The Wastewater Management’s
ecosystem monitoring program identifies trends and impacts to the
receiving water environment. The program has been in place since 1983 and
monitors the ecosystem’s biological composition and abundance, species
diversity, and receiving water quality. Gunston Cove, on the Potomac
River, is a key area of focus of this program since it receives treated
wastewater effluent from the Noman M. Cole, Jr. Pollution
Control Plant.
Sampling and monitoring are jointly conducted by laboratory staff and George Mason University and funded by the Program. The scope of monitoring activities is reviewed and updated annually to ensure that sampling and testing is representative of the ecosystem’s health and diversity. During the period of March to December of 2000, 18 water quality parameters were measured at least monthly at two sites. Thirty-five species of fish were identified in 11,091 specimens monitored in the same time period. Characterization of the water quality and biota enables identification of trends and impacts, which in turn can be evaluated for any needed actions.
During the Spring of 2001, a significant environmental find was noted. Alewives, a small herring, were identified upstream of the Noman M. Cole, Jr. Pollution Control Plant outfall. Alewives had not been observed here since before the plant was built in 1970. The superior wastewater treatment provided by Wastewater Management has enabled the return of the alewife to Pohick Creek, a tributary of Pohick Bay and Gunston Cove.