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Regional Water Quality NEWSLETTER

DATE: Report for August 2017

A Tempe, Glendale, Peoria, Chandler, Phoenix, ADEQ, CAP, SRP, Epcor

NSF Central Arizona-Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research

ASU Regional Water Quality Partnership

http://faculty.engineering.asu.edu/pwesterhoff/research/regional-water-quality-issues/

SUMMARY

1. There is no new data for Taste and Odor

Compounds due to instrument maintenance.

Ancillary research projects on both Saguaro

Lake and Canyon Lake have observed

significant algal blooms with fish kills

observed on Canyon Lake.

2. DOC values for Saguaro Lake and Lake

Bartlett were only slightly elevated (4.3-5.8

mg/L) as compared to July even though there

were algal blooms. DOC concentrations

ranged from 2.8-3.6 mg/l at the inlets of

water treatment plants which was similar to

July. Algal die off could begin to impact the

source waters more significantly in the near

future.

3. The primary source of surface water

continues to be Salt River Water. Significant

quantities of CAP water are also being used

which helps to decrease the DOC levels.

4. Microbial concentrations for coliforms began

to elevate and the majority of samples were

greater than 1,000 cfu/100 ml. A combination

of rain and high temperatures are the

probable cause of the increase.

Mycobacterium concentrations remain

somewhat elevated as to the values observed

in the summer of 2016.

5. The ASU Regional Water Quality Workshop

will be at the Pera Club on Friday, September

29th from 8:30-11:30.

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Topics Du Jour

Microbial Water Quality Data

Over the years the regional water quality center has collected data on numerous different topics but very

little data has been collected on basic microbial water quality. Therefore, we have initiated microbial

sampling for E. Coli, total coliforms and mycobacterium in the canal system to determine potential

impacts on both water quality and sources of possible contamination. Note that Mycobacterium

require one month to process and the samples are from November.

All Values are cfu per 100 ml

Sample E. coli Coliform

Blank Average 0 0

AZ Canal at Highway 87 average 22 1232

South Canal below CAP Cross- connect average 50 1296

Cap Canal at Cross-connect average 26 1176

AZ Canal at 56th St. average 7 872

AZ Canal- Central Avenue average 13 896

Pima Average 26 1520

AZ Canal above CAP Cross-connect average 21 1432

Waddell Canal average 0 1648

Verde River @ Beeline average 23 752

AZ Canal below CAP Cross-connect average 41 1432

head of the Consolidated Canal average 6 824

Middle of Consolidated Canal average 5 1208

Head of Tempe Canal average 28 1072

Mycobacterium (July) colonies

Blank 0

AZ Canal at Highway 87 12

South Canal below CAP Cross- connect 16

Cap Canal at Cross-connect 0

AZ Canal at 56th St. 35

AZ Canal- Central Avenue 21

AZ Canal at Pima 5

AZ Canal above CAP Cross-connect 2

Waddell Canal 16

Verde River @ Beeline 36

AZ Canal below CAP Cross-connect 1

head of the Consolidated Canal 28

Middle of Consolidated Canal 10

Head of Tempe Canal 7

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CONT – Contaminated with other bacteria

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Quick Update of Water Supplies for August 7th, 2017

(during day of canal/WTP sampling – August 7th, 2017)

Source Trend in supply Discharge to

water supply system

Flow into SRP Canal System

Dissolved organic carbon Concentration (mg/L) **

Salt River Reservoirs at 70% full

519 cfs 630 cfs into Arizona Canal

488 cfs into South Canal

381 cfs of CAP water

into Arizona Canal

271 cfs Groundwater Pumping into SRP

Canals

4.6 mg/L

Verde River Reservoirs At 61% full

203 cfs 4.0 mg/L

Colorado River

Lake Pleasant is 56.6% full (Lake Powell is

61.6% full)

Lake Pleasant is* releasing 1610 cfs

3.1 mg/L

Groundwater Pumping *** 271 cfs pumping by SRP

0.5 to 1 mg/L

*CAP is not releasing from Lake Pleasant **Concentration of DOC in the terminal reservoir ***CAP water is being delivered to the Arizona Canal. Data from the following websites:

http://www.srpwater.com/dwr/ http://www.cap-az.com/departments/water-operations/lake-pleasant http://lakepowell.water-data.com/

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The following views are from SRP website, and show which wells are operating along the

various canals.

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Dissolved Organic Carbon In Reservoirs and Treatment Plants DOC = Dissolved organic carbon

UV254 = ultraviolet absorbance at 254 nm (an indicator of aromatic carbon content)

SUVA = UV254/DOC

TDN = Total dissolved nitrogen (mostly nitrate from groundwater)

Reservoir Samples - August 7th-8th, 2017

Sample Description Location DOC (mg/L) UV254 (l/cm)

SUVA (L/mg-

m)

TDN (mg/L

Havasu (March) 3.0 0.047 1.5 0.3930

Lake Pleasant (March) Epilimnion 3.2 0.058 1.8 0.3748

Hypolimnion 4.9 0.059 1.2 0.3301

Verde River at Tangle 1.4 0.041 2.9 0.4175

Verde River at Beeline Highway 4.0 0.110 2.8 0.3559

Bartlett Reservoir Epilmnion 5.6 0.127 2.3 0.4830

Hypolimnion 6.4 0.162 2.5 0.6309

Saguaro Lake

Epilimnion 4.6 0.097 2.1 0.4037

Epi - Duplicate 5.4 0.101 1.9 0.5589

Hypolimnion 4.3 0.096 2.2 0.6627

Salt River at Blue Point Bridge 4.6 0.083 1.8 0.3577

Salt River above Roosevelt N/A n/a #VALUE! n/a

Roosevelt Reservoir Point 1 Epilmnion 6.1 0.135 2.2 0.5180

Hypolimnion 5.0 0.122 2.5 0.6180

Roosevelt Reservoir Point 2 Epilmnion 5.5 0.099 1.8 0.5237

Hypolimnion 5.1 0.113 2.2 0.7356

Apache Reservoir Point 1 Epilmnion 4.7 0.087 1.8 0.4977

Hypolimnion 4.9 0.097 2.0 0.9046

Apache Reservoir Point 2 Epilmnion 4.9 0.086 1.8 0.5723

Hypolimnion 5.4 0.088 1.6 0.9873

Canyon Reservoir Point 1 Epilmnion 5.3 0.101 1.9 0.5035

Hypolimnion 6.7 0.110 1.6 1.1690

Canyon Reservoir Point 2 Epilmnion 4.5 0.096 2.1 0.5521

Hypolimnion 4.7 0.097 2.0 0.6636

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Water Treatment Plants- August 7th-8th, 2017

Sample Description DOC (mg/L) UV254 (l/cm)

SUVA (L/mg-m)

TDN (mg/L

Union Hills Inlet 3.1 0.057 1.8 0.3585

Union Hills Treated 2.6 0.026 1.0 0.2979

Tempe North Inlet 3.6 0.079 2.2 0.3298

Tempe North Plant Treated 2.4 0.024 1.0 0.6258

Tempe South Inlet 2.8 0.061 2.2 0.4874

Tempe South Plant Treated 2.0 0.025 1.3 0.5652

Greenway WTP Inlet 3.3 0.065 2.0 0.7814

Greenway WTP Treated 2.4 0.026 1.1 0.7407

Glendale WTP Inlet 3.4 0.068 2.0 0.3783

Glendale WTP Treated 2.2 0.026 1.2 0.3128

Anthem WTP Inlet 3.4 0.057 1.7 0.3897

Anthem WTP Treated 3.4 0.058 1.7 0.4022

24th Street WTP Inlet 3.6 0.065 1.8 0.3462

24th Street WTP Treated 2.1 0.020 0.9 0.2811

Chandler WTP Inlet 3.2 0.074 2.3 0.4626

Chandler WTP Treated 0.3 0.032 11.2 0.1974

Rivers and Canals- August 7th-8th, 2017

Sample Description DOC (mg/L) UV254 (l/cm)

SUVA (L/mg-m)

TDN (mg/L

Waddell Canal 3.1 0.062 2.0 0.3643

Anthem WTP Inlet 3.4 0.057 1.7 0.3897

Union Hills Inlet 3.1 0.057 1.8 0.3585

CAP Salt-Gila Pumping Station (June) 3.4 0.053 1.6 0.3592

CAP Mesa Turnout (June) 3.2 0.054 1.7 0.3595

CAP Canal at Cross-connect 3.3 0.049 1.5 0.3395

Salt River @ Blue pt. Bridge 4.6 0.083 1.8 0.3577

Verde River @ Beeline 4.0 0.110 2.8 0.3559

AZ Canal above CAP Cross-connect 3.3 0.053 1.6 0.3282

AZ Canal below CAP Cross-connect 6.3 0.074 1.2 0.3342

AZ Canal at Highway 87 4.0 0.078 1.9 0.3390

AZ Canal at Pima Rd. 3.8 0.072 1.9 0.3172

AZ Canal at 56th St. 3.5 0.066 1.9 0.3312

AZ Canal - Central Avenue 3.4 0.063 1.9 0.3149

AZ Canal - Inlet to Glendale WTP 3.4 0.068 2.0 0.3783

AZ Canal - Inlet to Greenway WTP 3.3 0.065 2.0 0.7814

South Canal below CAP Cross-connect 4.4 0.087 2.0 0.3683

Head of Tempe Canal 3.3 0.070 2.1 0.3790

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Tempe Canal - Inlet to Tempe's South Plant 2.8 0.061 2.2 0.4874

Head of the Consolidated Canal 3.3 0.073 2.2 0.3688

Middle of Consolidated Canal 3.0 0.069 2.3 0.4980

Chandler WTP - Inlet 3.2 0.074 2.3 0.463

Taste and Odor

MIB, Geosmin and Cyclocitral are compounds naturally produced by algae in our reservoirs and canals, usually

when the water is warmer and algae are growing/decaying more rapidly. They are non toxic, but detectable to

consumers of water because of their earthy-musty-moldy odor. The human nose can detect these in drinking

water because the compounds are semi-volatile. Since compounds are more volatile from warmer water, these

tend to be more noticable in the summer and fall. The human nose can detect roughly 10 ng/L of these

compounds. Our team collects samples from the water sources and raw/treated WTP samples.

Table 1 - Water Treatment Plants – July 3,

2017 Sample Description MIB

(ng/L)

Geosmin

(ng/L)

Union Hills Inlet <2.0 <2.0

Union Hills Treated <2.0 <2.0

Tempe North Inlet 2.4 <2.0

Tempe North Plant Treated 2.7 <2.0

Tempe South WTP <2.0 <2.0

Tempe South Plant Treated 2.7 2.6

Anthem Inlet <2.0 <2.0

Anthem Treated <2.0 <2.0

Chandler Inlet 3.5 2.1

Chandler Treated 4.0 3.3

Greenway WTP Inlet 3.5 <2.0

Greenway WTP Treated <2.0 <2.0

Glendale WTP Inlet 2.3 <2.0

Glendale WTP Treated <2.0 <2.0

24th St. WTP Inlet 2.4 <2.0

24th St. WTP Outlet <2.0 <2.0

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Table 2 - Canal Sampling – July 3, 2017

System Sample Description MIB

(ng/L)

Geosmin

(ng/L)

CAP Waddell Canal <2.0 <2.0

Union Hills Inlet <2.0 <2.0

CAP Canal at Cross-connect <2.0 <2.0

Salt River @ Blue Pt Bridge 2.9 <2.0

Verde River @ Beeline 10.0 <2.0

AZ AZ Canal above CAP Cross-

connect <2.0 <2.0

Canal AZ Canal below CAP Cross-

connect 2.3 <2.0

AZ Canal at Highway 87 2.7 <2.0

AZ Canal at Pima Rd. 2.4 <2.0

AZ Canal at 56th St. 2.5 <2.0

AZ Canal - Central Avenue 2.1 <2.0

AZ Canal - Inlet to Glendale

WTP 2.3 <2.0

Head of the Consolidated Canal 2.7 <2.0

Middle of the Consolidated

Canal 3.0 <2.0

South South Canal below CAP Cross-

connect 3.5 <2.0

Tempe Head of the Tempe Canal 3.0 <2.0

Canals Tempe Canal - Inlet to Tempe's

South Plant <2.0 <2.0

Salt-Gila (June) <2.0 <2.0

Mesa Turnout (June) <2.0 <2.0

Table 3 - Reservoir Samples – July 5, 2017

Sample

Description

Location MIB

(ng/L)

Geosmin

(ng/L)

Lake Pleasant

(June)

Eplimnion <2.0 <2.0

Lake Pleasant

(June)

Hypolimnion 2.8 7.5

Verde River @

Beeline

10.0 <2.0

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Bartlett Reservoir Epilimnion ns ns

Bartlett Reservoir Epi-near dock <2.0 2.4

Bartlett Reservoir Hypolimnion ns ns

Salt River @ BluePt

Bridge

2.9 <2.0

Saguaro Lake Epilimnion ns ns

Saguaro Lake Epi - Duplicate ns ns

Saguaro Lake Epi-near dock <2.0 <2.0

Saguaro Lake Hypolimnion ns ns

Lake Havasu

(June)

<2.0 <2.0

Verde River at

Tangle Creek

(June) <2.0 <2.0

Roosevelt at Salt

River Inlet

ns ns

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Table 3 - Reservoir Samples – June 5, 2017

Sample

Description

Location MIB

(ng/L)

Geosmin

(ng/L)

Lake Pleasant

(May)

Eplimnion <2.0 <2.0

Lake Pleasant

(May)

Hypolimnion 3.9 <2.0

Verde River @

Beeline

<2.0 <2.0

Bartlett Reservoir Epilimnion

Bartlett Reservoir Epi-near dock 3.9 11.0

Bartlett Reservoir Hypolimnion

Salt River @

BluePt Bridge

2.3 2.4

Saguaro Lake Epilimnion

Saguaro Lake Epi - Duplicate

Saguaro Lake Epi-near dock 3.0 2.5

Saguaro Lake Hypolimnion

Lake Havasu

(May)

<2.0 2.4