Insights for the water sector helping decision-makers move forward Canadian Water Network frames what is known and unknown in a way that usefully informs the choices being made. cwn-rce.ca
Algal Bloom Impacts • Human health • Drinking water treatment plants • Flora and fauna • Recreational use • Local economies
Algal Blooms in Canada • A recurring issue for municipalities • The severity, frequency & geographical distribution are increasing • Increases are driven by human activities and climate change • Difficult to determine extent and costs of algal blooms on a national scale
• Nutrients • Light Factors • Temperature causing • Water circulation algal blooms • Competition with and predation by other organisms • Salinity
• Nutrients • Light Factors • Temperature causing • Water circulation algal blooms • Competition with and predation by other organisms • Salinity Factors • Climate change exacerbating • Human activities algal blooms
• Nutrients • Light Factors • Temperature causing • Water circulation algal blooms • Competition with and predation by other organisms • Salinity Factors • Climate change exacerbating • Human activities algal blooms Complete understanding of local contributing factors + holistic management approach
Webinar Speakers Monica Emelko Nandita Basu Wendy Krkosek Professor, Associate Professor, Water Quality University of Waterloo; University of Waterloo; Manager Scientific Director, Lead, Lake Futures Halifax Water for Water Project
Managing Drinking Water Treatability Threats from Algal Proliferation from the Source to Plant Intake Monica B. Emelko, PhD Civil & Environmental Engineering, UW Mike Stone, PhD Geography & Environmental Management, UW Kirsten Müller, PhD Biology, UW UldisSilins, PhD Renewable Resources, UA Managing Algal Blooms in Drinking Water using Watershed-Scale Approaches --CWN Webinar-- September 18, 2019
Algae & Cyanobacteria in Drinking Water Sources • Algae : not a taxonomic descriptor • Cyanobacteria : phylum of bacteria • Multiple concerns in drinking water treatment | 2
Algae & Cyanobacteria: Treatment Concerns • Toxins • Taste and odor • Filter Clogging • Interference in coagulation • Variability in source water quality • Increased DBP formation potential | 3
Biostabilization: Increasingly variable source quality “Cumulative impact” is the impact on the environment which results from the incremental impact of the action when added + to other past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future actions …Cumulative impacts can result from individually minor but collectively significant actions taking place over a period of time. undisturbed post-disturbance post-disturbance riverbed riverbed fine sediment nutrients + biofilm biostabilization Leslie Reid Critical Shear Consolidation Stress for Erosion Period for Erosion (T c ) Depth @ T c Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ Guidelines, 40 CFR [day] [Pa] [mm] 1508.7, issued 23 April 1971) Castle River 2 0.105 0.013 UNBURNED 7 0.141 0.008 14 0.165 0.014 Lynx Creek 2 0.120 0.336 BURNED 7 0.230 0.426 14 0.310 1.540 Physical Sediment Characteristics Percentage of total mid-chain branched saturated biofilm by PLFA | 4 Stone et al. (2014)
Biostabilization: Increasingly variable source quality “Cumulative impact” is the impact on the environment which results from the incremental impact of the action when added + to other past, present, and reasonably foreseeable future actions …Cumulative impacts can result from individually minor but collectively significant actions taking place over a period of time. undisturbed post-disturbance post-disturbance riverbed riverbed fine sediment nutrients + biofilm biostabilization Leslie Reid Critical Shear Consolidation Stress for Erosion Period for Erosion (T c ) Depth @ T c Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ Guidelines, 40 CFR [day] [Pa] [mm] 1508.7, issued 23 April 1971) Castle River 2 0.105 0.013 UNBURNED 7 0.141 0.008 14 0.165 0.014 Lynx Creek 2 0.120 0.336 BURNED 7 0.230 0.426 14 0.310 1.540 Physical Sediment Characteristics Percentage of total mid-chain branched saturated biofilm by PLFA | 5 Stone et al. (2014)
Disturbances, Erosion, & Algal Proliferation | 6
Disturbances, Erosion, & Algal Proliferation | 7
Landscape Disturbance and Erosion | 8
Importance of Fine Sediment Surficial fine sediment • light brown fluffy biologically rich layer (3-5 mm) Consolidated fine sediment • grey blue clay like materials • anoxic Primary vector for P transport! Cross section of reservoir bottom sediment sample | 9
Phosphorus: Limiting Nutrient in Freshwater | 10 McMahon (2013) DOI:10.1146/annurev-micro-092412-155713
Reservoir Sediment – M. aeruginosa Proliferation | 11 Yang (2018) MASc Thesis
Land Use Change: Impacts on TSS and TP | 12
Land Use Change: Impacts on TSS Headwaters Mixed Urban | 13
Land Use Change: Impacts on TP Al Alberta ta Sur urface Wa Wate ter Quality Guid uideline: : 50 50 µg/ µg/l CCM CME & Global Guid uideline: : 30 µg/ 30 µg/l Headwaters Mixed Urban | 14
Risk Management: BMPs for Erosion Control | 15 Bahramian et al. (2018,2019)
Risk Management: Reservoir Management | 16
Risk Management: Reservoir Management | 17
Risk Management: Reservoir Dredging | 18
Key Messages • Algae are present in surface water year round: our goal is to manage their proliferation • Algal proliferation is complicated, BUT….. management of bioavailable P makes it less likely • Fine sediment is the primary vector for P transport in aquatic systems and can serve as a key source of bioavailable P • Fine sediment can comprise less than 1% of sediment mass in a river and still carry more than 90% of the contaminant — including P — load! | 19
Key Messages • Key sources of bioavailable P are frequently overlooked if we only look in the water column! • Upstream erosion control focused on fine sediment is a key management strategy…in all environments • Reservoir (and clarifier) management can include: - Dredging - P sequestration by coagulation - Aeration to disturb algae and reduce P release from fine sediments | 20
Acknowledgments • SRWP: Chris Williams, Amanda Martens, Kalli Herlein, Erin Cherlet (UA) • Many students: especially Caitlin Watt, Jill Crumb & Amy Yang (UW) • Heather Roshon, Canadian Phycological Culture (UW) • Norma Ruecker and Eric Camm (City of Calgary) • Tim Walton (Region of Waterloo) | 21
Partners | 22
Thank you Monica B. Emelko mbemelko@uwaterloo.ca
Managing Algal Blooms A Watershed Approach in the Lower Great Lakes Basins Nandita Basu Associate Professor University of Waterloo Kimberly Van Meter, Phillipe Van Cappellen, Fred Cheng, Melani-ivy Samson
“A normal lake is knowable. A Great Lake can hold all the mysteries of LAKE ERIE an ocean, and then some.” – Dan Egan, Life and Death of the Great Lakes 2 9/18/2019 Add a footer
Lake Erie’s woes started in the 1960s 3 9/18/2019 Add a footer
Lake Erie’s woes started in the 1960s 4 9/18/2019 Add a footer
Detergent bans and Wastewater Treatment Plant upgrades decreased Phosphorous loads and algal blooms
Detergent bans and Wastewater Treatment Plant upgrades decreased Phosphorous loads and algal blooms
Algae in the News Toledo Drinking Water Crisis 7 9/18/2019 Add a footer
Algae in the News Toledo Drinking Water Crisis 8 9/18/2019 Add a footer
Lake Futures : Enhancing Adaptive Capacity and Resilience of Lakes and their Watersheds • What is causing the resurgence of the blooms? • How do we achieve a 40% reduction in phosphorus (P) export to Lake Erie? • How LONG will it take? • What are the costs and benefits?
Lake Erie dominated by agricultural landscape – fertilizer and manure are the two big contributors of P loads
Agriculture is LEAKY and excess runs off – we have been able to reduce this excess, but there is still legacy..
In urban areas, pet waste and urban fertilizer are significant sources of phosphorus to rivers and lakes Fertilizer application rates on urban lawns three times higher than in agricultural areas
The Role of Climate Change Winter Flows are Increasing in Lake Erie Basin Normalized Rate of Change -1.6 - -1.0 -0.9 - 0.0 0.1 - 1.0 1.1 - 2.0 Van Meter & Basu., in 2.1 - 3.0 prep 3.1 – 4.0
Increasing winter flows bring in more dissolved (bioavailable) P Total P = Dissolved P + Particulate P
Lake Futures : Enhancing Adaptive Capacity and Resilience of Lakes and their Watersheds What is causing the resurgence of the blooms? - Fertilizer and Manure - Legacy - Climate Change - Tillage, tile drainage etc.
Recoupling the Nutrient Economy : Manure recycling on cropland and biogas plants
Recoupling the Nutrient Economy : Manure recycling on cropland and biogas plants
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