TPWD 1962 F-7-R-10 #792: Job Completion Report: Fisheries Investigations and Surveys of the Waters of Region I-A, Job No. 0-1: Pollution Studies

JOB COMPLETION REPORT As required by FEDERAL AID IN FISHERIES RESTORATION ACT TEXAS Federal Aid Project No. F-7-R—10 FISHERIES INVESTIGATIONS AND SURVEYS OF THE WATERS 0F REGION I—A Job No. 0-1 Pollution Studies Project Leader: Lonnie Peters H. D, Dodgen Executive Secretary Texas Game and Fish Commission Austin, Texas Marion Toole Eugene A. Walker D-J Coordinator Director, Program Planning March 18, 1963 ABSTRACT A survey of pollution conditions in the Borger industrial area revealed little improvement in some of the effluents. Two effluents were found to contain materials highly toxic to fish. Test fish died in both of these effluents Within 7 minutes. Test fish survived only one effluent, Hill Greek or station number two. Investigation of two instances of pollution revealed that endrin, an agricultural insecticide, was responsible for fish kills. Suspected pollution in the case of a fish kill at Lake Stamford was investigated, but no evidence of pollution was found. Apparently, the fish had died of natural causes. JOB COMPLETION REPORT State of Texas Project No. F-7-R-10 Name: Fisheries Investigations and Surveys of the Waters of Region I-A Job No. 0-1 Title: Pollution Studies Period Covered January 1, 1962 a December 31, 1962 Objectives: To determine the source and nature of man made pollutants which affect fish populations. Techniques Used: In conjunction with other jobs of this project, a search was made for sources of pollution. Reports of pollution were investigated and the nature and extent of damage to the fish p0pulations were determined. In cooperation with the Water Pollution Control Division, Texas State Department of Health, a survey was made in the Borger area to determine the quality, quantity, and toxicity to fish of effluents entering the Canadian River from the industrial plants in the Borger area. Findings: Three reports of susPected pollution involving fish kills were investigated. In one case, a fish kill occurred in a small lake located on a tributary of Grosbeck Creek in Childress County. Netting revealed an almost total kill. A few larger fish were found alive, but not healthy. Fish taken during the in- vestigation were in poor physical condition and exhibited signs of nervous dis- orders. Their body and eye colors were abnormal, fatty tissues were flaccid and dark yellowish, and each of their livers were pale. The fish remaining alive at the time of the survey probably eventually succumbed to the effects of the toxicant. The cause of the fish kill was traced to an agricultural insecticide (endrin) which had been sprayed on nearby cotton fields. Shortly after the spraying had been completed, a light rainfall washed the toxicant into the lake. A second case of accidental poisoning with cotton insecticide occurred in Hall County in a small lake located on a tributary of the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River. The extent of damage to the fish population was about the same as in the lake in Childress County. Only a few larger individuals survived. The toxicant in this case was also endrin, which had been washed into the lake. In such cases, preventative measures are lacking, but fortunately, damage to fish_is usually limited to ponds in the immediate vicinity of the area sprayed. One report of a fish kill in the Pease River in the Childress vicinity was re- ceived much too late to determine the nature and extent of damage to the fishery. A report of the fish dying in Lake Stamford was investigated but no evidence of pollution was found. Local fishermen and residents at Lake Stamford were alarmed because several large catfish were found dead within a period of two to three days. A shoreline check revealed only an occasional individual of a species other than the flathead catfish noted. The internal organs of the fish appeared normal, no parasites were noted, and there were no signs of external injuries. The relatively small number of dead fish found suggests that they died of natural causes. A survey of pollution of the Canadian River in the Borger area was conducted from April 16 to 19. Test minnows, Hybognathus placita, were seined from the Canadian River about four miles above Borger and were tempered in a 150 gallon transport vat for 18 hours before toxicity tests were begun. Seven stations were selected on the river and on tributary creeks. The locations of these stations are shown in Figure I. Station I, located on the Canadian River about two miles above the State Highway 15 bridge, is above the effluent creeks of the industrial plants. Station 2, located on Hill Creek about two miles above the State Highway 15 bridge, receives the industrial waste and domestic sewage from the Phillips Chemical Plant and also some oil field brine. Station 3, located on Rock Creek at the State Highway 15 bridge, receives the waste of the J. M. Huber Company carbon black plant, the Borger city sewage treatment plant, and the Bunavista Housing Addition sewage treatment plant. Station 4, located on an unnamed creek 3 1/2 miles northeast of Borger, re- ceives a portion of the waste from Phillips Petroleum Company, Borger Fractioner, and Rice Plant. Station 5, located on an unnamed creek 4 miles northeast of Borger, receives a portion of the waste from Phillips Petroleum Company, Borger Fractioner, and Rice Plant. Station 6, located on an unnamed creek 4 1/2 miles northeast of Borger, re- ceives the waste from the Phillips Petroleum Company and the Phillips Refinery. Station 7, located on the Canadian River at Plemons Bridge about 6 miles below Borger, is below the confluence of all the industrial effluents with the Canadian River. Beginning on the morning of April 17, water samples, water temperatures, and general observation data were collected at each of the seven stations named. Collections at 4~hour intervals were continued for 24 hours. Water samples were collected for individual and composite analysis. Table 1 gives average figures for the analysis of individual 4—hour samples. Table 2 gives the analysis results of the composite samples for each station. In addition to the 4—hour samples taken at the seven test stations men— tioned, seven additional grab samples were collected at 12 n. on April 17 from the Canadian River at points both above and below the locality of the seven test stations. The locations where the seven additional grab samples were collected are shown in Figure 2. The grab sample analysis are given in Table 3. Toxicity tests.were begun at 8:46 a.m. on April 17, at station 7 and were continued until 2:10 p.m. on April 18. The duration of each test depended upon my: 3 x m .H .6004 We F «M m )3“. m 9 m “+3. n‘ «mam \AmBL VQ 29m. 4. 33. 2a. _ ”W \ 1.3+ Sam, to 78L? mQ s .C x x was Table 1. Average Analysis of 4-hour Samples from the Seven Stations in the pH Cond. Micromhos Dissolved Solids Chlorides Sulphates Chlorine Demand Dissolved Oxygen B.O.D. Ammonia Nitrogen Nitrite Nitrate P. Alkalinity Total Alkalinity Tot. Suspend. Solids Volitile Solids Fixed Solids Borger Area Stations W 1 8.0 4438 2661 785 619 4.3 5.6 5.3 0.4 0.1 0.1 0 180 40 17 23 2 6.9 6935 4161 1655 520 13.0 2.0 9.6 0.4 0.1 0.1 0 129 23 14 3 6.9 3993 2391 805 325 139 0.0 101.7 14.3 0.1 0.1 259 250 223 27 4 7.0 2282 1370 171 561 8.8 1.7 13.0 0.7 0.3 1.7 126 97 38 59 5 7.2 813 488 28 237 12. 0.5 17. 0.4 0.7 1.0 123 295 136 159 0 6 6 7.9 2892 1735 361 439 2.0 0.0 138 47 1.2 0.1 151 417 205 212 7 7.5 5533 3320 993 652 8.1 0.6 11.8 3.3 0.2 0.1 160 91 33 58 Table 2. pH Cond. Micromhos Dissolved Solids Chlorides Sulphates Chlorine Demand Dissolved Oxygen B.O.D. Ammonia Nitrogen Nitrite Nitrate P. Alkalinity- Total Alkalinity Tot. Suspend. Solids Volitile Solids Fixed Solids Phenols Flow (MGD) Borger Area Analysis Results of Composite Samples from the Seven Stations in the Stations 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8.1 7.0 7.0 7.0 7.0 7.9 7.6 4400 5730 4000 2350 815 2850 5500 2640 4040 2400 1410 490 1710 3300 800 1700 770 200 24 365 980 587 525 320 490 243 447 645 5.0 12.5 145 13.5 16.0 0 7.5 9.2 3.4 0 0 0.5 0 2.5 6.5 8.5 110 22 21.5 76 8.0 0.4 0.4 12 14 0.4 38 4 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.6 0.9 0.8 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.8 0.1 0.1 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 182 124 252 130 130 150 158 48 15 255 112 339 342 105 23 10 226 55 155 160 35 25 5 29 57 184 182 70 - _ - 0.7 0.6 1.5 - ~ 4.5 2.33 0.67 1.81 2.15 - Figure 'IL Localilzas Where Grab Samples were Col/ecfed. 13:00 Ham, a...» 17,1962- Table 3. pH Cond. Micromhos Dissolved Solids Chlorides Sulphates Chlorine Demand Dissolved Oxygen B. O. D. Ammonia Nitrogen Nitrite Nitrate P. Alkalinity Total Alkalinity T. Suspended Solids Volitile Solids Fixed Solids 7.5 3100 1860 440 510 2.5 6.5 2.0 0.4 0.1 0.1 154 20 10 10 16.0 0.1 0.1 238 325 95 230 8.2 4800 2880 840 620 4.0 10.0 2.5 0.1 0.1 190 38 15 23 Stations 4 7.9 4900 2940 920 575 6.5 7.5 5.0 0.1 0.1 158 41 23 18 7.5 5150 3040 1000 595 6.5 3.0 15.0 0.2 0.1 156 80 40 40 7.8 3720 2230 650 378 6.0 5.0 7.0 0.4 0.1 0.1 162 45 15 30 Analysis of Grab Samples Collected at 12:00 Noon Along the Canadian River 7.5 3550 2130 660 351 4.5 5.7 5.5 0.4 0.1 0.1 142 110 32 78 the length of time that fish remained alive in the test cages. At stations 1 and 2, the test fish were still alive after 25 hours and 10 minutes, at which time the tests at these stations were terminated. At the other five stations, fish died in from 7 minutes to 8 hours and 34 minutes. Table 4 gives the results of the toxicity tests. In each test twelve Hybognathus placita were placed in the screen wire test cages, and their immediate reactions and their survival times were noted accordingly. It should be noted that at stations 5 and 6 the effluents were so highly toxic that fish died in 7 minutes in both cases. Survival time at all the other stations greatly exceeded this, and the effluents on which stations 5 and 6 were located are considered as being primarily reSpon— sible for rendering the area of the Canadian River downstream from Borger in- capable of supporting the fish population which it should. Conclusions: The poor quality of some of the effluents from the Borger industrial area remains highly detrimental to aquatic life in the Canadian River. Fish cannot survive in the Canadian River for a considerable distance downstream from Borger. This toxic zone constitutes a barrier to native fish species, preventing natural upstream and downstream movements associated with spawning and seasonal migration. The downstream effects of pollution from the Borger area needs additional study to determine more precisely the distance of stream affected. The downstream distance that lethal conditions exist is probably prOportional to the flow of the river and therefore would vary. The degree of dilution of the toxic effluents depends on the flow of the Canadian River as it passes Borger. Creation of the Sanford Reservoir, only about seven miles upstream from Borger, will all but halt the normal stream flow at Borger, thus eliminating the dilution. This will cause serious pollution to carry much farther downstream unless improve- ments are made in the quality of the-effluents concerned. Recommendations: The downstream effects of pollution from the Borger industrial area should be further studied to determine the distance devoid of native minnow species. A comprehensive survey of pollution conditions in the Canadian River, similar to the study completed in April 1962, should be made again in 1963 to determine whether any changes have occurred. , /V/’h Prepared WWW. Approved by ”A: r Coordinator Leo D. Lewis Regional Supervisor Project Leader Date March 182 1963 _