• Strategies to Identify, Eliminate and Prevent Sources of Bacterial Pollution Impacting Coastal Water Quality  - Keri Kaczor
  
• Road Salt – An Overiew of History, Practice, and Environmental Impacts – Joshua Katz
• Pharmaceuticals and Other Emerging Contaminants in Public and Private Drinking Water Wells on Cape Cod, Massachusetts – Laurel A. Schaider
• Pesticides in Maine Surface Waters: Sources, Potential Environmental and Human Impacts, and Monitoring Approaches – Lucner Charlestra

Strategies to Identify, Eliminate and Prevent Sources of Bacterial Pollution Impacting Coastal Water Quality
Keri Kaczor, University of Maine Cooperative Extension/Maine Sea Grant
Presentation cancelled
Abstract: Tourism is an integral component of the Maine economy and spending related to beaches is estimated to be over 500 million annually (Levert, 2009). Yet elevated fecal bacteria levels impair coastal waters, leading to health advisories on valued beaches. Rivers, streams and storm drains often transport pollutants from upland areas to the surf zone. Identification and remediation of harmful bacteria sources requires enhanced monitoring and in-depth studies beyond the immediate shoreline area.

 Maine Healthy Beaches brings together partners at all levels with a focus on sharing resources and solving problems. Strategies used to address bacterial contamination include utilizing the pollution source tracking toolbox approach, studying local circulation patterns to determine the fate and transport of contaminants, utilizing Geographical Information Systems to identify sub-watersheds likely impacted by human sources, sanitary surveys and local prevention efforts. Partnering on applied research and source-tracking studies, transferring data to usable information to act upon, providing training and technical support, has built local capacity to address pollution issues.

Road Salt – An Overiew of History, Practice, and Environmental Impacts
Joshua Katz, Maine Department of Transportation
Presentation available (pdf format)
Abstract: The chemistry of salt and the place of salt in human history are outlined.  Past and present practice of salt for winter road safety, including the search for alternatives, is described.   The fate of salt in the environment, with an emphasis on groundwater is discussed.  Research on environmental impacts of road salt is summarized.  Challenges of remediation of salt impacted wells are explored.  Possible paths forward that combine safety with less salt use are explored.

Pharmaceuticals and Other Emerging Contaminants in Public and Private Drinking Water Wells on Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Laurel A. Schaider, Silent Spring Institute
Presentation available (pdf format)
Abstract: The presence of pharmaceuticals, endocrine disruptors, consumer product chemicals and other organic wastewater compounds (OWCs) in groundwater, surface water and drinking water raise concerns about human and ecological health.  Unconfined sand and gravel aquifers are especially vulnerable to OWC contamination, especially in areas where septic systems are prevalent.  Silent Spring Institute has studied sources and movement of OWCs in groundwater and ponds on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, which has a sole source aquifer and where 85% of residents rely on onsite wastewater treatment.  This presentation will summarize results from recent Silent Spring Institute studies of OWCs in 20 public and 20 private drinking water wells on Cape Cod.  The most frequently detected chemicals include sulfamethoxazole (antibiotic), carbamazepine (anticonvulsant), acesulfame (artificial sweetener), and several perfluorinated chemicals (found nonstick and stain resistant products).  The maximum concentrations of sulfamethoxazole and phenytoin (anticonvulsant) matched or exceeded the highest levels in other studies of U.S. drinking water.  Wells with higher levels of nitrate and boron, which are both chemical markers of wastewater, and public wells with more residential development in their recharge areas tended to have more frequent detections and higher concentrations of OWCs.

Pesticides in Maine Surface Waters: Sources, Potential Environmental and Human Impacts, and Monitoring Approaches
Lucner Charlestra, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Atlantic Ecology Division
Presentation available (pdf format)
Abstract: Pesticides are defined as chemicals used by humans to destroy or control pests. Most pesticides are complex organic molecules either natural or man-made, but the latter greatly predominate. A variety of pesticides are used in agricultural fields in the Pleasant and Narraguagus River waterheds (Maine, USA) to increase crop production by controlling weeds, insects and diseases. However, these pesticides may enter surface waters through aerial drifts, overland flow and contaminated ground water. The Pleasant and Narraguagus Rivers are within the geographic range of the Gulf of Maine Distinct Population Segment (GOMDPS) of Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) and contain critical spawning and rearing habitat. Thus protecting water quality and habitat in these Atlantic salmon rivers has been a priority in Maine for a long time. This presentation will provide an overview of the source and behavior (i.e., fate and transport) of the pesticides used in these agricultural watersheds and their potential impact on human and ecological health. I will also discuss the results of field surveys comparing current in-stream pesticide monitoring techniques (i.e., traditional grab sampling) with a novel passive sampling approach, using the Polar Organic Chemical Integrative Sampler (POCIS). This has important implication for the estimation of time-weighted average concentration of contaminants in water, as a fundamental part of the ecological risk assessment process.

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