SULFATE CONTENT OF SURFACE WATERS OF WEST GEORGIA: VARIATIONS WITH LAND USAGE AND FLOW CHARACTERISTICS OF STREAMS IN CARROLL AND HEARD COUNTIES, GEORGIA

During water quality assessments of surface waters, the abundance of sulfate is often not considered. Sulfate can be an important minor nutrient to plants and animals in streams while high concentrations of sulfate can contribute to acidification of surface waters. Sulfate enters surface waters from groundwater, the oxidation of sulfide minerals during chemical weathering, atmospheric deposition from acid rain, human and animal waste, farming, and industrial processing and manufacturing. Seventy samples from streams in the Piedmont of west Georgia were analyzed for sulfate with a colorimeter. The samples were collected weekly beginning in January 2001 as part of the West Georgia Watershed Assessment. From these 70 sample stations, the 24 stations that showed the highest sulfate concentrations were selected to be monitored for one year for sulfate content. The range of sulfate for all sample stations from all sampling events was 0 to more than 80 mg/L, with averages ranging from 0 to 17.5 mg/L. Within the study area, the highest sulfate concentrations occur on a small creek that receives discharge of treated sewage (range=5-50 mg/L SO4, average=17.5 mg/L SO4). Other relatively high sulfate values occur where a stream flows through a swamp (range=3-16 mg/L SO4, average=8.1 mg/L SO4) in Carroll County and sites on the New River in Heard County that average from 5.8 to 7.6 mg/L SO4 and range from 0 to 17 mg/L. The New River is influenced by many human activities (sewage discharge) in the region east of the study area that are potential sources of sulfate.