INTERWEAVING OF GEOCHEMICAL AND GEOSPATIAL DATA TO LOCATE NONPOINT SOURCE ZINC CONTAMINATION OF UTOY CREEK, ATLANTA, GA

Toxic metals, defined as individual or compound metals that negatively affect people’s health, are used by numerous industries and are a prime concern in regard to addressing water quality from urban runoff (US EPA, 1983). Zinc is particularly troubling because of its diverse anthropogenic usage (Rose et al., 2001). During October through Early December of 2014 approximately 60 stream bed sediment samples were taken from Utoy Creek which is a tributary of the Chattahoochee River near Atlanta, Georgia. After chemical analysis was performed on these samples it was determined that the amount of zinc in Utoy Creek was above base levels (71-110 mg/kg) at several location which included both residential and industrial areas. Utilizing geographic information systems (GIS) techniques, such as flow direction, assisted in determining areas of interest for zinc contamination.