COS 6-2 - Land Use Effects on Chloride in Ohio Rivers- Further support for the Freshwater Salinization Syndrome

Abstract: The Freshwater Salinization Syndrome (FSS) has been proposed as a way to conceptually describe the causes and consequences of increased anthropogenic salt pollution and weathering effects on both the salinization and alkalinization of water bodies. Herein, we provide analyses of chloride concentrations in 10 watersheds in the Lake Erie, Ohio River, and Grand Lake St. Marys watersheds using long-term monitoring data obtained from the Heidelberg Tributary Loading Program (some watersheds sampled since 1972). We found that urban watersheds, such as the Cuyahoga River, had the highest watershed yield and mean concentrations of chloride. Further, increases in chloride with time are greatest in these watersheds and are seasonally greatest in winter and spring when salt is applied as a deicing agent. However, we did find that a small stream in an agricultural watershed could also have consistently high chloride values from year-to-year, with the greatest values occurring in the fall. Thus, although we can make some generalizations and predictions on what land-uses may lead to FSS and symptoms such as high chloride levels, individual land and water use histories of watersheds must also be investigated. Increased salinization of waterbodies has negative impacts on the biota, water quality, and physical infrastructure and is an emerging environmental problem of the 21^st century.