Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2009MT190B

Organic Wastewater Chemicals in Ground Water and Blacktail Creek, Summit Valley, Montana

Institute: Montana
Year Established: 2009 Start Date: 2009-03-01 End Date: 2011-02-28
Total Federal Funds: $24,420 Total Non-Federal Funds: $61,814

Principal Investigators: Gary Icopini, Stephen Parker

Project Summary: Organic wastewater chemicals (OWCs) originate from human or animal wastewater discharges (treated or untreated) to the environment. OWCs encompass a wide variety of chemicals and include pharmaceuticals, hormones, fire retardants, industrial chemicals, personal care products, and pesticides. Many of these chemicals have been shown to interfere with the endocrine system of both animals and humans at very low concentrations. Surface waters receiving treated wastewater effluent have received the most attention by researchers studying OWC occurrences and effects on the environment. Relatively few studies have examined the occurrence or fate of OWCs in ground waters.

A previous study has documented elevated nitrate concentrations that have been attributed to septic system discharges in the ground waters and surface waters of the Summit Valley near Butte, Montana, relative to other areas of western Montana, Since the factors that control nitrate sources, mobility and persistence in the subsurface are similar to those that influence OWCs, it is likely that the ground waters of the Summit Valley will also contain elevated OWC concentrations. Therefore the Summit Valley has been chosen to test this model. The same wells that were sampled in the nitrate study will be sampled again and analyzed for OWCs using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. This investigation will document the occurrence of a select group of indicator OWCs in the ground water and surface waters of the Summit Valley and will provide initial data for a future expanded research effort. In addition, this project will form the basis of a graduate student (MS) thesis.