As we watch the tragic Flint, Michigan, tap water situation unfold, it begs the question closer to home: How good is Baltimore’s water system? Baltimore’s water source is primarily surface water which feeds into the Liberty, Loch Raven and Pretty Boy reservoirs. The focus of this research lies on investigating the socio-environmental and physicochemical factors contributing to water quality degradation in the Baltimore watershed. Six representative test sites were selected from each watershed and samples of water and soil were collected for detailed physical and chemical characterization. GIS was used to map out the test sites and populate the data for future reference. The Socio-Environmental Synthesis approach was used to investigate the socio-economic and socio-political issues of water quality deterioration
Results/Conclusions
Results of our investigation found out that Nitrate-Nitrogen levels are within range of the Maximum Contaminant Level of 10ppm for drinking water set by the EPA. Although there is significant increase from 1.0 (winter) to 4.0 (summer) at the Loch Raven (1) and Liberty (2) sites, all sites fall within the safe range. Loch Raven (1) is adjacent to a swim club within a community (manicured lawns) placing significant amounts of organic matter in the water. Liberty sites are found near rural and developed areas making runoff a key factor in the varying levels. Overall, Alkalinity levels are within safe fresh water levels ranging from 20-200 mg/l, though, Liberty (1) shows alkalinity levels 7x higher than the average for the tested area for winter. In comparison, the alkalinity level for the summer is almost seven times less than the winter level. Biological Oxygen Demand levels are within normal ranges, except for Pretty boy test sites which was approximately twice the amount of the other watersheds. While all sites exhibit levels within safe range for Carbon dioxide Pretty boy has consistently raised levels due to its proximity to a farm and Loch Raven levels have increased from winter to summer because of increased vegetation and algae blooms. Analysis on the socio-economic and sociopolitical data is ongoing and would provide a good insight into the causes of water quality deterioration and what appropriate intervention needs to be taken before water crisis becomes a reality.