky
• Analysis of Well Data and Soil Parameters as Related to the STATSGO Kentucky General Soil Map
• Petroleum Products: Chemical Composition, Tocxicological and Environmental Data
• Health Risk Analysis for Selected Petroleum Compounds
• Summary of Analytical Methods
• Soil Volume Calculations for UST Installations
• Generic Organic Containment Pathway Analysis for Components of Petroleum in Soil and Groundwater

Pathway Analysis Of Contaminant Fate And Transport For Generic Soil Standards And Application To Kentucky Underground Storage Tanks, Paul M. Mcginley

KWRRI Research Reports

A generic contaminant migration pathway was used to develop concentration adjustment factors relating soil contamination levels to concentrations in migrating media. These concentration adjustments are based on relatively simple models and parameter values from the literature. The methodology is a screening level tool and is not designed to be used in the site specific analysis where additional information on the source of contamination and the local conditions is available.

The results demonstrate that contaminant concentrations can be very sensitive to the processes which occur during the migration of contaminants.Because the rates of these processes may be site specific it is …

Evaluation Of Solids Generation In Lagoon Treatment Systems: Application To Bardstown, Kentucky, Paul M. Mcginley

KWRRI Research Reports

This report summarizes the results of a study which investigated the sludge accumulation in lagoon systems through both literature review and evaluation of the Bardstown wastewater treatment plant. Much of the information in this report has been presented in more detail in the Master's thesis of Jon Keeling (Keeling, 1994).

Kentucky Municipal Wastewater Sludge: Generation, Management And Pathogen Reduction, C. Oligee, J. Keeling, Paul M. Mcginley

KWRRI Research Reports

This document was prepared as part of an investigation into sludge quantities and pathogen reduction. It has been written as an introduction and reference for operators, municipal officials, engineers and regulators as they assess their sludge management options.

Municipal Wastewater Sludges: Solids Generation And Pathogen Reduction, C. Oligee, J. Keeling, Paul M. Mcginley

KWRRI Research Reports

The qualities of sludge generated and the variations in potential processing technologies for pathogen reduction pose a challenge to those evaluating sludge management. Some of the key factors that should be considered when evaluating sludge management options include:

• Land requirements
• Equipment requirements
• Availability of Required additives
• Desired product end use

The extent to which these factors influence the implementation of a particular processing technology will vary, but in all cases, they will influence the cost and application of any of the technologies.

Chloroform Contamination In The Louisville Aquifer: An Investigation Of Its Occurrence And Propagation, Sergio E. Serrano

KWRRI Research Reports

This report presents the main results of an investigation on the nature and propagation of an accidental spill of chloroform in the Louisville aquifer, Kentucky. Much of the effort is concentrated on the development of mathematical models to either reconstruct the history of evolution of the plume, or forecast its propagation in the future. Chloroform is a dense halogenated solvent which exhibits a special migration pattern in porous media: Because of this and the relative absence of a conceptual theory on its hydrodynamics in porous media, meaningful predictive models will have to deal with many unresolved theoretical aspects of contaminant …

Kentucky Ust Field Manual, Lyle V.A. Sendlein, Wesley J. Birge, G. Blomquist, James S. Dinger, Ralph R. Huffsey, Robert D. Guthrie, Sanford W. Horstman, M. D. Kercher, Paul M. Mcginley, David C. Short, T. W. Struttmann, Larry C. Taylor, Thomas Tobin, David Dunn, Burl Naugle

KWRRI Research Reports

This study was undertaken to address the removal and closure of defective petroleum underground storage tanks in Kentucky. Goals for the study included:

• To address standards for levels of contamination requiring corrective action consistent with accepted scientific and technical principles.
• To recommend a matrix or scoring system to be used for (a) ranking sites as to actual or potential harm to human health and the environment caused by release of petroleum from a petroleum storage tank, and (2) establishing standards and procedures for corrective action that shall adequately protect human health and the environment.
• To address all compounds individually and …

Status Report: Identification Of Appropriate Standards For Corrective Action For A Release From Petroleum Underground Storage Tanks, Volume 1, Lyle V.A. Sendlein, Wesley J. Birge, G. Blomquist, James S. Dinger, Ralph R. Huffsey, Robert Guthries, Sanford W. Horstman, M. D. Kercher, Paul M. Mcginley, David C. Short, T. W. Struttmann, Larry Taylor, Thomas Tobin, David Dunn, Burl Naugle

KWRRI Research Reports

This study was undertaken to address the removal and closure of defective petroleum underground storage tanks in Kentucky:

• To address standards for levels of contamination requiring corrective action consistent with accepted scientific and technical principles.
• To recommend a matrix or scoring system to be used for (a) ranking sites as to actual or potential harm to human health and the environment caused by a release of petroleum from a petroleum storage tank, and (b) establishing standards and procedures for corrective action that shall adequately protect human health and the environment.
• To address all compounds individually and collectively known as petroleum. …

Water Quality Impacts Of Natural Riparian Grasses Part 1: Empirical Studies, B. J. Barfield, R. L. Blevins, Alex W. Fogle, C. E. Madison, S. P. Inamdar, D. I. Carey, V. P. Evangelou

KWRRI Research Reports

Studies were conducted on the effectiveness of natural riparian grass buffer strips in removing sediment and ag chemicals from surface runoff. No till and conventional tillage erosion plots served as the sediment and chemical source area. Runoff from the plots was directed onto 15, 30, and 45 foot filter strips where the inflow and outflow concentrations and sediment size distributions. Trapping percentages for sediment and ag chemicals typically ranged near or above 90%. An evaluation was made of the distribution of trapped chemicals among infiltrated mass and mass stored in the surface layer and on plant surfaces. The analysis showed …

Water Quality Impacts Of Naturals Riparian Grasses Part 2: Modeling Effects Of Channelization On Sediment Trapping, S. P. Inamdar, B. J. Barfield, D. I. Carey, Alex W. Fogle

KWRRI Research Reports

A methodology is developed to determine expected sediment trapping in riparian vegetative filter strips considering channelization of flow. The framework consists of defining the channel network stochastically, with deposition/detachment in each channel being modeled deterministically. The two approaches were then combined to develop a model which could predict expected trapping efficiencies for vegetative filters under known field conditions. The model was then extended to include conditions such as rainfall on the filter so as to make it applicable to generic field situations.

Field and laboratory studies were conducted to collect and estimate data to develop and evaluate the model. sediment …

Development Of A Decision Support System For Drought Characterization And Management: Application To Lexington, Kentucky, Lindell E. Ormsbee, Ashu Jain

KWRRI Research Reports

This report presents the results of an investigation into the potential use of expert system technology as an effective tool for drought forecasting and management. Historical data derived from the Kentucky River Basin was used to test the resulting decision support system. This study has demonstrated that expert system technology can serve as an effective platform for use in assisting the decision maker in both characterizing the nature of an existing drought and in selecting and implementing the required management policy.

The success of any decision making process will of course be dependent upon the quality of the data upon …

Kinetics And Mechanisms Of Atrazine Adsorption And Desorption In Soils Under No-Till And Conventional Management, V. P. Evangelou, W. W. Witt, E. Portig, Mike Barrett

KWRRI Research Reports

Both soils (Maury silt loam and Sadler) exhibited three apparent mechanisms of atrazine adsorption. The first two mechanisms were very rapid (10 minutes) and were assigned to soil-clay surface adsorption reactions via hydrogen bonding. The quantity of atrazine involved in these two reactions for the 0.5 mg/1 solution atrazine varied, depending on the soil, from 67 μg/100 g clay to 219 μg/100 g clay. The reason there were two possible atrazine sinks in this range of atrazine adsorption was believed to be the presence of two types of reactive surfaces, the clay inorganic phase and the organic carbon phase. The …

Modeling Mass Transport In Aquifers: The Distributed Source Problem, Sergio E. Serrano

KWRRI Research Reports

This report presents a new methodology to model the time and space evolution of groundwater variables in a system of aquifers when certain components of the model, such as the geohydrologic information, the boundary conditions, the magnitude and variability of the sources or physical parameters are uncertain and defined in stochastic terms. This facilitates a more realistic statistical representation of groundwater flow and groundwater pollution forecasting for either the saturated or the unsaturated zone. The method is based on applications of modern mathematics to the solution of the resulting stochastic transport equations. This procedure exhibits considerable advantages over the existing …

Effects Of Aromatic Concentration On Methane Fermentation, Yi-Tin Wang, Pin-Chieh Pai, H. David Gabbard

KWRRI Research Reports

The anaerobic biodegradability and toxicity of fourteen aromatic compounds were evaluated over a wide range of concentrations using a serum bottle technique. Benzene, toluene, and all three isomers of xylene were not significantly degraded to methane in a phenol-enriched culture. Complete degradation of 1000 mg/L phenol, 800 mg/L catechol, 100 mg/L 2-NP, 100 mg/L 3- NP, and 100 mg/L 4-NP was observed within two months while depletion of 100 mg/L resorcinol and 1000 mg/L hydroquinone required more than six and eight months incubation, respectively. None of the three isomers of chlorophenol were degraded in the phenol-enriched culture. Batch toxicity assay …

Predicting Potential Aluminum Contamination Of Surface And Ground Waters From Acid Sulfate Enriched Drainages Emanating From Low Neutralization Capacity Watersheds, Anastasios D. Karathanasis, Vasilios P. Evangelou, Y. L. Thompson

KWRRI Research Reports

The composition of soil solutions and surface waters emanating from unreclaimed, or partially reclaimed, strip-mined watersheds with low buffering capacity in Kentucky were compared with soil solution compositions of unaffected strata in the watershed. The data suggest that almost 20 years after mining, most soil solutions and surface waters of the disturbed areas still contain high levels of dissolved Al, controlled primarily by the solubilities of a jurbanite-like mineral (upper limit) and alunite (lower limit). Soluble Al in solutions of undisturbed areas was consistent with the solubility of kaolinite or gibbsite. The absence of jurbanite x-ray diffraction peaks suggested the …

Predicting Potential Aluminum Contamination Of Surface And Ground Waters From Acid Sulfate Enriched Drainages Emanating From Low Neutralization Capacity Watersheds, Anastasios D. Karathanasis, Vasilios P. Evangelou, Y. L. Thompson

KWRRI Research Reports

The composition of soil solutions and surface waters emanating from unreclaimed, or partially reclaimed, strip-mined watersheds with low buffering capacity in Kentucky were compared with soil solution compositions of unaffected strata in the watershed. The data suggests that almost 20 years after mining, most soil solutions and surface waters of the disturbed areas still contain high levels of undissolved Al, controlled primarily by the solubilities of a jurbanite-like material (upper limit) and alunite (lower limit).

Development Of Dynamic Non-Hortonian Watershed Models For Steeply Sloping Forested Watersheds: Application To Eastern Kentucky, Lindell E. Ormsbee, Abdul Q. Khan

KWRRI Research Reports

A comprehensive conceptual watershed model is developed to simulate the hydrologic response of steeply sloping forested watersheds. Two non-Hortonian and two Hortonian models were first tested with data from selected watersheds in West Virginia and eastern Kentucky in order to understand the different mechanisms of flow responsible for storm hydrograph generation in this type of watersheds. The two non-Hortonian models tested were the kinematic storage model (Sloan et al. 1983) and the saturation deficit model (Beven and Wood, 1983). Both models were unable to adequately reproduce the observed hydrographs in the four forested watersheds considered in this research. The two …

Hydraulic Design Algorithms For Upgrading And Enhancing Water Distribution Systems, Don J. Wood, William T. Gilbert

KWRRI Research Reports

The primary objective of this work was to develop algorithms for directly determining design characteristics for effectively enhancing, modifying or adding to existing water distribution systems. This is accomplished by modifying the basic hydraulic network equations to explicitly determine required design parameters to just meet specified conditions. Initially work was completed on directly determining pipeline diameters and directly determining pipeline and network resistance characteristics. This work was published in technical journals and established the feasibility of the approach but did not demonstrate the scope and versitility of the proposed approach. In this report a general approach is developed and tested …

A Model For Assessing The Visual Resources Of River Basins As An Aid To Making Landuse Planning Decisions, Thomas J. Nieman, Diane S. Meshako, David Walters, Molly M. Davis, Cindy C. Elliot

KWRRI Research Reports

The visual quality of a river basin and its associated properties can be identified, evaluated and integrated into the landscape planning process. The model developed provides a quantitative methodology for determining visual quality on the basis of available Geographic Information System factors. These factors are utilized to develop the preference attributes, COLOR, FORM, TEXTURE and LINE, which are associated with the assessment of visual quality. The preference attributes are then combined through a decision making process into a continuum of DISTINCTIVE, GOOD, AVERAGE and MINIMAL visual quality and is expressed digitally in map format. By providing visual quality information in …

Modeling Of Overland Flow By The Diffusion Wave Approach, Rao S. Govindaraju, S. E. Jones, M. L. Kavvas

KWRRI Research Reports

One of the major issues of present times, i.e. water quality degradation and a need for precise answers to transport of pollutants by overland flow, is addressed with special reference to the evaporator pits located adjacent to streams in the oil-producing regions of Eastern Kentucky. The practical shortcomings of the state-of-the-art kinematic wave are discussed and a new mathematical modeling-approach for overland flows using the more comprehensive diffusion wave is attempted as the first step in solving this problem. A Fourier series representation of the solution to the diffusion wave is adopted and found to perform well. The physically justified …