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Salt in Dutchess Co. Waters

Salt in Dutchess Co. Waters. Where are we now? Compared to what? Where are we headed? Should we be worried?. Stuart Findlay Vicky Kelly. Acknowledgements. Fishkill Creek Watershed Comm. (R. Oestrike) Environmental Management Council (D. Burns, C. Klocker)

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Salt in Dutchess Co. Waters

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  1. Salt in Dutchess Co. Waters Where are we now? Compared to what? Where are we headed? Should we be worried? Stuart Findlay Vicky Kelly

  2. Acknowledgements • Fishkill Creek Watershed Comm. (R. Oestrike) • Environmental Management Council (D. Burns, C. Klocker) • Hudson River NERR (W.C. Nieder, S. Ciparis) • Town of Clinton CAC (N. Coller) • Vassar College (K. Menking et al.) • Syracuse U. (D. Siegel, L. Jin) • WRI – Cornell; COE - Syracuse

  3. Some Chloride Reference Points • Background - ~ 10 mg/L or less [Catskill Reservoirs] • Sublethal – 50-100 mg/L Subtle yet Significant • Biotic Indices • Microbial processes • Associations • EPA Chronic – 230 mg/L • Drinking Water Std – 250 mg/L • EPA Acute – 860 mg/L • Lethal - 1000 or higher

  4. SIMPLER • REFERENCE <10 mg/L • ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS ~ 100 mg/L • LETHAL > 1000 mg/L DUTCHESS COUNTY WATERS 80 mg/L (+/- 79 SD)

  5. DC Mullaney et al., USGS

  6. Chloride (mg/L) Crum Elbow 15-50 Ten Mile 10-40 Casperkill 100-300 Wappinger 10-45 Fishkill 10-100

  7. Downstream Increases FISHKILL CREEK Summer 2005 Population

  8. Residential Land Cover and Chloride (M. Essery) Subwatersheds in the Fishklill Basin

  9. No decline in summer concentrations High concentrations in summer • East Branch Wappinger Creek, Millbrook

  10. Long-term increases in concentration East Branch of the Wappinger Creek Kelly et al. ES&T 2008

  11. Saw Kill CreekHRNERR • Low-density residential • Yearly mean Cl-concentrations have doubled since 1991 (20 to 40 mg/L) • Similar Cl- concentrations throughout year

  12. All Patterns Suggest a Reservoir • Road salt biggest source – others? • Soil Sorption or Groundwater? STREAM

  13. SOIL CORES HOLD Cl LONGER THAN WATER Kincaid and Findlay, 2009

  14. Fig. 4: Frequency distribution of chloride concentrations in surface and well samples from Dutchess County. Groundwater ? Private drinking-water wells Non-random but widely distributed A few wells have Cl > surface water concentration – Could support high baseflow concentrations

  15. CHLORIDE IS NOT ALONE D. Burns - EMC

  16. Should we be Worried? • At the brink, trends are not encouraging • Groundwater concentrations must be increasing • What else is coming along?

  17. Scope for Action • Reduced Salt is in Everyone’s Interest • Widespread Problem, Lots of Mental Horsepower • Solutions may Require Capital

  18. What do we Need to Know?Today’s Program • Environmental Effects – Not Huge Yet but Close? • Human Health Effects • Cost • Direct (Salt is cheap, labor is not, use is high) • Indirect (Corrosion, contamination • Solution?

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