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Filtering with a drill pump: an efficient method to collect suspended sediment
Author(s) -
Kelso Julia E.,
Baker Michelle A.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
jawra journal of the american water resources association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.957
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1752-1688
pISSN - 1093-474X
DOI - 10.1111/1752-1688.12368
Subject(s) - suspended solids , environmental science , sediment , filtration (mathematics) , drill , total suspended solids , water quality , hydrology (agriculture) , filter (signal processing) , environmental engineering , computer science , wastewater , geology , engineering , geotechnical engineering , mathematics , mechanical engineering , paleontology , ecology , statistics , chemical oxygen demand , computer vision , biology
Water quality monitoring programs across multiple disciplines use total suspended solids ( TSS ), and volatile suspended solids ( VSS ), to assess potential impairments of surface water and groundwater. While previous methods for instream filtering have been developed, the need for rapid, cost‐effective, high volume sampling has increased with the need to verify and supplement data produced by sondes and instantaneous data loggers. We present an efficient method to filter water instream with a portable drill pump that results in reduced sample processing time, and potentially reduced error associated with sample transportation, preservation, contamination, and homogenization. This technical note outlines the advantages of filtering instream vs . in the laboratory. It also compares TSS and VSS concentrations filtered with a drill pump vs . standard filtration methods with a vacuum pump as outlined by USEPA methods 160.2 and 160.4. Samples were collected at 4 sites and filtered in the field, or transported to the laboratory and filtered within 12 or 24 h of collection. Overall TSS and VSS samples filtered instream with a drill pump vs . in the laboratory produced similar concentrations with a similar range in variability for each method. Sample filtering with a drill pump decreased processing time by five minutes per sample.