Mecklenburg County Fish Consumption Advisories A Local Government Perspective David Caldwell Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services Water Quality Program NCLMS October 4, 2012
Lake monitoring program established in 1963 WQ Program established in 1969 WQ Program becomes part of Storm Water Services in 2001 CLEAN WATER IS OUR GOAL! US Whitewater Center (under construction March 2006)
Catawba River System Lake Hickory Lake Rhodhiss Morganton Hickory Lake James Marion Lookout Shoals Lake Statesville Lake Norman N N.C. S.C. Mountain Island Lake Gastonia Lake Wylie Fishing Creek Lake Rock Hill Lake Charlotte Mecklenburg
Lake Norman Year Impounded = 1963 Surface Area = 32,510 acres Shoreline Miles = 520 Average Depth = 33.5 feet Maximum Depth = 110 feet Retention Time = 207 days (average)
Mtn. Island Lake Year Impounded = 1924 Surface Area = 2,788 acres Shoreline Miles = 61 Average Depth = 17.7 feet Maximum Depth = 58 feet Retention Time = 11 days
Withdrawing an average 85 MGD Charlotte-Mecklenburg drinking water intake on Mountain Island Lake
Lake Wylie (South Carolina) Year Impounded = 1904 Surface Area = 12,139 acres Shoreline Miles = 327 Average Depth = 23 feet Maximum Depth = 93 feet Retention Time = 35 days (average) 7
What do we do? Plan and implement measures to protect and restore surface waters Implement activities to ensure compliance with Phase I and II storm water requirements (education, facility and BMP inspections, erosion control, etc) Respond to over 600 citizen requests per year Enforcement of local and state water quality regulations Numerous monitoring programs including lake and stream, physical, chemical, and biological Lake Wylie in South Carolina Lake Wylie Dam
Lake Issues
Lake Monitoring Program Lake Norman 6 sites Lake Cornelius 1 site Lake Davidson 1 site Mtn. Island Lake 10 sites Lake Wylie 11 sites
Field Measurements Temperature Dissolved Oxygen Conductivity ph Turbidity Chlorophyll a Secchi Disk (clarity measurement)
Chemical Analysis of Water Fecal Coliform Bacteria Alkalinity Ammonia Nitrogen Nitrate / Nitrite Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen Total Phosphorus Total Suspended Solids Total Solids Copper, Zinc, Chromium, Lead, Mercury, Manganese, Selenium, Nickel, Cadmium, Arsenic, Iron, Barium VOCs
So What About the Fish? Mecklenburg County - fish program since 1994. Includes only the streams and its purpose is to assess water quality based on population diversity Historically, no fish monitoring in the lakes. Rely on NCDENR for tissue assessments 13
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Storm Water Services Involvement Assisted the NC DHHS with Citizen Notification Partnership with NC DWQ to collect and test fish, and assist with funding 15
Why get involved? 857,301 freshwater fishing licenses issued in North Carolina 31,534 issued to Mecklenburg County residents 16
Citizen Notification Water bill mailing to over 220,000 citizens Distribution and posting of advisory signs Creation and distribution of informational flyers Distribution of information to Marine Commissions Posting of advisories on local website http://stormwater.charmeck.org 17
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Monitoring Partnership Purpose: Test fish that are popular for consumption Where: Lake Norman, Mountain Island Lake, Lake Wylie Species: Norman (6), Mountain Island (3), Wylie (4) Contaminants Tested: PCB, Mercury, Arsenic, Selenium 19
Fish Collection Electro shocking boat Setting Trot lines 20
Fish Collection Catfish collected on Mtn. Island Bass are measured and recorded Crappie collected on Mtn. Island 21
Testing Results 0.07 Lake Norman PCB Levels in Fish Tissue - July 2011 0.06 Parts Per Million (ppm) 0.05 0.04 0.03 0.02 NC ACTION LEVEL Blue Catfish Black Crappie White Perch Channel Catfish Flathead Catfish Spotted Bass 0.01 0 1 2 3 Composite Samples- July 2011 22
Testing Results 0.07 Mtn. Island Lake PCB Levels in Fish Tissue - July 2011 0.06 Parts Per Million (ppm) 0.05 0.04 0.03 0.02 NC ACTION LEVEL Blue Catfish Black Crappie White Perch 0.01 0 1 2 3 4 Composite Samples - July 2011 23
Testing Results 0.09 Lake Wylie PCB Levels in Fish Tissue - July 2011 0.08 0.07 Parts Per Million (ppm) 0.06 0.05 0.04 0.03 NC ACTION LEVEL Channel Catfish Largemouth Bass Black Crappie White Perch 0.02 0.01 0 1 2 Composite Samples - July 2011 24
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What Advisories are in Effect? # Species Location Contaminant Issued 5 Statewide Mercury 2008 4 Statewide south & east of I-85 1 Lake Wylie (SC) 2 Mountain Island Lake 1 Lake Wylie (NC) Mercury 2008 PCB 2011 PCB 2011 PCB 2011 26
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Conclusions NC DHHS requested additional collection and testing of blue catfish in Mtn. Island Lake. These fish were collected this past August and results are pending. 28
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