Mapping the Distribution of the Bioaccessible Fraction of Trace Metals in the Sediments of an Urban Stream, Park River Watershed, Connecticut

The Park River watershed (PRW), a sub-basin of the Lower Connecticut River watershed, has experienced increased urbanization over the last century as the city of Hartford and its surrounding towns have grown and developed. We present watershed-wide and outflow scale maps of the trace metals Cd, Cu, Zn, and Pb to determine patterns of contamination in fine (<63 μm) stream sediment. Results are compared to established sediment quality guidelines (SQG) and probable effect concentrations (PEC) for each metal. Throughout the watershed, higher concentrations of trace metals are observed in the more urbanized south branch of the PRW. In this sub-basin, there are more industries that use, and waste, metals in their manufacturing processes that contribute to acutely high concentrations of metals in the fine bedload sediments. Impervious surfaces are examined as well in the context of the entire watershed. While an increase in metals can be attributed to an increase in impervious surfaces, these increases do not generally exceed SQGs and PECs. Two focused mapping studies were conducted at the storm water outflow of the West Hartford Landfill and the Trout Brook Sanitary Sewer Overflow (SSO). The purpose of these studies was to analyze the local effects of natural stream features such as channel bar deposits next to the outfalls. We determined that the sediment directly below the two outfalls often exceeded the PEC, while the accumulated sediment around the channel bar deposits was not contaminated beyond background stream levels. We believe mapping at both the small (watershed) and large (outfall) scale can be helpful in future urban studies to determine the extent of trace metal sediment contamination in both channelized and natural sections and may provide a useful method for sediment mitigation endeavors.