CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF WATERS AND SEDIMENTS OF STREAMS OF THE WESTERN ALLEGHENY PLATEAU: THE SHADE RIVER WATERSHED

The WAP and the Shade River Watershed within the southeastern part of Ohio were investigated as part of a EPA STAR grant to Ohio University. This was aimed at understanding the chemical, hydrological, geomorphological and biological factors affecting stream health. Field parameters, water and sediment samples were taken at ninety – three sites; with twenty-two focusing on the Shade River. The results showed that the major ions present are calcium, sodium, potassium, magnesium, phosphate and bicarbonate with calcium and bicarbonate predominating. However, some impacted sites had relatively high concentrations of iron, manganese and sulfate with high total dissolved solids, electrical conductivity and acidity. The impacted sites seem to be affected by acidic soils, the geology of the area and/or discharge from abandoned coal mines. The high phosphate concentration might be attributed to rock erosion or fertilizers and/or other anthropogenic inputs, while the high alkalinity and calcium concentrations might probably be due to the limestone geology. The results of the analysis indicate that the waters within the Middle and the West branches of Shade River Watershed fall within the calcite stability field.