William G. Wilber — Page 2

USGS1979

A one-dimensional, steady-state, dissolved-oxygen model and waste-load assimilation study for Wildcat Creek, Howard County, Indiana

The Indiana State Board of Health is developing a water-quality management plan that includes establishing limits for wastewater effluents discharged into Indiana streams. A digital model calibrated to conditions in Wildcat Creek was used to predict alternatives for future waste loadings that would be compatible with Indiana stream water-quality standards defined for two critical hydrologic conditions, summer and winter low flows. The model indicates that benthic-oxygen demand is the most significant factor affecting the dissolved-oxygen concentrations in Wildcat Creek during summer low flows. The Indiana stream dissolved-oxygen standard should be met if the Kokomo wastewater-treatment facility meets its current National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit restrictions (average monthly 5-day biochemical-oxygen demand of 5 milligrams per liter and maximum weekly 5-day biochemical-oxygen demand of 7.5 milligrams per liter) and benthic-oxygen demand becomes negligible. Ammonia-nitrogen toxicity may also be a water-quality limitation in Wildcat Creek. Ammonia-nitrogen waste loads for the Kokomo wastewater-treatment facility, projected by the Indiana State Board of Health, will result in stream ammonia-nitrogen concentrations that exceed the State standard (2.5 milligrams per liter during summer months and 4.0 milligrams per liter during winter months).

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USGS1979

A one-dimensional, steady-state, dissolved-oxygen model and waste-load assimilation study for Silver Creek, Clark and Floyd counties, Indiana

The Indiana State Board of Health is developing a State water-quality management plan that includes establishing limits for wastewater effluents discharged into Indiana streams. A digital model calibrated to conditions in Silver Creek was used to develop alternatives for future waste loadings that would be compatible with Indiana stream water-quality standards defined for two critical hydrologic conditions, summer and winter low flows. Effluents from the Sellersburg and Clarksville-North wastewater-treatment facilities are the only point-source waste loads that significantly affect the water quality in the modeled segment of Silver Creek. Model simulations indicate that nitrification is the most significant factor affecting the dissolved-oxygen concentration in Silver Creek during summer and winter low flows. Natural streamflow in Silver Creek during the summer and annual 7-day, 10-year low flow is zero, so no benefit from dilution is provided. Present ammonia-nitrogen and dissolved-oxygen concentrations of effluent from the Sellersburg and Clarksville-North wastewater-treatment facilities will not meet current Indiana water-quality standards for ammonia toxicity and dissolved oxygen during summer and winter low flows. The current biochemical-oxygen-demand limits for the Sellersburg and Clarksville-North wastewater-treatment facilities are not sufficient to maintain an average dissolved-oxygen concentration of at least 5 milligrams per liter, the State's water-quality standard for streams. Calculations of the stream's assimilative capacity indicate that Silver Creek cannot assimilate additional waste loadings and meet current Indiana water-quality standards.

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USGS1979

A one-dimensional, steady-state, dissolved-oxygen model and waste-load assimilation study for Sand Creek, Decatur County, Indiana

The Indiana State Board of Health is developing a State water-quality management plan that includes establishing limits for wastewater effluents discharged into Indiana streams. A digital model calibrated to conditions in Sand Creek was used to develop alternatives for future waste loadings that would be compatible with Indiana stream water-quality standards defined for two critical hydrologic conditions, summer and winter low flows. The Greensburg wastewater-treatment facility is the only point-source waste Load affecting Sand Creek in the vicinity of Greensburg. Nonpoint, unrecorded waste loads seemed to be significant during three water-quality surveys done by the Indiana State Board of Health. Natural streamflow in Sand Creek during the summer and annual 7-day, 10-year low flow is zero, so no benefit from dilution is provided. Current (1978) ammonia-nitrogen and dissolved-oxygen concentrations of effluent from the Greensburg wastewater-treatment facility will not meet Indiana stream water-quality standards for ammonia toxicity and dissolved oxygen. Model simulations indicate that benthic-oxygen demand, nitrification, and the dissolved-oxygen concentration of the wastewater effluent are the most significant factors affecting the in-stream dissolved-oxygen concentrations during summer low flows. The model predicts that with a benthic-oxygen demand of 1.5 grams per square meter per day at 20° Celsius the stream has no additional waste-load assimilative capacity. The model also indicates that if the deoxygenation rate for nitrogenous biochemical-oxygen demand ranges from 0.2 to 1.0 day -1 at 20° Celsius and the in-stream ammonia-nitrogen toxicity standard is not exceeded, the minimum dissolved-oxygen concentration of the stream is primarily controlled by the dissolved-oxygen concentration of the wastewater effluent and the benthic-oxygen demand. If the deoxygenation rate for nitrogenous biochemical-oxygen demand is 3.5 day -1 or greater at 20° Celsius, then even with an effluent total ammonia-nitrogen concentration of 2.5 milligrams per liter the minimum 24-hour average in-stream dissolved-oxygen concentration of at least 5 milligrams per liter cannot be met during summer low flows. Current carbonaceous biochemical-oxygen demand loads from the Greensburg wastewater-treatment facility are sufficient to maintain an average dissolved-oxygen concentration of 5 milligrams per liter, the State's water-quality standard for streams during winter low flows.

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USGS1979

A one-dimensional, steady-state, dissolved-oxygen model and waste-load assimilation study for West Fork Blue River, Washington County, Indiana

The Indiana State Board of Health is developing a water-quality management plan that includes establishing limits for wastewater effluents discharged into Indiana streams. A digital model calibrated to conditions in West Fork Blue River was used to predict alternatives for future waste loadings that would be compatible with Indiana stream water-quality standards defined for two critical hydrologic conditions, summer and winter low flows. Alternative waste loads that would permit instream dissolved-oxygen concentrations of at least 5.0 milligrams per liter for West Fork Blue River in Washington County, Ind., were determined. All point-source waste loads that potentially impact West Fork Blue River are in the town of Salem. The Salem municipal wastewater-treatment facility is the only facility in the modeled reach that has a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit to discharge organic waste. In-stream dissolved-oxygen concentration averaged 96.5 percent of saturation at selected sites on West Fork Blue River during two 24-hour summer surveys. This high dissolved-oxygen concentration reflects small carbonaceous and nitrogenous waste loads, adequate dilution of waste by the stream, and natural reaeration. Nonpoint source waste loads accounted for an average of 53.2 percent of the total carbonaceous biochemical-oxygen demand and 90.2 percent of the nitrogenous biochemical-oxygen demand. Waste-load assimilation was studied for both summer and annual 7-day, 10-year low flow. Natural streamflow for these conditions was zero, so no benefit from dilution was provided. The projected reaeration capacity of the stream was not sufficient to maintain at least 5 milligrams per liter dissolved oxygen in the stream with current waste-discharge restrictions. Consequently, during low flows, advanced waste treatment (nitrification-denitrification) or some other form of ammonia removal may be necessary to meet current Indiana stream water-quality standards for ammonia and dissolved oxygen. During winter low flow, ammonia toxicity, rather than dissolved-oxygen concentration, was the limiting water-quality criterion downstream from the Salem wastewater-treatment facility.

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USGS1979

A one-dimensional, steady-state, dissolved-oxygen model and waste-load assimilation study for Clear Creek, Monroe County, Indiana

The Indiana State Board of Health is developing a State water-quality management plan that includes establishing limits for wastewater effluents discharged into Indiana streams. A digital model calibrated to conditions in Clear Creek was used to develop alternatives for future waste loadings that would be compatible with Indiana stream water-quality standards defined for two critical hydrologic conditions, summer and winter low flows. The Winston Thomas wastewater-treatment facility is the only point-source waste load affecting the modeled segment of Clear Creek. A new wastewater-treatment facility under construction at Dillman Road (river mile 23.78) will replace the Winston Thomas wastewater-treatment facility (river mile 16.96) in 1980. Natural streamflow during the summer and annual 7-day, 10-year low flows are zero, so no benefit from dilution is provided. The model indicates that ammonia-nitrogen toxicity is the most significant factor affecting the stream water quality during summer and winter low flows. The ammonia-nitrogen concentration of the wastewater effluent exceeds the maximum total ammonia-nitrogen concentrations of 2.5 milligrams per liter for summer months (June through August) and 4.0 milligrams per liter for winter months (November through March) required for Indiana streams. Nitrification, benthic-oxygen demand, and algal respiration were the most significant factors affecting the dissolved-oxygen concentration in Clear Creek during the model calibration. Nitrification should not significantly affect the dissolved-oxygen concentration in Clear Creek during summer low flows when the ammonia-nitrogen toxicity standards are met. Carbonaceous biochemical-oxygen demand is probably not a significant factor in the dissolved-oxygen dynamics of Clear Creek because most of the carbonaceous biochemical-oxygen demand was estimated to be removed through settling or some other process. The 5-day biochemical-oxygen demand of the effluent from the new wastewater-treatment facility at Dillman Road will be limited to 5 milligrams per liter after the implementation of advanced-waste treatment in 1980.

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USGS1979

A one-dimensional, steady-state, dissolved-oxygen model and waste-load assimilation study for the Mississinewa River, Grant County, Indiana

The Indiana State Board of Health is developing a State water-quality management plan that includes establishing limits for wastewater effluents discharged into Indiana streams. A digital model calibrated to conditions in the Mississinewa River was used to develop alternatives for future waste loadings that would be compatible with Indiana stream water-quality standards defined for two critical hydrologic conditions, summer and winter low flows. The hydrology of the Mississinewa River downstream from Gas City is controlled primarily by two factors: low slopes, typical of the Tipton Till Plain, and a 10-foot dam at river mile 35.90 in Marion. All point-source waste loads affecting the modeled segment of the Mississinewa River are in the four incorporated municipalities of Fairmount, Jonesboro, Gas City, and Marion, in a primarily agricultural area. Model simulations indicate that algal photosynthesis and nitrification are the most significant factors affecting the dissolved-oxygen concentration of the Mississinewa River during summer low flows. Natural reaeration, without photosynthesis, is not sufficient to maintain an average dissolved-oxygen concentration of at least 5 milligrams per liter in the stream, the State's water-quality standard. Projected carbonaceous and nitrogenous biochemical-oxygen demand loads, from the Indiana State Board of Health, for Owens-Illinois, Inc., and the Gas City and Marion wastewater-treatment facilities will result in violations of the in-stream dissolved-oxygen standard. Fairmount and Jonesboro, because of their distance from the Mississinewa, do not significantly affect the water quality of the modeled segment. Model simulations also indicate that, during winter low flows, ammonia toxicity, rather than dissolved oxygen, is the limiting water-quality criterion in the Mississinewa River downstream from the Gas City wastewater-treatment facility. Calculations of the stream's assimilative capacity indicate that future waste discharge in the Mississinewa River basin will probably be limited to the reach downstream from the Marion dam (river mile 35.90).

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