A study has been conducted for the past two years on a 4.6 mile stretch of the Saddle River near Lodi, New Jersey. The primary objectives of this study were two fold; initially, the amounts of various heavy metals being contributed to the Saddle River by stormwater runoff, rainfall, and individual tributaries, etc., were investigated to better delineate the distribution of various sources of heavy metals to the aquatic environment. Secondly, a series of benthal deposits from the Saddle River were analyzed to determine the fate of these metals once introduced into the receiving stream.
A mass balance analysis of heavy metals in the Saddle River was performed to determine the amount of these materials contributed from unrecorded sources. The results of this study seemed to demonstrate the importance of considering the potential scouring of river sediments as a secondary source of metals in determinations of this type.
The distribution of metals in precipitation samples collected in this study was found to be similar to that in runoff, with lead and zinc predominating. Relative concentrations of metals in precipitation as compared to those of stormwater were relatively insignificant. Metal concentrations of bottom sediments were found to vary considerably from sample to sample.
Estimates were made of petroleum hydrocarbon pollution loadings reaching the Delaware Estuary by determining storm event loadings of hydrocarbons from four storm sewers, draining areas of different land uses. Although refinery effluents constituted the largest source of petroleum pollution in 1975, it appears that after completion of currently required treatment processes urban runoff will be the largest remaining source of petroleum pollution. The petroleum in urban runoff resembles used crankcase oil in composition and contains toxic chemicals such as polynuclear hydrocarbons. Further research is clearly desirable. Remedial programs to control such pollution may be warranted on the basis of information now available.
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