Physicochemical Characterization of Sediment in Northwest Arkansas Streams

Eutrophication of surface waters is a critical concern in regions around the world facing nutrient surpluses as a result of confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) and subsequent land application of manures. While large amounts of research exist on the transport of nutrient enriched runoff from fields to surface waters less information is available on in-stream processes controlling the transport of P in-stream. Thus, information is needed on the role of stream sediments in regulating transient phosphorus (P) to better understand the relationship between nutrient inputs and water quality. Fine-sized sediments ( 2-mm) consume and store P. From fine-sized sediment a modified P saturation ratio (PSRmod), related to the sediment’s ability to bind P and determined from Mehlich-3 extracted nutrients, has been correlated to in-stream dissolved reactive P (DRP) concentrations. The objectives of this study were to determine the relative size distribution of total- and fine-sized sediment (sand, silt clay) fractions among streams, determine the optimum sample number needed to characterize Mehlich-3 P (M3P) and PSRmod, and finally determine the applicability of PSRmod, as an indicator of stream water column DRP concentrations. Stream sediments were sampled from the 0- to 3-cm depth from stream reaches ranging from (25 – 75 m) in August, 2008 for characterization along with water samples collected from the thalweg for DRP concentration determination. Additional water column samples were collected along with fine-sized sedi- ment chemical properties in February, May, and June 2009. The distribution of sediment size classes was statistically similar, with 2- to 20- and 20- to 75-mm sized sediment dominating. Fine-sized sediment (mod, were determined to typically be sufficiently characterized by a sample scheme utilizing three samples points. Modified P saturation ratio of mod, has the potential to be used as an indicator of the ability of stream sediments to enrich stream water with P. Thus, fine-sized sediment nutrient concentrations appear to be key regulators of water column P concentrations.

Net Nutrient Uptake in the White River, Northwest Arkansas, Downstream of a Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant

Wastewater treatment plays a crucial role in preserving water quality in receiving streams;however, continuous nutrient enrichment can diminish the retention capacity of rivers. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effects of wastewater treatment plant effluent and river discharge on water chemistry and determine the retention efficiency of nutrients added in the effluent along a 6.1-km reach of a 5th-order stream in the Ozark Highlands of northwest Arkansas. From 2006 through 2007, effluent discharge increased river nitrite, soluble reactive P (SRP), and total organic C (TOC) and conductivity. As river discharge increased, DO and turbidity increased, but water temperature, conductivity, and TOC decreased. Net nutrient uptake lengths were inconsistent for NO3-N, NH4-N, and SRP. Results indicated that the fluvial channel acted as both a sink and a source of NO3-N and SRP, but the channel always acted as a sink for NH4-N with a significantly positive retention coefficient that indicated only 12% of added NH4-N was retained in the study reach. The effluent discharge increased the concentrations of seven water quality parameters, and it appears the long-term enrichment has rendered the immediate-downstream reach ineffective as a nutrient sink. Nutrients added in the effluent were generally transported with little to no uptake or transformation, thus river chemical concentrations beyond the study reach have likely been influenced by this effluent discharge.