WATER QUALITY OF THE WALLKILL RIVER IN ULSTER COUNTY, NY

It is critical to understand the water quality problems in our communities and the Wallkill River is especially important because it flows through three counties in two states along its 94 mile path including Ulster County, NY. The purpose of this study is to establish a database of water quality data for the Wallkill River to which water quality standards, future water quality data and land use can be compared. Samples were collected at 15 sites chosen along the Ulster County, NY segment of the river. The field parameters of pH, water temperature, electrical conductivity and dissolved oxygen were measured using portable Oakton and YSI brand meters. The samples were analyzed in the lab for major cations and anions – such as sodium, magnesium, calcium, potassium, sulfate, nitrate, nitrite, total organic carbon – using the Dionex ICS-3000 Ion Chromatograph and the Hach DR/2400 Portable Spectrophotometer. ArcMap 9 was used to create a land use map based off of county tax assessor codes and parcel maps. This has resulted in five months of data that has shown some correlation between land use and the quality of the water at the sample site locations along the river. For example, sodium concentrations ranged from 9.84-40.78 ppm, with the greatest concentrations occurring downstream of farmland which could increase salinity of the river from sodium build-up in the soil. Total organic carbon concentrations ranged from 2.9-13.6 ppm, and the location generally having the highest concentration is the most industrial, likely contributing the most contaminated runoff at a sampling point. The data collected is useful for characterizing the overall water quality of the Ulster portion of the Wallkill River and could be used to learn more about quality problems in local communities, how to best protect a watershed and improve water quality of the river itself. This data can also be used in the future to support the planned biological monitoring program.