The Reese Group staff were retained by the City of Warsaw (City), Indiana to perform a stream condition assessment of Walnut Creek, downstream of the Warsaw Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP). The purpose of the assessment was to evaluate the existing quality of soft sediment in Walnut Creek; to determine the lateral and vertical extent of an upper organic layer that was alleged to be the result of a discharge originating from the Warsaw WWTP during an upset period that occurred in July, August and September 2002; to evaluate the potential impact of sediment to water quality in the overlying water column; to identify impairments caused by sediment with respect to designated uses; and to develop appropriate response actions related to the alleged discharge.
At the request of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM), The Reese Group staff performed a remedial action options analysis to evaluate feasible alternatives to address the sediment containing WWTP solids, and to select an appropriate alternative. The selected alternative was Monitored Natural Recovery.
PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS
- Development of a sediment transport model from collected and historical data
- Determination of thickness of deposited sediment at 32 transects located in Walnut Creek and the Tippecanoe River
- Review of IDEM surface water and sediment quality data as well as historical WWTP influent and effluent data
