Diesel Spill: Its Impacts on the Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities

8/9/2019 Diesel Spill: Its Impacts on the Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities

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The Elkhorn Creek Diesel Spill

Contents

Click-on any of the boxes below to go directly to the slide listed, or continuethrough the entire presentation by simply clicking the next arrow.

Cover slide

1Elkhorn Creek trout

2

Background information3

The accident4

Study site map 5

Standard operating procedures6

Benthic comparison tables7

Oil sheen photos8

Physical/chemical tables9

Results and discussion10

Acknowledgements11

Contact the WV Save Our Streams Coordinator with your questions or

comments.

E-mail:[email protected]
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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The Elkhorn CreekDiesel Spill

Its Effects on the Benthic

MacroinvertebrateCommunities

A study by Trout Unlimited: Kanawha Valley Chapterandthe WV Save Our Streams Program
http://www.wvtu.org/kvctu.htmlhttp://www.wvtu.org/kvctu.htmlhttp://www.wvtu.org/kvctu.htmlhttp://www.wvtu.org/kvctu.html


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Elkhorn Creek GoldElkhorn Creek Gold

Around 1970 rainbow trout fingerlings were accidentallyAround 1970 rainbow trout fingerlings were accidentally

introduced into the upper end of Elkhorn Creek becauseintroduced into the upper end of Elkhorn Creek because

the hatchery truck broke downthe hatchery truck broke down.. The rainbows startedThe rainbows startedreproducing and browns also started reproducing afterreproducing and browns also started reproducing after

WVDNR stocked fingerlings in the early 1990WVDNR stocked fingerlings in the early 1990ss..


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Elkhorn Creek begins its journey near the Mercer-McDowell County line on Rt. 52 and follows Rt. 52through many small, mostly unincorporated towns and enters the Tug Fork River in Welch. TheNorfolk Southern railroad follows the stream for much of its length. There are a few large springs atthe upper end of the watershed and many others add to the flow as you go downstream, as well asmany other tributaries. The springs flow out of the underground reservoirs that have collected in the

abandoned coal mines. This water is cool and the alkalinity is high, usually above 120 ppm.

Elkhorn Creek has not been flowing in a truly natural stream channel since serious coal mining startedin the region. The stream was moved in many stretches to accommodate roads, railroads, houses,towns and coal mines. In several stretches one or both banks of the stream is a rock wall, a concretewall, a timber crib wall, or a railroad embankment consisting of rock, gravel and other materials. In

many sections the stream bank is a gob pile and coal fines are piled everywhere.

After the major floods of 2001 and 2002 the residents and local politicians insisted that the streams bedredged. About $5,300,000 was secured for stream cleaning projects, which consisted of gabionwalls between the stream and several houses, bank repair with large rocks and major dredging. Thework was completed around the latter part of September 2002; more than 5 miles of stream has beendredged or severely altered by heavy equipment.

-- courtesy ofErnie Nesterof the Kanawha Valley of Trout Unlimited

Background


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9-9-07


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The Study SitesControl Impact 0.6 miles

Impact Recovery 3.9 miles
http://www.wvdep.org/dwwm/wvsos/vad/publicindex.cfm?Action=View&SurveyCode=WVTFELC-09182007http://www.wvdep.org/dwwm/wvsos/vad/publicindex.cfm?Action=View&SurveyCode=WVTFELC-09182007bhttp://www.wvdep.org/dwwm/wvsos/vad/publicindex.cfm?Action=View&SurveyCode=WVTFELC-09182007a


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Standard Operating Procedures

A level three WV Save Our Streams bioassessment wasperformed at each site, which includes an assessmentof 10 habitat conditions, observations of current physicalconditions, and discharge measurements using a GlobalFlow Probe velocity meter. Water chemistry wasanalyzed using the WV Save Our Streams Field Kit

(XX01245). The water chemistry kit consists of thefollowing: Dissolved Oxygen (5860), Alkalinity (4491-DR), Acidity (7182) and Iron (3318). Additionally fieldattributes of pH, Conductivity, Temperature, and TotalDissolved Solids was measured using a LaMotte TracerMeter (1766). Clarity was estimated using a simpleturbidity tube.

Macroinvertebrate samples will be collected using amodifiedsurber style kick-net, which is 18 high x 9wide x 10 deep. The nets mesh is a 500-micron Nytex.Six kicks were collected at each station from riffles. The

macroinvertebrate samples were preserved on-site andidentified to family level. A full count was performed tothe extent possible. West Virginia Save Our Streamswill identify the samples using facilities at DEPs

Kanawha City Headquarters.
http://www.wvdep.org/Docs/16662_WVSOS_ChemistryFieldKit.pdfhttp://www.wvdep.org/Docs/16662_WVSOS_ChemistryFieldKit.pdfhttp://www.wvdep.org/Docs/16662_WVSOS_ChemistryFieldKit.pdfhttp://www.wvdep.org/dwwm/wvsos/Kick_net.cfmhttp://www.wvdep.org/dwwm/wvsos/Kick_net.cfmhttp://www.wvdep.org/dwwm/wvsos/Kick_net.cfmhttp://www.wvdep.org/dwwm/wvsos/Kick_net.cfmhttp://www.wvdep.org/dwwm/wvsos/Kick_net.cfmhttp://www.wvdep.org/dwwm/wvsos/Kick_net.cfmhttp://www.wvdep.org/Docs/16662_WVSOS_ChemistryFieldKit.pdfhttp://www.wvdep.org/Docs/16727_WVSOS_StreamSurveyModule.htm


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Benthic comparisons

0

62.4

48.6

59.3

0

65.5 64.5

20.4

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

1 2 3

Stream Index 2007

Stream Index 2008

63.6

27.6

42.9

83.5 85.0

12.2

0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

70.0

80.0

90.0

1 2 3

% EPT Abundance 2007

% EPT Abundance 2008

Dramatic decline in density downstream from spill; some

recovery seven months later.

O


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Oil sheen at impact site

Spring 2008

Slight odor

Fall 2007

Strong odor

Ph i h i l i


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Physiochemical comparisons

R lt d di i


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We assessed the effects of a 7500-gallon diesel fuel spill on the macroinvertebrate fauna of a troutstream in southern WV. To determine the spatial extent of the spill we sampled two locations

(downstream of the spill) and a reference site (upstream of spill). Sampling was repeated twice over a7-month period and at least one more round of samples will occur within the next 5-months to assesstemporal recovery.

1. Eight days after the spill, invertebrate density at all locations below the spill was significantlylower than reference density. Seven months after the spill, density had increased but was stillless than the reference site, suggesting that invertebrates had recovered somewhat numerically.Taxonomic richness below the spill was less than the reference taxonomic richness, but notsignificantly.

2. We concluded that the diesel fuel spill significantly reduced the density of invertebrates and

taxonomic richness to some extent, at least 4-miles downstream. The density recoveredsomewhat within seven months but was still less than the reference site. The community at theimpact site to a limited extent, but especially at the recovery site was species poor and over-represented by a single dominant taxon, suggesting that seven months was not sufficient for fullcommunity recovery from the oil spill.

3. There were significant differences between reference and recovery site after seven months, butwe feel these differences could not be attributed to the oil spill. We suspected major physicalchanges were at least in part, responsible for the differences.

WV Department of Environmental ProtectionWV Save Our Streams Program

601 57th

Street, SECharleston, WV 25304

Web page: http://www.wvdep.org/dwwm/wvsosE-mail: [email protected]

Results and discussion
http://www.wvdep.org/item.cfm?ssid=11&ss1id=202mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.wvdep.org/item.cfm?ssid=11&ss1id=202


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WV Save Our StreamWV Save Our Streams would like to acknowledges would like to acknowledge

the many TU volunteers and others who participatedthe many TU volunteers and others who participated

in this study. Below is a partial list of some of thein this study. Below is a partial list of some of the

persons who contributed to the effort.persons who contributed to the effort.

Ernie NesterErnie Nester, Alvan Gale, Jennifer Dupree, Jack, Alvan Gale, Jennifer Dupree, Jack

Williams, Larry Orr, Randy Augustine, DawnWilliams, Larry Orr, Randy Augustine, Dawn DoudDoud,,

Steve Sattler, Steve White, B.J. Amos, several localSteve Sattler, Steve White, B.J. Amos, several local

volunteers and many others.volunteers and many others.

Documents

Diesel Spill: Its Impacts on the Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities