Groundwater Quality Research and Resources at the Institute of Natural

Resources Sustainability (INRS)

Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS)Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS)Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS)

Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC)

January 27, 2009

Groundwater Quality Research: INRS Equipment Resources

• Drilling rigs and trained personnel (ISGS)• Field equipment

– Pumps– Multi-sondes (T, pH, ORP, SpC, DO, etc.)– Miscellaneous sampling equipment– Water level measurement devices

Groundwater Quality Research: INRS Analytical Laboratories

• ISWS Public Service Laboratory (PSL)– Anions (ion chromatography); Metals (ICP-AES

and AA); Alkalinity (titration); TKN, NH4-N, NO2-N, P (colorimetry); Organic Carbon (combustion); TDS

– Free analysis for domestic well owners• ISGS Isotopic Geochemistry lab

– Stable isotopes (δD, δ18O, δ13C; sample prep for δ34S)

– Radioisotopes (3H-water, 14C-DIC, CH4)– Gases: N2, O2+Ar, CO2, CH4, alkanes (C2 to C6)

Groundwater Quality Research: INRS Analytical Laboratories (cont.)

• ISTC analytical laboratories– Metals, including speciation and Hg (ICP-MS, AA)– Organic compounds, such as PAHs, VOCs,

pesticides, etc. (HPLC and GCMS systems)– other

Groundwater Quality Research: INRS Data Resources

• Databases (ISWS and ISGS)– Groundwater quality (domestic and public supply)– Well locations and logs– Water levels, aquifer properties, etc.

Groundwater Quality Researchersat INRS

ISWS ISGS• Sam Panno• Keith Hackley• Ivan Krapac• William Roy• Randy Locke• Jim Miner• Bill Dey• Ed Mehnert

• Walt Kelly• Tom Holm• George Roadcap• Steve Wilson• Al Wehrmann

Research Collaborators with INRS:Groundwater Quality

UI Others• ISU• NIU• SIU-Carbondale• SIU-Edwardsville• UI-Chicago• USGS• IEPA• IDOA• IDPH• County Health Depts.• Municipalities

• Dept. Geology• Dept. Civil & Environmental

Engineering• Dept. Materials Science• Vet/Med• ACES• NRES

INRS Groundwater Quality Research: Overview

• Geochemical characterization of aquifers• Contamination

– Nutrients (N) and other agricultural issues– Urbanization/land use changes– Natural drinking water contaminants

• Arsenic• Radium and barium

– Vulnerable Environments• Karst systems• Nature Preserves

INRS Groundwater Quality Research: Highlights

Mahomet Aquifer

< 10 m g/L30-40 m g/L75-100 m g/L

300-600 m g/L

C hloride

0 10 20 30M iles

C ham paign

Ford

P iatt

D eW itt

M cLean

Tazew ell

Logan

M ahom et AquiferBoundary

Kendall County: Shallow Groundwater Quality

Kendall County: Shallow Groundwater

Kane County Shallow Aquifers: Chloride

Gray areas: aquifer material within 50 ft of land surface

Chicago Region: annual average snowfall: 38 inches >55,000 lane miles

annual average road salt application: > 270,000 tons

Aerial view of Lake Calumet

Cal Sag Channel

GrandCalumet R

Calumet River

Lake Michigan

Lake Calumet

Wolf Lake

NLoop 12 milesIL/IN

94

Lake Calumet Shallow Monitoring Wells: Cl-

94

[1991]Wells < 20 ft

Public Supply Wells: Chicago Region

55% have positive trends; >60% in DuPage, Will, Kane37% > 1 mg/L/yr; 12% > 4 mg/L/yr

Identification of the sources of Na & Cl

Case study: Karst Waters

Mason Co. Tree Nursery

NO3-N (mg/L)0 2 4 6 8 10 12

Dep

th (

ft)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

MLS-3MLS-18

Mason Co. Tree Nursery

NO3-N and DO (mg/L)0 2 4 6 8 10

Dep

th (

ft)

10

20

30

40

50

Fe (mg/L)0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8

DO

NO3-N

Fe

Nitrate Isotopes

Some Illinois Samples: Row Crop Sites

Nitrate Isotopes: ISU Research Farm

Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) in the Environment

Tetra-cycline

Chlortetra-cycline

Oxytetra-cycline

Anhydro-tetracycline

Anhydro-chlortetra-

cycline

Manure slurry*

15.3 105.2 < 5 < 10 < 10

Separated Effluent*

9.0 23.0 < 5 < 10 < 10

Manure surface^

1.5 87.2 < 1 6.2 11.2

Manure deep^

< 1 3.1 < 1 < 2 < 2

Effluent surface^

3.9 10.6 6.9 < 2 < 2

*ng/mL ^ng/g

Tetracycline in Soil Amendments and Soils: ISU Farm

Program Objectives:• Monitor Long-Term Groundwater Quality Near Swine

Confinement Facilities• Determine the Occurrence and Concentration of:

– Nutrients– Viruses– Antibiotics– Antibiotic Resistance Genes

• Evaluate the fate and transport of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes in soil and groundwater

Monitoring Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOS)

Tetracycline DetectionsParent Compounds

Conc. (µg/L) N Tetracycline Chlor-tetracycline

Oxy-tetracycline

All Samples 52 4 5 5

Groundwater 45 0 0 2 (0.08-0.1)

Manure 7 4 (0.4 - 8.2) 5 (0.1- 14) 3 (0.3-0.4)

Breakdown Products

Anhydro-tetracycline

Beta-Apoxy-tetracycline

Anhydro-chlortetracycline

All Samples 27 3 6 4

Groundwater 24 1 (0.1) 3 (0.1 – 0.3) 3 (0.2-0.3)

Manure 3 2 (0.2) 3 (0.1 - 0.4) 1 (0.4)

Chloride Concentrations and tet Gene Frequency

Lagoon

Stream 10.3

48.2

408

405

47.0 34.2

58.9

79212.8

296

29.0

14.8273159

30.5

172

20.3

Lagoon

Stream 25

54

88

88

29 35

38

10050

83

35

429692

80

60

54

Site A

Chloride (mg/L) Gene Frequency (%)

(2000-2003 N = 95)

Determining Soil Cleanup Objectives (SCOs) for IDOA

• Derive SCOs for fertilizer NH4-N spills– Protect groundwater quality in Illinois– SCO ≈ amount sorbed plus extent of dilution

times a groundwater quality objective– Movement of NH4

+ as well as nitrification– 10 mg/L as N yields a default SCO of 38 mg/kg

for NH4+

– Experiments showed SCOs correlated with cation exchange capacity (CEC)

Proposed Default Soil Cleanup Objectives for Ammonium: Since Promulgated by IDOA

CEC Class I as mg N/kg

Class II as mg N/kg

< 8 500 1,0008 to 15 1,000 3,600

15 to 24 2,200 9,300

Arsenic in the Mahomet

100m

Arsenic Solubility Affected by OM Availability

Symbol size:Relative As conc.

Arsenic Removal

Pilot Plant at Danvers, IL Water Treatment Plant

Effect of H2O2 and Iron Dosage on Arsenic Removal

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

0 5 10 15 20 25

Added Iron Concentration (mg/L)

To

tal A

s C

on

cen

trati

on

(u

g/L

) R

em

ain

ing

Dp=55

Dp=27

Dp=0

Dp=27 Aer

Dp=0 Fe(II)

Dp=26

Dp=18

Dp=10

Dp=19 Fe(II)

Radium (Ra) in Water from the Deep Bedrock Aquifer System

Area Where 226Ra + 228Ra > 5 pCi/L has been Detected in Deep Bedrock System

Map Modified from Kay (1999)The USEPA drinking water standard for combined Ra is 5 pCi/L

Galena/Platt Ancell Ironton/Gales Mt Simon

pCi/L

0

5

10

15

20

25

Ra226Ra228Total Ra

Radium Concentrations by Aquifer

Barium in Deep Bedrock Aquifers

Karst

Fecal Bacteria: Karst(% detects)

Land Use in Karst: Well Data

15NO3- Data: Wells (Karst)

Nature Preserves Program

• Cooperative effort of the Surveys with IDNR since 1998

• PIs: Randy Locke and Jim Miner

= generalized surface water movement

= infiltration trench

= water quality sampling location

(77) = chloride conc. (mg/L), Nov 2007

Clean pond

(70)

Gifford Lake

Portal

6 (150)

South Outfall

(220)higher chloride

P82-S (160)

Bluff Spring Fen, Chloride (Nov. 2007)

Chloride - Well P82-S

The The EndEnd