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Special Projects /Historical Studies
1. Advanced Wastewater Treatment (AWT) Monitoring
This monitoring occurred from 1994 to 1996, and involved the sampling of three (3) sites around the discharges of the AWT plants located at Belmont Avenue and Southport Road. A fourth location is accessible only by boat, and sampling depended on the weather conditions. Samples were collected once a month for bacteriology (fecal Coliform and E. coli) and selected conventional chemical parameters (Ammonia, Biological Oxygen Demand, and Total Suspended Solids). Field measurements were also recorded for Dissolved Oxygen, Specific Conductivity, Temperature, pH, weather conditions, flow, and water appearance. AWT Monitoring was usually done in association with the Monthly White River Monitoring program. This program was superceded by the Side By Side Monitoring program now administered by DPW-Contract Compliance.
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2. Bacteriological Study
This was an expanded part of the Monthly White River Monitoring program assigned as a separate project which was initiated in January of 1995, and was completed in August of 1997. The sampling frequency for fecal Coliform and E. coli bacteria was five (5) times a month and the number of sampling locations was forty-six (46) sites. This was to satisfy two (2) goals; 1) to integrate the City's bacteriological database with the historical United States Geological Survey (USGS) and Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) databases, which are structured on a monthly geometric mean of five (5) data points, and 2) to obtain a more detailed representation of the variable condition of bacteria in the White River and it's tributaries. fecal Coliform and E. coli bacteria were chosen as indicators of water quality because they are endemic to warm-blooded animals and do not survive long outside/beyond the source. These characteristics provide a good meter of water quality, specific to contamination from untreated wastes and wastewater.
3. Macroinvertebrate Studies
There have been at least four (4) macroinvertebrate studies performed on the White River in and around Marion County within the last 20 years, three (3) by the USGS; 1981 through 1987, 1994 through 1996, and 1999 through 2001; and one (1) by CTI from 1991 through 1993. The City plans on the continued use and support of the USGS in conjunction with macroinvertebrate and fish population studies using the same procedures and protocols as in the previous USGS studies with the City. The locations where macroinvertebrate and fish population samples are collected correspond to current and historical OES sampling locations. OES and the USGS are also integrating the use of Indices of Biologic Integrity (IBI), which incorporate riparian and habitat evaluations, with laboratory and field data.
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