Water quality and agrichemical loading in two groundwater basins of Illinois' sinkhole plain

Methods: Groundwater basins. -- Sampling. -- Analyses. -- Results and discussion: Chemical composition of surface water and groundwater. -- Water-borne bacteria. -- Dissolved organic carbon. -- Soil erosion rate. -- Atrazine on suspended solids

Source Identification of Sodium and Chloride Contamination in Natural Waters: Preliminary Results

Sodium-chloride (Na+- Cl-) contamination in groundwater and surface water in rural and urban areas of Illinois and the U.S. is widespread. The input of Na+ and Cl- from road salt in the northern U.S., seawater intrusion along coastal areas, animal and human waste in rural areas, leaking landfills and natural saline seeps in other areas has created progressively worsening problems with water quality in some municipal and private wells. In addition, elevated concentrations of Na+ and Cl- have adversely affected the biodiversity of wetland areas and waterways. These problems are especially acute in areas of the U.S. that are experiencing rapid growth. Water samples collected (primarily in Illinois) from streams, springs and wells containing elevated Na+ and Cl-, and from likely sources of Na+ and Cl- contamination were analyzed for a variety of parameters. The data from these analyses were examined graphically and scrutinized for trends and clustering in order to characterize likely sources of contamination of affected waters. The halides, Br-, Cl- and I-, in conjunction with cations and other anions, total N, dissolved organic carbon, stable isotopes (including *D, *18O, *13C, *15N and *18O of the NO3 - ion), tritium and their ratios were found to be effective in connecting most of the contaminant sources with their affected waters. The use of mixing curves proved to be an effective means of identifying sources of Na+ and Cl- when applied to specific study areas. Thus, the methods applied in this investigation may make it possible to identify the sources of Na+ and Cl contamination in natural waters.Ope

Database for the characterization and identification of the sources of sodium and chloride in natural waters of Illinois

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