OWML: Current Projects

Project Title: Escherichia coli and suspended sediment in Berger Ditch and at the Lake Erie beach coves at Maumee Bay State Park, Oregon, Ohio 2006.

Project chief:  Amie Brady

Cooperators:  Lake Erie Commission and the University of Toledo

Project duration:  Summer 2006 - 2007

Introduction and problem: 
A previous project, involving the USGS, the University of Toledo (UT), and the Maumee Bay Bacteria Task Force, investigated the spatial distribution of Escherichia coli (E. coli) contamination within Maumee Bay and the beach at Maumee Bay State Park (MBSP) (Francy and others, 2005). In this study, elevated E. coli concentrations in and around Berger Ditch implicated it as a principal source of E. coli to MBSP.

Goals and objectives: 
The goal of the 2006 project was to determine instantaneous discharges of E. coli and suspended sediment from Berger Ditch into Lake Erie to be used to help predict the recreational water-quality at the beach and design a proposed treatment wetland at MBSP. To meet this goal, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Lake Erie Commission and the University of Toledo (UT), determined concentrations of E. coli and suspended sediment in samples collected over a range of flow conditions.

Approach:
At the onset of this study, an automatic sampler was installed at an existing USGS stream gage on Berger Ditch (station number 04194085). The sampler was programmed to trigger during a pre-set change in flow. Samples collected by the sampler were analyzed for E. coli concentrations and suspended sediment concentrations. As part of another project, samples were manually collected to determine E. coli concentrations in Berger Ditch and at MBSP beach. Also, an acoustic Doppler velocity meter (ADVM), which provides a continuous measure of streamflow, even during backwater and flow reversal conditions that are common in the area, was operating at the USGS stream gage on Berger Ditch. Streamflow data collected from the gage was used in calculations of instantaneous discharges of E. coli and suspended sediment.

An online USGS Open-File Report summarizing the results of the study was published in 2007:

Brady, A.M.G., 2007, Escherichia coli and suspended sediment in Berger Ditch at Maumee Bay State Park, Oregon, Ohio, 2006, U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2007-1244, 26 p.

References:
Francy, D.S., Struffolino, P., Brady, A.M.G., and Dwyer, D.F., 2005. A spatial multivariable approach for identifying proximate sources of Escherichia coli to Maumee Bay, Lake Erie, Ohio, U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2005-1386, 24 p.