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Watershed Access Lab Projects Watershed Access Lab

2014

Water Analysis of Abbott Run, North Attleboro,MA

This item is available as part of Virtual Commons, the open-access institutional repository of Bridgewater State University, Bridgewater, Massachusetts.

Recommended CitationNorth Attleborough High School, North Attleborough, Massachusetts (2014). Water Analysis of Abbott Run, North Attleboro, MA. InWatershed Access Lab Projects. Project 146.Available at: http://vc.bridgew.edu/wal_projects/146

*

**The purpose of our study on the Abbott Run River was to compare it’s

data to that of a Class A river. We collected data such as pH, dissolved oxygen, temperature, benthic-macro invertebrate diversity, river flow, river depth, nitrates, and the river’s specific conductivity at two separate sites.

* It is important that Abbott Run is Class A water, as it is the source of drinking water for Pawtucket, RI. The MassDEP states that in order for a river to be used as drinking water, it must be classified as a “Class A” source. These standards state:

*The dissolved oxygen be no less than 6.0 mg/L unless background conditions are lower.

*The temperature shall not exceed 28.3 degrees Celsius in warm water.

*The pH shall be in the range of 6.5 through 8.3 standard units but not more than 0.5 units outside of the background range.

*The Fecal Coliform Bacteria shall not exceed an arithmetic mean of 20 organisms per 100 mL in and representative set of samples, nor shall 10% of the samples exceeds 100 organisms per 100 mL.

*

*

*

*Abbott Run is the primary water source for Pawtucket

and Cumberland, Rhode Island.

*During the Revolution, cannons were made here at a

factory named Iron Rust.

*Robin Hollow, one of Cumberland’s first manufacturing

plants, was built in the early 1800’s, on Abbott Run.

*At Shady Pines, site B, there had been a Girl Scout camp

there for forty years, beginning in 1940.

*In 2006, the construction of a new bridge began on

Abbott Run. The concrete used may have affected the

pH.

*

*

Site B

Site A

*

*

-1

-0.9

-0.8

-0.7

-0.6

-0.5

-0.4

-0.3

-0.2

-0.1

0

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Depth

(Ft)

Segments-2 ft

2013 Depth

Average of 0.75 feet deep

*

Site A, Cushman Road

Looking downstream

*

*

-1.4

-1.2

-1

-0.8

-0.6

-0.4

-0.2

0

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Depth

(Ft)

Segments-2 ft

2013 Depth

Average of 0.89 feet

deep

*

Site B, Shady Pines

Looking Upstream

*

*There was

only .01 inch

of rain within

the week.

0

0.002

0.004

0.006

0.008

0.01

0.012

24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Pre

cip

itati

on (

in)

Date

Seven Day Precipitation for North Attleboro, Oct. 24-30, 2013

Precipitation

Average Flow, Total Discharge, Average Stream Width, Average Depth, and Bottom

Composition of Site A, 10/30/13

Average

Flow Total

Discharge Average

Stream Width Average

Depth Bottom

Composition

1.35 ft/sec 22.53 CFS 23 feet 0.75 feet rocky

Average Flow, Total Discharge, Average Stream Width, Average Depth, and Bottom

Composition of Site B, 10/30/13

Average

Flow Total

Discharge Average

Stream Width Average

Depth Bottom

Composition

1.27 ft/sec 24.83 CFS 14 feet 0.89 feet sandy

**The percent dissolved oxygen cannot be less than 75%

*Dissolved Oxygen shall not be less than 6 mg/L

*The temperature cannot exceed 68° F (20° C) in cold water

fisheries unless naturally occurring. It cannot exceed 83°F

(28.3°C) in warm water fisheries.

*The pH must be in the range of 6.5 through 8.3 standard units

but not more than 0.5 units outside of the natural background

range. There shall be no change from natural background

conditions that would impair any use assigned to this Class.

*Fecal coliform must not exceed 20 fecal coliform organisms

per 100 ml in all samples taken in any six month period, or

total coliform shall not exceed 100 organisms per 100 ml in 90%

of the samples taken in any six month period.

*

*The water in both Site A and B

did not show any fecal coliform

bacteria colonies. The water

was too cold at the time for any

colonies to grow.

6.7

6.75

6.8

6.85

6.9

6.95

7

7.05

pH

Time (hr)

pH Comparison, Abbott Run, Sites A & B 10/30/13-10/31/13

Site A

Site B

6

6.5

7

7.5

8

8.5

9

9.5

10

pH

Time (hrs)

pH Comparison Over Time, Abbott Run, Site A, 2005-2013

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2013

6

6.5

7

7.5

8

8.5

9

9.5

10

10.5

11

pH

Time (hrs)

pH Comparison Over Time, Abbott Run, Site B, 2005-2013

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2013

10.2

10.4

10.6

10.8

11

11.2

11.4

11.6

11.8

DO

(m

g/L

)

Time (hours)

DO Comparison of Sites A & B of Abbott Run 10/30/13 - 10/31/13

Site A

Site B

Class A: Dissolved Oxygen shall not be less than six mg/l unless background conditions

are lower.

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

DO

(m

g/L

)

Time (Hrs)

DO Comparison Over Time, Abbott Run, Site A, 2005-2013

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2013

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

DO

(m

g/L

)

Time (Hrs)

DO Comparison Over Time, Abbott Run, Site B, 2005-2013

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2013

6

6.5

7

7.5

8

8.5

9

9.5

10

Tem

pera

ture

(C

els

ius)

Time (hours)

Temperature Comparison of Sites A & B, Abbott Run,10/30-10/31/13

Site A

Site B

The temperature cannot not exceed 68° F (20° C) in cold water fisheries

unless naturally occurring. It cannot exceed 83°F (28.3°C) in warm water

fisheries.

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

Tem

pera

ture

(degre

es

Cels

ius)

Time (Hrs)

Temperature Comparison Over Time, Abbott Run, Site A, 2005-2013

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2013

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

Tem

pera

ture

(degre

es

Cels

ius)

Time (Hrs)

Temperature Comparison Over Time, Abbott Run, Site B,

2005-2013

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2013

90

92

94

96

98

100

% D

O (

Satu

rate

d)

Time (hr)

%DO Comparison, Abbott Run, Sites A & B, 10/30-10/31/13

Site A

Site B

Class A Standard: %DO not less than 75%

80

85

90

95

100

105

110

115

120

125

%D

O (

Satu

rate

d)

Time (Hrs)

%DO Comparison Over Time, Abbott Run, Site A, 2005-2013

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2013

75

80

85

90

95

100

105

110

115

120

%D

O (

Satu

rate

d)

Time (Hrs)

%DO Comparison Over Time, Abbott Run, Site B, 2005-2013

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2013

7

7.5

8

8.5

9

9.5

94

95

96

97

98

99

100

Tem

pera

ture

(D

egre

es

Cels

ius)

% D

O (

Satu

rate

d)

Time (Hours)

%DO and Temperature Comparison, Abbott Run, Site A 10/30-10/31/13

%DO Temp °C

7

7.5

8

8.5

9

9.5

10

90

91

92

93

94

95

96

97

Tem

pera

ture

(D

egre

es

Cels

ius)

%D

O (

Satu

rate

d)

Time (Hours)

%DO and Temperature Comparison, Abbott Run, Site B, 10/30-10/31/13

%DO

Temp

191

191.5

192

192.5

193

193.5

194

194.5

µS/c

m

Time (hours)

Specific Conductivity Comparison, Abbott Run, Sites A & B, 10/30-10/31/13

Site A

Site B

“…natural conductivity level without human

influence would be around 50 µS/cm or less.

The levels in the 300 – 400 µS/cm range

indicate likely contamination from salt and

or wastewater.” –Doug Heath, EPA,

2005 email

120

130

140

150

160

170

180

190

200

210

220

12:0

0:0

0

13:0

0:0

0

14:0

0:0

0

15:0

0:0

0

16:0

0:0

0

17:0

0:0

0

18:0

0:0

0

19:0

0:0

0

20:0

0:0

0

21:0

0:0

0

22:0

0:0

0

23:0

0:0

0

0:0

0:0

0

1:0

0:0

0

2:0

0:0

0

3:0

0:0

0

4:0

0:0

0

5:0

0:0

0

6:0

0:0

0

7:0

0:0

0

8:0

0:0

0

9:0

0:0

0

10:0

0:0

0

11:0

0:0

0

12:0

0:0

0

13:0

0:0

0

µS/c

m

Time (Hours)

Specific Conductivity Comparison Over Time, Abbott Run, Site A, 2005-2013

2013

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

120

130

140

150

160

170

180

190

200

210

220

µS/c

m

Time (hours)

Specific Conductivity Comparison Over Time, Abbott Run, Site B, 2005-2013

2013

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

Abbott Run Ranges and Averages

10/30/2013

Temperature (°C) pH (units) SpCond (µS/cm) LDO%(Sat) LDO(mg/l)

Range Average Range Average Range Average Range Average Range Average

Site A Cushman

Rd. 7.49-9.17 8.4208 6.81-6.92 6.8538 192-193 192.8 94.9-99 96.3 11.02-11.59 11.2688

Site B Shady Pines 7.58-9.43 8.5017 6.82-6.99 6.8708 193-193 193.0 90.6-96.2 93.0625

10.68-11.09 10.8671

0

0.001

0.002

0.003

0.004

0.005

0.006

0.007

0.008

0.009

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

mg/L

Soluble Reactive Phosphorus per Liter,

Abbott Run, 10/30-10/31/13

Site A

Site B

DetectionLimit

Class A Water Standards: SRP less than .05 mg/L High Detection for P: 0.326 mg/L

0

0.05

0.1

0.15

0.2

0.25

0.3

0.35

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

mg/L

Nitrogen-Nitrate per Liter,

Abbott Run, 10/30-10/31/13

Site A

Site B

Detection Limit

176408.7

4410.2

19076.99

486.04 0

20000

40000

60000

80000

100000

120000

140000

160000

180000

200000

Site A Site B

Loads

(g/d

ay)

Nitrogen and SRP Loads, Abbott Run, Sites A & B,

10/30-10/31/13

N Load P Load

53%

12.4%

8.1%

8.1%

7.7%

6.4%

3.8%

0.4% Trichoptera

Ephemeroptera

Plecoptera

Diptera

Coleoptera

Odonata

Megaloptera

Oligochaeta

Percentage of Major Group Bug Types, Abbott Run,

Site A, 10/30–10/31/13

MGBI: 3.47

Excellent

Percentage of Major Group Bug Types, Abbott Run,

Site B, 10/30-10/31/13

MGBI: 7.65

Very Poor

.5% 1%

7%

9%

10.4%

2.5%

.5%

1.5% 67.7%

Ephemeroptera

Plecoptera

Trichoptera

Diptera

Odonata

Megaloptera

Coleoptera

Amphipoda

Oligochaeta

**pH levels are similar to previous years at the

usual level for water which is close to 7

*Dissolved Oxygen Levels and water temperature for both sites are similar to other years

*Site A had more N-NO3 than Site B, but the SRP is the limiting factor for fresh water.

*The number of Net-Spinning Caddisflies in Site A have increased while Net-Spinning Caddisflies in Site B have decreased

* In previous years more net Spinning Caddisflies were found in Site B than in Site A

*Net-Spinning Caddisflies are more tolerant to pollution than Case Building Caddisflies.

*Oligochaeta is the majority group of BMIs in Site B which hasn’t been seen in previous years

*The MGBI for Site B is very poor which hasn’t been seen in previous years.

*

*Continue to monitor the Benthic Macro-invertebrate

communities for both sites.

*Perhaps next year’s class can identify bugs to family instead

of just order/class.

*Check specific conductivity to see if 2013-2014’s snowfall

increases the values.

*Continue monitoring the N-NO3 and SRP loads to see if land

use causes any changes.

*Laura Ebraico

*Brian Gariepy

*Andria Grant

*Cameron Grieves

*Ruth Hanan

*Shane Hanrahan

*Nicole Hastry

*Andrew Hoffman

*David Howlett

*James O’ Connor

*Patricia Pitassi

*Jacob Rivello

*Siddarth Senthilkumaran

*Alec Swanson

*Thomas Van

Executive Producers…

Laura Ebraico

Andria Grant

Nicole Hastry