Nitrogen Pollution: A Danger to Long Island Waters

Nitrogen Pollution: A Danger to Long Island WatersBy Billy SchuttOriginal GoalsBecome a part of a scientific research lab.

Joined Chris Goblers lab at the Southampton campus of SUNY Stony Brook

The plan: get involved with different projects until I found something suitable.

-My original goal was to join a research lab. This was very important to me because Im very interested in pursuing microbiological scientific research in the future and I wanted to use my senior project as an opportunity to get my feet wet in this field. -Mr. McGuinness contacted Chris Gobler, the head of a marine biology lab specializing in phytoplankton at the Southampton campus of SUNY Stony Brook. This is the lab I joined in July. -From that point, my plan of action was to go around the lab helping people with the various projects until I found one that would work for me. -After a couple of weeks, I started helping Ryan Wallace, a grad student at the lab, on his western bays project, and after talking to him and Chris, this became the project I would use. 2The Western Bays Project GoalExamine the effects of the Bay Park sewage treatment plant on Hewlett Bay and surrounding waters

-The goal of the Western Bays project was to examine the algae generating effects of the Bay Park Sewage treatment plant on the surrounding Western Bays, an area that encompasses Hewlett Bay, Middle Bay, and East Bay.

3Western Bays

Just to get your oriented, Hewlett Bay is located in Hempstead4Hewlett BaySignificant nitrogen influx from nearby sewer treatment plant causes large and frequent algal blooms in Hewlett Bay.

At Hewlett Bay, there is a sewage treatment outflow which pumps aprox. 60 million gallons of nigh concentration, nitrogen rich effluent water, that is, waste in which solids have been removed, everyday. For those of you who dont know, algae are able to grow and reproduce very quickly when exposed to high amounts of nitrogen. Because of this, Hewlett Bay experiences frequent algae blooms. To measure the effect the sewage treatment plant had on Hewlett Bay, we compared the algae growth at 4 sites, Hewlett Bay, in which the sewage outflow is nearest to, Middle bay, which is slightly further to the east, Jones Beach Inlet, which is further east, and east bay, which, as you can probably guess, is the furthest east.

This image you see here is a picture of an unidentified bloom I took at Hewlett Bay over the summer. You can really see the discoloration on the water. 5Data CollectionAlgal biomass observations

To compare these sites, we took algal density measurements at the different locations. To do this we Dunk carboys in water Bring back to the lab Run the samples through a flourometer, a machine that measures light and determines the density of chlorophyll. We can then then use this value to determine the original density of phytoplankton cells in the collected sample. This is very helpful for comparing algal growth between test sites. 6HB experiences roughly 4 times the amount of algal growth than the other sites. This massive algal growth is a the tell tale sign that eutrophication is occurring. 7EutrophicationDefined as an increase in the rate of supply of organic matter to an ecosystem. Scott W. NixonEutrophication In Laymans Terms Organisms, such as phytoplankton, are able to grow and reproduce more quickly.

Usually in response to heightened nutrient levels in the water. The problem of algal blooms can be made worse because some algae produce toxins that can be harmful to fish and shellfish.

9Eutrophication Cont.Algal bloom grows so large that it consumes all available nutrients, leading to the starvation and mass die off of the population.

Dead algae sinks to the bay floor.

10Eutrophication Cont.Cells are decomposed by aerobic bacteria, resulting in depletion of dissolved oxygen.

Once oxygen depletion becomes severe, it suffocates marine organisms. The extent of oxygen depletion in the bay can be seen by running vertical profiles, something I did over the summer.11Data CollectionVertical Profiles

Vertical profiling is the process of taking various measurements such as temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen at meter intervals in the water column. This data allows us to see to what degree eutrophication has depleted the oxygen in the water. 12

Heres me looking slightly wind-swept and surf sprayed recording vertical profile readings, but anyway, on to the results. 13-This is a graph showing oxygen vs. depth at a site in the middle of Hewlett Bay last August. As you can see, oxygen levels start to fall more rapidly 3 meters below the surface, but after 7 meters, the oxygen levels drop to basically zero. At this location, and at many others like it, aerobic marine organisms could not survive. - It really disturbed me how badly damaged this environment was.

14A Challenging Next StepWhat to do with the data (lots of it)?

Hewlett Bay swimmers provide the clue -After summer ended, I was faced with the challenge of creating a product from my recent experiences. This was one of my biggest challenges throughout the project because I had collected a ton of data, Im talking about spreadsheets and spreadsheets of data, but I had no idea how to convey it. -While trying to figure this out, I thought back to a moment when I was on the boat anchored off Hewlett Bays small beach watching people swimming. This was right after Ryan had told me that 60 million gallons of effluent are pumped into Hewlett Bay everyday, and I thought to myself, I wonder if these people would still be swimming here if they knew what they were swimming in? -At the same time, I wondered how prevalent eutrophication was in Suffolk County, and after learning that it was a serious problem, I got the idea to create an easy to read report focusing on the education of the general public about this issue of eutrophication and algal blooms. 15A New GoalWrite a general readership report addressing:Eutrophication in Hewlett Bay as a case studyA history of algal blooms in Suffolk CountyNitrogen-related eutrophication in Suffolk CountyPossible ways to alleviate the problems In my report, I wanted to address the eutrophication of Hewlett Bay, algal blooms in Suffolk County, the nitrogenous causes of eutrophication in Suffolk County, and possible ways to help reduce nitrogen pollution. 16Suffolk County Algae(Photo by Tom Iwanejko)

Given the time constraints, I cant give you a history of algal blooms in Suffolk County, but I will say that it is quite extensive and marked by several environmentally devastating blooms, such as the brown tide of 1985, which singlehandedly destroyed the once multimillion bay scallop industry on Long Island, and even now, 27 years later, the population is only a fraction of its former size. 17Suffolk County Nitrogen SourcesMany of Suffolk Countys bays suffer from eutrophication due to excess nitrogen.

Much of this nitrogen comes from septic systems.

~80% of Suffolk County residences use septic systems.Many of Suffolk Countys bays suffer from eutrophication, but is caused by different sources, mostly septic systems. This is because many septic systems are designed to allow liquid waste, which contains high concentrations of nitrogen, to seep into the soil, and eventually flow downward into the groundwater, where it eventually flows into bays, is used commercially, or residentially. - Because 80% of the residences in Suffolk County use septic systems, a lot of nitrogen enters the groundwater.

18Great South Bay- Great South Bay is an example of an environment particularly affected by septic systems. - However, unlike Hewlett Bay in which the large majority of the nitrogen came from the sewage treatment plant, the causes of eutrophication in bays such as Great South Bay are more complex, containing more variables nitrogen from fertilizers and the atmosphere. . - For this presentation, Im going to simplify the issue somewhat, but if you wish to get a more in depth understanding, feel free to read my paper.- Great South Bay is a very good indicator of how significantly septic systems contribute to nitrogen pollution. This is because 50% of the surrounding residences are sewered, contributing little or no nitrogen into the system. The remaining 50% of residences contribute the majority of nitrogen in GSB. That is very significant.19What Is Being Done?Suffolk County Fertilizer Reduction Initiative

But thats not enough

Septic systems require more attention - This is the final section of my paper where I talk about what is being done by Suffolk County to reduce nitrogen pollution and what should be done. Right now, the county is working to reduce nitrogen from fertilizer use with their fertilizer reduction initiative, by doing things such as limiting the amount of fertilizer used on golf courses. Unfortunately, in regard to reducing nitrogen from septic systems, Suffolk County is not doing as much as other states such as New Jersey and Massachusetts, who encourage the use of alternate, more efficient septic systems with tax breaks and low interest loans for homeowners looking to upgrade their systems, I wont talk about these in depth, but theyre in my paper.

With the development of Long Island increasing, I feel that unless more is done to reduce the effects septic systems have on our environment, the health of our waters will continue to deteriorate as algal blooms increase in frequency. If algal blooms become a more common occurrence, we can expect two things. First, other marine life will suffer. As we saw with the brown tide of 1985, algae have the ability to destroy whole populations of organisms. Second would be increased oxygen depletion in the bays, which would also harm marine organisms as is the case with Hewlett Bay. 20ChallengesThe learning curve Steep- In addition to the challenge of starting my product, which I mentioned earlier, the learning curve throughout this process proved to be very steep. - First, when I joined Chris Goblers lab, I couldnt tell the difference between cyanobacteria and phytoplankton. But I asked a lot of questions and learned pretty quickly. Then, after deciding to encompass Suffolk County into my product, I had to learn about all kinds of things I had no prior knowledge of, including how septic systems work and contribute to nitrogen polution, which was pretty difficult. 21ChallengesThe editing process

I think this slide pretty much speaks for itself. Those edits you see on the right were all on that first paragraph. So as you can probably guess, the editing process was quite long. One section went through 9 drafts before the final version.

22Skills Acquired Worked in a professional lab setting

Acquired field experience

Learned research techniques

Became a better reader

Improved my writing ability

- Getting the opportunity to work in a scientific research lab was a great experience. I was able to see how data is collected and processed, as well as see how a real research project is conducted was invaluable. - Learned how to preform field work and run experiments. - Learned research techniques. I was able to learn how to find reliable information which will definitely help me in the future. - I really learned how to read scientific papers throughout this process and get the information I needed out of them. - Finally, I feel I really improved as a writer, and with each revision, I started to feel much more confident that what I had written was good. 23Future PlansPursue scientific research

Become more environmentally conscience.

This project has made me a more environmentally conscience person, and will definitely influence me for the rest of my life. 24Acknowledgements Hugh McGuinnessChris Gobler Ryan WallaceThe rest of the lab at SUNY Stony Brook SouthamptonPatty Lein Dale Scott My parentsThe Ross School

Hugh McGuinness for his great edits and advice over the course of this projectChris Gobler for letting me join his lab and continuing to offer his help Ryan Wallace for letting me join his project and helping me along the way The rest of the lab team at SUNY Stony Brook Southampton for welcoming me into their lab and not making fun of the high schooler too much. Patty Lein for her great advice and moral support Dale Scott for all her help throughout the yearMy Parents for giving me the help and support I needed throughout this long and sometimes stressful process. The Ross School for putting up with me for 8 years and giving me the opportunity to do this project. 25