Surface Water QualitySurface Water Quality EngineeringEngineering

Urban and Auer Aboard the R/V Laurentian

The R/V Laurentianon Lake Superior

New York CityReservoir System

Surface Water QualitySurface Water QualityEngineeringEngineering

Definition: the application of scientific principles to the study of water quality in rivers, lakes and reservoirs and to the development of engineered works for the protection, remediation, and restoration of those systems.

• Transportation• Power

• Water supply• Waste disposal• Recreation• Aesthetics

Beneficial UsesBeneficial Uses

Scientists and engineers are typically sought for assistance when ‘beneficial uses are impaired

• Oxygen• Turbidity• Pathogens• Toxics• Taste and Odor• Exotic Species• pH• Color

Use ImpairmentUse Impairment

What types of human activities might lead to these ‘beneficial use impairments’?

Regulatory BasisRegulatory Basis

Clean Water Act of 1972 (since amended)• NPDES: permitting system• TMDLs: watershed loads

Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974 (since amended)• MCLs: 1 and 2 for organics, metals, etc.• SWTR: coliforms, protozoans, turbidity, DBPs

• Watersheds• Point sources• In-lake controls• Aeration• Biomanipulation• Dredging

Surface Water QualitySurface Water QualityManagementManagement

These are some of the scientific and engineering approaches used to manage water quality in lakes, reservoirs, and rivers.

Plug Flow Reactor(rivers)

Surface Water Quality Surface Water Quality ModelingModeling

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Reactor Analogs

Completely MixedFlow Reactor (lakes)

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Modeling Modeling Management Management

WWTP

Receiving Water

A model of treatment plant performance is used to guide design and operation for the required effluent quality.

A model of the receiving water (river or lake) is used to establish the effluent quality required to protect water quality.

Case Study - Lake HuronCase Study - Lake Huron

Cladophora is a green algae which grows attached to solid substrate in the nearshore waters of the Great Lakes. Excessive phosphorus discharges to the lakes has led to nuisance growths of the alga, leading to beachfront deposition, with subsequent decay and loss of beneficial uses. We worked with U.S. EPA to determine the level of phosphorus control required to eliminate nuisance growth and implemented a demonstration project of P-removal at the Harbor Beach, Michigan wastewater treatment plant. The project led to elimination of nuisance conditions at the adjacent beach areas on Lake Huron.

Case Study - Green BayCase Study - Green Bay

Green Bay is highly polluted due to the discharge of agricultural runoff and treated waste effluents from municipal and industrial sources. A marked gradient in water quality exists between the mouth of the Fox River and the boundary with Lake Michigan near Escanaba. Under a grant from U.S. EPA, we quantified pollutant inputs to the bay and studied their subsequent fate and transport. We developed a mathematical model which demonstrated the response of water quality conditions in the bay to changes in the discharge of pollutants from the Fox River.

Case Study - Onondaga LakeCase Study - Onondaga Lake

For more than 100 years, Onondaga Lake has received the municipal and industrial waste discharges of the city of Syracuse, NY. The lake has been identified in the Congressional Record as the most polluted lake in the U.S. Since 1986, we have worked with Upstate Freshwater Institute in exploring options for lake cleanup, including advanced treatment at the 125 million gallon per day Syracuse Metropolitan Treatment Plant (METRO) and diversion of the METRO effluent to the adjoining Seneca River.

Case Study - NYC ReservoirsCase Study - NYC Reservoirs

The New York City drinking water supply system is composed of 19 reservoirs and three controlled lakes located in southeastern upstate New York. The system has a usable capacity of 580 billion gallons and supplies an average of 1.4 billion gallons per day to 9 million people. Since 1992, we have been working with the NYC Department of Environmental Protection to assure a high quality source water despite increasing land use and pollution pressures in the watershed.

Case Study - Lake SuperiorCase Study - Lake Superior

Lake Superior is the largest lake in the world by surface area and the most pristine of the Great Lakes. It is also the least well known of these precious resources. Because of its relatively undeveloped watershed, most pollutants reach the lake from the atmosphere. Under a grant from the National Science Foundation, we have been working to better understand how pollutants reaching the lake are transported from site to site and cycled within the food web.

• CE3610 - Hydrology• CE4505 - Surface Water Quality Engineering• CE5504 - Surface Water Quality Modeling• CE5508 - Biogeochemistry

• BL4451 - Aquatic Ecology• FW4220 - Wetlands

CourseworkCoursework

Students have the option of building a ‘concentration’ in surface water quality as part of the B.S. in Environmental Engineering at Michigan Tech.

• Government (NYC DEP, MPCA, U.S. EPA)• Industry (Detroit Edison, Kodak, GM)• Consulting (Limno-Tech, Hydroqual, Earthtech)• Graduate Study & Research (MTU, UFI, NOAA)

EmploymentEmployment

Check out the web pages of these organizations for professional opportunities.

Study QuestionStudy Question

Describe the manner in which the regulatory environment, mathematical modeling, and engineering design interact to support the management of water quality in lakes and rivers.

Reading AssignmentReading Assignment

Read the Executive Summary of the Natural Resources Defense Council’s report, “Testing the Waters 2001: A Guide to Water Quality at Vacation Beaches.”

http://www.nrdc.org/water/oceans/ttw/exesum.asp