United States surface runoff water

The solubility of methyl parathion is not sufficient to pose a problem in runoff water as determined by an empirical model of Wauchope and Leonard (1980). Some recent monitoring data, however, indicate that methyl parathion has been detected in surface waters (Senseman et al. 1997). In a study to determine the residue levels of pesticides in shallow groundwater of the United States, water samples from 1,012 wells and 22 springs were analyzed for methyl parathion. No methyl parathion was detected in any of the water samples (Kolpin et al. 1998). In a study of water from near-surface aquifers in the Midwest, no methyl parathion was detected in any of the water samples from 94 wells that were analyzed for pesticide levels (Kolpin et al. 1995). Leaching to groundwater does not appear to be a significant fate process. 

Phenol has been detected in surface waters, rainwater, sediments, drinking water, groundwater, industrial effluents, urban runoff, and at hazardous waste sites. Background levels of phenol from relatively pristine sites can be as high as 1 ppb for unpolluted groundwater and have been reported to range from 0.01 to 1 ppb in unpolluted rivers (Thurman 1985). Phenol has been detected in Lake Huron water at 3-24 ppb (Konasewich et al. 1978) and industrial rivers in the United States at 0-5 ppb (Sheldon and... 

Bromomethane occurs in ocean waters at a concentration of about 1-2 ng/L (Lovelock 1975 Singh et al. 1983b), but is not a common contaminant in fresh waters in the United States. It was not detected in storm water runoff from 15 U.S. cities (Cole et al. 1984) or in influents to sewage treatment plants in four cities (Levins et al. 1979), and was detected in only 1.4% of over 900 surface water samples recorded in the STORET database (Staples et al. 1985). The median concentration in these positive samples was less than 10 pg/L. 

The Clean Water Act (CWA or the Water Pollution Control Act) is the cornerstone of surface water quality protection in the United States and employs a variety of regulatory and nomegulatory tools to sharply reduce direct pollutant discharges into waterways and manage polluted runoff. The objective of the Clean Water Act is to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of water systems. 

Tufenkji N, Elimelech M (2004) Correlation equation for predicting single-collector efficiency in physicochemical filtration in saturated porous media. Environ Sci Technol 38 529-536 Turner BL, Kay MA, Westermann DT (2004) Colloid phosphorus in surface runoff and water extracts from semiarid soils of the western United States. J Environ Qual 33 1464-1472 van Genuchten MT (1980) A closed-form equation for predicting the hydraulic conductivity of unsaturated soils. Soil Sci Soc Am J 44 892-898... 

Hexachlorobutadiene has been detected in some surface waters but the incidence of detection is low. It was detected in 0.2% of 593 ambient water samples in the STORE database with a median level for all samples of less than 10 ppb (Staples et al. 1985). Hexachlorobutadiene was detected in 1 of 204 surface water sites sampled across the United States with a concentration of 22 ppb (Ewing et al. 1977). Low levels of hexachlorobutadiene were detected in the Niagara River at 0.82 ppt (Oliver and Charlton 1984). Hexachlorobutadiene was not detected in rainwater (Pankow et al. 1984) or urban storm water runoff (Cole et al. 1984) in a number of U.S. cities. It has not been detected in open ocean waters however, the coastal waters of the Gulf of Mexico were reported to contain 3-15 ppt (Sauer 1981). 

The US EPA set a drinking water limit of 0.2 parts per billion (ppb) of lindane. Industrial dumping sites such as the one in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania contain an estimated 400 tons of lindane waste and other waste dumped over a 50-year period on 30 acres of land. The runoffs from this site as well as others have the potential to contaminate drinking water with lindane. Lindane is regularly detected in surface water in the United States (see US Geological Survey monitoring studies). 

Important sources of PAHs in surface waters include deposition of airborne PAHs (Jensen 1984), municipal waste water discharge (Barrick 1982), urban storm water runoff (MacKenzie and Hunter 1979), runoff from coal storage areas (Stahl et al. 1984 Wachter and Blackwood 1979), effluents from wood treatment plants and other industries (DeLeon et al. 1986 Snider and Manning 1982 USDA 1980), oil spills (Giger and Blumer 1974), and petroleum pressing (Guerin 1978). Brown and Weiss (1978) estimated that 1-2 tons of benzo[a]pyrene were released from municipal sewage effluents and 0.1-0.4 tons of benzo[a]pyrene were released from petroleum refinery waste waters in the United States in 1977. 

A nitrobenzene concentration of about 20 ppb in the final effluent of a Los Angeles County municipal wastewater treatment plant in 1978 and less than 10 ppb in 1980 was reported (Young et al. 1983). Nitrobenzene was not reported in runoff samples in 1982 in a nation-wide project (Cole et al. 1984). Kopfler et al. (1977) list nitrobenzene as one of the chemicals found in finished tap water in the United States, but do not report its concentrations or locations. Levins et al. (1979) reported only one positive sample (total sample number not stated) in Hartford, Connecticut, sewage treatment plant influents, and no nitrobenzene was detected in samples taken from three other major metropolitan areas. Nitrobenzene was detected in only 0.4% of the 836 ambient surface water stations involved in EPA s STORET database (Staples et al. 1985). No data were located on occurrence of nitrobenzene in groundwater. 

The United States has abundant supplies of ground water and surface water based upon annual rainfall and provided adequate methods of preventing rapid runoff are installed. The 200 billion gpd water consumption in the United States is far less than that available from annual precipitation. All areas of the United States are not equally fortunate... 

Most runoff from TA-V flows west onto TA-III as overland flow and in natural and manmade surface drainage features. The remainder flows into two storm sewers in the northern portion of TA-V. Both storm sewers discharge to open channels within, and just north of, TA-III. Drainage from TA-III is to the west onto undeveloped portions of KAFB and then into playas on undeveloped state land. At present there is no requirement for monitoring runoff from TA-V because the runoff flovwng from that area is not discharged to Waters of the United States (SNL 1998c). 

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