This study was a comprehensive appraisal of the operators in municipal and industrial wastewater treatment plants and municipal water purification plants in a six county area of east central Indiana. The evaluation instrument asked for ninety-eight separate items of information pertaining to: Personal Data, Working Conditions and Responsibilities, and Operators' Opinions of Conditions Affecting the Water Treatment Industry.

Viruses may invade animals, plants, or bacteria, and are considered obligate parasites because they lack a complete enzyme system of their own. Reproduction occurs when the virus entity makes use of a cell's synthetic machinery to direct the synthesis of specialized particles, the virions, and transfers them to other cells. The purpose of this study was to investigate and develop methods to isolate viruses chicken embryos and bacteriophage.Viruses were concentrated from water sources following procedures outlined by Berg (1971) using standard Millipore filtering units. Virus suspensions were eluted with a beef extract solution and then inoculated into the three host systems. Growth was determined by the presence of cytopathic effects on the agar overlay or in the chicken on the chorioallantoic membrane.Cytopathic effects occurred in tissue cultures following inoculation with water samples from two sites on two consecutive sampling dates. Virus recovery in chicken embryos was 45.5% when cytopathic effects and death rates were analyses were combined. When bacteria were employed, viruses were recovered in 42.8% of samples tested.Ball State UniversityMuncie, IN 47306

The thesis explored the effect of government regulation on the cost of developing Facility Plans for pollution abatement facilities in Indiana. The study used cost data from nearly 300 sewage works projects across Indiana from 1968 to 1976. The cost of professional services for these projects was computed on a per capita basis for each fiscal year and fluctuations in cost were analyzed in light of regulatory changes.It was found that the effect of these regulatory changes was to escalate costs, especially in fees for projects in municipalities with less than 2,000 population. / Department of Urban Planning

Bacteriological data from 1980 to 1991 were reviewed to determine whether coliform bacteria occurred seasonally and spatially within a midwestern city's distribution system. Coliform bacteria are used as microbiological indicator organisms to determine if a public water supply is safe for consumption. The public water_ distribution system examined had at least a twelve year history of the presence of coliform bacteria. Previous investigations have described the occurrence of the coliform bacteria as sporadic because there were no apparent patterns to their presence. An analysis of bacteriological data has not previously been performed to specifically detect seasonal and spatial occurrences of coliform bacteria.This study attempted to determine if seasonal or spatial patterns of coliform occurrences exist within the in the dominant coliform species. Data indicate that the highest percentage of coliform positive samples occurred in the summer, followed by fall, then winter, with spring having the lowest percentage of coliform positive samples. While Enterobacter cloacae was the dominant coliform species during the spring, summer and fall, Klebsiella oxytoca was the dominant coliform during the winter. Coliform occurrence throughout the distribution system was variable among the 43 sample sites. The percentage of positive samples from the various sites ranged from 0% to 10.5%. The five sites with the highest percentage of coliform positive samples were at the extremities of the distribution system. E. cloacae was dominant at 88% of the sites. K. oxytoca was dominant at 9% sites, which typically had a low percentage of coliform positive samples. / Department of Biology

The objective of this research, conducted between November 1972 and March 1974, was to determine the effects of pollution on the benthic macroinvertebrates of Big Lick Creek. Big Lick Creek, a tributary of the Mississinewa River, is located in east central Indiana and has a permanent length of about 32.2 km. Sewage and industrial waste from the cities of Dunkirk and Hartford City are discharged into this stream.The composition and distribution of macroinvertebrate populations, collected with artificial substrate samplers, were used to determine the extent of stream pollution. Samplers consisted of cylindrical barbecue baskets (28 x 18 cm) filled with 12 concrete spheres 7.5 cm in diameter. Samplers anchored to the stream bed at five locations bracketed major sources of pollution. Chemical and physical determinations were performed to provide a general background for existing biological conditions.Significant chemical and bacteriological conditions encountered in the stream below the sewage effluents of Dunkirk and Hartford City, Indiana were as follow: (1) dissolved oxygen minima of 2 ppm or less; (2) free carbon dioxide maxima in excess of 60 ppm; (3) increases in nutrients such as the various forms of nitrogen and phosphate; and (4) drastic increases in fecal coliform densities.Twenty-six species of benthic macroinvertebrates were collected during the study with marked reductions in the number of species occurring below the effluents of Dunkirk and Hartford City. The average number of species occurring below these polluting effluents was 10.5 as compared to 22 farther downstream in recovery zones.Limiting and selective effects of organic pollution were indicated by the composition of the benthic community at each station. Tubificids, tolerant of excessive organic pollution and associated low dissolved oxygen levels, constituted more than 99 per cent of the benthic communities sampled below Dunkirk and Hartford City. Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri, L. udekemianus, and Tubifex tubifex were the dominant species. A maximum tubificid density of 13,050/m2 was obtained below Hartford City.Samples taken from a recovery zone 14.8 km downstream from Dunkirk and a corresponding zone 10.1 km below Hartford City showed more diverse fauna. In the recovery zone below Dunkirk, species other than tubificid represented 17 per cent of the total number of invertebrates collected. In the analogous zone below Hartford City, these species constituted 89 per cent of the total taken. Chironomid larvae comprised 13 per cent of the total obtained in the recovery zone downstream from Dunkirk, and 89 per cent in the similar zone below Hartford City. Chironomus was the dominant chironomid genus.All species collected, in numbers sufficient to be considered, were members of an indicator association (Gaufin 1958) characteristic of organically enriched environments. According to the pollution classification system of Goodnight and Whitley (1961), Stations 1 through 4 were heavily polluted and Station 5 was in good condition.

Three watersheds of Upper White River were chosen for this study. Stream samples were tested for total suspended solids and conductivity. Fourteen percent of the total suspended solids samples were above 80 mg L-1 which can cause negative effects to aquatic life. Total suspended solids results were tested with a general linear model and in linear regressions with discharge and nutrients. Conductivity results were tested with a general linear model. Concentrations of the total suspended solids were significantly related to watershed, Julian date, the interaction of watershed and Julian date, and discharge. Increasing total suspended solids concentrations were significantly related to increasing concentrations of orthophosphate, nitrate, and ammonia. Conductivity levels were significantly related to watershed, location within watershed, and Julian date. Total suspended solids, discharge, and nutrient concentrations were high in the spring, but decreased in the following seasons. / Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management

Water samples and macroinvertebrates were collected from three stations of Finley Creek, Indiana before and after a surface cleanup of an adjacent hazardous waste disposal site. Water quality parameters: iron, total dissolved solids, conductance, hardness, total suspended solids and pH were compared between stations and years. The water quality above the landfill was high but decreased downstream. The water below the disposal site contained high levels of chemicals in both studies. However, the concentrations of chemicals were lower in the water two years after the cleanup.Numbers of macroinvertebrates and the number of taxa were determined and species diversity indicies were established. The results showed a statistically significant increase in macroinvertebrate taxa and mean species diversity indicies below the waste disposal site after the cleanup. These results indicate an improvement of water quality. / Department of Natural Resources

Southwestern Indiana has numerous lakes developed in abandoned coal mine spoils which support recreational sports fisheries. Some lakes, due to exposure to acid mine drainage from coal wastes and pyritic spoils, are unsuitable habitats for fisheries development. This study examines a publicly owned acid mine lake with an area of approximately 51 ha, following reclamation and elimination of acid producing areas in its drainage basin. Fifteen physico-chemical sample collections were made over a thirteen month period (1991-1992). Parameters sampled included pH, total acidity, iron, manganese, and aluminum. Comparisons were made to historic pre-reclamation water quality data and to established models of acid mine lake recovery. Due to the local topography and exposure to prevailing winds, the lake was generally well mixed throughout the study. Virtually no summer stratification was found, but typical winter season stratification occurred. The water column was well oxygenated throughout the study. Secchi disk transparency varied from 2.5 m to clear to lake bottom (6 m). This study found no significant change in lake water pH (2.9-3.0 to 3.0-3.2 s.u.) since reclamation activities in 1988. However, changes in total acidity and total metal concentrations had occurred since reclamation which suggested that the lake was in early recovery stages. No trends in water quality improvement were determined which could assist in planning toward the eventual establishment of a sports fishery. / Department of Biology