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Virginia Tech

The effects of seasonal change, impoundment, and stratification on trihalomethane precursors

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

The major objectives of this study were to investigate the effects of seasonal changes in Lake Manassas and its watershed (late winter to late summer), the impoundment of Broad Run, and the stratification of Lake Manassas on trihalomethane (THM)-precursors in Broad Run, upstream and downstream of the reservoir, and in Lake Manassas. An additional objective was to determine the molecular-size distributions of the dissolved organic carbon, and the THM precursors of the organic carbon pool in Lake Manassas during stratification. Raw water samples were collected from March through August on Broad Run immediately upstream of the reservoir, at two sites in the reservoir-- one approximately 0.27 miles from the dam and the second, at a more central location, 0.73 miles from the dam, and on Broad Run 2.81 miles below the dam. During stratification two samples were collected from each lake site-- one from the epilimnion, and the second from the hypolimnion. All of the samples were size fractionated by ultrafiltration and chlorinated for determination ofTHMFP. The differences in THMprecursor characteristics were determined by assessing the differences in the total organic carbon (TOC) concentrations and THM-formation potentials (THMFPs) of the various size fractions. The TOe and THM concentrations generally increased from late winter to late summer at all stations. The concentrations in Lake Manassas and in Broad Run below the dam were consistently higher than those observed in Broad Run upstream of the lake, indicating that impoundment causes an increase in levels of THM precursors. In addition, during stratification higher THM yields were produced by the predominantly low-molecular-weight precursors « 5,000) in the epilimnion of Lake Manassas, while the predominantly high-molecular-weight precursors (> 5,000 daltons) were low-yielding-THM precursors.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Master of Science
Level thesis:degree_level
masters
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Environmental Planning
Department dc:contributor.department
Environmental Engineering
Grantor dc:publisher
Virginia Tech
Year dc:date.issued
1990

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Aiken, Anne M.
Chair dc:contributor.committeechair
  • Hoehn, Robert C.
Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember
  • Grizzard, Thomas J.
  • Novak, John T.

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • In Copyright
Language dc:language.iso
en

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Dc Identifier Other
etd-11072008-063149
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/45453

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Virginia Tech
Base URL
vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-22
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
related terms
citation

Aiken, Anne M.. The effects of seasonal change, impoundment, and stratification on trihalomethane precursors. masters thesis, Virginia Tech, 1990. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/45453