Turkish Journal of Water Science and Management

2536-474X 2564-7334

Tarım ve Orman Bakanlığı Su Yönetimi Genel Müdürlüğü

10.31807/tjwsm.420448

Household Wastewater Discharges Into The Rural Alabama & Impact on Watershed Water Quality

Aytekin

Erdoğan

Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry General Directorate of Water Management Ellıott

Mark

The University of Alabama

01 14 2019

3 1 22 43 05 03 2018 09 21 2018

2017

Türkiye Su Bilimi ve Yönetimi Dergisi

In rural areas, untreated wastewater discharged from homes (commonlycalled “straight pipes”) can cause harmful effects on the region’s rivers,streams and lead to negative impacts on water quality and potentiallyecological and human health. Determining and addressing the water quality andhealth of these aquatic ecosystems requires identification of the source ofcontamination. Surface water quality in Hale County was evaluated at least oncea month at twenty sites in wet and dry seasons. Samples were analyzed forphysical (turbidity), chemical (pH, conductivity, chloride, sulfate, calcium,iron, magnesium, potassium, sodium, ammonium, ortho-phosphorus, nitrite,nitrate, dissolved organic carbon, optical indices), and microbiological (E. coli) water quality parameters.Excitation-emission matrixes (EEMs) Parallel Factor Analysis (PARAFAC) was usedto identify and classify fluorescence emitting organic substances based onfluorescence peak location. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used toidentify analyte signatures associated with sewage contamination. In order todetect straight pipe wastewater impacts on water quality, three main sites weresampled upstream, midstream and downstream of the town of Newbern, Alabama overthe three months of the drought period (i.e., from September to November 28th,2016). Over 20 water quality parameters were analyzed and compared with theWHO, EPA, and ADEM standards. The results showed that E. coli values highly exceed water quality standards, particularlyafter the drought when peak E. coliconcentrations downstream exceeded 100,000 per 100 mL. This study is one of thefirst to document the adverse impacts of straight pipe discharges on waterquality in the United States.

water quality water management wastewater

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