Using chloride and other ions to trace sewage and road salt in the Illinois Waterway

Chloride concentrations in waterways of northern USA are increasing at alarming rates and road salt is commonly assumed to be the cause. However, there are additional sources of Cl⁻ in metropolitan areas, such as treated wastewater (TWW) and water conditioning salts, which may be contributing to Cl⁻ loads entering surface waters. In this study, the potential sources of Cl⁻ and Cl⁻ loads in the Illinois River Basin from the Chicago area to the Illinois River’s confluence with the Mississippi River were investigated using halide data in stream samples and published Cl⁻ and river discharge data. The investigation showed that road salt runoff and TWW from the Chicago region dominate Cl⁻ loads in the Illinois Waterway, defined as the navigable sections of the Illinois River and two major tributaries in the Chicago region. Treated wastewater discharges at a relatively constant rate throughout the year and is the primary source of Cl⁻ and other elements such as F⁻ and B. Chloride loads are highest in the winter and early spring as a result of road salt runoff which can increase Cl⁻ concentrations by up to several hundred mg/L. Chloride concentrations decrease downstream in the Illinois Waterway due to dilution, but are always elevated relative to tributaries downriver from Chicago. The TWW component is especially noticeable downstream under low discharge conditions during summer and early autumn when surface drainage is at a minimum and agricultural drain tiles are not flowing.     

Multidecadal trend analysis of hydrological drought along River Niger using the Streamflow Drought Index

Droughts affect human well-being and the economy of countries across the world. Understanding the long-term evolution of droughts within a particular region will help in drought mitigation and adaptation plans, thereby reducing drought impact on the environment. This study examined the multidecadal trends in hydrological droughts at two stations along River Niger using 3-month, 6-month, and annual time scales. Hydrological drought events were identified using the streamflow drought index (SDI) between 1915 and 1990 based on the Theil-Sen slope and Mann-Kendall approaches. Across the timescales, extreme and severe droughts occurred in 1982/84 and 1983/84 with -2 ≤ S_d < -1.5. On an annual scale, the results from the annual SDI further showed that the 7th and 8th decades (1971−1990) recorded more drought events of varying degrees ranging from mild to extreme drought in both stations than in other decades. The last two decades (7th and 8th) further revealed the most extended hydrological drought duration from 1974/75 to 1988/89 for Baro and from 1979/80 to 1988/89 for Lokoja. The highest severity recorded at Baro was -15.56 and -14.26 at Lokoja. The prolonged duration of drought events across the stations and their associated yearly intensities suggests that more proactive measures are needed to ameliorate the hydrological drought impact in the study area.