2022 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Virtual Conference

March 13 - 15, 2022

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5/25/2021  |   8:30 AM - 10:30 AM   |  SALTING A WATERSHED HAS MORE THAN A SEASONAL IMPACT   |  Virtual Platform

SALTING A WATERSHED HAS MORE THAN A SEASONAL IMPACT

Freshwater salinization is a threat to many surface waters across North America. Understanding local drivers and impacts is necessary to address this threat, but few studies track chloride sources and transport at the watershed-scale. We present a chloride mass balance for two drainage lakes in an urban/agricultural watershed in southern Wisconsin. Chloride concentrations in these lakes have risen from ~1-2 mgL-1 in the 1940s, to ~50-75 mgL-1 at present. For two years, we monitored the lakes and tributaries with grab sampling and in-situ conductivity sensors. These data were combined with historical lake, tributary, and storm sewer data to understand long-term changes. Although there is a significant relationship between urbanization and peaks in chloride concentrations (p < 0.005), loading from tributaries is more dependent on drainage area (p < 0.001) than development or road density (both p > 0.3). Road deicing accounts for ~90% of annual chloride loading; however, elevated year-round concentrations allude to the importance of other sources and the unknown level of legacy chloride. With continued urbanization, chloride contamination could quickly become a problem for freshwater ecosystem functions and services. Focused reduction efforts could decrease or curtail the salinization.

  • Urban streams
  • Conductivity
  • Contaminants

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Presenters/Authors

Linnea Rock (), University of Wisconsin , lrock@wisc.edu;


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