A long‐term, multitrophic level study to assess pulp and paper mill effluent effects on aquatic communities in four us receiving waters: Characteristics of the study streams, sample sites, mills, and mill effluents

Abstract

Watershed characteristics, study streams, sample sites, mills, and mill effluents are provided for 4 streams included in a long-term study to assess potential effects of pulp and paper mill effluents on US receiving waters. The study streams are Codorus Creek (Pennsylvania, USA), Leaf River (Mississippi, USA) and McKenzie and Willamette rivers (Oregon, USA) and were chosen to represent a blend of mill process types, effluent concentrations, and coldwater/warmwater stream systems. The described effluent quality, water quality, and habitat data sets encompass the initial 7 to 8 y of a study anticipated to continue >10 y and provide a backdrop to a series of articles describing periphyton, macroinvertebrate, and fish community properties in these same streams. The mean in-stream waste concentration (IWC) for these 4 effluent discharges was 32.4%, 2.0%, 0.5%, and 0.2% v/v for Codorus Creek and Leaf, McKenzie, and Willamette rivers, respectively, as compared with a median of 0.4% for US mills. Effluent quality measurements included Selenastrum capricornutum, Ceriodaphnia dubia, and Pimephales promelas chronic bioassays as sanctioned by the US Environmental Protection Agency for estimating effluent effects on receiving-water aquatic communities. Based on mean bioassay inhibition concentration for a 25% effect and on mean IWC, a margin of safety against adverse biological effects of 2, 25, 137, and 150 times was indicated for Codorus Creek and Leaf, McKenzie, and Willamette rivers, respectively. Habitat and water quality assessment was carried out over a gradient of sample sites above and below the effluent discharge to determine nonmill-related conditions that might interfere with interpretation of effluent effects. Noneffluent related localized differences in conditions for some parameters, including current velocity (McKenzie River), and surface incident photosynthetically active radiation (Codorus Creek and Willamette River) occurred at the sample stations immediately upstream or downstream of the effluent discharge. In addition, broader watershed differences were evident on Codorus Creek, where a relatively rich riparian corridor and stream structure occurred upstream in contrast to areas of canopy and stream-structure loss in the downstream urban area. The mill effluent discharges contributed to increases in receiving-water color and conductivity, although upstream tributaries contributed additional conductivity to Codorus Creek and color to the Leaf River. The McKenzie River provided the only example of a nutrient increase immediately downstream of a mill discharge. This increase in total nitrogen (0.11 vs 0.16 mg/L) could not, however, be differentiated with respect to whether it was of mill effluent or tributary stream origin. Tributary streams were potentially important total nitrogen contributors on Codorus Creek and the Willamette River. As an integrated study, the effluent quality and physical/chemical watershed descriptions provided here represent 1 component of the broader study addressing potential point...

Spatial and temporal patterns of periphyton chlorophyll a related to pulp and paper mill discharges in four us receiving streams

“…Substrates in Codorus Creek and the McKenzie and Willamette rivers are dominated by gravelpebble (2–64 mm diameter) and cobble (64–256 mm diameter), while Leaf River substrates consist almost exclusively of sand (0.06–2 mm diameter). Water chemistry and habitat patterns are described in detail in Hall et al (2009) and summarized in Table 2. Mean total nitrogen (TN) concentrations are greatest in Codorus Creek and the Leaf River (>1.0 mg/L at all sites) while mean total phosphorus (TP) was similar in all streams.…”

Whole effluent assessment of industrial wastewater for determination of bat compliance

“…For example, no acute toxicity to rainbow trout or D. magna is allowed in wastewater from kraft mills in Canada (LC50≥50 vol.%). Numerous studies on the effluent quality of the paper mill industry have been published which confirm that short-term and chronic effects on organisms may occur (OSPAR Hazardous Substances Committee HSC 2000; Kovacs and Ferguson 1990;Robinson et al 1994;Hall et al 2009). However, often, other test organisms have been applied or the effluents contained both pulp and paper partial streams so that the results are not directly comparable.…”

Quantifying Variability in Four US Streams Using a Long-Term Data Set: Patterns in Water Quality Endpoints

“…Temperature conditions are relatively consistent in the Leaf, McKenzie, and Willamette rivers, but the temperature profile in Codorus Creek is more variable over the study reach due to cold-water discharge from an upstream dam and warm-water discharge from pulp and paper mill cooling systems and mill effluent. More information on stream and watershed characteristics is provided elsewhere (Hall et al 2009b;Flinders et al 2015). Water Environmental Management (2016 quality sampling locations by stream kilometer, along with site type information (i.e., mainstem or tributary, upstream or downstream of pulp and paper mill effluent discharge) are provided in Table 1.…”