Groundwater in the Great Lakes Basin

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Significant Groundwater Quality Issues: Viruses There have been few studies on the presence of pathogens, particularly viruses, in basin groundwater. Viruses are common in groundwater, even groundwater from deep confined aquifers, and studies show a relationship between groundwater contamination and human disease (See Appendix B). Viruses travel farther and survive longer than bacteria in groundwater because of their small size and because they have the same electrical charge as soil and rock particles. Overall, 90% of water-borne pathogenic disease outbreaks are attributable to water systems supplied from groundwater, and more than half of these water-related illnesses may be due to viruses. The primary source of disease-causing viruses is human fecal waste from malfunctioning septic tank and seepage bed systems and leaking sanitary sewers. Studies have correlated the occurrence of waterborne viral disease to the density of septic systems. One study of the causes of diarrhea in children under age five in central Wisconsin found that more than 20% of cases were due to contamination of well water from failed septic systems. A critical observation is that the usual measures of sanitary quality based on bacteria do not correlate with viral contamination. On-site treatment systems are discussed further below and in Appendix D. Nutrients and Pesticides Fertilizer use is concentrated in corn-belt states and has dramatically increased over the last 50 years, especially the application of nitrogen in both urban and agricultural settings (see Appendix C). In the 1950s and again in the early 1990s, Ontario conducted water well surveys. The surveys found that 14% of the wells consistently exceeded nitrogen standards for both time periods and that, while 15% were high for bacteria in the 1950s, 34% were high in the 1990s. Another growing concern is soluble reactive phosphate from the escalating use of manure fertilizer. Inappropriate manure land spreading practices is a contributing factor. Further, escalating demand for ethanol may lead to increased corn cropland and consequent increased fertilizer and pesticide use. Also of concern is atmospheric deposition of nitrogen in the Great Lakes Basin. The corn belt is a prime locale for pesticide application. Any pesticide use data – urban and rural – are often difficult to obtain, and different data sources sometimes are at odds. Rarely do such data sets measure actual application; rather, the assumption is that label rates are applied. Tile drains, common in agricultural fields, are essentially “horizontal wells” that are subsidized by most jurisdictions in the basin. Most tiling is concentrated in Ohio, Ontario, Indiana and Illinois. Tile drains intercept water in the vadose zone and transport it to surface water systems. Therefore, less water is available for groundwater recharge. Tiling also facilitates mineralization, hence mobility, of nitrogen and phosphorus. Nevertheless, not much data are available. On‐Site Treatment of Human Waste Inappropriate septage practices are of concern (See Appendix D). Many rural communities rely on aging individual septic systems or drain tile networks that discharge sewage directly to surface waters, even though direct discharge of untreated sewage is illegal. According to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, there are an estimated 64,000 septic systems posing an imminent threat to public health in the state. They estimate that it will cost $1.2 billion to fix all the septic system problems in Minnesota. On-site septic treatment of sanitary wastes is proliferating throughout the basin – serving more than 50% of new housing in some areas – even though at least 20% of existing systems fail to treat wastes adequately. Leaky sewer and waterlines are of concern – 30% conveyance loss is common, and thousands of line breaks occur in the basin every year. Few jurisdictions monitor or regulate these systems in any systematic way. In the United States, water supply regulations exempt groundwater from disinfection requirements that apply to surface water. In Ontario, lenders are increasingly requiring home buyers to certify wells and wastewater systems. Also, following a serious water-borne disease outbreak at Walkerton, Ontario adopted requirements for permitting groundwater withdrawals and mediating groundwater disputes. Approximately 25,000 new or replacement on-site systems (OSSs) are installed annually in Ontario with similar numbers installed in each of the Great Lakes states each year. There has been little research to understand the extent of effects of OSSs on groundwater but, in addition to bacteria, viruses and nutrients, pharmaceuticals, personal care products and nanomaterials are a growing concern. Although there are 1.4 million OSSs in Michigan, there is no statewide on-site system code. Most jurisdictions do not compile information on new or existing systems. 3
4 Systems have a 30-year lifespan due to hardware issues and soil saturation; 50% of the OSSs in the United States are older than 30 years. OSS regulatory programs are in transition due to aging systems and development of new technologies. Generally, jurisdictions are moving from design-based permitting (assumed gravity-fed system) to performance standards. About 5% of new systems in the basin use “advanced” technologies that include pre-treatment prior to release to soil, but these systems have more “moving parts” and therefore require regular maintenance. By comparison, in Texas, due to stringent OSS regulations, 50% of newly installed systems are “advanced” types. In Ontario, since 1997, small systems (
Page 1 and 2: AReportoftheGreatLakesScienceAdviso
Page 3 and 4: Citation: Great Lakes Science Advis
Page 6: Commissioners’ Preface The Great
Page 9: 2 required to monitor basin groundw
Page 13 and 14: 6 Groundwater quality is routinely
Page 15 and 16: 8 Transmittal Letter Groundwater/An
Page 17 and 18: 10 Acknowledgements, Activities and
Page 19 and 20: APPENDICES Appendices A through L p
Page 21 and 22: INTRODUCTION Groundwater, a major n
Page 23 and 24: 16 DESCRIPTION OF NATURAL SYSTEMS M
Page 25 and 26: that are not substantially affected
Page 27 and 28: Estimates of the Level and Extent o
Page 29 and 30: APPENDIX B Threats to Groundwater Q
Page 31 and 32: 24 PATHOGENS Bacteria, viruses and
Page 33 and 34: Viruses Viral pathogens continue to
Page 35 and 36: SPECIFIC EPISODES Walkerton In 2000
Page 37 and 38: 30 season. The sampling sites inclu
Page 39 and 40: 32 Curriero, F.C., Patz, J.A., Rose
Page 41 and 42: Infection of a suitable host specie
Page 44 and 45: APPENDIX C Threats to Groundwater Q
Page 46 and 47: Road salt has significant toxic eff
Page 48 and 49: converted to nitrite in the human s
Page 50 and 51: Atrazine Atrazine is an extensively
Page 52 and 53: Wisconsin DNR keeps track of about
Page 54 and 55: Table 1. Chemical Contaminants in G
Page 56 and 57: isks for 23 diseases in six contigu
Page 58 and 59: Figure 1. Number* of waterborne-dis
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Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Wa
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APPENDIX D Threats to Groundwater Q
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Figure 1. Source: General Descripti
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(Gorman and Halvorsen, 2006). Any s
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Table 3. Washtenaw County, Michigan
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that the OWTS would last until it w
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REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY Aglie,
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Septic Tanks - Septic Tank Articles
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INTRODUCTION Leaking underground st
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sites that were previously closed,
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Table 1. USTs in Great Lakes States
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Estimation of Costs for Remediation
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Table 6. Operational Compliance of
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80 Indiana Government. (2007, Febru
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82 GLOSSARY AST - above ground stor
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INTRODUCTION 84 Hazardous wastes ar
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The town of Kincardine, Ontario, ha
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88 • The monitoring and surveilla
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However, the U.S. EPA has been relu
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92 Johnson, B.L. & DeRosa, C.T. (19
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PAHs - Polycyclic aromatic hydrocar
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INTRODUCTION An abandoned well is d
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Figure 6: Leaking oil well Source:
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CONTAMINANT SOURCES 100 During any
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Nearly 16 million operational water
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• Development of a targeted progr
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106 Michigan Department of Environm
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APPENDIX H Threats to Groundwater Q
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far reaching. Road salt can inhibit
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112 Desalinization Potential water
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Gray, J. (2004, January). Brine Spr
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INTRODUCTION 116 In 2003 there were
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118 feed has increased to upwards o
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References and Bibliography 120 Arn
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APPENDIX J Threats to Groundwater Q
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for recreational purposes and destr
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126 errors (human or mechanical), p
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Apparent Losses Old meters are like
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Figure 6. Examples of Windsor, Onta
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REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY 132 Ada
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134 Levy, S. (2004, November 16). T
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APPENDIX K The Châteauguay Transbo
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138 the clay sediments of the St. L
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REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY Bureau
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INTRODUCTION 142 Groundwater law ac
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144 • Water withdrawn be returned
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146 found to be failing. Now, with
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Part 373: Third Stage Treatment Lag
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150 Chapter 1501:15 Soil and Water
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152 Title 29 - Water Resources Mana
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APPENDIX M List of Acronyms ADHD -
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Groundwater in the Great Lakes Basin

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