Premium
WATER QUALITY IN THE PAWTUXET RIVER: METAL MONITORING AND GEOCHEMISTRY 1
Author(s) -
Latimer James S.,
Carey Constance G.,
Hoffman Eva J.,
Quinn James G.
Publication year - 1988
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/j.1752-1688.1988.tb00930.x
Subject(s) - environmental science , water quality , hydrology (agriculture) , outfall , effluent , bank , sediment , drainage basin , cadmium , water pollution , environmental engineering , geology , environmental chemistry , chemistry , geography , ecology , paleontology , geotechnical engineering , cartography , geomorphology , biology , organic chemistry
ABSTRACT: The Pawtuxet River flows from a relatively rural area through some of the more highly industrialized sections of Rhode Island. During its journey, the river receives many municipal, industrial, and ground water sources of metal constituents. The present report is the first in a two part series in which the water quality of this urban river was evaluated by a chemical monitoring study of the sources, transport mechanisms, and fate of cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, and nickel in the river. The second paper will use the chemical data to derive and calibrate a steady‐state water quality model for this river. The metal concentrations In the river tended to increase from the headwaters to the mouth with river stations nearest to point source outfalls showing elevated values. In some sections of the river, levels of a few of the metals could not be explained by the point sources; and other inputs, including sediment resuspension, axe proposed to make up this apparent unbalance. The ability of a municipal secondary treatment plant to remove metals was demonstrated, and the tie‐in of the effluent from a major chemical company to the plant did not cause any observable deterioration in treatment efficiency.