Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2007AR171B

Continuous Water-Quality Monitoring and Potential Phosphorus Source Identification with Oxygen Isotopes

Institute: Arkansas
Year Established: 2007 Start Date: 2007-03-01 End Date: 2008-12-31
Total Federal Funds: $21,815 Total Non-Federal Funds: $43,713

Principal Investigators: Brian Haggard, Phil Hays

Abstract: In Northwest Arkansas and across the State, many agencies have been monitoring water chemistry and stream flow, particularly phosphorus concentrations and loads. Several studies have partitioned phosphorus loads into that from municipal effluent discharges and nonpoint source pollution, but this requires making some broad assumptions and the nonpoint sources of phosphorus are not identified. However, the oxygen isotopic composition of dissolved phosphate has been shown to be an effective indicator of phosphorus sources and cycling. Thus, this project will: (1) collect samples from different phosphorus sources (e.g., manure, effluent and commercial fertilizer) in Northwest Arkansas and determine the oxygen isotope compositions of dissolved phosphate in these environmental sources; and (2) collect edge of field and stream water samples from sites draining specific sources to evaluate oxygen isotopes of dissolved phosphate in complex environmental samples. Potentially, this project will demonstrate the ability of oxygen isotope characterization in dissolved phosphate to partition phosphorus concentrations and loads into various sources. This project will also evaluate and demonstrate continuous water quality monitoring using state of the art equipment that will provide real time phosphorus and water chemistry data.