Shang Liu EMSC 470W Spring 2012

Abstract
The proposed project is to create maps of water quality in the United States. Categories of water include surface water and groundwater. A single unit-less number called Water Quality Index has been used to represent overall water quality. For specific use, the Universal Water Quality Index can be used to evaluate sources of drinking water. The integration of spatial and nonspatial data (water data) will be accomplished in ArcGIS. The division of water quality will be shown based on different colors. My choice of country is Germany where many water parameters are recorded four times a day in two monitoring stations. About thirty years ago, water protection did not keep pace with the expansion of industrial activities. The Federation and the Lnder have therefore introduced a variety of measures aimed at a long-term improvement in water quality, which makes Germany an appropriate country to research my topic. In-country activities include visiting the Federal Institute of Hydrology for enquiry of the availability of water data and a tour to a measuring station for details of construction. Additionally, technical procedures of creating maps like this will be learned at the mapping agency in Frankfurt. Ideas of interests to USGS can be the list of water data typically collected in Germany because one of the goals of USGS Water for the Nation is to provide online access of important water quality data for the public.

Introduction
Water is precious for many reasons. It is essential for sustaining human, animal, and vegetative life. The growth of food crops absolutely needs water. Industrial activities, such as cooling machinery and mining, involve a large amount of water (Lerner and Hoyle 212). Our life is closely related to the quality of water. For example, fish often become contaminated as a result of polluted rivers. In 1972, the Clean Water Act was implemented to make U.S. waters become

fishable and swimmable. Not long after that, another federal law called the Safe Drinking Water Act has been applied to ensure safe drinking water for the public in 1974 (Bortman 1734).

Water quality is a general term to describe the purity of water. Water that contains many impurities is considered to be of low quality whereas water that has very few impurities is of high quality (Lerner and Hoyle 212). Since the 1950s, routine tests for water quality have evaluated temperature, turbidity, color, odor, total solids after drying, hardness, pH, coliform bacteria, etc. In recent years, addition parameters including chemical oxygen demand, hydrocarbons, metals and other toxic substances have been a growing concern (Swanson 1015).

A reliable source of high quality water is essential for human life. Otherwise, the result can be devastating. A well-known example is Love Canal in the state of New York. The canal, originally built in the 1890s, was unfortunately used for disposing tons of hazardous chemical wastes by the Hooker Chemical Company around 1940. In later years, Love Canals residents reported cases of miscarriages, birth defects, liver abnormalities, and cancer (Morello 164). Therefore, monitoring water quality ensures the health of the public. My proposed project is to create a map that displays water quality in terms of different colors in the United States. Water quality data will be obtained from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) National Water Information System (NWIS), which is a network of computers that store water-resources data collected by the USGS at approximately 1.5 million sites in the United States (Water Data for the Nation). The types of data collected can be classified into surface water and groundwater. Based on the availability of data in USGS, this map can be historical or real time.

Water Quality Index

The quality of water in a body of water depends on many parameters. To provide a standardized method for comparing water quality of different bodies of water, a water quality index (WQI) was developed by the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) in 1970. Amendments have been made by scientists and researchers to fit their goals under different conditions. The overall goal is to simplify the reporting of complex water quality data by developing a single unit-less number that represents overall water quality. Parameters According to the WQI developed by NSF, nine parameters were selected to make up WQI. Dissolved oxygen (DO) Dissolved oxygen is the measure of the amount of gaseous oxygen dissolved in an aqueous solution. The oxygen dissolved in lakes, rivers, and oceans is crucial for creatures and organisms to survive. As the amount of oxygen drops below the minimum level in water bodies, the quality of water becomes harmful to aquatic life, such as fish, and they begin to die off. Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) Biochemical oxygen demand, often referred to BOD, is the amount of dissolved oxygen needed by bacteria in a body of water to break down organic material aerobically at a certain temperature over a specific time period. If the BOD level is high, more oxygen will be consumed to decompose organic matters resulting in lower dissolved oxygen concentration. Temperature

Temperature is a very important factor affecting aquatic environment. Thermal pollution occurs when human changes the temperature of a body of water. One major source of thermal pollution is cooling water which is used to cool machinery. Most aquatic life could only survive within a temperature range. Additionally, warm water will result in a decrease in the amount of dissolved oxygen. Phosphates A phosphate ion is a polyatomic ion with the empirical formula of PO43-. Phosphate is a limiting nutrient in water because it will lead to rapid algae growth which results in the depletion of oxygen. Apart from that, it will increase the pH of water because algae absorb dissolved carbon dioxide for photosynthesis. Nitrates A nitrate ion is a polyatomic ion with the empirical formula of NO3-. Along with phosphate, nitrate is also a type of nutrient in water. Total solids Total solids is the measure of the total suspended and dissolved solids in water. In other words, it is the solids left in a container after drying a sample. Suspended solids are those that do not dissolve in water. They can either be retained on a filter while the dissolved solids pass through a filter. High concentration of solids in a water body generally means high concentration of bacteria, nutrients, and metal, which is bad not only for entertainment use but also industrial use because the solids may clog pipes and machinery. Turbidity

Turbidity is the cloudiness of a fluid caused by suspended solids that may be invisible to naked eye. If measured from a calibrated nephelometer, it has a unit of NTU. High turbidity reduces the amount of light reaching low depths, which can restrain the growth of submerged aquatic life and consequently affect species that are dependent on them.

Fecal coliform A fecal coliform is a subgroup of bacteria which belongs to enterobacteriaceae. The presence of fecal coliform in aquatic environment indicates that the water may have been contaminated with fecal material from humans or animals. Therefore, individuals who are exposed to this water have the risk of getting pathogenic diseases such as typhoid fever.

pH In chemistry, pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution. At near room temperature, it ranges from 0 to 14. A pH of 7 is neutral. A pH greater than 7 is basic, whereas a pH less than 7 indicates acidic. pH is reported in logarithmic units, which means that a pH of 6 is ten times acidic than that of 7. Excessively high and low pHs can be detrimental to the use of water. For example, water leaving out of an abandoned coal mine can have a pH of 3, which is very acidic and would be disastrous for fish living in it.

Sample Calculation of WQI

Test pH Total Solids Nitrate Phosphate DO BOD T Fecal Coliform Turbidity

Result 6 200 4 5 80 5 3 10 5

Unit Std units ppm ppm ppm % sat ppm degree C #/100mL JTU

Q-value 55 73 70 13 87 56 81 72 86

Weight Factor 0.11 0.07 0.10 0.10 0.17 0.11 0.10 0.16 0.08 WQI

Subtotal 6.05 5.11 7.00 1.30 14.79 6.16 8.10 11.52 6.88 67

Q-value represents the water quality of one parameter in a scale of 100. Weight factor indicates the relative importance of that parameter to the overall water quality index (Brown et al. 169). Q values can be obtained from the reference chart for that test. An easier way is to input the result in the WQI calculator which can be found on this website http://www.waterresearch.net/watrqualindex/index.htm. After Q-values are determined, it is multiplied by a weighting factor.

WQI Interpretation WQI Range 90-100 70-89 50-69 25-49 0-24 Rating Excellent Good Medium Bad Very Bad

Development of WQI
Throughout the years, a great amount of efforts have been dedicated to customizing WQI for specific use. The Universal Water Quality Index (UWQI) was developed to provide assessment of surface water quality for drinking purpose. Its parameters are classified into 3 categories,

namely health hazard, operational monitoring, and oxygen depletion. Specifically, parameters include total coliform, cadmium, cyanide, mercury, selenium, arsenic, fluoride, nitrate, DO, pH, BOD, and phosphorus (Boyacioglu).

Selection criteria of parameters In drinking water quality monitoring, priorities are given to substances that are known to have a profound impact on human health (National Drinking Water Standards). Research has shown that microbes and bacteria are one of the primary concerns both in developing and developed countries (Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality). Therefore, fecal coliform has been included as it is an indicator of microbial contamination. Unlike the original WQI, UWQI has included new parameters which include cadium, cyanide, mercury, selenium, arsenic, and fluoride. The reason is that the presence of arsenic, selenium, and fluoride in excessive quantities are detrimental to human health (Chemical Safety of Drinking Water). In addition, Cadmium, cyanide and mercury are toxic.

Overall index Calculation Category Oxygen Depletion Operational monitoring Health hazard Parameter BOD Phosphate DO pH Total coliform Cadium Cyanide Mercury Selenium Arsenic Fluoride Ntrate Unit mg/L mg/L mg/L std unit CPU/100mL mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L mg/L Weight Factor 0.057 0.057 0.114 0.029 0.114 0.086 0.086 0.086 0.086 0.113 0.086 0.086

Variable BOD

Nitrate

Arsenic

Dissolved oxygen

Fluoride

Total phosphorus

Mercury

Selenium

Cyanide

Cadmium

Total coliform

pH

Range X<3 3X<5 5X<7 X7 X5 5<X10 10<X20 X>20 X0.02 0.02<X0.05 0.05<X0.1 X>0.1 X8 8<X6 6<X3 X<3 X1 1<X2 X>2 X0.02 0.02<X0.16 0.16<X0.65 X>0.65 X0.0001 0.0001<X0.0005 0.0005<X0.002 X>0.002 X0.01 0.01<X0.02 X>0.02 X0.01 0.01<X0.05 0.05<X0.1 X>0.1 X0.003 0.003<X0.005 0.005<X0.010 X>0.010 X50 50<X5000 5000<X50000 X>50000 6.5X8.5 5.5X6.4 and 8.6X9 X<5.5 and X>9

Q value y=100 y=-25X+175 y=-22.5X+162.5 y=0 y=100 y=-10X+150 y=-4.5X+95 y=0 y=100 y=-1666.7X+133.33 y=-900X+95 y=0 y=100 y=25X-100 y=15X-40 y=0 y=100 y=-95X+194.17 y=0 y=100 y=-357.14X+107.14 y=-91.837X+64.694 y=0 y=100 y=-125000X+112.5 y=-30000X+65 y=0 y=100 y=4500X+95 y=0 y=100 y=-1250X+112.5 y=-900X+95 y=0 y=100 y=-25000X+175 y=-9000X+95 y=0 y=100 y=-10.857lnX+142.47 y=-21.715lnX+284.95 y=0 y=100 y=50 y=0

Weight factors and Q values can be obtained from the above tables. After that, a UWQI index can be generated.

UWQI Interpretation UWQI Range 95-100 75-94 50-74 25-49 0-24 Rating Excellent Good Medium Bad Very Bad

Use of Spatial Data

The USGS National Water Information System (NWIS) contains extensive water data for the nation. The groundwater database consists of water quality data obtained from more than 850,000 records of wells, springs, test holes, tunnels, drains, and excavations in the United States. Available site descriptive information includes well location information such as latitude and longitude, well depth, and aquifer (Water Data for the Nation).

Being the most powerful GIS software in the world, ArcGIS will be involved in creating maps in this study. To generate spatial distribution maps of water quality maps, relevant maps of the study area need to be collected at first. Then, digitize the maps in ArcGIS and set up a unified coordinated system for integrating data (Ni, 2009). After that, non-spatial data, namely water quality data, should be stored in an Excel spreadsheet and then linked with spatial data using the Join option in ArcMap (Balakrishnan, 2011). A sample format of Excel spreadsheet is shown below. Well NO. 1 2 3 4 Location a b c d Longitude -23 -13 -22 -16 Latitude 17 11 45 33 DO (mg/L) 5 4 3 1 Turbidity (TNU) 7 3 4 5 BOD (mg/L) 2 2 23 4

-14

21

The core of the map-creating process is to select the appropriate spatial interpolation method which has two categories in terms of the mathematical principle governing it. One is the deterministic interpolation and the other is the geo-statistical interpolation, or the Kriging interpolation (Ni, 2009). The advantage of the Kriging method is that it carries out unbiased estimation at an unknown sampling point based on data at nearby locations (Ni, 2009). The Kriging interpolation can be selected by clicking the Spatial Analyst dropdown arrow, pointing to Interpolate to Raster, and clicking Kriging.

Germany

According to the Federal Institute of Hydrology in Germany, two monitoring stations "Koblenz/Rhine" and "Koblenz/Mosel" are constantly collecting and evaluating basic water quality data such as temperature, electric conductivity, pH, turbidity, oxygen, chloride, and nitrate concentrations. The measurements are automatically recorded at short intervals and stored as 15-minute average values. These data are updated every 6 hours and can be retrieved in the form of individual values (table) or as up-to-date hydrograph curve (diagram) of the last 31 days (Bundesanstalt Fr Gewsserkunde).

In-country activity
Federal Institute of Hydrology Am Mainzer Tor 1, 56068 Koblenz

Contact Person Michael Hils Transportation From Frankfurt/Rhein-Main Airport by train via station Fernbahnhof. Travel time: approx. 1 hours. Trains go every hour. Tel: +49 (0)261/1306-5295 Fax: +49 (0)261/1306-5333 Email: webinfo@bafg.de

At the Federal Institute of Hydrology, my planned activities are to enquire the type of water quality data available in Germany, request a tour to a sampling site and ask their experience with creating maps. From these activities, I will be able to know what specific data they record and details of how measuring stations are set up. The best possible result would be they know how to create similar maps.

Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy Richard-Strauss-Allee 11, 60598 Frankfurt am Main Telephone: +49 (0) 69 63 33 - 1 E-mail: mailbox@bkg.bund.de

At the mapping agency, my primary concern will be the technical requirements of completing this task. In other words, I will be concerned about the advice that they could give to successful create the maps.

Interests to USGS
In 2001, USGS launched the online National Water Information System (NWIS) for the public to view much more of the historical water data collected by USGS. As an integral part of the USGS mission, the goal of NWIS is to disseminate important water data to the public. The list of water

data in Germany may vary, and therefore, it would be interesting to see how it differs from the data in USGS.

Works Cited
Bortman, Marci L. "Water Quality." Environmental Encyclopedia. 4th ed. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 2011. 1734-1736. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 25 Apr. 2012. Document URL http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CCX1918701578&v=2.1&u=psucic&it=r& p=GVRL&sw=w Brown, R.M., N.I. McClelland, R.A. Deininger, and R.G. Tozer (1970). A Water Quality Index Do We Dare? Water and Sewage Works, pp. 339-343. "BfG Homepage." Bundesanstalt Fr Gewsserkunde. Federal Institute of Hydrology. Web. 26 Apr. 2012. <http://www.bafg.de/nn_166576/EN/Home/homepage__en__node.html?__nnn=true>. Lerner, Brenda Wilmoth, and Brian D. Hoyle. "Watershed, Water Quality in a." Water: Science and Issues. Ed. E. Julius Dasch. Vol. 4. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2003. 219-221. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 25 Apr. 2012. Document URL http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CCX3409400342&v=2.1&u=psucic&it=r& p=GVRL&sw=w Morello, John A. "Love Canal." Dictionary of American History. Ed. Stanley I. Kutler. 3rd ed. Vol. 5. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003. 164. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 25 Apr. 2012. Document URL http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CCX3401802446&v=2.1&u=psucic&it=r& p=GVRL&sw=w

Qram, B. (2010). Water Quality Index: Monitoring the quality of surface waters, B.F. Environmental Consultants, Inc., http://www.waterresearch.net/watrqualindex/waterqualityindex.htm. Swanson, Karen A. "Water Quality." Encyclopedia of Social Problems. Ed. Vincent N. Parrillo. Vol. 2. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Inc., 2008. 1015-1017. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 25 Apr. 2012. Document URL http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CCX3074000630&v=2.1&u=psucic&it=r& p=GVRL&sw=w "USGS Water Data for the Nation." USGS.gov. U.S Geological Survey. Web. 26 Apr. 2012. <http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis>. WHO (WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION) (2004a) Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality (3rd edn.). Volume 1. Geneva. ISBN 92 4 154638 7. WHO (WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION) (2004b) Rolling Revision of the WHO Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality. Chemical Safety of Drinking-Water: Assessing Priorities for Risk Management. WHO (WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION) (2006a) Establishing National Drinking-Water Standards. Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality Training Pack. http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/S17.pdf (Accessed on April 25, 2012).