30 Undergraduate Geologic and Multi-disciplinary Research: Faculty Examples and Student Experiences in the Field (Posters)

Thursday, 19 May 2016
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Clearwater Room

WATER QUALITY IN AN URBAN WETLAND (SPOKANE, WASHINGTON)

Paper number: 30-14
Program: Theme Sessions
Time: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Authors

Abstract

This study examines water quality of a small wetland in an urban area in Spokane, Washington. Wetlands can serve as a sink for heavy metals such as lead, zinc and copper. The wetland lies on a moderately graded hill surrounded by roads, homes and businesses. Anthropogenic sources such as vehicle traffic, lawn fertilizers, and road deicer are known to add metals and nutrients to the surrounding environment. We set out to investigate if there were any potentially harmful metals coming into the wetlands from the surrounding areas through runoff. Water at several sites near the roadway, leading to, and in the wetland was tested for pH, alkalinity and various element concentrations. Several dissolved ions were found in higher concentrations in the wetlands and shallow waters around the wetlands. For example, the magnesium and sodium concentrations upstream from the wetland were 17 mg/L and 24 mg/L, respectively, whereas, in the wetland these values reached 27 mg/L and 73 mg/L, respectively. This increase in major ion concentrations is likely the result of evapoconcentration. No metals listed in EPA’s aquatic life criteria (e.g., lead and zinc) for water quality were found in elevated concentrations.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 48, No. 6

doi: 10.1130/abs/2016RM-276217

© Copyright 2016 The Geological Society of America (GSA), all rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to the author(s) of this abstract to reproduce and distribute it freely, for noncommercial purposes. Permission is hereby granted to any individual scientist to download a single copy of this electronic file and reproduce up to 20 paper copies for noncommercial purposes advancing science and education, including classroom use, providing all reproductions include the complete content shown here, including the author information. All other forms of reproduction and/or transmittal are prohibited without written permission from GSA Copyright Permissions.