AN EVALUATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH THREATS ASSOCIATED WITH STREAM DISCHARGE FROM TOWN CREEK IN GREENVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA

Abstract

Town Commons is a major recreational area within the city of Greenville that is frequented by many students and residents who utilize the water resources of the Tar River for kayaking, fishing and other activities. Complaints of gasoline odors and oily substances in Town Creek, near Town Commons have been documented since the 1980's and these complaints persist today. Also, storm water runoff has been identified as major non-point source of pollution due to the high percentage of impervious surface (~50%) in the Town Creek Watershed. The North Carolina Department of Environmental and Natural Resources indicated that groundwater contaminated by leaking underground storage tanks (LUST) was likely discharging into Town Creek and causing the odor and aesthetic issues. Excess bacteria concentrations in the recreational waters, especially after rain events, may be a public and environmental health threat. The goal of this study was to determine if the discharge from Town Creek poses a threat to the environment and public health. The specific objectives included: 1) to determine if the benzene concentration in groundwater and surface water exceeded the national standards (51 [micro]g/L); 2) to determine if the air quality standard for benzene was exceeded near Town Creek (5 ppm for 15 or more minutes); and 3) to determine if the concentrations of E. coli and enterococcus exceeded the recreational water quality standards (single sample threshold, 235 cfu/100 mL for E. coli and 61 cfu/100 mL for enterococcus). Results showed that benzene concentrations in water were higher than standards for 40% of the sampling events, benzene concentrations in the air were higher than standards 75% of the sampling events and E. coli concentration in the stream were higher than standards 40% of the time during base flow and 75% during storm flow. Implementation of storm water control measures, remediation of groundwater contaminated with benzene, and continued monitoring is suggested to improve the quality of water in Town Creek.