The effect of shear-dependent flocculation on the multimodality of effective particle size distributions in a gravel-bed river during high flows

Purpose

Multimodal effective particle size distributions (EPSDs) develop as flocculation and particle breakage occur dynamically in a fluid shear and such distributions have been previously reported in coastal and estuarine waters to understand flocculation processes. Here, we use time varying multimodal EPSDs and hydraulic parameters (discharge and bed shear stress) to assess freshwater flocculation in a gravel-bed river in southern Alberta, Canada.

Methods

Instantaneous discharge, volume concentration (VC), and EPSD of suspended solids were measured during three high discharge events at four study sites in a 10 km reach of the Crowsnest River. The EPSD and VC of suspended solids (< 500 µm) were measured in the centroid of flow with a LISST-200x. Bed shear stress for measured discharge was obtained using a flow model, MOBED.

Results

Multimodal EPSDs consisted of primary particles, flocculi, microflocs, and macroflocs. Shear dependent flocculation was consistently observed for all sites and events, due to low and high shear stress flocculation, particle breakage, and mobilization of tributary sub-catchment derived particles. Higher shear stress limited flocculation to smaller floc sizes, while lower bed shear stress conditions created higher volumes of macroflocs.

Conclusion

Flocculation and particle breakage processes based on relationships between particle size and hydraulic properties presented herein have implications for advancing fine sediment transport models by a variable cohesion factor as a function of floc size class.

Microbial interactions with naturally occurring hydrophobic sediments: Influence on sediment and associated contaminant mobility

The erosion, transport and fate of sediments and associated contaminants are known to be influenced by both particle characteristics and the flow dynamics imparted onto the sediment. The influential role of bitumen containing hydrophobic sediments and the microbial community on sediment dynamics are however less understood. This study links an experimental evaluation of sediment erosion with measured sediment-associated contaminant concentrations and microbial community analysis to provide an estimate of the potential for sediment to control the erosion, transport and fate of contaminants. Specifically the paper addresses the unique behaviour of hydrophobic sediments and the role that the microbial community associated with hydrophobic sediment may play in the transport of contaminated sediment. Results demonstrate that the hydrophobic cohesive sediment demonstrates unique transport and particle characteristics (poor settling and small floc size). Biofilms were observed to increase with consolidation/biostabilization times and generated a unique microbial consortium relative to the eroded flocs. Natural oil associated with the flocs appeared to be preferentially associated with microbial derived extracellular polymeric substances. While PAHs and naphthenic acid increased with increasing shear (indicative of increasing loads), they tended to decrease with consolidation/biostabilization (CB) time at similar shears suggesting a chemical and/or biological degradation. PAH and napthenic acid degrading microbes decreased with time as well, which may suggest that there was a reduced pool of PAHs and naphthenic acids available resulting in their die off. This study emphasizes the importance that any management strategies and operational assessments for the protection of human and aquatic health incorporate the sediment (suspended and bed sediment) and biological (biofilm) compartments and the energy dynamics within the system in order to better predict contaminant transport.

Modelling sediment-microbial dynamics in the South Nation River, Ontario, Canada: Towards the prediction of aquatic and human health risk

Runoff from agricultural watersheds can carry a number of agricultural pollutants and pathogens; often associated with the sediment fraction. Deposition of this sediment can impact water quality and the ecology of the river, and the re-suspension of such sediment can become sources of contamination for reaches downstream. In this paper a modelling framework to predict sediment and associated microbial erosion, transport and deposition is proposed for the South Nation River, Ontario, Canada. The modelling framework is based on empirical relationships (deposition and re-suspension fluxes), derived from laboratory experiments in a rotating circular flume using sediment collected from the river bed. The bed shear stress governing the deposition and re-suspension processes in the stream was predicted using a one dimensional mobile boundary flow model called MOBED. Counts of live bacteria associated with the suspended and bed sediments were used in conjunction with measured suspended sediment concentration at an upstream section to allow for the estimation of sediment associated microbial erosion, transport and deposition within the modelled river reach. Results suggest that the South Nation River is dominated by deposition periods with erosion only occurring at flows above approximately 250 m(3) s(-1) (above this threshold, all sediment (suspended and eroded) with associated bacteria are transported through the modelled reach). As microbes are often associated with sediments, and can survive for extended periods of time, the river bed is shown to be a possible source of pathogenic organisms for erosion and transport downstream during large storm events. It is clear that, shear levels, bacteria concentrations and suspended sediment are interrelated requiring that these parameters be studied together in order to understand aquatic microbial dynamics. It is important that any management strategies and operational assessments for the protection of human and aquatic health incorporate the sediment compartments (suspended and bed sediment) and the energy dynamics within the system in order to better predict the concentration of indicator organism.

Hydraulic fractionation of conventional water quality constituents in municipal dry- and wet-weather flow samples

The effective design of treatment processes for combined sewer overflows (CSOs) requires understanding of the CSO characteristics and treatability. Environment Canada partnered with four municipalities to evaluate water quality and treatability of wet- and dry-weather flows at local sewage or CSO treatment facilities. Chemical characterization of the samples indicates that the municipal sewage at all of the sites is of relatively weak strength, with several differences between the water quality data for dry-weather and wet-weather flows (assumed to represent CSOs). Hydraulic separation of constituents with an elutriation apparatus illustrated the removals that can be expected with conventional settling techniques and differences in settling of various constituents.

An elutriation apparatus for assessing settleability of combined sewer overflows (CSOs)

An elutriation apparatus was proposed for testing the settleability of combined sewer outflows (CSOs) and applied to 12 CSO samples. In this apparatus, solids settling is measured under dynamic conditions created by flow through a series of settling chambers of varying diameters and upward flow velocities. Such a procedure reproduces better turbulent settling in CSO tanks than the conventional settling columns, and facilitates testing coagulant additions under dynamic conditions. Among the limitations, one could name the relatively large size of the apparatus and samples (60 L), and inadequate handling of floatables. Settleability results obtained for the elutriation apparatus and a conventional settling column indicate large inter-event variation in CSO settleability. Under such circumstances, settling tanks need to be designed for "average" conditions and, within some limits, the differences in test results produced by various settleability testing apparatuses and procedures may be acceptable. Further development of the elutriation apparatus is under way, focusing on reducing flow velocities in the tubing connecting settling chambers and reducing the number of settling chambers employed. The first measure would reduce the risk of floc breakage in the connecting tubing and the second one would reduce the required sample size.

Floc morphology and size distributions of cohesive sediment in steady-state flow

Fractal dimensions of particle populations of cohesive sediment were examined during deposition experiments in an annular flume at four conditions of steady-state flow (0.058, 0.123, 0.212 and 0.323Pa). Light microscopy and an image analysis system were used to determine area, longest axis and perimeter of suspended solids. Four fractal dimensions (D, D(1), D(2), D(k)) were calculated from the slopes of regression lines of the relevant variables on double log plots. The fractal dimension D, which relates the projected area (A) to the perimeter (P) of the particle (P proportional, variant A(D/2)), increased from 1.25+/-0.005 at a shear stress of 0.058Pa to a maximum of 1.36+/-0.003 at 0.121Pa then decreased to 1.34+/-0.001 at 0.323Pa. The change in D indicated that particle boundaries became more convoluted and the shape of larger particles was more irregular at higher levels of shear stress. At the highest shear stress, the observed decrease in D resulted from floc breakage due to increased particle collisions. The fractal dimension D(1), which relates the longest axis (l) to the perimeter of the particle (P proportional to l(D1)), increased from 1.00+/-0.006 at a shear stress of 0.058Pa to a maximum of 1.25+/-0.003 at 0.325Pa. The fractal dimension D(2), which relates the longest axis with the projected area of the particle (A proportional to l(D(2)), increased from 1.35+/-0.014 at a shear stress of 0.058Pa to a maximum of 1.81+/-0.005 at 0.323Pa. The observed increases in D(1) and D(2) indicate that particles became more elongated with increasing shear stress. Values of the fractal dimension D(k), resulting from the Korcak's empirical law for particle population, decreased from 3.68+/-0.002 at a shear stress of 0.058Pa to 1.33+/-0.001 at 0.323Pa and indicate that the particle size distribution changed from a population of similar sized particles at low shear to larger flocculated particles at higher levels of shear. The results show that small particle clusters (micro-flocs) are the formational units of larger flocs in the water column and the stability of larger flocs is a function of the shear stress at steady state.

The effect of irrigation on tile sediment transport in a headwater stream

A field-scale no-till corn plot (120 m x 90 m) located on a tile drained silt loam soil near Kintore, Ontario was irrigated with 2.5 cm of water over a 3 h period to examine the effects of irrigation on tile sediment transport in a headwater stream. Flow characteristics and the composition, concentration and size distribution of suspended solids were measured at the tile outlet, an upstream reference site and three sites located downstream of the tile drain. Results show that tile sediments at the study site are fine-grained (D50 approximately 5.0 microm) and consist primarily of quartz, anorthite/albite, dolomite and calcite. Sediment concentrations in tile effluent increased from 8 to 57 mg L(-1) after 1.5 h of irrigation and reached a maximum of 72 mg L(-1). The sediment yield from the tile drain for the irrigation event was 4.6 kg ha(-1). An unsteady, mobile boundary flow model (MOBED) was used to predict flow characteristics in the stream. According to the MOBED model, bed shear stress in the stream was approximately 6 N m(-2). This value is significantly greater than the critical shear stress for complete suspension of 1 N m(-2) for tile sediments as determined from laboratory experiments using a rotating circular flume. Grain size distributions of suspended solids in the stream were close to the dispersed size distribution because of the high shear stress in the receiving stream.

Sequential erosion/deposition experiments--demonstrating the effects of depositional history on sediment erosion

Experiments on the erosion of a bed of kaolinite were carried out in a rotating circular flume. Each experiment was carried out using the stratified bed which resulted from the previous experiment. Changes in suspended sediment concentrations during the experiments were explained by the history of the deposition. The sequence of experiments showed how the rate of erosion and the amount eroded reflected the structure of the bed and that of the individual flocs which created it. Results suggest that modelling of sediment/contaminant transport needs to account for the manner in which deposition took place.