MONITORING TOTAL DISSOLVED SOLIDS SPIKES IN A STORMWATER RETENTION POND, ITHACA COLLEGE

Retention basins are built to manage stormwater runoff and reduce degradation of adjacent natural waterways. Ithaca College (IC), which is located in the Finger Lakes watershed, has several retention basins that are incorporated into the landscape. One of the main basins on the IC campus, Chapel Pond, is fed by a single culvert that appears to drain several uphill parking lots, roads, and building roofs. Chapel Pond tends to have a high total dissolved solids (TDS) loading compared to nearby creeks. The purpose of this research was to determine the source and nature of the high TDS. Continuous data loggers (HOBO meters) were deployed in the water inlet and in the middle of the pond. Over the course of the Fall 2015 semester, the HOBO meters recorded irregularly timed increases in electrical conductivity and temperature. During observation of one of these spikes, it was noted that water volume increased as well. In this presentation, we will show dissolved anion and metal analyses of collected water samples. Compared to the water that usually flows from the culvert, initial tests revealed that the higher conductivity water has higher concentrations of chloride and sulfate and the presence of bromide. This information is being used to narrow down the potential causes of high TDS in the pond.