Methods

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Lac la Nonne Water Quality Report 2004Nutrients,
Bacteria and Caffeine
Introduction Methods Results Discussion The
Next Steps
Jean-Francois Bouffard, B.I.T. Aquality
Environmental Consulting Ltd. April 16, 2005
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Introduction
Lac la Nonne Water Quality Report 2004

• Stream Study
• LEPA
• AAFRD (Sarah Depoe)
• AAFC-PFRA (Jason Vanrobaeys)
• Caffeine
• LEPA and Aquality
• Bacteria
• LEPA, ARHA, and Aquality

Introduction Methods Results Discussion The
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Methods
Lac la Nonne Water Quality Report 2004

• Stream survey
• 8 sites sampled during April 2004
• During spring thaw (April 1st, 5th, 7th, 12th,
  and 20th)
• Parameters
• Nutrients, bacteria, ions, metals and pesticides
  (1 Site)
• Flow gauging

Introduction Methods Results Discussion The
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Lac la Nonne Water Quality Report 2004
Introduction Methods Results Discussion The
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Methods
Lac la Nonne Water Quality Report 2004

• Caffeine
• May 21 (composite sampling)
• 11 sites LLN 3 bottles apiece
• 2 streams
• 2 beaches - Nakamun
• Sept 7 Follow up on May sampling in lake only
• Bacteria
• In lake samples taken with ARHA during May 11th
  sampling

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Introduction Methods Results Discussion The
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Results
Lac la Nonne Water Quality Report 2004
Introduction Methods Results Discussion The
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Results
Lac la Nonne Water Quality Report 2004
Introduction Methods Results Discussion The
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Results
Lac la Nonne Water Quality Report 2004
Introduction Methods Results Discussion The
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Results
Lac la Nonne Water Quality Report 2004
Introduction Methods Results Discussion The
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Results
Lac la Nonne Water Quality Report 2004
Introduction Methods Results Discussion The
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Discussion
Lac la Nonne Water Quality Report 2004

• Nutrients were highest in early April
• TP and TN exceeded ASWQ guidelines for the
  Protection of Aquatic Life in 100 of the samples
• NO2-N 40 compliant
• E.Coli 91 compliant

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Discussion
Lac la Nonne Water Quality Report 2004
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AAWQI Index
Lac la Nonne Water Quality Report 2004
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Discussion
Lac la Nonne Water Quality Report 2004

• Typical of other Alberta Streams
• CAESA/AESA study 1996-2003
• Lac la Nonne watershed considered to have
  moderate Ag intensity
• (Anderson, A-M, S.E.Cooke and N. MacAlpine.
  1999)
• Other watersheds of similar Ag intensity produce
  similar results

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Discussion
Lac la Nonne Water Quality Report 2004

• Bacteria showed decreasing trend
• High counts at Site 1 and 3 indicate recent fecal
  contamination
• Trace exact source using Microbial Source
  Tracking techniques

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Discussion
Lac la Nonne Water Quality Report 2004

• Only 1 pesticide (2-4, D) was detected
• Extremely low levels
• Toxic to fish at much higher levels, minimal
  effect on humans
• Change timing of sample collection

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Discussion
Lac la Nonne Water Quality Report 2004

• The detection of caffeine in Lac la Nonne
  confirms that human sewage is entering the lake
• Possible sources include
• Older/leaky septic systems
• Illegal dumping/release of septage
• Improperly placed outhouses

Introduction Methods Results Discussion The
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The Next Step
Lac la Nonne Water Quality Report 2004

• Minimize runoff
• Preserving riparian areas
• Restore wetlands
• Accurate nutrient budget
• Debate over sources of nutrients
• 57 from cleared lands (Mitchell and Prepas,
  1991)
• Uncertain other sources

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The Next Step
Lac la Nonne Water Quality Report 2004

• Investigation into sources of human sewage
• Septic tank inspections
• Continue monitoring as a deterrent
• Probably the easiest source of nutrients to
  control

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The Next Step
Lac la Nonne Water Quality Report 2004

• Complete and thorough State of the Watershed
  Report
• Moose Lake, Lac la Biche, etc.
• Watershed Management Plan under Alberta Water Act
• Continue education and outreach

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Acknowledgements
Lac la Nonne Water Quality Report 2004

• LEPA and the volunteers who made all the sampling
  happen
• Jason Vanrobaeys PFRA
• Sarah Depoe AAFRD
• Jay White - Aquality

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Thanks!
Lac la Nonne Water Quality Report 2004
Introduction Methods Results Discussion The
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Prediction
Lac la Nonne Water Quality Report 2004

• Avg daily urine prod 1.4L
• Avg urine caffeine conc 1500 µg/L
• Adult urine caffeine production 2100 µg
• Avg urination freq 5x daily
• Volume of flush 9.8 L 49 L/Day

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Prediction
Lac la Nonne Water Quality Report 2004

• Adult caffeine produced per day
• Total amount of water
• 2100 µg caffeine
• 50.4 L
• 42 µg/L (Predicted)

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Prediction
Lac la Nonne Water Quality Report 2004

• Detection level 0.02 µg/L
• Predicted conc. 42 µg/L
• Possible to detect caffeine diluted up to 2100
  times!

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Fecal Contamination Issues

• Human and animal feces contain high levels of
  nutrients
• Nutrients limited in aquatic systems
• Phosphorus
• Nitrogen
• Contains several pathogens which can be fatal to
  humans and others (contact or ingestion)

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Effect of Excess Phosphorus

• Primary Impacts
• Excessive macrophyte growth
• Algal blooms
• Negative impact on livestock

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• Fecal contamination is a public health risk
• Drinking water contamination, contact recreation,
  harvest of irrigated foods
• Water contaminated with human feces are
  generally regarded as a greater risk to human
  health, as they are more likely to contain
  human-specific enteric pathogens
• T. Scott et al. 2002

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Sources of Fecal Contamination

• Residential sources
• Lakeside cottages/subdivisions
• Leaky septic systems
• Rogue dumping
• Improper outhouse placement
• Urban effluent

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Sources of Fecal Contamination

• Agricultural sources
• Feedlots
• In-situ watering by cattle
• Manure application practices (timing, amount)

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Sources of Fecal Contamination

• Wildlife sources
• Bear, elk, deer, birds, etc.

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What is BST?

• Using DNA fingerprinting to identify sources of
  microbial contamination in surface water.
• Term coined in 2002 by Hagedorn and Wiggins

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What is BST?

• Methods fall into 3 categories molecular,
  biochemical and chemical
• No standard method developed

• Emerging area of research and technology
  development, particularly for drinking water

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How does it work?

• Fecal bacteria are uniquely adapted to the host
  animal in which they live
• Using DNA analysis techniques we can identify
  these markers in fecal bacteria

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How it is Done

• Samples collected around the watershed
• Fecal bacteria are cultured and analyzed in lab
• Compared to pre-existing database

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Identifying Sources of Contamination

• Pinpoint by taking samples at suspected sources
• Analyzed
• New genetic markers added to project database

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Dealing with Suspected Sources of Contamination

• Collect samples from location downstream of
  suspected contamination source
• Results compared to samples in database

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Advantages

• This technique has a much greater power of
  resolution compared to previous methods
• No longer tracking an analog of fecal
  contamination
• Allows us to create mitigation plans based on
  better knowledge

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Canadian Examples

• Research at the University of Victoria (Maeys and
  Mazumder, 2004)
• Elbow River study ruminants and humans (Sosiak
  and Dixon, 2004)
• Aquality to provide as a commercial service
  (Spring, 2005)

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Further Study

• More comparative studies to determine best method
  for watershed studies
• Field protocol timing, number of samples
  collected, number of isolates identified,
  location and number of sites
• Need to optimize analytical and statistical
  methods to minimize sources of error

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Lac la Nonne Water Quality Report 2004
Introduction Methods Results Conclusion The
Next Steps