Increased salinization of fresh water in the northeastern United States
- Sujay S. Kaushal*,†,‡,
- Peter M. Groffman*,
- Gene E. Likens*,‡,
- Kenneth T. Belt§,
- William P. Stack¶,
- Victoria R. Kelly*,
- Lawrence E. Band∥, and
- Gary T. Fisher**
- *Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Box AB Route 44A, Millbrook, NY 12545; §U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Northeastern Research Station, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD 21227; ¶Baltimore Department of Public Works, 3001 Druid Park Drive, Baltimore, MD 21215;∥Department of Geography, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599; and **U.S. Geological Survey, 8987 Yellow Brick Road, Baltimore, MD 21237
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Contributed by Gene E. Likens, August 4, 2005
Abstract
Chloride concentrations are increasing at a rate that threatens the availability of fresh water in the northeastern United States. Increases in roadways and deicer use are now salinizing fresh waters, degrading habitat for aquatic organisms, and impacting large supplies of drinking water for humans throughout the region. We observed chloride concentrations of up to 25% of the concentration of seawater in streams of Maryland, New York, and New Hampshire during winters, and chloride concentrations remaining up to 100 times greater than unimpacted forest streams during summers. Mean annual chloride concentration increased as a function of impervious surface and exceeded tolerance for freshwater life in suburban and urban watersheds. Our analysis shows that if salinity were to continue to increase at its present rate due to changes in impervious surface coverage and current management practices, many surface waters in the northeastern United States would not be potable for human consumption and would become toxic to freshwater life within the next century.
Footnotes
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↵ ‡ To whom correspondence may be addressed. E-mail: likensg{at}ecostudies.org or skaushal{at}al.umces.edu.
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↵ † Present address: University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Appalachian Laboratory, Frostburg, MD 21532.
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Abbreviation: LTER, Long Term Ecological Research.
- Copyright © 2005, The National Academy of Sciences
