Water Quality Assessment of Tidal Waters in Upper Inlet Creek, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina

摘要

Upper Inlet Creek, a tidal creek located along the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway inMount Pleasant, SC, is an important habitat for a variety of estuarine life and supportslocal molluscan shellfish populations. According to South Carolina's 303(d) list forimpaired waterways, fecal coliform concentrations in Upper Inlet Creek are aboveregulatory limits for shellfishing. However, it is unknown whether this impairment isdue to direct human fecal contamination (i.e. sewage or septic) or due to non-pointsources such as stormwater runoff and wildlife. Source-tracking and bacterial analysiscan be expensive, though alternative inexpensive methods have been proposed andassessed. This research focuses on the determination of possible causes and sources offecal contamination using these alternative methods. Methods included the use of fecalbacterial indicators, optical brightener concentrations, targeted sampling and consistentwater quality monitoring and analysis. Optical brighteners are found in 98% of laundrydetergents used in the United States. Detection of optical brighteners in tidal creeks mayindicate the discharge of waste and/or greywater due to failing septic systems, sewageleaks, or boat waste mismanagement. Studies indicate that the employment of bacteriaindicators in conjunction with optical brightener analyses is effective in determining aprobable source of fecal contamination. Results from this study show that fecalcontamination in Upper Inlet Creek is likely due to a combination of non-point sourcessuch as wildlife, pets, and storm water runoff.