The Greenbrier River - Protecting It for the Future��

An overview of water quality monitoring

August 2023-October 2025

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Matthew Williams PhD

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Water Quality

• What is clean water?

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• Is clean water a right?

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• Where does your water come from? Where does it go?

Water and Health

• Organisms are composed primarily of water
• Essential for survival and growth of organisms

Water and Health

• Benefits
• Hydration
• Metabolism
• Homeostasis
• Lubrication/cushion
• Waste Removal

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• Recreation

https://greenbrierwv.com/editorials/roadtrip-along-the-greenbrier-river

Water Quality

Parameters for water quality are determined by the intended use.

Microbiology of Water

What is a healthy waterway?

Microbiota of waterways

Lab culture vs. genetic sequencing

Lee, et al 2016

Water related diseases

• Botulism
• Camplylobacteriosis
• Cholera
• Diarrhea
• Dysentery
• Hepatitis
• Ear infections
• Eye infections

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• Legionellosis
• Leptospirosis
• Parasitic infections
• Polio
• Salmonellosis
• Skin infections
• Septicemia
• Typhoid fever

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Water related diseases

• Around 1.5 million people die each year due to diarrheal diseases- a third of these are children.
• Some estimates suggest that over 80 percent of all infectious diseases are associated with water (more if “water-scarce diseases” are included)
• Malaria alone is thought to have killed half of those who have ever lived

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Water treatment

• Potable water is water considered safe to drink
• Not devoid of all microorganisms and chemicals
• Levels are low enough that it is generally not a health concern
• Presence of coliforms in water indicates fecal contamination
• Increased likelihood that disease-causing microbes are present
• Standards for drinking vs. recreational waters

Coliforms- a group of bacteria commonly inhabiting the GI tracts of mammals.

Clean water access led to the largest decline in human infectious disease in recent human history

Figure 1. Crude death rate per 100,000 for infectious diseases - United States, 1900-1996 CDC- https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/drinking/history.html

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Water access

• Over 2 billion people worldwide use a drinking water source contaminated with feces (WHO March 2022).

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• WV water access
• 23% of WV residents rely on private well or springs (USGS estimate), most of which are untested
• 37% of WV public water service comes from surface water sources (The Waters of West Virginia Report)- 25 listed as currently “failing”
• Iron and fecal contaminants impair much of the surface water of WV (WVDEP 2022)
• 1% of WV residents lack any running water

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• WV wastewater infrastructure is often unknown

WVDEP 2022 Report

Images from GRWA QAPP

All 162 miles of the Greenbrier River have been listed as “impaired” for coliforms since 2002. Still listed in 2022 report.

What do we do about this?

• GRWA, WVSOM, and several community partners created a monthly water quality monitoring project looking at 18 sites along the length of the river to attain a baseline and pinpoint problem areas to focus remediation efforts.
• A Quality Assurance Project Plan was developed and submitted to WVDEP and the EPA.
• Volunteers were recruited.
• Monitoring began in August 2023 and is ongoing
• Data is being used to drive projects and change.

Data gathered

• E. coli
• Total coliforms
• TDS
• pH
• Conductivity
• DO
• Temp

• Weather
• Water observations (clarity, smell, color)
• Algae color and density
• General flow

Monthly monitoring

Detailed Locations of Sampling Sites

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Credit: Tom Saladayga PhD

Temperature pollution can impact some waterways. Doesn’t appear we have any issues with this. Trend is warmer as moves downstream which is usual.

pH is a measure of acid or alkalinity of the water. Impacts such as mining or runoff can impact pH. Acid mine drainage is an issue in many watersheds where mining is present. Limestone in karst formations can make water more alkaline. We are in the ideal range for aquatic life.

TDS includes various salts, minerals, organics, and other solids dissolved in water. While TDS itself doesn't indicate harmful contaminants, very high levels can affect water clarity and taste, and different aquatic organisms have a preferred range they must stay within for optimum health.

Conductivity is a measure that assesses the ability of water to conduct electricity and this capacity can be increased by charged chemicals such as salts being dissolved in the water. Potential charged chemicals include calcium, chloride, nitrate, potassium, and sulphate.

Dissolved oxygen (DO) is essential for the survival of aquatic organisms, as it supports the respiration of fish, plants, and other aquatic life. Adequate DO levels help maintain healthy ecosystems, while low levels (hypoxia) can lead to stress, disease, or death for aquatic species and contribute to problems like fish kills and harmful algal blooms.

Oxidation-Reduction Potential (ORP) is a measure of capacity of water to remove contaminants, as such, lower numbers indicate a low capacity for contaminant removal. Possible causes for low ORP include: industrial wastewater, organic contamination, high concentration of phosphates and algae growth, or sewage input.

So even though the mean is low, there are still months where some sites give a bit of concern.

Target those that often exceed standard, and have high average values

The less than ideal numbers…

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• E. coli testing in recreational waters detects potential fecal contamination, indicating potential health risks from harmful pathogens. It helps ensure water safety and informs decisions or advisories to protect public health. Though the averages were excellent, the presence of exceedances are where focus should lie to eliminate these impairments.

Targeted Sampling-Source Identification- Montwell

Source: Emma Hughes OMS-II WVSOM

Targeted Sampling-Source Identification- Montwell

Targeted Sampling-Source Identification- Marlinton

Very preliminary!!! Not enough data points

The most ideal numbers…..

Volunteer valuation - https://independentsector.org/research/value-of-volunteer-time

Summary

• Almost 2 year of data is impressive! Thank you volunteers!
• The data can be used to make decisions and guide projects
• This data shows that the Greenbrier has excellent quality by most of our measures- but exceedances of E. coli are an ongoing problem.
• In agreement with historic data, bacteria may be the most concerning impairment- further research is giving insight into source and seasonality to guide reduction efforts.