LAKE ERIE
ENVIRONMENTAL
SUMMARY
1963-1964
UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR
FEDERAL WATER POLLUTION CONTROL ADMINISTRATION
GREAT LAKES REGION
MAY 1968
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June 5, 1968
NOTICE OF PUBLICATIONS
The enclosed technical reports, "Lake Erie Environmental
Summary 1963-1964" and "Lake Erie SurvelI lance Data Summary
1967-1968" have just been published and are being sent to
you for your information.
The first report summarizes the physical, chemical, biological,
and microbiological aspects of Lake Erie water quality from
studies conducted in 1963-1965. The second report presents
water quality information collected in 1967 and the winter
of 1968 on Lake Erie.
Additional copies may be obtained from the Cleveland Program
Office, Federal Water Pollution Control Administration,
21929 Lorain Road, Cleveland, Ohio 44126.
H. W. Poston
Reg i onaI D i rector
Great Lakes Region
FWPCA
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE No,
CHAPTER 1 i
INTRODUCTION i
Area Description I
General I
Geology 8
Climate 14
CHAPTER 2 21
LAKE ERIE PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS 21
Lake Bottom 21
Western Basin 21
Central Basin 22
Eastern Basin 23
Lake Water 24
Tributary Supply 24
Lake Huron Outflow 24
Major Tributaries 26
Minor Tributaries 26
Ground Water 29
Lake Water Balance 29
Lake Levels 33
Lake Water Temperatures 39
Western Basin 43
Central Basin 43
Eastern Basin 45
Nearshore Water Temperatures 45
Effects of Temperature Phenomena 47
Lake Currents 49
Western Basin Circulation 55
Central Basin Circulation 68
Eastern Basin Circulation 76
General Observation 77
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE No,
CHAPTER 3 78
LAKE ERIE CHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS ?s
Sediment Chemistry 78
TotaI Iron 78
Total Phosphate 81
Sulfide 81
Organic Nitrogen 81
Ammonia Nitrogen 85
Nitrite and Nitrate Nitrogen 85
Volatile Solids 85
Chemical Oxygen Demand 85
Alpha Activity of Bottom Sediments 91
Beta Activity of Bottom Sediments 91
Water Chemistry 91
Temperature 92
Dissolved Oxygen 92
Chemical Oxygen Demand 96
Biochemical Oxygen Demand 97
Conductivity and Dissolved Solids 97
Total Solids 99
Chlorides 104
SuI fates 104
Calcium 106
Magnesium 109
Sod 1 urn 109
Potassium 109
S111ca I 12 <
A Iky I Benzene Sulfonate (ABS) 115
Soluble Phosphorus 115
Total Phosphorus 119
Nitrogen 119
Other Chemical Constituents of Lake Erie Water 121
Radfochemfstry 128
Alpha Activity of Lake Water Samples 128
Beta Activity of Lake Water 129
Alpha Activity of Plankton Samples 129
Beta Activity of Plankton Samples 129
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE No,
CHAPTER 4 i30
LAKE ERIE BIOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS 130
Lake Bottom Biology 130
Lake Water Biology 137
Algae 137
Fish 143
CHAPTER 5 us
LAKE ERIE BACTERIOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS us
Water Bacteriology 148
Western Basin 150
Central Basin 153
Eastern Basin 154
Lake Erie Harbors (South Shore) 155
Ottawa River and Maumee River 155
Portage River 155
Sandusky Harbor 156
Lorain Harbor-Black River 156
Rocky and Cuyahoga Rivers - Cleveland Harbor 156
Chagrin River 157
Grand River-Fairport Harbor 157
Ashtabula River 159
Erie Harbor - Presque Isle 159
Buffalo River 160
BIBLIOGRAPHY iei
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LIST OF TABLES
TABLE No, TITLE PAGE No,
I Physical Features of Great Lakes System 2
2 Runoff Statistics for Tributaries of the Lake Erie 27
Basin
3 Water Supply to Lake Erie 34
4 Water Balance in Lake Erie 35
5 Causes and Effects of Water Level Changes 39
6 Current Metering Station Description Data 57
7 Current Flows at Central Basin Meter Stations 71
8 Bottom Sediment Chemistry - Western Basin 86
9 Bottom Sediment Chemistry - Central Basin 87
10 Bottom Sediment Chemistry - Eastern Basin 88
II COD Concentrations in Lake Erie 98
12 Conductivity in Lake Erie 100
13 Dissolved Solids Concentrations in Lake Erie 101
14 Total Solids Concentrations in Lake Erie 103
15 Chloride Concentrations in Lake Erie 105
16 Sulfate Concentrations in Lake Erie 107
17 Calcium Concentrations in Lake Erie 108
18 Magnesium Concentrations in Lake Erie 110
19 Sodium Concentrations in Lake Erie III
20 Potassium Concentrations in Lake Erie 113
21 Silica Concentrations in Lake Erie 114
22 ABS Concentrations in Lake Erie 116
23 Soluble Phosphorus (P) Concentrations in Lake Erie 117
24 Chemical Analyses - National Water Quality Network 120
Stations
25 Total Nitrogen Concentrations In Lake Erie 122
26 Ammonia Nitrogen Concentrations in Lake Erie 124
27 Nitrate Nitrogen Concentrations in Lake Erie 125
28 Organic Nitrogen Concentrations in Lake Erie 126
29 Water Quality - Nearshore and Harbors 127
30 Other Chemical Constituents of Lake Erie Water 121
31 Dominant Phytoplankters during Spring and Autumn 140
32 Average Combined Annual United States and Canadian 145
Production for Specified Periods of Major
Commercial Species of Lake Erie
33 U. S. Commercial Fish Catch Statistics 146
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LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE No, TITUE PAGE No,
I Locality Map 3
2 Great Lakes Features 4
3 Bedrock Geology of Great Lakes Area 6
4 Surface Geology - Lake Erie Basin 7
5 Bottom Topography and Profile 9
6 Bottom Deposits 10
7 Physiography 13
8 Air Temperature 15
9 Monthly Precipitation 16
10 Precipitation Map 17
11 Wind Diagram 19
12 Sunshine 20
13 Monthly Tributary Flows - St. Clalr, Maumee, 25
Cuyahoga
14 Ground Water Availability 30
15 Ground Water Quality 31
16 Comparative Water Inputs of Tributaries 36
17 Lake Levels and Winds 38
18 Water Temperatures - Put-in-Bay and Erie 40
19 Typical Thermocline 41
20 Temperature Development 44
21 Temperature Cyclic Development 46
22 Temperature Distribution - Western Basin 48
23 Current Metering Locations 56
24 Seabed Drifter Release Locations 58
25 Dominant Summer Surface Flow - Western Basin 59
26 Dominant Summer Bottom Flow - Western Basin 61
27 Western Basin Surface Flow - Southwest Wind 62
28 Bottom Flow Southwest Wind - Western Basin 63
29 Western Basin Surface Flow - Northwest Wind 64
30 Western Basin Bottom Flow - Northwest Wind 65
31 Western Basin Surface Flow - Northeast Wind 66
32 Bottom Flow Western Basin - Northeast Wind 67
33 Dominant Summer Surface Flow - Lake Erie 69
34 Dominant Summer Bottom Flow - Lake Erie 70
35 Prevailing Bottom Flow - Lake Erie 73
36 Bottom Sediment Sampling Stations 79
37 Total Iron Bottom Sediments 80
38 Total PO Bottom Sediments 82
39 Sulfide Bottom Sediments 83
40 Organic Nitrogen - Bottom Sediments 84
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LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE No, TITLE PAGE No,
41 Ammonia Nitrogen Bottom Sediments 89
42 Volatile Solids Bottom Sediments 90
43 Water Samp I ing Stations 93
44 Chemical Concentrations in Western, Central, 94
and Eastern Basins
45 Beeton's DS Curves 102
46 Soluble Phosphate - Western Basfn 118
47 Nitrogen in Western Basin 123
48 Relative Abundance Benthlc Fauna 132
49 Zones of Benthic Fauna 133
50 Low DO Area 136
51 Davis' Phytoplankton Data 139
52 Decline of Desirable Fish 144
53 Surface Microbiology 151
54 Bottom Microbiology 152
55 Total Co Iiform Contour Map - Cleveland Shoreline 158
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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
The Federal Water Pollution Control Administration and its ante-
cedent, the Division of Water Supply and Pollution Control of the U.
S. Public Health Service, have gathered a great amount of data on the
physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of Lake Erie. Var-
ious reports by those agencies and others have been based on the
gathered data.
This report is an attempt to summarize the information gathered
in the years 1963 through 1965. The purposes are (I) to provide a
document for validating previous reports on the pollution problems in
Lake Erie and (2) to provide a base for comparison with future lake
surveiI lance data.
Adequate understanding of the significance of the reported data
requires a knowledge of physical features and history of the basin,
as summarized in the following description.
AREA DESCRIPTION
GENERAL
Lake Erie is centered at 42*15' North Latitude and 81°15' West
Longitude, with its long axis oriented at about N70°E. The lake Is
approximately 240 miles long and more than 50 miles wide near the mid-
point of its long axis. Figure I shows the Lake Erie basin as de-
scribed in this report.
The area of the Lake Erie basin is about 32,500 square miles—
about 40,000 square miles if the Lake St. Clair drainage area is in-
cluded. Nearly one-third (9,940 square miles) of the Lake Erie basin
is covered by the lake itself, a ratio which is approximated in each
of the other Great Lakes basins. However, Lake Erie receives the
drainage of the three lake basins above it, so that the total water-
shed supplying Lake Erie is in reality 260,000 square miles.
In terms of surface area, Lake Erie ranks fourth of the five
Great Lakes. Only twelve freshwater lakes in the world are larger.
The depth of Lake Erie, however. Is remarkably shallow, averaging
only 60 feet and reaching a maximum of 216 feet. Its total volume
is 125 trillion gallons, the smallest of the Great Lakes (see Figure
2 and Table I), storing only two percent of the total Great Lakes
voIume.
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TABLE I
PHYSICAL FEATURES OF GREAT LAKES SYSTEM
Water Area
Lake
Length
(mites)
Breadth
(mi les)
(sq.
U.S.
mi les)
Canada
Mean
Depth
Total (feet)
Drainage
area
(sq. mi les)
Superior
Michigan
Huron
St. Clair
Erie
Ontario
350
307
206
26
241
193
160
118
183
24
57
53
20,700
22,400
9,110
200
4,990
3,600
1 1 ,200
—
13,900
290
4,940
3,920
31,900
22,400
23,010
490
9,930
7,520
487
276
195
10
60
283
80,000
67,860
72,620
7,430
32,490
34,800
TotaIs
61,000 34,250 95,250
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FIGURE I
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THE GREAT LAKES
ILLINOIS
ELEV. 600 4
ELEV. ST8.8
ELEV. 570.4
LAKES
MICHIGAN f
HURON
GREAT LAKES
PROFILE
LAKE
ONTARIO
30-
20-
in
z
o
10-
SUPERIOR
MICHIGAN
HURON
ERIE
ONTARIO
GREAT LAKES STORAGE
FIGURE 2
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The water of Lake Erie lies entirely above that of Lake Ontario,
into which it drains. Lake Erie owes its existence both to the
Niagara bedrock sill, which acts as a dam, and to glacial scouring
during the Ice Age. The form of Lake Erie reflects the bedrock
structure of the area, Figure 3.
The landscape of the Lake Erie basin is characterized by thou-
sands of square miles of flat terrain, broken only by occasional
ancient beach ridges and relatively steep valley walls in many of
the major tributaries. Even these features are subdued in the
western part of the basin. The terrain is less monotonous from
Cleveland eastward, along the south shore, where the basin reaches
into the northwestern perimeter of the Appalachian uplands with
their rolling hills. However, the basin there is relatively narrow
between the lake and the drainage divide.
Soils in the extensive flatlands of the Lake Erie basin are
characteristically dominated by poorly drained and relatively im-
pervious clays, derived from old lake and glacial sediments, Figure
4. These soils are fertile and, because of this, have been arti-
ficially drained to a great extent. The uplands along the southeast
edge of the basin are well-drained, rock-derived, and less fertile.
Old beach ridges throughout the basin are extensively used for high-
ways and farming;
Streams entering Lake Erie are generally low-gradient and wind-
ing but with steep-walled valleys. They carry large silt loads
where they traverse easily eroded clay flatlands and smaller loads
in the rocky hilly areas. Excluding the Detroit River input, only
two streams, the Maumee River in Ohio and the Grand River in Ontario,
supply significant quantities of water to the lake.
Lake Erie proper is unique among the Great Lakes in several of
its natural characteristics, each of which has a direct bearing on
its condition with respect to pollution. Lake Erie is by far the
shallowest of the Great Lakes and the only one with its entire water
mass above sea level. It has the smallest volume, 113 cubic miles,
and its flow-through time of 920 days is the shortest. It is the
most biologically productive and the most turbid. It has the flattest
bottom; it is subject to the widest short-term fluctuations in water
level (13 feet maximum); and its seasonal average surface levels are
the most unpredictable. It is the only one of the Great Lakes with
its long axis paralleling the prevailing wind direction and is subject
to violent storms. Lake Erie is also the southernmost, warmest,
(averaging 5I°F) and the oldest (12,000 years) of the Great Lakes.
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GEOLOGIC MAP
OF THE
GREAT LAKES REGION
(FROM ecoLoar of THE SREAT LAKES,
^_^ L E G E N D
PENNSYLVANIAN AND MISSISSIPPI ROCKS, UNDIFFERENTIATED
UPPER DEVONIAN ROCKS, MAINLY SHALES. ANTRIM SHALE IN MICHIGAN
LOWER DEVONIAN ROCKS, IN UNITED STATES' DEVONIAN UNDIFFERENTIATED IN CANADA.
UPPER SILURIAN ROCKS, IN ONTARIO AND NEW YORK (MAINLY DOLOMITE )
SILURIAN SAUNA SROUP ROCKS IN NORTHERN MICHIGAN AND ONTARIO (INCLUDES SALT BEDS)
MIDDLE SILURIAN NIAGARAN SERIES ROCKS IN NORTHERN MICHIGAN, ONTARIO, AND NEW YORK
SILURIAN ROCKS UNDIFFERENTIATED IN WISCONSIN, IOWA, ILLINOIS, INDIANA, AND OHIO.
LOWER SILURIAN ROCKS IN NORTHERN MICHIGAN, ONTARIO, AND NEW YORK
ORDOVICIAN ROCKS, UNDIFFERENTIATED.
f-':>\ CAMBRIAN ROCKS, UNOIFFERENTIATEO
s/SJ PRECAMBRIAN ROCKS, UNDIFFERENTIATED. (MAINLY METAMORPHIC AND IGNEOUS ROCKS )
BEDROCK GEOLOGY OF GREAT LAKES AREA
FIGURE 3
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FIGURE 4
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Lake Erie's shores are characterized by easily eroded banks of
glacial till and not much sand. Bluffs of limestone or shale bedrock
exist in the islands area, between Vermilion and Cleveland, Ohio, and
around the eastern end of the lake. Good sand beaches are few in
number, but where developed, are built to the extreme. Examples are
Long Point, Pointe aux Pins, and Point Pelee, Ontario; Cedar Point,
Ohio; and Presquo Isle, Pennsylvania. The till and lake clay bluffs
recede by erosion at rates up to 5 or more feet per year, contribut-
ing an average of 16 million tons of sediment annually to the lake.
Topographically, Lake Erie is separated into three basins, Figure
5. The relatively small shallow western basin is separated from the
large, somewhat deeper, flat-bottomed central basin by the rocky
island chain. The deep, bow I-shaped eastern basin is separated from
the central basin by a low, wide sand and gravel ridge near Erie,
Pennsylvania. The western basin averages 24 feet deep with a maximum
of 63 feet in South Passage; the central basin averages 60 feet with
a maximum of 80 feet; the eastern basin averages 80 feet with a max-
imum of 216 feet. The areas of the western, central, and eastern
basins are approximately 1,200, 6,300, and 2,400 square miles, re-
spective ly.
The bottom sediments of Lake Erie show patterns closely related
to topography and relief, Figure 6. In general, the broad, remark-
ably flat areas of the western and central basins and the deeper,
smoother part of the eastern basin have mud bottoms and are the recip-
ients of nearly all of the sedimentation in Lake Erie. Ridges and
shoreward-rising slopes are generally comprised of sand and gravel and
are characterized by either erosion or the deposition of coarse sedi-
ments. Rock is exposed in the western basin and in strips along shores
in the central and eastern basins.
GEOLOGY
It is generally believed that the antecedent of Lake Erie, prior
to the Ice Age (Pleistocene Epoch), was a major stream valley essen-
tially along the long axis of the present lake. The land topography,
although showing slightly more relief, was probably not far different
than that of today. The drainage or river system was controlled by
differential bedrock resistance and large-scale rock structural features,
Bedrock nearest the surface, as it is today, was comprised of shales
and limestones and some sandstone, laid down, long before, in epicon-
tinental seas.
The glacial history of the Great Lakes basin is described in de-
tail by Hough (1958) and by Leverett and Taylor (1915). Glaciation
by continental ice sheets began on the North American continent approx-
imately one million years ago, representing the beginning of the Pleis-
tocene Epoch of geologic history. Four great ice invasions, named the
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FIGURE 5
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FIGURE 6
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Nebraskan, Kansan, Illinoian, and Wisconsin, characterized this period.
Apparently all of these ice sheets covered the Great Lakes region.
However, each succeeding invasion obscured or obliterated most of the
evidence for the preceding one. In the Lake Erie basin the features
produced by Wisconsin glaciation are of the most concern. There are
meager remnants of Illinoian glaciation and none of previous activity.
Apparently the Wisconsin ice sheet moved Into the Lake Erie basin
from the north and northeast about 25,000 years ago. It covered the
entire lake area and nearly all of the drainage basin. In western
Ohio the ice sheet moved south over flatlands to near the Ohio River
while it was stopped by the Appalachian uplands in eastern Ohio, Penn-
sylvania, and New York.
Upon retreat of the ice sheet, a complex series of glacially-
produced features were left behind, most of which resulted from tem-
porary readvances and retreats of the ice front. The features are
mainly ground and frontal moraines composed of crushed and reworked
local bedrock. A lesser amount of the material is derived from bed-
rock to the north. This "erratic" material is conspicuous in many
places as large crystalline boulders.
Lakes were generally not formed or were very transient features
while the ice front was south of the Ohio River-Great Lakes drainage
divide. A lake began its existence in the Erie basin when the Ice
front retreated from a position now represented by a frontal moraine
called the Fort Wayne moraine, passing through Fort Wayne, Indiana.
This moraine essentially lies along the shoreline of the first glacial
lake stage (Lake Maumee) In the Lake Erie basin. The ice stMI cov-
ered what is now Lake Erie, its front lying along the Defiance moraine.
The surface of Lake Maumee was at about 800 feet above sea level and
the drainage was westward Into the Wabash River in Indiana.
Following the Lake Maumee stage was a long series of stages, some
draining westward and some eastward. The most significant of these
stages are marked by we 11-developed beach ridges. They were Lake
Maumee at 800 feet elevation, Lake Whlttlesey at 740 feet, Lake Warren
at 690 feet, and Lake Erie at 570 feet. All of these drained westward
except for Lake Erie.
One of the most significant points to remember in regard to the
history of the Great Lakes is that a lake has occupied the present
Lake Erie basin for a much longer time than lakes have existed in the
other basins.
The four stages mentioned above were the most Important, but
there were many intervening stages, not always successively downward,
in the Erie basin, controlled by relatively minor retreats and advances
of the ice front. Significant In this regard is the fact that ice
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occupied the eastern end of Lake Erie several times, possibly account-
ing for the present relative deepness of that part of the basin.
The water level in the Erie basin has not always been at its
present level or higher. At least two stages have been considerably
lower and did not receive drainage from the upper lakes. Both these
stages have occurred in the last 11,000 years. The first one of im-
portance was some 80 feet lower than the present lake. The lake then
rose by ice damming and uplift to a level of 100 feet above the present
lake. Ice retreat dropped the level again to 40 feet below the present
lake. That stage was the immediate predecessor of Lake Erie as we know
it today. The lake then began to rise (about 4,000 years ago) to its
present level by uplift of the Niagara outlet; that rise continues
today.
The differential resistance of the bedrock (see Figure 3) to
glacial abrasion was responsible for a major part of Lake Erie's
present form (Carman, 1946). The islands and headlands of western Lake
Erie are remnants of resistant limestone and dolomite. Resistance also
accounts in part for the shallow water depths in the west end of the
lake. The broad flat central part of the lake lies along the strike
of a broad band of uniformly resistant shales bounded on the south
shore by similar shales capped by relatively resistant sandstones. The
deeper eastern basin is also underlain by shales but has been subject
to more abrasion and less, later sedimentation.
The Lake Erie basin lies mainly in the Central Lowlands physio-
graphic province (Figure 7) near where it wedges out between the
Appalachian Plateau and Laurent!an Upland. The southeastern part of
the drainage basin is In the Appalachian Plateau. The boundary be-
tween the Central Lowlands and the Appalachian Plateau in the Erie
basin is a sharp rise of 200 to 300 feet in elevation called the
Portage Escarpment. From Cleveland eastward the escarpment parallels
the lake shore and lies generally less than five miles from it. At
Cleveland the escarpment turns southward across Ohio.
The part of the Central Lowlands in the Lake Erie basin is called
the Lake Plain and is for the most part the very flat former lake
bottom. East of Cleveland it is narrow and lies between the Portage
Escarpment and the present lake shore. West of Cleveland it widens
quickly and in western Ohio it is more than 50 miles wide. It narrows
again in Michigan to about 20 miles wide. In Canada it is 20 to 30
miles wide but Is not so well defined because of the complexity of
glacial features. The lake plain Is characteristically low and com-
prised of poorly drained silt and clay with occasional sandy ridges
formed as beaches and bars in older takes.
The streams (except the Detroit River) entering Lake Erie orig-
inate either within or just outside the boundaries of the Lake Plain.
12
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13
FIGURE 7
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The valleys are generally narrow and winding with steep to vertical
walls. The shapes indicate that most of the valleys are in a youth-
ful stage of maturity, having been cut rapidly since the Ice Age in
a flat region but high relative to the lake.
CLIMATE
The climate of the Lake Erie basin is temperate, humid-continental
with the chief characteristic of rapidly changing weather.
The annual average temperatures for land stations in the Erie
basin range between 47°F and 50°F. Temperatures generally decrease
northeastward from the southwestern end of the basin. The highest
average temperature at recording stations is at Put-in-Bay on South
Bass Island with an annual average of 5I.2°F.
The highest average monthly temperatures occur in July, ranging
from 70°F to 74°F at land stations. These also generally decrease
northeastward across the basin, Figure 8. Put-in-Bay again is highest
at 75.I°F. The lowest average monthly temperatures occur In January
at the west end of the basin and February at the east end, and range
from 24°F to 28°F. The extremes of temperature in the Lake Erie basin
are about -20°F and IOO°F.
Average annual precipitation at land stations fn the basin is
well-distributed throughout the year, Figure 9, and ranges from about
30.5 inches to more than 40 inches with an overall basin average of
about 34 inches. Yearly precipitation has varied between the extremes
of 24 and 43 inches. Precipitation shows a striking correlation to
land elevation and topography, Figure 10. Low-lying flat areas of the
basin have the lowest precipitation. Highest precipitation occurs in
the southeastern part of the basin.
Most of the precipitation in the Lake Erie basin is derived from
the flow northeastward of warm, moisture-laden air of low pressure
systems from the Gulf of Mexico. Precipitation results when this
clashes with colder, northern air of high pressure systems, moving in
from the west and northwest. This kfnd of weather Is characteristic
of spring, summer, and early fall, and usually occurs in cycles of a
few days. Humidity is high along with high temperatures, and south
to southwest winds persist for long periods.
In winter, however, the colder Canadian air masses push south-
eastward and dominate the weather, resulting in less precipitation and
less humidity. Heavier precipitation (usually snow) is experienced
in the southeastern part of the basin, explaining the shift in the
annual precipitation pattern in that area. This phenomenon is largely
local, caused by air moving across Lake Erie, picking up moisture en-
route, and precipitating it when the air rises along the front of the
hills on the southeastern shore. Snowfall is greater in the eastern
14
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60
u.
o
?
UJ
Q:
H50
o:
Ul
Q.
5
UJ
40
30
^_ —
JAN.
i
1
i t
/
^y
FEB.
I ' /
///
/
MAR.
•
i I
/
/
1 I
1 1
I /
1 /
1
1
1
f 1
//
[//
APR.
MAY
/
/
//
/
\'/
L BL
f —
JUN.
X
,^ —
PUT-
\
^ \
TOLED^/^ '
^x-^"
FFALO
f
_j
JUL.
~~N. \
AUG.
N-BAY
i<
J
\
\
\
\ \
x\\
\ \
\\
\
\
r SEP.
\
\
V \
A\
\\\
NA *
\\'
\\
>
OCT.
\
\\
\ \
\\
\ \
\
\
NOV.
\
\
^T
DEC.
ANNUAL AIR TEMPERATURE CURVES FOR
TOLEDO, PUT-IN-BAY AND BUFFALO
FIGURE 8
15
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JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUM jUi. AUG SF3 OCT NOV DEC
o
z
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JuN JUL AUG SFP OCT NOV DEC
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
o
z
JAN FEB
OCT NOV DEC
AVERAGE MONTHLY PRECIPITATION AT LAND STATIONS
LAKE ERSE BASIN
FIGURE 9
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FIGURE 10
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part of the basin with Buffalo having an annual average snowfall of
72 inches, as compared to less than 36 Inches for Toledo.
Southwesterly winds prevail over Lake Erie (Figure II) In a I I
months of the year, a characteristic common to the northern hemis-
phere temperate region. However, in fall and winter, northwesterly
winds occur frequently, reaching high velocities (40-50 mph) in
storms. In spring the same is true of northeasterly winds except
that velocities (30-40 mph) are usually lower.
The percent of possible sunshine is greatest in midsummer and
least in winter, Figure 12, although precipitation might indicate
otherwise. Less sunshine in winter Is due to the cloud-producing
effects of the lake. December and January ordinarily have less
than 40 percent of possible sunshine, while June and July average
more than 70 percent at most stations. The percentage over the lake
proper in summer is even greater.
Lake Erie has a marked moderating effect on the climate of the
basin, especially for a few miles inland from the shore. This Is
demonstrated by the length of the frost-free season - near shore it
is greater than 200 days, while only a few miles inland it Is as
much as 30 days less. This longer frost-free season is due to a
warming effect from the lake water. During the late fall and early
winter the lake water is still relatively warm and delays the first
kilI ing frost.
18
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INDICATES WIND DURATION IN PERCENT OF TIME.
• INDICATES WIND MOVEMENT IN PERCENT OF TOTAL .
NOTES:
occurrtnc* of wind in tht dlrtctlon and velocity shown.
Length of bar denotes duration in average days per year.
Wind data from logs of th« U. S. Coast Guard, Cleveland, Ohio.
WIND DIAGRAM FOR CLEVELAND, OHIO
19
FIGURE
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z
UJ
o
a:
80
70
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL. AUG. SEP OCT NOV DEC
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC.
JAN. FEB MAR. APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV. DEC.
MONTHLY PERCENT OF POSSIBLE SUNSHINE 1965
20
FIGURE 12
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CHAPTER 2
LAKE ERIE PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
LAKE BOTTOM
Each of the three basins of Lake Erie contain unique physical
features. Because of this, each basin will be described separately
in some detail. Much of the description is taken from U. S. Lake
Survey and Ohio Division of Geological Survey publications.
WESTERN BASIN
The western basin of Lake Erie is that part of the lake west of
a line from Point Pelee through Kelleys Island to Marblehead, Ohio
(Figure I). Its long orientation is west-northwest, at an angle to
the main east-northeast orientation of Lake Erie. The basin averages
24.5 feet in depth and covers an area of approximately 1,200 square
miles. On its western and southern sides the bottom slopes gently
from shore out to the 24-foot depth, five to ten miles offshore. On
the north side of the basin the nearshore slope is steeper, the 24-
foot depth being only one-half to two miles offshore (Figure 5).
Beyond the 24-foot depth the bottom is very flat, reaching a maximum
depth of only about 35 feet west of the Bass Islands. The flat bot-
tom is generally mud, interrupted locally by small reefs and islands
of rock, such as Niagara Reef,, West Sister, and Middle Sister Islands
(Figure I).
The inter-island bottom, also mud, has considerably more relief,
but much of it, too, is very flat. Depths are generally in the same
range as those west of the islands. Within the more restricted
channels, depths are considerably greater, due to current scour. The
deepest of these are south of South Bass Island at 63 feet and north
of Kelleys Island at 52 feet.
Reefs of bedrock are common around the islands. They generally
have rough surfaces and steep slopes and rise to near or above lake
level. Most of the rock exposures lie in two bands, one from Marble-
head through Pelee Island, and the other from Catawba through the
Bass Islands. Bedrock under the basin is fairly rough and in places
is 80 feet or more beneath the lake bottom (Hartley, 1961). These
depressions are filled with lake sediments.
Hard clay bottom is found in a narrow strip along the south shore
and in a broader band near the northeastern shore of the western basin
(Verber, 1957).
21
-------
Sand and gravel are not abundant in western Lake Erie. Most of
that which exists is found on beaches along the mainland shores, in
a relatively large area off Locust Point, Ohio, across the mouth of
Maumee Bay, and in the northern half of the eastern island chain
(Figure 6).
Beach, bank, and nearshore bottom erosion is prevalent and in
many places is a very serious problem especially in the Toledo area.
The shore banks around the western basin are mainly clay. Their
height is less than 10 feet above lake level on the south shore.
Dikes and swampjand are common. On the north shore the banks rise
to 30 feet or more above the lake. Rock bluffs, up to 30 feet high,
are found on the islands and the Catawba and Marblehead peninsulas.
CENTRAL BASIN
The central basin of Lake Erie extends from the islands eastward
to the sand and gravel bar crossing the lake between Erie, Pennsyl-
vania and Long Point, Ontario (Figures I and 6). The top of the bar
is 40 to 50 feet below water level. The central basin has an area
of about 6,300 square miles, an average depth of 60 feet, and a max-
imum depth of 80 feet. Approximately 75 percent of the central basin
is between 60 and 80 feet deep.
The bottom of central Lake Erie is extremely flat over most of
its area (Figure 5). The only relief features of any consequence are
the shoreward-rising slopes of sand, gravel, and rock, and a low wide
bar extending south-southeastward from Point Pelee, Ontario to near
Lorain, Ohio. This bar is two to six miles wide and rises 15 to 20
feet above the general lake bottom. It separates a small, triangle-
shaped, fI at-bottomed basin with 40 to 50-foot depths from the main
part of the central basin to the east. This small basin and the main
basin have mud bottoms and are connected by a broad channel near the
Ohio shore.
The mud, which covers more than two-thirds of the central Lake
Erie bottom is generally dark gray in color and contains very little
coarse material. In mid-lake it is similar in physical appearance
for several feet downward from the surface (Hartley, 1961).
Sand and gravel are found on the bottom in a strip of varying
width along the north and south shores of the basin. It reaches its
greatest width of five miles or more between Cleveland and Fairport,
Ohio.
Limestone and dolomite bedrock are found on the bottom at the
extreme western end of the basin. Shale is exposed as a narrow strip
22
-------
discontinuous Iy from Vermilion eastward aiong and very near the south
shore. Otherwise bedrock does not reach the lake bottom surface in
the central basin. At some places it is known to be more than 100
feet under the lake bottom.
Natural beaches are generally narrow to nonexistent along the
south shore of central Lake Erie and along most of the north shore.
The Cedar Point spit on the south shore and the spits ot Pelee Point
and Pointe Aux Pins on the north shore are exceptions. Harbor struc-
tures, such as those at Huron, Fairport, Ashtabula, and Conneaut on
the south shore have created exceptional artificial beaches but have
caused shore erosion problems on the down-drift sides (Hartley, 1964).
The north and south shores of the central basin are generally
characterized by eroding banks of glacial till and lake-deposited
silt and clay. On the south shore the banks rise in height from less
than 30 feet near the west end to more than 70 feet at the east end
of the basin. On the north shore they rise similarly to more than
100 feet at the east end. Rock bluffs are limited to shore stretches
between Vermilion and Cleveland, Ohio. Rapid erosion of the shore
banks has contributed a great amount of sediment to the central basin.
Rivers and streams emptying into the central basin are small and
ordinarily provide an insignificant amount to the lake's water supply.
In the past, however, they have contributed a very large amount to
lake sediments.
The water of the central basin of Lake Erie is generally less
turbid than that of the western basin because the basin is larger and
deeper, and streams do not carry great loads of sediment. The western
end of Lake Erie acts as a settling basin for most of the water supply
to the central basin.
EASTERN BASIN
The eastern basin is that part of Lake Erie lying east of the bar
between Erie, Pennsylvania and Long Point, Ontario (Figure I and
Figure 5). It has an area of approximately 2,400 square miles and an
average depth of about 80 feet. It is by far the deepest part of Lake
Erie with a maximum depth of 216 feet (U. S. Lake Survey Chart No. 3).
The bottom of the eastern basin is relatively smooth but not flat
like the western and central basins. Most of the bottom is mud (Figure
6) and is generally lighter-colored and more compact than that in the
other two basins.
The eastern basin is bounded on the west and south and around the
east end by relatively steep slopes on sand and gravel. Rock is ex-
posed in a strip along both the north and south shores. As In most of
23
-------
Lake Erie the beaches are generally narrow or absent with two notable
exceptions. Presque Isle, Pennsylvania and the massive spit at Long
Point, Ontario, are large natural accumulations of sand, together ac-
counting for a large part of the beach sand in Lake Erie. Both of
these spits have enclosed rather large shallow bays.
Rocky bluffs are found along most of the shore of the eastern
basin with shale on the south shore and limestone on the north shore.
Rivers and streams entering the eastern basin are unimportant to
the water supply of the lake even though the Grand River in Ontario
supplies more than 2,000 cfs. The streams have been relatively small
contributors of sediments.
The water in the eastern basin is clear compared to the remainder
of Lake Erie. The shores are very resistant to erosion, sediment-
laden streams are virtually nonexistent, and the water is much deeper,
thereby minimizing wave agitation of bottom sediments. Also the cen-
tral basin is a settling basin for nearly all of the eastern basin's
water supply.
LAKE WATER
TRIBUTARY SUPPLY
LAKE HURON OUTFLOW
Lake Erie receives 80 percent of its water supply from upper lake
drainage. The large volume and high quality of this inflow havea great
dilutional effect on Lake Erie, and any significant decrease in either
the volume or quality could be disastrous.
The Lake Huron outflow is the only source of water to Lake Erie
which is not controlled by precipitation over the Erie basin, being
controlled instead by precipitation in the basins of Lakes Superior,
Michigan, and Huron. Diversion out of Lake Michigan at Chicago, diver-
sion into Lake Superior, and flow regulation from Lake Superior affect
to a minor degree the Lake Huron discharge.
According to U. S. Lake Survey measurements, the Lake Huron out-
flow has averaged 187,450 cfs between I860 and the present. The
monthly averages have ranged from a high of 242,000 cfs in June 1896
to a low of 99,000 cfs in February 1942. Lowest flows ordinarily occur
in February (average 159,000 cfs) and the highest in July or August
(average 199,000 cfs), Figure 13. Other tributary runoff to Lake Erie
is generally at a minimum during periods of high Lake Huron outflow.
Though the variation in flow volume from Lake Huron is great, it
is still the most uniform of the tributary drainages to Lake Erie.
24
-------
FIGURE 13
-------
This is because of the regulating effect of the upper lakes storage.
MAJOR TRIBUTARIES
Only four Lake Erie tributaries beside the Lake Huron outflow,
exceed an average discharge of 1,000 cfs to Lake Erie. These are
the Maumee and Sandusky Rivers in Ohio and the Grand and Thames Rivers
in Ontario, Table 2. The Thames discharges to Lake St. Clair. These
rivers supply a total flow of approximately 10,000 cfs - the Maumee
River accounting for about one-half of this.
All four major tributaries drain land which is largely agricultural
and rather intensively cultivated. Precipitation on the Grand and
Thames basins is slightly higher than on the Maumee and Sandusky basins,
Figure 10. However, the percentage of precipitation appearing as un-
off is considerably greater in the Canadian basins, 36 percent compared
to 28 percent, the difference being accounted for in topography and
soil characteristics. The average water yield pef square mile is just
over 0.7 cfs In the Maumee and Sandusky River basins, and over 0.9 cfs
for the Grand and Thames River basins.
Drough flows are very low for the Maumee and Sandusky Rivers. Seven-
day, 10-year recurrence low flows are estimated at 86 cfs and 14 cfs,
respectively, at the mouths of these streams. Drought flows of the Grand
and Thames Rivers appear to be much higher per unit area, indicating that
ground water is significant in contributing to those flows. The low ground
water contribution in the Maumee and Sandusky basins can be attributed to
the relatively flat topography and to the dense and relatively impermeable
clay soiIs.
In many upstream locations there Is virtually no flow during the
critical low flow, high temperature, high evaporation months of July
through October. Flow is also low and time of travel is long near most
stream mouths. For example; in the lower several miles of the Maumee
River the flow volume is low, the cross-sectional area of the river is
large, and the gradient is virtually nil. This results in a very long
time for water to travel through the Toledo area - frequently a month or
more. A similar situation, but less severe, exists in the lower several
miles of the Sandusky River. At other localities in both basins, time
of travel is lengthened by pooling effects of both natural and artificial
features.
MINOR TRIBUTARIES
All other tributaries to Lake Erie contribute only minor water flow
to the lake. The more important of the minor tributaries, with pertinent
hydrologic data, are listed in Table 2. These streams have average flows
between 200 and 900 cfs.
26
-------
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The Portage and Raisin Rivers are similar in most characteris-
tics to the Sandusky and Maumee Rivers except for much lower average
flows. The minor tributaries in Ontario are also similar to the
Grand and Thames Rivers.
The Huron River in Ohio is similar to the Sandusky in flow char-
acteristics except that it has a higher base flow per unit area and
its basin is partly in higher land, approaching the hilly section of
the lake watershed. Ground water appears to be more important as a
part of this stream supply.
From the Huron (Ohio) basin eastward along the Ohio shore, pre-
cipitation generally increases (Figure 10) and a greater share of
the precipitation reaches the lake as runoff (Table 2). Drought flows
are, however, widely variable and again reflect the ability of ground
water to support stream flow. In addition, these streams have higher
gradients and runoff is much faster. The upstream reaches of most of
these streams may be completely dry during much of the summer-fall
low flow period.
All of the streams along the south shore become sluggish in the
lower few miles, a characteristic accentuated by the harbor enlarge-
ment of stream cross-section. The time-of-travel in the dredged
channels is often a week or more. The 7-day tow flow volume for the
Cuyahoga River (Table ?) is relatively high, due to impoundments and
large waste water discharges to the river, rather than ground water
supply.
The important minor tributaries in Michigan are the Clinton,
Rouge, Huron, and Raisin Rivers. The Clinton discharges into Lake
St. Clair, the Rouge into the Detroit River, and the Huron and Raisin
directly into Lake Erie. All are highly polluted streams, passing
through the urbanized and industrialized area of southeast Michigan.
They all drain relatively flat land, and not only is precipitation
the lowest, but the proportion of runoff to precipitation is also the
lowest in the Lake Erie basin. However, their drought flows are higher
than average per unit area, indicating that perhaps there is signifi-
cant release of ground water or surface storage. The Clinton and Huron
are fed by several small natural lakes, but the Rouge and Raisin are
not. There are several low-head dams near the mouth of the Raisin
River.
The lower few miles of Michigan tributaries are dredged, sluggish,
and lake-affected. Time of travel is long and especially long in sum-
mer and fall. The streams are similar to the south shore minor trib-
utaries mentioned above in having long time-of-travel characteristics.
28
-------
GROUND WATER
Ground water in the soil and rocks surrounding Lake Erie varies
widely in both quantity and quality, Figures 14 and 15. Quantity
alone is not a good indicator of supply capacity because of differ-
ences in retention characteristics of the soil. For example, glacial
clays may contain much water, with the water table very near the
surface, but their low permeability makes them a poor source of water
supply.
Although characteristics vary, the basin as a whole is a rather
poor producer of ground water. Tills, lake clays, and shales which
are prevalent over much of the basin are not good aquifers - producers
of water. Where they do produce significant quantities, it is not
uncommon for the water to have a high sulfur content. Locally high
quantities of water may be available where deep sandy soils occur as
the result of beach-building or glacial outwash, or in old valleys
filled with gravelly soils. Porous limestones are also locally good
aquifers as are sandstones, but all of these sources, except for sand-
stones, may contain sulfur.
LAKE WATI-IE BALANCE
The water balance must be considered in the hydrology of Lake Erie.
Because of a lack of precise quantitative information on some of the
factors any proposed balance is an estimate and subject to criticism.
The factors can be formulated, for a given period, in the equation:
P+R+U+ I -tn-E-0=AS
where:
P = precipitation directly on the lake's surface
R - runoff from the lake's land drainage area
U = ground water - considered plus in the aggregate
I = inflow from lake above
0 = outflow from lake
D = diversion; pI us if into lake, mi nus if out of lake
E = evaporation from the lake's surface
AS = change in amount of water store in the lake; pi us
if supplies exceed removal, mjnus if removals
exceed suppIies
Precipitation (P) on the lake's surface is difficult to measure
and must be interpolated from perimeter land precipitation measurements.
It is generally considered that over-lake precipitation is less than that
over land and precipitation on the lake's surface approximately equals
evaporation in the long run. In the balance shown here, the precipita-
tion (29 inches annually) at Put-in-Bay has been used.
29
-------
FIGURE 14
-------
31
FIGURE 15
-------
Runoff (R) is measurable to a degree by stream gaging but is
highly variable due to areal differences in precipitation, topog-
raphy, soil type, and vegetation. Runoff is estimated by applying
factors, derived from stream gaging, to stream drainage basin areas.
The ground water contribution (U) is virtually unknown, is not
directly measurable, and is usually considered negligible in lake
water budget computations. It is regarded as positive in the equation,
although it may actually be a negative factor.
Inflow (I) from the lake above and natural outflow (0) are not
difficult to measure, and the U. S. Lake Survey has done this for
more than 100 years. The measurements are considered reliable and
adequate for balance calculations.
Diversion (D) in Lake Erie is of two kinds, diversion out of the
basin and consumptive, or transient, use within the basin. Water is
diverted out of the basin as a supply for the Wei land Ship Canal. In
the balance, the U. S. Lake Survey estimate of 7,000 cfs annually has
been used. Within the basin, water is diverted for man's use out of
and back into the lake. A small portion is consumed and not returned
in this process. The total consumption is measurable, but in the
total lake water balance it is considered negligible. The diversion
factor in Lake Erie is always minus. Diversion to the lake from out-
side the basin is nonexistent.
Evaporation (E) is a net loss from the lake. Its measurement
with unquestioned accuracy is not possible with present methods. It
is usually calculated by solving the water budget equation for E.
This calculation obviously depends upon the accuracy of the other
factors. In the balance presented here it has been calculated to be
34.3 inches per year.
Changes in storage (AS) are easily measured by recording water
levels over the period. Changes in water levels at a particular site
induced by factors other than those in the equation; i.e., wind set-
up, seiches, and tides, are not considered as changes in storage.
The long-term change in storage is assumed to be nil for Lake Erie.
A Lake Erie water budget study by Derecki (1964) has been used
to determine monthly percentages of precipitation and runoff. Annual
runoff was calculated from U. S. Geological Survey and Canadian Water
Resources Branch surface water gaging data. Inflow and outflow were
calculated from U. S. Lake Survey reported measurements. Changes in
storage were calculated from average monthly water levels as reported
by the U. S. Lake Survey. Evaporation was obtained by solving the
equation for it.
The annual supply sources for the Lake Erie water balance are
32
-------
detailed in Table 3. The relative importance of each of the tribu-
taries to the Lake Erie water supply is graphically shown in Figure
16.
In the water balance table. Table 4, cubic feet per second (cfs)
has been used for the unit of volume. The values shown can be con-
verted to inches of water in Lake Erie by dividing by 735.
A study of the water balance indicates the following significant
factors: (I) annual evaporation nearly equals runoff to the lake,
(2) evaporation exceeds precipitation, (3) change in storage over a
long period is not significant, and (4) evaporation is greatest In
late winter and in autumn.
Calculations show that 80 percent of the net basin supply is
derived from Lake Huron inflow via the Detroit River, 9 percent Is
precipitation upon the lake's surface, and only II percent is con-
tributed by basin runoff. Loss of water from Lake Erie consists of
86 percent outflow, 3 percent diversion, and II percent evaporation.
LAKE LEVELS
Lake levels vary over short periods of time due to such phenomena
as wind set-up, seiches, and lunar and solar tides. But, 4ake levels
show changes in storage only when averaged over long periods of time.
Changes in storage for Lake Erie reflect precipitation fluctuations
over it and the upper Great Lakes. From I860 (the beginning of U. S.
Lake Survey records) to the present, change between minimum and max-
imum levels for Lake Erie has been 5.3 feet - almost nine percent of
the lake's average depth.
Short-period fluctuations mentioned above are manifested, not by
changes in volume, but by changes in the shape of the water mass.
Tidal effects are negligible, but wind set-up and seiches may be quite
pronounced, especially at the ends of the lake.
A wind set-up is the result of wind drag across the lake. Water
is pushed toward the leeward shore in greater quantity than can be
simultaneously returned in subsurface flow. The water rises at the
leeward side and Is depressed at the windward side. Lake Erie is par-
ticularly susceptible to high amplitude wind set-ups because of its
shallowness and the orientation of its long axis parallel to predom-
inant southwest and northeast winds. Amplitudes in excess of 13 feet
have been recorded simultaneously between the ends of the lake during
storms, with little change in level near the center of the lake.
In general the highest amplitude wind set-ups occur in spring
and fall with northeasterly and westerly winds, respectively. Flooding
and erosion are severe when high amplitude wind set-ups occur, and are
33
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TABLE 3
WATER SUPPLY TO LAKE ERIE
Source
Western Basin
St. Clalr River (Lake Huron, outflow)
Black, Pine, Belle Rivers
Cl inton River
Rouge River
Thames River
M i see 1 1 aneous Runof f
Precipitation (Lake St. Clair)
Subtotal (Detroit River)
Huron River (Michigan
Ra i s i n R i ve r
Maumee River
Portage River
Miscellaneous Runoff
Precipitation (Western Basin)
Subtotal
Total Western Basin
Evaporation
Central Basin
Western Basin
Sandusky River
Huron River (Ohio)
Vermi 1 ion River
Black River
Rocky River
Cuyahoga River
Chagrin River
Grand River (Ohio)
Ashtabula River
Conneaut Creek
Otter Creek
Kettle Creek
Miscellaneous Runoff
Precipitation (Central Basin)
Total Central Basin
Evaporation
Supply
(cfs)
187,450
688
470
235
1,840
1 ,799
919
193,401
556
714
4,794
403
1,271
2,564
10,302
203,703
-3,042
200,661
1,021
296
228
302
273
850
333
784
169
257
312
185
4,410
13,508
220,589
-16,023
Percent of
Total
Lake Supply
79,774
.293
.200
.100
.783
.766
.391
82.307
.237
.304
2.040
.172
.541
1.091
4.384
86.691
-1.295
85.396
.435
J26
.097
.129
.116
.362
.142
.334
.072
.109
.133
.079
.600
5.749
93.877
-6.819
Percent of
Basin
Supply
92.921
.338
.231
.115
.903
.883
.451
94.943
.273
.351
2.353
.198
.624
1.259
5.057
100.000
-1.493
90.966
.463
.134
.103
.137
.124
.385
.151
.355
.077
.117
.141
.084
.639
6.124
100.000
-7.264
34
-------
WATER SUPPLY TO LAKE ERIE (Concluded)
Source
Eastern Basin
Central Basin
Cattaraugus Creek
Buffalo River
Grand River (Ontario)
Big Creek
Miscellaneous Runoff
Precipitation (Eastern Basin)
Total Eastern Basin
Evaporation
Lake Outflow
Supply
(cfs)
204,566
705
784
2,405
256
2,023
5,172
215,911
-6,135
209,776
Percent of
Total
Lake Supply
87.058
.300
.334
1.024
.108
.861
2.20J
9 1 . 886
-2.61 1
89.275
Percent of
Basin
Supply
94.746
.327
.363
I. 114
.1 19
.937
2.395
100.000
-2.841
TABLE 4
WATER BALANCE IN LAKE ERIE
(cfs)
P + R +
D -
Annual
Average
22,000 25,966- 187,000 203,000 7,000 25,000 0
35
-------
FIGURE 16
-------
even more severe during periods of high lake levels (times of in-
creased storage), especially in the western basin where the shores
are low.
A wind set-up, which generally lasts less than 24 hours, forms
a standing wave which will persist when the wind subsides. The
standing wave, called a seIche, will persist and gradually diminish
until another wind set-up. A typical example of wind set-ups and
following seiches are shown in Figure 17 for simultaneous lake level
readings at five different stations. Influencing winds and baro-
metric pressure are also shown.
The primary seiche period of Lake Erie Is 14.2 hours, that of
the uninodal oscillation between the ends of the lake. This seiche
period is nearly always apparent on water level records from west of
Cleveland and east of Ashtabula, Ohio. Any number of seiches can
exist together and each can have several nodes, giving rise to seem-
ingly unintelligible water level records. Even the harbors, where
most recorders are located, can have short-period seiches called
surges or harbor resonance.
The shortest period oscillations of water level are simple sur-
face waves caused by wind. In Lake Erie these waves ordinarily have
periods of less than six seconds. Wave heights are limited by lake
depths and fetch or length of water surface over which the wind blows,
In general, maximum possible wave heights increase from west to east
in Lake Erie. Waves over six feet in height are rare in the western
basin, while similar conditions may produce wave heights of 15 to 20
feet in the eastern basin. Violence of waves in Lake Erie is caused
by short wave lengths and the resulting wave steepness.
Waves are destructive to shore property in Lake Erie. The shore-
line of Ohio is particularly susceptible because beaches are narrow
and most banks are clay. Waves, of course, are more destructive
during high lake stages and in areas of simultaneous wind set-up. In
the western basin, wave action is believed to be the principal agent
in maintaining the relatively high turbidity of the shallow water by
stirring up bottom sediments. Table 5 lists some of the effects and
causes of various kinds of water level disturbances.
37
-------
570 FT.
968 MONROE, MICH
570 FT.
568 MARBLEHEAD, 0
570 F T.
KW^^^w
568 CLEVELAND, 0.
570 FT.
568 BARCELONA, N.Y.
570 F
568 BUFFALO, N.Y.
SIMULTANEOUS LAKE ERIE LEVELS
WIND AT BUFFALO AIRPORT
+30.00 IN.
+29.50 IN
+29.00 IN.
BAROMETRIC PRESSURE AT BUFFALO
9/19/641 9/20 I 9/21 I 9/22 F9/23H 9/24 I 9/25 F 9/26 F 9/27 1 9/28 ' 9/29 ' 9/30 '
LAKE LEVELS AND WINDS
SEPTEMBER, 1964
38
FIGURE 17
-------
TABLE 5
CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF WATER LEVEL CHANGES
Water Level
Disturbance
Effects
Cause
Navigation Shore Property Pollution
Stage
Wind Set-up
Seiche
Tide
Waves
Precipitation High - good High - adverse None
Inflow Low - adverse Low - good
Wind
Same as above Same as above
Wind Set-up
Moon - Sun
Wind
Lee - con-
centration
Windward -
dispersal
Same as stage Same as above Dispersal
None
None
High - adverse Adverse
Low - none
None
Dispersion
and long-
shore trans-
port
LAKE WATER TEMPERATURES
Lake Erie is the warmest of the Great Lakes. Mid-lake surface
water reaches an average maximum of about 75°F (24°C) usually in the
first half of August (Figure 18). Occasionally the summer temperature
in mid-lake surface water rises above 80°F. Nearshore water normally
reaches a maximum along the south shore of 80°F or more.
The most important characteristic of lake temperatures in summer
is temperature stratification. If the water is deep enough upper warm
water (epilimnion) becomes separated from bottom cold water (hypolimnion),
Figure 19. The transition zone between these layers is called the
thermocline.
Surface water temperatures throughout much of the ice-free seasons
reflect water depth with temperature decreasing toward deep water
(Rodgers, 1965). This inverse relationship changes to a direct re-
lationship in the fall and early winter.
Water temperature is, of course, changed by variations in air
39
-------
YEARLY WATER TEMPERATURE CURVE, PUT-IN-BAY, OHIO
AND AIR TEMPERATURE AT TOLEDO, OHIO
JAN t FEB | MAR t APR | MAY | JUN | JUL , AUG | SEP , OCT | NOV | DEC
Av. Water Temp.
Water Ttmp. Range,
1918-1965
Av. Air Temp,
-30-
55 r
54
UJ
ui 52
a:
o
UJ
Q 51
5O
49
1920
1930
1940
1950
I960
ANNUAL AVERAGE WATER TEMPERATURES AT
PUT-IN-BAY, OHIO AND ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA 1918-1965
(FROM OHIO DIV. OF WILDLIFE AND U.S. BUR. COMM. FISH. DATA)
40
FIGURE 18
-------
O.
UJ
20
40
60
80
100
30
o
z
o
a.
v
EASTERN
BASIN
CENTRAL J
BASIN
40
5O 60
TEMPERATURE IN °F
70
80
TYPICAL SUMMER DEPTH
VS.
TEMPERATURE IN LAKE ERIE
FIGURE 19
-------
temperature, and the relationship is direct. Slight modifications
to the relationship are caused by the amount of sunshine, strength
and duration of winds, and by humidity.
Lake Erie water temperature, in the western basin, falls to 33°F
normally about the middle of December and remains at that level until
the middle of March. Usually the western basin freezes over com-
pletely. The surface water in the remainder of Lake Erie is at 33°F
for about the same length of time, but normally about two weeks later,
or from the first of January until the first of April. The central
and eastern basins usually do not freeze over completely, but often
are almost entirely covered by floe ice.
Just after the ice breakup in spring, the ice drifts eastward
and accumulates in the eastern basin. Occasionally ice jams signifi-
cantly impede the flow of the Niagara River. Ice normally disappears
in Lake Erie by May I.
Windrows of ice are common near the shore and on reefs. Wind
exerts a significant force on the ice and can cause breakup without
thawing conditions. Occasionally with onshore winds along the south
shore of the western basin, ice piles up on shore, scouring the bot-
tom as it moves in. At times it piles to heights of 30 feet or more
and destroys buildings and other structures along the shore.
Spring ice breakup in the western basin, after it begins, occurs
rapidly, going from complete ice cover to open water in a few days.
Warming of the lake water usually begins immediately after the
ice breakup. The rate of wanning is remarkably uniform until about
the first of July when the maximum temperature is being approached
and the rate flattens out.
A comparison of surface water temperature curves and air tempera-
ture curves (Figure 18) shows that during the ice-free season there is
a definite and expected parallelism. The water temperature curve lags
the air temperature by 9 to 12 days in spring and by 12 to 15 days in
fall. The greatest departure is in midsummer when the air temperature
decline begins about three weeks before the water temperature decline.
Figure 18 also shows temperature data from about 45 years of
record maintained at the Ohio State Fish Hatchery at Put-in-Bay (Ohio
Division of Wildlife, 1961). Mean monthly water temperatures are shown.
Also annual average temperatures are shown for the period for Put-in-Bay
and for the Erie, Pennsylvania water intake as compiled by the U. S.
Bureau of Commercial Fisheries. The Erie record shows a trend toward
higher temperatures during the period and the Put-in-Bay record shows
a trend toward lower temperatures. Trends appear insignificant, however,
especially since accuracy of measurement is at least questionable.
42
-------
Temperature of the surface water of Lake Erie is of less sig-
nificance than the three-dimensional temperature structure. This
structure influences circulation of the water and its dissolved and
suspended substances, and also has a marked influence on the chemical
and biochemical activity at the bottom sediment-water interface.
WESTERN BASIN
Figures 20a, b, and c diagrammatically show the development of
seasonal temperature structure in each of Lake Erie's three basins.
Figure 20a for the western basin shows the simplest thermal structure.
In spring the temperature of the entire water column rises gradually.
In summer the water is usually nearly isothermal vertically. A trans-
ient secondary thermocline of little importance can be formed near the
surface during hot calm periods. During periods of normal winds and
above average air temperatures, a thermocline can be formed near the
bottom, simultaneously with the development of a secondary thermocline
in the central basin. This thermocline is accompanied by rapid de-
oxygenation of the bottom water due to oxygen-consuming material and
the inability of oxygen to penetrate the thermocline.
Storms equalize temperatures in the western basin top to bottom.
In August when cooling begins, the western basin water is vertically
isothermal and remains so as it cools in fall and winter.
CENTRAL BASIN
The central basin water, Figure 20b, has a simple fall, winter,
and spring thermal structure. In summer the structure is more complex
than in the western basin. The temperature at the beginning of the
first summer weather cycle in early June is approximately the temper-
ature of the following hypolimnion.
The stable thermocline and hypolimnion are formed relatively sud-
denly during the first storm ending this weather cycle. The intensity
of this storm determines the depth of the thermocline, and the thermo-
cline remains at approximately its initial elevation until the lake
begins to cool in August. The thermocline is normally tilted slightly
upward to the north. During its existence the hypolimnion loses oxygen
and may lose it all because it does not mix with the water above, and
it contains oxidizable organic matter.
Summer weather cycles cause the epilimnion to alternate in struc-
ture between one layer and three layers. Storms equalize the temper-
ature of the epilimnion. During the following warming period a sec-
ondary thermocline is formed by heat input and the mixing by normal
winds to a depth of 6 or 7 meters. While this is forming the temper-
ature of the epilimnion below this temporary thermocline is not changing.
The temperature of this zone is then raised suddenly during the cycle-
ending storm when the temperature of the entire epilimnion again becomes
43
-------
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LAKE
ERIE -WESTERN BASIN -ANNUAL TEMPERATURE DEVELOPMENT
APR. , MAY . JUN. l JUL. AUG. , SEP.
DIURNAL RISE AND FALL
OCT. , NOV. . DEC. . JAN, . FEB. . MAR.
*— LAKE SURFACE — ' SURFACE FREEZES
CAUSED BY DAILY RISE AND FALL OF AIR TEMPERATURE
-H
**•
0
ID
GRADUAL RISE,
FREQUENT SMALL
SHARP INCREASES
INTERMITTENT THERMOCLINE
RESULT OF HOT, CALM WEATHER
GRADUAL RISE
AND OCCASIONAL
SHARP INCREASES
CAUSED BY WIND
MIXING WITH ABOVE
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CAUSED BY STEADY NORMAL WIND AND HIGH
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RAPID AND SEVERE WITH EACH OCCURRENCE. ^LAKE BOTTOM^.
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LAKE
ERIE-CENTRAL BASIN-ANNUAL TEMPERATURE DEVELOPMENT
APR. , MAY JUN , JUL AUG. , SEP.
DIURNAL RISE AND FALL
CAUSED BY DA
LY RISE AND FALL OF AIR TEMPERATURE
INTERMITTENT THERMOCLINE
RESULT
•41
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GRADUAL RISE,
FREQUENT SMALL
SHARP INCREASES
CAUSED BY NORMAL
SPRING WEATHER
OF WARM, CALM WEATHER
GRADUAL RISE,
OCCASIONAL
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CAUSED BY NORMAL
WEATHER
INTERMITTENT
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gY FIRST SUMMER WEATHER CYCLE NJt
ISOTHERMAL-CONSTANT -TEMPERATURE^
DETERMINED BY SPRING TEMPERATURE BEFORE 1
FIRST SUMMER WEATHER CYCLE . DE-OXYGENATION
GRADUAL, MAY GO TO COMPLETION.
OCT. , NOV. , DEC. JAN. , FEB. , MAR.
*-LAKE SURFACE — **
Z
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ISOTHERMAL
DECLINES TO S
CONSTANT
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^-LAKE BOTTOM-^
SURFACE PARTIALLY FREEZES
ISOTHERMAL
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LAKE
ERIE - EASTERN BASIN -ANNUAL TEMPERATURE DEVELOPMENT
APR. , MAY ( JUN. , JUL. AUG. , SEP. ,
DIURNAL RISE AND FALL
OCT. , NOV. , DEC. JAN. , FEB. , MAR.
"•—LAKE SURFACE—-*
"""" --. CAUSED BY DAILY RISE AND FALL OF AIR TEMPERATURE
~~ "- ~- -
SLIGHT WARMING
•\^^^ GRADUAL^RISE
•H
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STABLE--\^^ JjS ISOTHERMAL
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TEMPERATURE DETERMINED
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44
CONSTANT 33°F
POSSIBLE REVERSE
THERMOCLINE
CONSTANT 39°F
FIGURE 20
-------
uniform. The density gradient at the stable thermocline is thus in-
creased. The whole process is repeated several times before August.
Figure 21 shows the summer cyclic development at station E-8 (Figure
23) in the central basin. In August the epilimn ion begins to cool
and loses its three-layer structure. The density gradient at the
thermocline decreases and the thermocline deepens, disappearing
entirely by October.
Upwelling, downwelling, and internal waves are created during
summer storms in the central basin, especially during northwesters.
The hypo limn ion slides around in the basin. This water movement
probably brings bottom sediments into suspension and this may increase
oxygen consumption, bringing about relatively sudden oxygen depletion
in the hypo limn ion. Internal waves other than up and downwelling in
the central basin probably have amplitudes of less than five feet,
as indicated by a study in the summer of 1965. Periods range from
less than five minutes to two weeks or more, with an inertia) period
near eighteen hours apparently predominant.
EASTERN BASIN
The temperature structure of the eastern basin is probably like
that of the deeper Great Lakes, Figure 20c. In winter it is nearly
isothermal and may have reverse stratification. In spring it mixes
top to bottom and is vertically isothermal. The upper waters warm
gradually and a shallow thick thermocline forms early, thinning and
deepening as summer progresses. The epilimnion is mixed more often
or more constantly than in the central basin. Figure 21 shows a
typical summer thermal development at station EI2 and EI4 (Figure 23)
in the eastern basin.
Mixing in the epilimnion of the eastern basin may be aided greatly
or perpetuated by relatively high amplitude thermoclinal waves. Sig-
nificant internal wave motion is virtually constant throughout the
summer with an inertia! 17 to 18-hour period dominant. The thermocline
thins and deepens rapidly after the epilimnion begins to cool. Just
before the thermocline disappears, usually in November, it has reached
a depth of 100 feet or more. With its disappearance the hypolimnion
zone warms somewhat, due to mixing, and then begins to cool to winter
temperatures.
NEARSHORE WATER TEMPERATURES
Temperature plays an important role in nearshore waters. The
significance is not great in winter because the temperature is nearly
uniform throughout the lake. However, during the other three seasons
waters of different temperatures are in contact and density interfaces
are formed, inhibiting mixing processes and resulting in currents
which would not otherwise exist.
45
-------
U N
1964
9 10 II 1213 14 1516 17 10 19 20 21 22 23
WATER TEMPERATURES 8 MILES NW OF ASHTABUL A
(CENTRAL BASIN)
SUNFI
1
J\
WATER TEMPERATURES
(EASTE
MILES SOUTH OF LONG POINT
RN BASIN)
50 FT
44
>_
AIR TEMPERATURE CLEVELAND
12 HR AVERAGES
FIGURE 21
46
-------
During the spring and summer, and strongly in the spring, a tem-
perature differential may exist between nearshore and offshore waters.
The water within a mile or so off shore is usually considerably warmer.
The greatest differential appears to exist along the south shore of
the central basin. The primary reasons for this are warm tributary
discharges and the southwest winds over the lake pushing warm surface
waters toward the right of the wind or toward the south shore. North
shore nearshore waters do not appear to be greatly warmer than mid-
lake water at any time of the year. The prevailing southwest winds
here too may be largely responsible.
There is less lateral variation in the eastern basin in water
temperatures, probably because of less tributary input and deeper
nearshore water. The warmest water there is also normally along the
south shore in spring and summer.
The nearshore temperature structure in spring and summer indicates
an eastward movement of south shore nearshore water. The physics of
the system require this movement. Current measurements at several
nearshore stations have confirmed it.
In the western basin the disruptive influences of the Detroit River
inflow, bottom topography and the islands do not allow the development
of the same nearshore thermal structure. Figure 22 shows a typical
temperature distribution in the western basin in early summer.
EFFECTS OF TEMPERATURE PHENOMENA
Temperature plays a most important role in Lake Erie processes
as does the temperature-re Iated density stratification. Some of the
more important effects are:
I. Actual temperature controls plant and animal productivity
of the lake to some degree; in general the higher the
temperature, the greater the productivity.
2. Intermittent thermal stratification near the bottom of the
western basin leads to rapid deoxygenation of the water in
the hypolimnion, when and where it occurs. The warmer the
hypo limn ion the more rapid the deoxygenation will be.
3. Stable summer thermal stratification in the central basin
leads to the annual deoxygenation of hypolimnetic water.
4. Thermal stratification in the eastern basin does not have
serious consequences because of the much greater thickness
and less rapid circulation of the hypolimnion.
47
-------
FIGURE 22
-------
5. Temperature is important in controlling water movements in
nearshore areas. Density barriers may confine warmer waters
and pollution substances to the nearshore zones, especially
along the south shore, in spring and summer.
6. Temperature rises in general limit top to bottom mixing;
temperature declines favor it.
i
LAKE CURRENTS
Two basic types of circulation exist in Lake Erie: (I) Horizontal
motion and (2) essentially vertical motion. Each of these can be gen-
etically subdivided as follows:
Horizontal Currents Vertical Currents
(I) Lake flow-through (I) Temperature gradient (convection)
(2) Wind-driven (2) Turbidity gradient
(3) Seiche (3) Dissolved solids, gradient
(4) Inertia! (4) Convergence of horizontal currents
(5) Density (5) Divergence of horizontal currents
(6) Turbulence (6) Turbulence
Generally more energy is involved in horizontal than in vertical
currents. All currents tend to relocate and disperse suspended or
dissolved constituents. The movement may be quite different between
offshore and nearshore waters because of the effects of bottom topog-
raphy and boundary conditions.
The lake flow-through current is always a net_ movement eastward.
This, however, does not mean that, at all places at all times, a flow-
through component is included. It is possible that this component of
water movement is found only on one side of the lake or that it wanders
from one side to the other. Throughout the water column, it should be
essentially uni-directional, with no compensating return flow. AM
other types of currents are superimposed and, except in restricted
channels, the flow-through may be completely masked.
The flow-through current of Lake Erie can be considered as the most
significant agent in distribution of dissolved substances because most
of these substances are introduced near or at the source of the flow-
through. Because of its generally very low velocity, it Is not sig-
nificant in the transport of suspended material. The exceptions are
in restricted channels.
Wind-driven currents are, as the term implies, the movements of
water directly caused by wind stress at the water surface. These cur-
rents are the fastest and the most variable in direction of the large-
scale water movements. Large volumes of water can be moved in a very
short time, as in wind set-up.
-------
The first effect of wind is to produce waves. Waves, in them-
selves, are not significant transporters of water, at least in deeper
areas of the lake. Most of the motion is orbital in a vertical plane
decreasing downward from the surface to zero at a depth equal to the
wave length. There is only a slight net transport of water in the
direction of wave progress. However, when waves reach shallow ater
(half the wave length or less) they change from orbital to a to and
fro motion. The slight net transport still exists and along with the
effects of gravity on the return flow and wind drag, littoral or long-
shore currents are created. Such currents can be especially rapid
when the wave approach is toward shore at some angle other than normal.
Waves in mid-lake (also along shore) can produce turbulence and
if the water is shallow enough, bottom sediments may be thereby brought
into suspension. In deep water this is not a significant agent, in
itself, for transport of sediment. It may be looked upon as an agent
for mixing essentially in situ. However, wave turbulence may bring
sediment up into the water to be transported by other currents.
The second effect of wind is to drag, en masse, a volume of water
more or less in the direction of the wind. This is probably the major
factor in wind set-up. The drag decreases with depth and so does the
imposed velocity. If the volume of water moved cannot escape from the
lake, two things will happen: (I) the water level will rise at the
leeward end of the lake and (2) a subsurface return flow will be
created. If there is adequate depth so that there is an unrestricted
return flow, the rise in level will be small. In Lake Erie the water
is shallow, the return flow is restricted, and the disturbance of
water level is pronounced.
The above description of wind-driven currents is greatly over-
simplified. The currents are influenced by the Coriolis effect, by
previously established wind-driven currents, by water temperature, by
air temperature, by the local and overall shape of the basin, by the
force of the wind, by the distance of wind travel over water (fetch),
and by the direction and duration of the wind.
Seiche currents are those created in the standing wave motions of
seiches. Seiches, of course, depend upon the wind (rarely atmospheric
pressure change along) for their creation. After the wind set-up, a
seiche and its currents are self-sustaining. They degenerate by fric-
tion. Degeneration is seldom, if ever, complete because seiches are
normally rejuvenated and/or changed by the wind.
The highest velocity seiche currents in a symmetrical basin occur
along and normal to the nodal line of a particular seiche, and the
velocity decreases to a minimum at the locations of maximum amplitude.
Superimposed and multinodal seiches can lead to complex and seemingly
unintelligible motions. In Lake Erie the longitudinal seiche dominates
50
-------
and the motions associated with it over-ride the others. Currents
reach significant velocities in the nodal zone (roughly across the
lake from Fairport, Ohio) and in the inter-island channels.
Seiche currents apparently do not result in a net transport of
water; the motion is to and fro and balancing.
Density currents are those resulting when water of a different
density is brought into the lake. Density differences can result from
temperature differences, differences in dissolved solids content, dif-
ferences in suspended solids content, or any combination of these.
Density currents are the most apparent and probably have their
greatest importance in boundary waters. They provide a mechanism for
a more rapid horizontal distribution of tributary inputs than would
otherwise occur. When tributaries are warmer than the lake, the in-
puts can override the lake water, and vice versa. In either case the
inputs can spread widely offshore. Density currents from differences
in dissolved solids or suspended solids content nearly always tend to
force input water to under-run lake water. If however, the solids-
laden water is of high enough temperature, it can override the lake
water, and this often happens in Lake Erie. Paradoxically, density
differences in a vertical plane can often be sustained, especially with
water temperatures near 4°C (39°F), the temperature of maximum density,
preventing lateral dispersion and confining inputs to the nearshore
zone.
Density currents are not compensating. Their movement is ordin-
arily offshore with no return of the same water.
Turbulence, to some degree, is associated with all other types of
currents. This is more or less random motion, with horizontal and ver-
tical components. Its main effect might be considered as that of mixing
or dispersion, in that a given volume of water will, after a given time,
be found throughout a much larger volume. Turbulent motion is most
pronounced when associated with wind-driven currents.
Convection is vertical circulation caused by heat transfer. It is
important in Lake Erie during the cooling period from August to January.
The surface water loses heat to the atmosphere, becomes colder than
lower water, and sinks. Warmer water rises to replace it. This process
continues until the water column reaches 4°C, the temperature of maximum
density. This kind of circulation probably cannot be called currents
in the strictest sense, but it is highly effective in exchanging water
between the surface and bottom. Heat loss from the water is the only
factor needed to sustain this kind of motion.
Convection currents are of little consequence during the warming
months, with the possible exception of short periods of colder air
51
-------
temperatures during storms. The over-running of cold water from
tributaries can cause convection currents, but this is not common.
Turbidity and dissolved solids gradients can cause vertical cir-
culation if, like over-running of cold water, they can be formed with
the denser water on top. This situation is not normal.
Convergence of horizontal currents can cause vertical movement
if at some lower or higher level there are diverging currents. Con-
verging surface currents lead to downward movement. Diverging surface
currents lead to upward movement.
Turbulence, associated with storm activity, is the most effective
vertical motion at all seasons of the year. The result is rapid, ver-
tical mixing in unstratified water from top to bottom, and above the
density barrier if the water is stratified.
Currents in Lake Erie have been studied from time to time since
before the turn of the century. Most studies have been largely con-
fined to the western basin of the lake.
Only one attempt has been made in the past to show the general
water circulation pattern for the entire lake. This was by Harrington
(1895).
Circulation in the western basin has been investigated by several
workers, including Harrington (1895), Wright (1955), Olson (1950),
Verber (1953, 1954), and recently by the U. S. Bureau of Commercial
Fisheries. The eastern basin has been neglected except for a rather
local study in the Long Point area by Green (Fish, I960).
The Federal Water Pollution Control Administration measured cur-
rents continuously and synoptically at selected locations in the
western, central, and eastern basins. The U. S. Lake Survey has also
similarly measured currents near a few selected harbors on Lake Erie.
These programs are the first of their kind in Lake Erie.
Nearly all past work has relied upon data gathered from the re-
lease of drift cards, drift bottles, and shallow drogues. Only a
very small amount of metering has been done, and this was by manual
methods. Some attempts have been made to map chemically or physi-
cally different water masses, thereby inferring water circulation, in
the western basin.
Harrington (1895), using drift bottles, deduced the surface cur-
rents of Lake Erie. In the western basin he showed the Detroit River
fanning out from the Michigan shore to the Canadian shore. The eastern
half of the Detroit River flow went directly to Pelee Passage. The
remainder apparently flowed south and eastward to discharge through
52
-------
the South Passage with a small amount going northward to Pelee Passage.
He also showed a clockwise movement around Pelee island and a counter-
clockwise movement around Kelleys Island.
Olson (1950) made a study of surface currents in western Lake
Erie in 1948 and 1949 using drift cards. He divided the Detroit River
flow into three parts, which he called the "Colchester Convergence",
the "Pigeon Bay Drift", and the "Pelee Passage Drift" (See Figure I).
This implies that the Detroit River flow stays along the north shore,
passing into the central basin via Pelee Passage. He showed a drift
toward shore along the Michigan shore and indeterminate flow along
the south shore. He stated that Maumee River water must flow through
South Passage or between the islands, but indicated a to and fro motion
in those channels. He also showed a clockwise movement around Pelee
island which he called the "Pelee Island Gyre".
Wright (1955) studied the surface currents of western Lake Erie
in 1928 using drift bottles. He drew no conclusions except to state
that surface currents were not constant but were highly dependent
upon the wind. Most of his bottles released near the Ohio and Michigan
mainland shores went southward while most bottles released just west
of the islands went northward.
Verber (1953, 1954), using drift cards, droques, and a current
meter in the inter-island channels, concluded that a rotational move-
ment of water existed in western Lake Erie. Measurements in Pelee
Passage, at depth as well as at the surface, indicated a larger outflow
from the western basin than inflow in that channel and vice versa in
the southern channels. He also concluded that most of the Detroit
River water moved eastward through Pelee Passage.
The U. S. Bureau of Commercial Fisheries in recent work, using
drogued drift bottles for measurement, indicated that surface currents
in western Lake Erie are dependent upon winds. Southerly winds push
the surface water toward the north shore and Pelee Passage. Westerly
and northwesterly winds result in a flow pattern more or less similar
to that of Harrington with Detroit River water reaching deep into the
basin. Northeast winds push water toward the west shore with a simul-
taneous flow out of the Pelee Passage.
The Detroit Project, FWPCA, investigated currents near the mouth
of the Detroit River and along the Michigan shore with dye and drogues.
They deduced that outside the influence of river flow that currents
were controlled by and essentially followed the wind direction.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (Hartley, Herdendorf,
and Keller, 1966) measured conductivity and temperature in a dense
pattern in the western basin on 23 June 1963. They indicated that the
main part of the Detroit River flow extended far southward into the
53
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basin at the surface and at depth. The west part of the river followed
the Michigan and Ohio shores moving northward west of the islands. The
east part of the Detroit flow appeared to be moving east along the
Canadian shore. The bulk of the western basin water was moving out
through the Pelee Passage.
The only published work attempting to describe the circulation of
central Lake Erie is that of Harrington (1895). He showed a general
down-lake surface flow with a counter-clockwise gyre between Point
Pelee and Pointe Aux Pins, Ontario, and East of Pointe Aux Pins. He
also showed the gyre around Pelee island extending several miles into
central Lake Erie.
Green (Fish, I960) measured currents at a few isolated sites in
central Lake Erie in 1929 without showing significant movements.
The U. S. Bureau of Commercial Fisheries recent work with shallow
drogues indicates eastward flow in nearly all cases in mid-lake. They
indicate that the Pelee Passage discharge reaches the Ohio shore be-
tween Sandusky and Lorain.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources, with some direct measure-
ments in the southeastern part of the basin indicates that complex
patterns of water movement may exist both areally and in depth. Also
their work indicates that eddies are common around harbor breakwaters
which are not shore-connected. This has been confirmed by the U. S.
Lake Survey in their harbor work.
Even less is known of eastern basin water circulation. The only
known past attempt to measure currents in the eastern basin was by
Green in 1929 as reported by Fish (I960). Green used a current pole
and a Price current meter to measure velocities in the deeper water
of the basin. He admitted that his measurements at depth were prob-
ably too high in value. In general he found, on the few occasions of
measurement, that there was a rather rapid flow eastward, especially
near Long Point. He also found that surface flow opposed the wind
quite often. Flow patterns, other than eastward dominant movement
cannot be shown from his data.
Drift bottles, drift cards and shallow drogues, released by the
U. S. Bureau of Commercial Fisheries and the Ohio Department of Natural
Resources in the western and central basins in recent years, have
arrived on Long Point and the south shore of the eastern basin in great
numbers. Only a few drifted to the north shore of the eastern basin
east of Long Point. This probably indicates an eastward cross-lake
flow of surface water.
In order to further describe the prevailing circulation patterns,
the U. S. Public Health Service (now the Federal Water Pollution Control
54
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Administration), in May 1964, established a system of automatic cur-
rent metering stations in Lake Erie. The metering program was main-
tained until September 1965. The station locations and kinds of
measurements are shown on Figure 23. Table 6 lists the stations, the
depths at each meter, and the time of station occupancy. Temperature
recorders were installed in conjunction with the current meters. Wind
recorders were installed on most stations, but only during summer.
The metering program could not describe currents very near the
lake bottom. Therefore, in the summer of 1965 seabed drifters were
released at selected locations in Lake Erie (Figure 24). These small
drifters contained instructions to return to the sender.
Intensive, localized, short-term drogue studies were made near
the mouth of the Detroit River and off western Cleveland in the summer
of 1964. These were made to learn something of lake dispersion and
local currents.
Dye studies of short duration were carried out near the mouths of
several tributaries along the south shore of the central basin during
the summer of 1965, using Rhodamine B dye.
The metering program and seabed drifters have shown movement
patterns very unlike the surface water movements which must exist in
Lake Erie.
It is very difficult to describe predominant flows three-dimension-
ally when directions vary with depth and location, and such is the case
in Lake Erie. Therefore the following description will deal mainly
with surface and bottom currents, and much of the interpolation between
top and bottom will be left to the reader.
WESTERN BASIN CIRCULATION
As noted previously, the water movements of the western basin have
been studied more than in any other area of Lake Erie. Combining the
facts determined in all those studies, a pattern of most probable dom-
inant summer surface currents has been compiled as shown in Figure 25.
The surface currents in the western half ot the western basin are dom-
inated by the Detroit River inflow. However, in the eastern half of
The basin the surface flow becomes more influenced by the prevailing
southwesterly winds, and this effect produces a clockwise flow around
the islands. Eddy effects along the sides of the Detroit River inflow
lead to sluggish movement of surface water west of Colchester, Ontario
and between Stony Point, Michigan and Toledo. These eddies tend to
retain waters contained within them, leading to higher concentrations
of pollutants commonly found in these areas.
The surface flow of the western basin water is often changed by
55
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FIGURE 23
-------
TABLE 6
CURRENT METERING STATION DESCRIPTION DATA
(station locations on Fig. 4-7)
Station
Number
E-l
E-2
E-3
E-4
E-5
E-6
E-7
E-8
E-9
E-10
E-ll
E-12
E-13
E-14
E-15
E-16
E-17
E-18
E-19
E-20
E-22
E-23
E-24
E-2 5
E-26
E-23
E-29
E-30
E-31
E-33
E-34
Meter
depth (ft.)
30
30
30
30, 50
30, 50
30, 50
30, 50
30, 50
30, 50
30, 50
30, 50
30, 50, 75, 100
30, 50, 75, 100
30, 50, 75, 100, 185
30, 50, 75
30, 50, 75
30, 50
30
30
15
15
15
15, 30
15
15
15
15, 30
15
15, 30, 45
15
5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 14,
16, 18, 20, 22
Time of station occupancy*
5/18-10/12/64, 11/26/64-9/17/65
5/19-10/13/64, 11/26-4/20/65
5/19-8/6/64, 11/26/64-9/16/65
5/19-10/11/64, 10/14/64-9/18/65
5/19/64-5/1/65
5/19/64-4/28/65
5/19/64-9/17/65
5/20-10/15/64, 5/3-9/19/65
5/20-10/15/64, 10/16/64-5/2/65
5/20/64-8/5/65
5/20/64-9/17/65
5/20/64-9/20/65
5/20-10/15/64
5/20-9/20/65
5/21-10/23/64, 5/7-9/23/65
5/20-10/18/64
5/7-9/24/65
6/11-8/6/64, 4/21-9/16/65
4/21-9/16/65
6/12-7/17/65, 8/11-9/17/65
6/12-7/17/65
6/12-7/17/65
6/12-7/15/65, 8/8-9/17/65
6/16-7/15/65, 8/6-9/17/65
6/16-7/16/65
6/15-7/16/65
6/14-7/15/65
6/14-7/15/65
6/14-7/15/65
4/21-9/15/65
7/29-8/12/65
Record length averages about 60$ of total occupancy times.
57
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CO
si
t-lil
It. a;
-s
1 CO
«
111 III
C0_|
Id
Ill
I
o
58
F IGUKf. 24
-------
59
FIGURE 25
-------
changes in wind direction and intensity. The effect of strong winds
on surface circulation is to essentially skim the surface water and
move it in the direction toward which the wind is blowing. Thus with
a sufficiently strong wind most of the surface water, except along
the windward shore, may move in the same direction.
Surface flow tells nothing about bottom circulation. In summer
bottom currents in much of the western basin of Lake Erie are similar
to surface currents, being dominated by the Detroit River inflow
(Figure 26). However, in the island area the bottom currents are
often the reverse of the surface currents with a counter-clockwise
flow around the islands. The metering station (E-19) in Pelee Passage
showed a dominant northwestward movement of water at a depth of 30
feet between the months of April and August 1965. Three days of meas-
urement at 30 feet in South Passage (E-18) showed a dominant eastward
movement. In late August and September in Pelee Passage the bottom
flow had reversed, indicating that it had then become like the surface
flow. Apparently lake cooling is important in establishing a top to
bottom uniformity of dominant circulation. The dominant annual bottom
flow may be clockwise around Pelee Island. Seabed drifter data tend
to support this.
Records of currents at station E-34, one-half mile north of the
Toledo water intake crib, during the summer of 1965 showed a dominant
movement northwestward, compatible with the clockwise eddy movement
in the Toledo-Monroe area.
Like the surface movement, bottom currents can also be changed
by the wind, although it probably takes a stronger wind to create a
major change of pattern. With very strong winds, which cause major
changes of water level, the bottom currents are essentially the re-
verse of surface currents. This means, for example, that a strong
westerly wind will cause bottom currents toward the west and a strong
easterly wind will cause bottom currents to shift toward the east.
Continuity considerations demand that subsurface reversals occur.
In the western basin water movements are not all so simple as
described above. Seiches and changing winds complicate the patterns
which occur at any particular time. An ice cover will enable the ex-
istence of a more or less stable pattern which should be similar to
1he dominant pattern of summer surface flow (Figure 25).
The probable surface and bottom flows under different strong wind
conditions are shown in Figures 27 through 32. The western basin
water apparently will show these kinds of responses year-round in the
ice-free period. However, the reverse response in bottom waters ap-
parently becomes less in fall and winter.
The most significant effects of current patterns in the western
basin are:
-------
FIGURE 26
-------
62
FIGURE 27
-------
FIGURE 28
-------
' /
/
'-'' S
o /r~^
f~\
w
v
V^-x -^
FIGURE 29
-------
FIGURE 30
-------
.N
\^A \
\ *
i ^
/
\ \ f^
V \
-------
v
' \ \
X /
/ / /
^; V x - *
; A-- 1
FIGURE 32
-------
I. Concentrations of contaminants from the Detroit, Raisin, and
Maumee Rivers may build up along the west shore under the
conditions of dominant flows, both surface and bottom.
2. Concentrations of contaminants may similarly build up to
even higher values under ice cover since wind then has less
effect.
3. Winds cause mixing and redistribution of contaminants over
the entire basin in ice-free periods.
4. A portion of central Lake Erie water may recirculate in and
around the island area of the western basin.
CENTRAL BASIN CIRCULATION
The effect of wind is over-riding in the water circulation of the
central basin of Lake Erie. The orientation of the basin, with its
long axis essentially parallel to the prevailing southwesterly winds
makes this effect especially important.
The predominant summer surface water movement in central Lake Erie
is as illustrated in Figure 33, based on the results of drift card,
drift bottle, and drogue studies made by several other agencies. This
pattern of surface movement has been determined from investigations
carried out primarily during the summer months. The pattern should be
similar for winter months but with a decided shift to movement more
toward the southeast and south as a result of the more frequent oc-
currence of northwesterly winds. It should be noted that surface cur-
rents do not exactly parallel the wind direction but move somewhat to
the right of it because of the Coriolis effect. It should also be
understood that the predominant pattern is essentially that of result-
ant movement over an extended period, and at any one time, surface
movement may be greatly different or even reversed, responding quickly
to wind changes.
Bottom currents in central Lake Erie are not similar to surface
currents. Because surface currents are generally moving water in much
greater quantity than can be removed from the basin, the balancing
movement must be subsurface and essentially a return flow over most
of the basin, responding less quickly to wind changes. The predominant
bottom flow pattern for summer is shown in Figure 34. In this case
bottom flow means the motion at the lake bottom in unstratified water,
but where the lake is thermally stratified it means the predominant
movement at the bottom of the epilimn ion. It is this bottom flow, be-
tween 30 to 60 feet below water level, that the metering program in
the central basin of Lake Erie has measured. The stations at which it
was measured were E-l through E-ll (Figure 23). Table 7 lists, in
brief, examples of some of the monthly flows at these stations in terms
-------
FIGURE 33
-------
70
FIGURE 34
-------
TABLE 7
CURRENT FLOWS AT CENTRAL BASIN METER STATIONS
(station locations on Figure 4-7)
Station
E 1
E 2
E 3
E 4
E 5
E 6
E 7
E 7
E 8
E 9
E 11
Depth
(ft.)
30
30
30
50
30
30
30
50
30
30
30
Net. Dir.
from
118°
—
—
—
70°
141°
225°
—
77°
82°
112°
June 1964
Net. Vel. Avg. Vel.
cm/sec cm/sec
0.80 11.4
—
—
—
4.15 8.8
1.49 5.9
—
—
2.31 6.8
1.82 10.7
6.52 10.9
Net Dir
from
277°
183°
315°
257°
—
87°
—
47°
—
—
—
December
. Net Vel
cm/sec
1.41
0.83
1.53
2.44
—
1.86
—
0.52
—
—
—
1964
. Avg. Vel.
cm/sec
5.6
10.4
10.6
7.2
—
9.8
—
6.5
—
—
—
Note: To convert velocities to ft./sec. multiply by .033.
7|
-------
of net direction, net velocity, and average velocity of all measure-
ments. Figure 35 based on both current meter and drifter data, shows
the dominant annual bottom flow in Lake Erie. Note that this is a
slightly different pattern from that of Figure 34 showing summer flow
above the thermocline.
The metering program did not show, except during occasional per-
iods of hypolimnetic upwelling, what was happening below the thermo-
cline. There is no reason to believe that a predominant horizontal
circulation pattern exists in the hypolimnion. However, high vel-
ocity currents (up to 2 ft/sec.) have been measured, during storms,
in the hypolimnion. These are brought about during up and downwelling
when the hypolimnion water is forced to slide around in the basin.
This phenomenon becomes increasingly significant in late summer and
early fall when the hypolimnion is thin and sharply divided from the
ep!Iimnion.
Bottom currents near shore are pronounced in summer and are quite
different from bottom currents offshore, indicating a separate system
of water movement. Seabed drifter returns from the summer of 1965
showed that (I) releases more than three miles from the south shore
produced no returns, (2) releases less than three miles from shore
gave many returns, (3) drifters moving westward averaged only about
one mile of travel, and (4) drifters moving eastward averaged nearly
12 miles of travel. These results indicate that, especially in summer,
there is a pronounced eastward movement of nearshore water (Figure 35).
This has been substantiated by current meter measurements at stations
E-20, E-22, E-23, E-25, E-26, and E-30 (Figure 23). Water temperature
structure also supports this conclusion with a spring and summer band
of warmer water near the south shore.
Dye studies along the south shore of the central basin in the sum-
mer of 1965 showed in general that surface water within the nearshore
zone, while moving parallel to shore, also tended to move toward shore.
This was easily noticeable when movement was toward the east. Move-
ment toward the west at times showed a simultaneous movement away from
shore but was not so pronounced.
Transport of sediments near the water line along the south shore
of the central basin is not necessarily indicative of prevalent flow
of water. For example, from Avon Point westward, beach sediment
accretion patterns indicate a general drift toward the west. This
results from wave action in the nearshore zone which is stronger from
the northeast. Sediments are moved toward the west during the inter-
mittent periods of northeasters. The slower but much more prevalent
water motion toward the east is unable to transport the sediments.
From Avon Point eastward the nearshore sediment drift is toward the
east, the same as prevailing water flow, because increased westerly
fetch makes waves from that direction more effective.
72
-------
o
_J
U.
gs
? o
ss
^
73
FIGURE 35
-------
A different type of situation exists along the north shore of the
central basin. The zone of separate nearshore flow is limited in sum-
mer, if it exists at all. Temperatures indicate that the nearshore
water is cooler throughout the summer than along the south shore.
This implies removal of warm water and replenishment by lower waters.
Summer current metering data at stations E-7 and E-ll (Figure 23)
show net motion from the south-southwest toward the Canadian shore of
water at depths of 30 feet and below. Seabed drifters released off
Port Stanley as far as nine miles offshore turned up on the beach far
to the east. These also indicate a bottom water movement toward shore
and to the east.
The Canadian shore of the central basin is more irregular than
the south shore and the irregularity has a pronounced effect on wave
action and beach drift along the shore. On the east side of Pelee
Point the drift is toward the south-southwest, moving sediment to the
tip of Pelee Point. Between Wheatley and Erieau, Ontario, the drift
reverses and at Erieau it is toward the east. Along the eastern side
of Pointe Aux Pins the drift is toward the south. Eastward the drift
reverses again and at Port Stanley and eastward the drift is strongly
toward the east. All of these drift phenomena are functions of wind
and fetch and resulting wave force in the nearshore zone and are not
necessarily reflecting prevailing nearshore water movement.
The most significant change in circulation in the central basin
water in fall and winter is the disruption of the confining influences
of water temperatures. Usually in September the surface waters of
Lake Erie become nearly isothermal and by the first of October the
thermocline has disappeared from the central basin. The higher tem-
peratures which previously existed along the south shore disappear and
there is no longer a density restriction to water movement. In effect
then, the nearshore flow is more free to move water lakeward and cooler
tributary water can under-run lake water. The bottom flow return cir-
culation in mid-lake reaches to the lake bottom where the thermal
barrier (thermocline) previously separated it from the lake bottom.
Seabed drifters tend to confirm a radical change in lake circu-
lation in late fall. Many of the drifters released in the central
basin near the south shore in the early summer of 1965 reappeared in
the fall of 1966 and the spring and fall of 1967. There were no
returns of consequence in the fall of 1965 and the summers of 1966 and
1967. The fall 1966 and later returns were unexpected but the con-
sistency of the returns pattern in both space and time indicates that
most of the drifters were probably carried across the lake and re-
transported during high velocity northerly and westerly winds. The
probability of nearshore water crossing the lake along the bottom has
been shown and it is likely that this is common in fall and winter.
74
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In spring when the shore water warms to several degrees above
the temperature of mid-lake water, the south shore nearshore flow
zone is reestablished. A "thermal bar" (Rogers, 1965) may be
created shortly after the spring thaw and warmer tributary discharges
may be even more confined to the nearshore zone. This condition can
exist only when a 4°C isotherm exists with colder water on one side
and warmer on the other.
Along the northern shore in fall and winter the water movement
probably is not greatly different than In summer, but supporting data
are lacking.
Drogue studies near shore, off western Cleveland in August 1964
showed that a dense pattern of drogues resulted in little dispersion,
indicating that dispersion of inputs may be slow.
Conclusions which can be made regarding the pollutional aspects
of currents in central Lake Erie are as follows:
I. Tributary and lake outfall discharges in spring and summer
along the south shore tend to stay near shore and move
eastward primarily as a result of the prevailing south-
westerly winds.
2. In fall and early winter the same kinds of discharges can
under-run the lake water and be distributed over the basin.
3. Contaminants reaching more than three miles off shore are
likely to be distributed over the entire basin.
4. A vertical circulation in mid-lake exists year-round with
easterly surface flow and westerly moving bottom flow.
5. The hypolimnion of mid-summer does not have a net circula-
tion flow but does have occasional high-velocity flow as
a result of up and downwelling. This flow is capable of
resuspending bottom sediments.
6. Surface waters in summer move toward the south shore and
away from the north shore.
7. Velocities at any level can be up to 2 feet per second
during storms.
8. Vertical turbulent mixing is very effective in storms.
9. Dispersion is slow and limited horizontally.
-------
EASTERN BASIN CIRCULATION
Water circulation in the eastern basin is also primarily wind-
control led. Flow-through currents become important near the head-
waters of the Niagara River but otherwise are insignificant.
The surface water movement in the eastern basin appears to be
similar to that of the central basin in that the dominant flow is
eastward and toward the south shore (Figure 33). The predominant
surface flow over most of the eastern basin is probably similar
throughout the year but with a shift more toward the south in fall
and winter.
The surface flow in the nearshore zone along the south shore is
predominantly to the east, but an essentially independent summer zone
such as in the central basin is not a persistent feature and is prob-
ably most important in spring and early summer.
Subsurface flow in summer, according to current meter measure-
ment, is somewhat confused at and above the thermocline. It appears
to be predominantly toward the west at stations E-12, E-15, and E-17,
but toward the east at E-14 and toward the northwest at E-16 (Figure
23). The resulting areal pattern is apparently as shown in Figure
34 for the bottom of the epilimnion in stratified water. This pattern
is often disrupted and confused by commonly occurring internal thermo-
clinal waves. Below the thermocline another system of circulation
exists. Just below the thermocline the predominant motion is appar-
ently similar to that just above the thermocline. It appears that a
vertical circulation may be important in the hypolimn ion and that the
lake bottom currents are near the reverse of currents just below the
thermocline with a horizontal clockwise motion superimposed. Vel-
ocities at the bottom are ordinarily very slow however, increasing
upward. Upwelling in the eastern basin does not cause high-velocity
currents as it does in the central basin.
The thermocline disappears in the eastern basin ordinarily in
November. The circulation changes to one system with a predominant
southeastward moving surface flow and a westward moving current at
the lake bottom again with a clockwise bottom flow superimposed.
Velocities decrease with depth and are probably insignificant at the
bottom except within a few miles of shore in shallower waters. The
assumed annual prevailing flow at the bottom is shown in Figure 35.
In summary the eastern basin circulation is similar to the central
basin and in general is as follows:
I. A vertical circulation exists above the thermocline in summer,
dominant Iy eastward at the surface and westward in the lower
part of the epilimnion.
76
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2. A vertical circulation, similar to above, exists, top to
bottom in early winter and perhaps all winter with very
slow movement at the bottom in deeper water.
3. Internal waves on the thermocline lead to turbulent mixing
in the epilimn ion and cause currents in haphazard directions.
4. Discharges from tributaries are carried to deep water quickly
at nearly all times of the year and a separate nearshore
current is limited to spring and early summer.
5. Discharges not caught in the Niagara outflow can be distrib-
uted over the entire basin.
6. Surface water moves toward the south shore and away from the
north shore and vice versa at depth.
7. Discharges into upper waters of either the central and eastern
basins may at one time or another be found nearly anywhere in
either of these basins.
8. Water below the level reached by the summer thermocline may
be trapped there for long periods, on the order of a year or
more.
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS
During periods of quiet weather, rotational currents, related to
the inertia! period and internal waves, are created in the central and
eastern basins with no net transport involved. These are particularly
evident in summer, becoming rather rare in winter.
It appears that, at least in summer, the bulk of the drainage from
Lake Erie is from surface water, much of which has been moved to, and
is moving along the south shore of the central and eastern basins. This
tends to create two retention systems, one of which (south shore) Is
much shorter than the theoretical detention time, and one which is much
longer (mid-lake).
77
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CHAPTER 3
LAKE ERIE CHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SEDIMENT CHEMISTRY
In order to gain some knowledge of the composition of lake bot-
tpm sediments, 16 samples from the western basin, 21 from the central
basin, and 23 from the eastern basin were analyzed for the following
constituents:
a. TotaI i ron
b. Total phosphate
c. Sulfide
d. Ammonia nitrogen
e. Nitrate and nitrite nitrogen
f. Organic nitrogen
g. Volatile solids
h. Chemical oxygen demand
The samples were taken between July 28 and August 7, 1964. Sam-
pling and analyses were not of sufficient density (Figure 36) to
provide more than generalities as to areal extent of concentration
ranges.
The results of bottom sediment analyses are presented to show the
existence of substances and their abundance in each basin. The results
are listed in Table 8 for the western basin, Table 9 for the central
basin, and Table 10 for the eastern basin. The results are reported
as milligrams per gram of sediment, oven dry weight. The data cannot
be used to show rates of accumulation since the rates of sedimentation
are not known.
TOTAL IRON
Total iron in the bottom sediments is similar in concentration in
the western and central basins, averaging 33 to 35 mg/g. The concen-
tration drops in the eastern basin to an average of 27 mg/g. To mini-
mize the effects of erosion, total iron averages in the central and
eastern basin were calculated from samples obtained from depths greater
than 10 fathoms. Sources of iron in lake sediments are glacial de-
posits, soluble and colloidal inputs from basin tributaries, and from
Corps of Engineers dredging of navigable channels and harbors. As an
example of the latter, more than 70 million pounds of iron were re-
moved from the Cuyahoga River and Cleveland Harbor during 1967 and de-
posited in offshore areas. Areal patterns of iron concentration are
shown in Figure 37.
-------
FIGURE 36
-------
80
FIGURE 37
-------
TOTAL PHOSPHATE
The general area I pattern of total phosphate (PO.) concentrations
(divide by 3 to obtain phosphorus concentration) is shown in Figure
38. The concentrations in the bottom sediments appear to decrease
somewhat from west to east. The average for the western basin samples
was 2.29 mg/l while the samples from the central basin averaged 1.95
mg/l, and those from the eastern basin averaged 1.51 mg/l. Highest
values were found in the western basin as expected because of large
inputs of phosphates to that basin. Progressively smaller concentra-
tions were found in the central and eastern basins due to greatly re-
duced inputs. Augmentation of tributary phosphate inputs occurs from
sedimentation of planktonic occluded phosphorus.
Recycling of phosphates from lake sediments to overlying waters
will occur during summer stratification. However, the solubilized
phosphates not depleted by algal metabolism will be reprecipitated
again during falI turnover.
SULFIDE
Sulfide concentrations in bottom sediments averaged 0.23 mg/g
in the western basin, 0.97 mg/g in the central basin, and 0.04 mg/g
in the eastern basin. In addition to a much higher average, the
central basin sediments showed a wide variation from 0.01 to 3.90 mg/g.
The very high values in the central basin were found in the sediments
below the hypolimnion which was characterized by low dissolved oxygen.
The high concentrations result from low oxidation-reduction potentials
exhibited by the sediments and overlying waters due to anaerobiasis.
Under these conditions suJfate reduction to sulfide occurs. Anaero-
biasis does not occur in the western and eastern basins. Consequently,
low sulfide concentrations are found there. Figure 39 shows the gen-
eral distribution of sulfides in Lake Erie sediments.
ORGANIC NITROGEN
Organic nitrogen is the nitrogen present in organic compounds.
Natural nitrogen organic compounds are the result of plant and animal
metabolism and decay. Relatively small amounts of synthetic nitrogen
compounds may be expected to find their way to receiving waters.
Organic nitrogen in the bottom sediments averaged 0.23 mg/g in
the western basin, 1.84 mg/g in the central basin, and 0.85 mg/g in
the eastern basin. The general distribution is shown in Figure 40.
In the shallow western basin, with a relatively short flowthrough
period, continual suspension of bottom sediments is likely, with or-
ganic nitrogen biochemically oxidized to forms readily available to
aquatic life. This is substantiated by the high algal productivity
of this basin. Published FWPCA data show prevailing bottom flow in
81
-------
82
FIGURE 38
-------
tfl
FIGURE 39
-------
84
FIGURE 40
-------
the central basin to be extensively circulatory (Figure 35). It is
indicated that a buildup of organic materials will occur as a result
of the recirculation and the relatively long flowthrough period. The
eastern basin with an intermediate flowthrough period, low tributary
waste input and consequent low algal productivity has an average
organic nitrogen concentration intermediate with respect to the other
basins.
AMMONIA NITROGEN
Ammonia nitrogen, an end product in the degradation of protein-
aceous materials, decreased somewhat from west to east in Lake Erie
(Figure 41). The western basin sediment samples averaged 0.19 mg/g,
the central basin 0.09 mg/g, and the eastern basin samples 0.07 mg/g.
Ammonia is 45.2 percent of the total nitrogen in the western basin,
4.7 percent in the central, and 7.6 percent in the western. A much
higher organic matter degradation rate is indicated in the western
basin due to higher water temperatures.
NITRITE AND NITRATE NITROGEN
In the nitrogen cycle, organic nitrogen is gradually converted
to ammonia nitrogen. Under aerobic conditions, the oxidation of am-
monia to nitrites and nitrates then occurs. Lake Erie nitrate-nitrite
concentrations in bottom sediments are very low since upon oxidation
these forms are quickly solubilized in overlying waters. The concen-
tration of nitrite-nitrate increased west to east in Lake Erie bottom
sediments during the survey. An explanation is that sediments are
less disturbed toward the east, allowing a greater opportunity for
retention of these substances in the oxidation microzone through the
mechanisms of adsorption. The average concentration in the samples
was .001 mg/g in the western basin, .002 mg/g in the central basin,
and .004 mg/g in the eastern basin.
VOLATILE SOLIDS
Volatile solids are shown as mg/g in Tables 8, 9, and 10, and the
general area I pattern is shown in Figure 42. The western basin showed
the highest sample average at 234 mg/g. The central basin sample av-
erage was 214 mg/g, while the eastern basin average was comparatively
low at 74 mg/g. Since organic nitrogen is relatively low, and volatile
solids are high, it is indicated that a large fraction of the total
volatile solids in the western basin is nonprotein in character. Pub-
lished FWPCA data (1968) substantiate this in work done on chlorophyll
carbon and seston.
CHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND
The chemical oxygen demand of the bottom sediments samples averaged
85
-------
TABLE 8
BOTTOM SEDIMENT CHEMISTRY - WESTERN BASIN
Sample
Locat i on
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
1 1
12
13
14
15
16
Avg.
Total
1 ron
20
22
28
43
37
17
25
39
26
27
45
39
34
29
68
27
33
Total
Phosphate
.88
2.29
2.29
2.86
3.29
1.42
2.36
3.29
2.12
1.87
3.25
2.50
2.43
2.02
2.79
1.06
2.29
Su 1 f i de
.01
.34
.05
.56
.36
.12
.27
.40
.21
.21
.04
.06
.32
.27
.25
.21
.23
Ammonia
Nitrogen
.04
.33
.29
.13
.37
.07
.20
.33
.18
.15
.24
.16
.15
.08
.19
.12
.19
N02-N03
Nitrogen
.000
.001
.001
.001
.002
.000
.001
.002
.001
.001
.001
.001
.001
.001
.001
.000
.001
Organic
Nitrogen
.06
.22
.25
.27
.37
.08
.22
.41
.20
.19
.28
.27
.26
.17
.28
.05
.23
Volatile
Sol ids
56
125
252
308
543
56
137
365
297
196
451
262
298
135
253
17
234
COD
40
85
72
73
80
29
51
96
68
77
43
96
74
51
75
6
63.5
-------
TABLE 9
BOTTOM SEDIMENT CHEMISTRY - CENTRAL BASIN
mg/g
Sample
Location
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
Avg.
Total
1 ron
17
25
32
29
72
70
43
45
60
22
28
47
43
26
68
30
13
12
16
12
21
35
Total
Phosphate
1.37
2.30
3.30
1.98
2.23
2.35
2.23
2.57
1 .76
1.09
1.75
2.62
2.78
1.90
2.78
2.51
1.66
1.51
0.38
0.65
1.21
1.95
Sul f ide
.17
.22
.07
.15
.03
3.62
.01
3.90
2.21
.98
1.30
2.98
.13
.87
2.99
.05
.43
.01
.01
.01
.15
.97
Ammonia
Nitrogen
.03
.09
.12
.09
.13
.16
.09
—
.10
.06
.09
.10
.21
.05
.18
.22
.03
.00
,00
—
.06
.09
N02-N03
NiTrogen
.000
.000
.001
.002
.001
.005
.001
.005
.008
.005
.003
.000
.000
.003
.005
.003
.002
.OC/'
.000
.001
.002
.002
Organic
Nitrogen
.08
.18
.23
.17
.12
5.05
.17
9.05
2.86
1.48
2.07
3.10
3.12
2.00
3.82
2.39
.71
.37
.19
.45
1.08
1.84
Volatile
Solids
47
187
276
166
284
387
251
357
267
68
748
277
326
128
390
174
42
22
12
25
67
214
COD
33
73
84
49
50
80
50
86
71
57
82
61
91
47
65
79
19
37
3
21
31
55.7
87
-------
TABLE 10
BOTTOM SEDIMENT CHEMISTRY - EASTERN BASIN
mg/g
Sample Total Total
Location Iron Phosphate
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
Avg.
1.2
13
38
1.2
.3
6
26
18
2.8
1.4
28
45
.02
34
24
2.1
22
.23
14
28
5.6
14
6.8
14.4
1.15
1.52
1.56
1.32
1.29
1.22
2.96
2.66
0.72
0.52
2.61
1.65
1.94
1.95
3.15
0.42
1.05
0.35
1.86
0.57
1.21
1.74
1.38
1.51
Sulfide
.03
.01
.05
.01
.04
.07
.30
.00
.03
.01
,03
.01
.01
.28
.01
.00
.01
.01
.01
.09
.00
.01
.00
.04
Ammonia
Nitrogen
.02
.01
.07
.01
.07
.19
.14
.00
.01
—
.28
.12
.00
.00
.28
.00
.04
.01
.05
.05
.01
.03
.01
.07
NO-NO
Nitrogen
.002
.002
.002
.005
.005
.000
.000
.006
.000
.004
.010
.010
.004
.009
.010
.001
.002
.004
.001
.002
.001
.001
.001
.004
Organic Volatile
Nitrogen Solids COD
0.76
0.02
1.21
0.41
0.95
1.44
2.08
0.57
0.33
—
2.41
—
—
2.07
1.40
0.50
0.50
0.13
0.00
0.82
0.57
0.01
—
0.85
39
22
63
43
58
87
301
90
30
32
176
205
39
126
201
37
24
7
24
40
23
23
6
74
26
1
54
13
22
27
59
14
9
14
58
43
13
52
79
19
34
8
15
32
23
20
5
27.8
88
-------
FIGURE 41
-------
90
FIGURE 42
-------
67.4 mg/g in the western basin, 58.3 mg/g in the central basin, and
29.7 mg/g in the eastern basin. This demand is due to organic matter
and reduced inorganic species such as ferrous iron and sulfide sulfur.
The chemical oxygen demand will vary with the oxidation-reduction
potential of the sediment being analyzed. In the central basin, during
summer anaerobiasis in the hypolimnion, increases in sediment COO can
be expected, due to reduced oxidation-reduction potentials. Chemical
oxygen demand values follow volatile solids and total iron directions
in each basin.
ALPHA ACTIVITY OF BOTTOM SEDIMENTS
The maximum value was 44 pc/gram. The lowest values tend to be
nearer shore, and the areas with higher activity are located in the
center of the lake and toward the western end. These high values sug-
gest accumulation following circulatory bottom flow as illustrated in
Figure 35.
BETA ACTIVITY OF BOTTOM SEDIMENTS
The mean of all samples was about 38 pc/gram, and the maximum
value was 100 pc/gram. Most of this activity is probably due to the
long half-life, mixed-fission products of prior fallout from atmos-
pheric detonation of nuclear weapons.
WATER CHEMISTRY
In the course of this investigation, the chemical characteristics
of Lake Erie water were measured throughout the lake and at several of
its harbors. In most cases the water at each station was sampled sev-
eral times in both 1963 and 1964; and each time samples were taken at
more than one depth, ordinarily at the surface, mid-depth, and just
above the bottom. The locations of lake water sampling stations are
shown in Figure 43.
For chemical study of the water, the following were measured:
I. Temperature
2. Dissolved oxygen (DO)
3. Chemical oxygen demand (COD)
4. Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)
5. Conductivity (umhos at 25°C)
6. Dissolved sol ids (DS)
7. Total solids (TS)
8. Total alkalinity (as CaCO,)
9. Hydrogen-ion concentration (pH)
10. Chlorides
I I. Sulfate (SO )
12. Calcium (CaJ
91
-------
13. Magnesium (Mg)
14. Sodium (Na)
15. Si lica (SiO )
16. Soluble phosphate (PO )
17. Total Nitrogen (N) 4
18. Ammonia Nitrogen (NH -N)
19. Organic Nitrogen (Org*-N)
20. Nitrate Nitrogen (NO,-N)
21. A Iky I benzene sulfonate (ABS)
22. Phenols
23. Toxic metals (zinc, copper, cadmium, nickel, lead, chromium)
Figure 44 depicts graphically the concentrations of major constit-
uents in each of the lake's basins along with input concentrations from
the upper lakes.
TEMPERATURE
The water temperature at all sampling stations and at all sample
depths was measured with a laboratory thermometer. Also bathythermo-
graph measurements were made at nearly all stations.
Excessive water temperatures were not encountered at any place in
Lake Erie proper during the surveys. Temperatures were, of course,
significant in the calculation of percent saturation of oxygen and in
the determination of the extent of thermal stratification.
Lake Erie temperatures, as reported, are of no direct significance
with regard to water quality. Indirectly, by limiting oxygen dissolu-
tion and increasing chemical and biological reaction rates, high tem-
peratures can be important.
DISSOLVED OXYGEN
Dissolved oxygen in Lake Erie, as in all natural waters, is of
prime importance in maintaining water quality. It is essential for
reduction, purification, and stabilization of wastes. It is also
metabolically essential to a I I types of aquatic life. Adverse effects
of high oxygen content are known only in some industrial uses, tending
to accelerate corrosion of equipment.
Dissolved oxygen is supplied to pure waters by natural, physical
aeration, or absorption from the atmosphere. Oxygen is poorly soluble
in water, and since it does not react chemically with water its sol-
ubility is directly proportional to its partial pressure. As a result,
Boyle's Law may be used to calculate the amounts present at saturation
at any given temperature.
-------
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FIGURE 44
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Water in the pure state can become temporarily supersaturated with
oxygen with a sharp increase in temperature. Ordinarily, however, In
Lake Erie, supersaturation results from the photosynthetic process of
aquatic plant life. During the daylight hours green algae, utilizing
energy from the sun, produce carbohydrates from carbon dioxide and
water. In the process copious amounts of oxygen are released to the
surrounding water. At night, however, aquatic plant life consumes
oxygen through normal respiration. During heavy algal blooms the oxygen
may increase to 150 percent of saturation or more, while at night it may
decrease to less than 100 percent.
Organic wastes, either natural or synthetic, will decrease the
oxyqen content of receiving waters. Biochemical oxidation of wastes
proceeds at an increased rate with an increase in temperature. The
biochemical need for oxygen becomes greater as the oxygen resources
become less due to decreased oxygen dissolution with increased tem-
peratures. Most fish also have a need for more oxygen as temperatures
rise. A compensating factor is that plankton Ic oxygen production Is
increased as temperatures rise, if incident light levels are constant.
This can lead to large vertical differences in oxygen content in waters
in the same area.
The waters of Lake Erie are normally saturated or nearly saturated
with oxygen during the months of October through April and mixing is
prevalent from top to bottom. Exceptions may occur only in the immed-
iate vicinity of lakeshore waste outfalls and the mouths of tributaries.
Beginning usually in late May the oxygen content begins to vary
in Lake Erie both areally and vertically. Harbors show oxygen de-
ficiencies and a slight reduction occurs in bottom waters of the lake.
During the months of May and June oxygen depletions in the central and
eastern basins are not serious and 80 percent or more of saturation is
common. During these months in the western basin, temporary thermal
stratification may occur during prolonged quiescent periods (Carr,
Applegate, and Keller, 1964). If the thermocllne is near the bottom,
oxygen below it may be exhausted for short periods due to the low dis-
solved oxygen potential of the thin hypolimnion. Reoxygenation occurs
when wind turbulence is sufficient to destroy the thermocllne.
Stratification in the central basin may occur during the same
periods in May and June but the thermocline is shallow and the oxygen
content below It is high. Only slight depletion may occur. Saturation
values remain essentially constant in the eastern basin during this
time.
In June stable stratification is established in the central basin
and in the eastern basin. The stratification, except for increasing
warmth of the epilimnion waters, stays approximately the same until
the lake begins to cool in August. The epilimnion waters normally are
95
-------
from to to 100 percent of saturation. Hypolimnion water, that part
below the thermoclIne, decreases in oxygen content throughout the
summer. It may reach zero in the central basin where the hypolImnion
is thin. It may decline to 60 or 70 percent of saturation in the
eastern basin below the thermocline. Low dissolved oxygen was first
observed in the central basin in 1929 (Fish, 1955). Since then it
has occurred more frequently and for longer periods.
In the western basin in mid-summer, dissolved oxygen in the sur-
face waters is maintained at or above 100 percent saturation while
bottom waters are somewhat lower, generally between 50 and 75 percent.
However, intermittent stratification occurs throughout the summer with
proper weather conditions. As previously described, oxygen may be
completely exhausted locally in bottom waters at these times. In
addition, the bottom waters have high temperatures, oxidation of or-
ganic sediments can be rapid, and oxygen depletion is quickly accom-
plished. Carr, Applegate, and Keller (1964) report that it now takes
only five days of meteorological and consequent hydro logical quies-
cence to result in oxygen exhaustion, whereas in 1953 it required 28
days.
The lake begins to cool in August. Stratification occurs less
frequently or not at all in the western basin from that time on.
However, in the central basin depletion becomes more severe since the
thermocline moves downward, the hypolimnion becomes thinner, and the
oxygen contained therein is biologically assimilated.
Oxygen depletion of significance occurs in nearshore waters only
in harbor areas and tributary mouths which are receptacles for large
volumes of wastes. The most severe conditions occur in Cleveland
Harbor and locally in Erie and Buffalo Harbors. Others with less
severe but still serious problems are the mouths of the Detroit,
Raisin, and Maumee Rivers. Conditions in these areas are more severe
upstream away from lake dilution.
CHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND
The chemical oxygen demand (COD) has been determined on several
hundred water samples taken throughout Lake Erie. Determinations were
made employing the potassium dichromate method. Although it gives the
order of magnitude of the ultimate biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), it
is not a substitute for that determination. Indications of the rate
of natural oxidation are not provided and differentiation between bio-
logically oxidizable, and biologically inert organic matter is not
discernible.
The COD of Lake Erie water samples is important in that It provides
an indication of degree of pollution and provides a basis for areal
comparison. COD results of the lake samples do not indicate adverse
96
-------
water quality conditions. Extreme and average COD for samples from
each of the basins are shown in Table II.
The COD of western basin water during the summers of 1963 and
1964, averaged 10.4 mg/l with extremes of 6.5 and 28.0 mg/l. Highest
values were in the western one-third of the basin with a general de-
crease eastward. In the central basin the average was 7.1 mg/l with
extremes of 3.1 and 16.0 mg/l. The eastern basin ranged between 6.1
and 27.0 with an average of 7.4 or approximately the same as the
central basin. The highest values were near the south shore.
In harbor waters the highest COD of 53 mg/l was found near the
mouth of the Maumee River. High values were also found in Sandusky
Bay and Erie Harbor.
BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND
Determinations of 5-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD^) were not
made on mid-lake samples except for a few on one cruise (66; in August
1964. However, numerous determinations were made in the nearshore
zone along the south shore. Samples were taken only during the summer
months in 1964, between May and September. BOD analyses were made on
Detroit River samples by the FWPCA Detroit River Project.
Highest BOD values were found in Sandusky Bay, averaging 3.8 mg/l;
Erie Harbor, averaging 3.3 mg/l; and in Ashtabula Harbor, averaging
3.2 mg/l. Lorain and Cleveland harbors averaged about one-half these
values. BODj. values at the mouth of the Detroit River ranged from 2
to 5 mg/I. 5
BOD values decrease rapidly with distance from shore. The Bureau
of Commercial Fisheries reports that central basin hypolimnion water
averages about I mg/l BOD,-. A maximum of 1.5 mg/l was found by the
FWPCA in the hypolimnion in August 1964.
The BOD,- values indicate that outside the nearshore areas (widest
along the Michigan shore and the Maumee Bay area) the water of Lake
Erie is of high quality in this respect.
CONDUCTIVITY AND DISSOLVED SOLIDS
A good general indicator of the chemical water quality of Lake
Erie is the dissolved solids content which is the content of dissolved
elements and compounds. Conductivity, or the capacity of the water to
conduct an electrical current, is directly related to the dissolved
solids content or the ionic concentration. In offshore waters, several
hundred measurements have shown that conductivity in micromhos/cm at
25°C divided by 1.66 equals the dissolved solids content in milligrams/
liter. This relation does not necessarily hold in nearshore and harbor
97
-------
TABLE 11
C.O.D. CONCENTRATIONS IN LAKE ERIE
mg/1
Western Basin Central Basin Eastern Basin
Cruise Date Max. Min. Avg. Max. Min. Avg. Max. Min. Avg.
9 4/63 -
40 5/63 —
42 6/63 ~
52 10/63 10.6 3-5 6.5 8.6 3.1 6.4 20.9 4.7 6.9
55 4/64 —
57 5/64 13.1 7.5 10.7
58 5/6/> — -- — 16.0 3.6 8.4 27.0 5.7 8.8
61 6/64 28.0 4.2 12.3
62 6/64 -- -- — 6.0 5.0 5.5 7.0 6.0 6.1
66 8/64 — — — 9.0 7.0 8.1 13.0 6.0 8.0
67 9/64 29.0 1.1 12.0
Avg. 10.37 7.10 7.45
Michigan waters of Lake Erie not included.
98
-------
areas where the content of one or more salts may be excessive.
Table 12 and 13 list the conductivity values and dissolved solids
concentrations for the three basins as maxiumums, minimums, and averages
for each of the mid-lake cruises In 1963 and 1964. Important is the
fact that the average concentration of dissolved solids in the central
and eastern basins is virtually identical at 180 mg/l, while the av-
erage concentration in the western basin is about 18 mg/l lower.
However, the range of values is greatest in the western basin and de-
creases eastward, indicating an increasing tendency toward uniformity
to the east. Conductivity values show the same pattern.
The lowest dissolved solids concentration found during the sampling
of Lake Erie was 110 mg/l at the mouth of the Detroit River in the mid-
channel flow. This value is near that for the average concentration
in Lake Huron as reported by Beeton (1965). In the eastern basin the
value is 179 mg/l; therefore, a net increase of 69 mg/l occurs in Lake
Erie. However, 75 percent of that increase occurs in the western basin
indicating the comparative severity of chemical loading from sources
near the west end of the lake (Figure 44).
Dissolved solids content has been increasing in Lake Erie at a fair-
ly rapid rate since the turn of the century (Figure 45). Dissolved
solids content along the shore is generally higher and at some places
is now excessive. Of particular concern are the concentrations in
Sandusky Bay with values up to 700 mg/l, and the bottom waters in
Fairport Harbor with values of more than 3,000 mg/l. SuI fates and
chlorides account for most of these higher values.
Dissolved solids cannot be expected to decrease in the future.
In fact the rate of increase may be expected to rise with increased
population and activity around the lake unless discharges are rigidly
control led.
TOTAL SOLIDS
Total solids are the evaporation residue from unfiltered samples.
Suspended solids, those not in solution, are equal to the total solids
less the dissolved solids.
In central and eastern basin mid-lake, the total solids are nearly
equal in concentration with average values of 185 and 188 mg/l, respec-
tively (see Table 14 and Figure 44). Western basin water is also
approximately equal at 181 mg/l.
Suspended solids average less than 10 mg/l in the central and
eastern basins. Western basin values are double this amount, and during
the survey period reached a maximum of about 50 mg/l. This may further
99
-------
TABLE 12
CONDUCTIVITY IN LAKE ERIE
umhos/cra
at 25°C
Western Basin
Cruise
9
40
42
52
55
57
58
61
62
66
67
Avg.
Date Max. Min.
4/63 -
5/63 300 262
6/63 -
10/63 304 216
4/64 ~
5/64 334 220
5/64 ~
6/64 364 222
6/64 -
8/64 —
9/64 310 196
Avg.
—
286
—
259
—
268
—
286
—
—
263
272
Central Basin Eastern Basin
Max. Min. Avg. Max. Min. Avg.
— — — — — —
328 260 291 296 275 289
353 312 324 328 314 319
330 254 290 320 284 292
—
—
330 276 289
—
—
344 284 305 324 296 305
—
300 301
Michigan waters of Lake Erie not included.
100
-------
TABLE 13
DISSOLVED SOLIDS CONCENTRATIONS IN LAKE ERIE
mg/1
Western Basin
Cruise
9
40
42
52
55
57
58
61
62
66
67
Avg.
Date Max.
4/63 -
5/63 136
6/63 ~
10/63 198
4/64 —
5/64 200
5/64 -
6/64 220
6/64 -
8/64 —
9/64 190
Min. Avg.
—
172 177
—
135 156
—
120 152
—
120 170
—
—
110 153
162
Central Basin
Max. Min.
180 155
239 190
—
209 137
—
—
180 160
—
190 140
180 170
—
Avg.
170
204
—
175
—
—
177
—
170
171
—
173
Eastern Basin
Max. Min.
190 160
233 183
—
205 161
—
—
190 160
—
160 150
190 160
—
Avg.
182
205
—
184
—
—
175
—
158
172
—
179
Michigan waters of Lake Erie not included.
101
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TABLE I1*
TOTAL SOLIDS CONCENTRATIONS IN LAKE ERIE
mg/1
Cruise
9
40
42
52
55
57
58
61
62
66
67
Avg.
Date
4/63
5/63
6/63
10/63
4/64
5/64
5/64
6/64
6/64
8/64
9/64
Western Basin
Max. Min. Avg.
—
—
—
196 147 166
—
250 150 187
—
250 150 188
—
—
230 140 181
181
Central Baain
Max. Min. Avg.
—
—
—
218 159 186
—
—
200 190 192
—
200 175 191
180 170 171
—
185
Eastern Basin
Max. Min. Avg.
—
—
—
222 16? 193
—
—
200 190 192
—
200 180 191
240 170 178
—
188
Michigan waters of Lake Erie not included.
103
-------
increase during storms and periods of heavy runoff.
The minimum total solids concentration was found at the mouth of
the Detroit River in the mid-channel flow with a value of 140 mg/l.
This is 48 mg/l less than the average for the eastern basin, providing
a comparison of Detroit River inflow and Niagara River outflow.
CHLORIDES
Chlorides are among the most stable of the dissolved substances,
unaffected by chemical, biochemical, or physical reaction. Although
they are generally found in acceptably low concentrations, they are
very important in tracing sources of significant municipal and indus-
trial pollution. Chloride monitoring is useful in establishing long-
term trends in general water quality. Chlorides have increased three-
fold (Beeton, 1964) in Lake Erie since 1900 (Figure 45).
Maximum, minimum, and average values for mid-lake waters on each
cruise are shown in Table 15. During the survey period the chlorides
in the western basin away from nearshore areas averaged 21.3 mg/l.
In the central basin the average was 24.5 mg/l and in the eastern
basin 24.4 mg/l. The lowest value recorded was 10 mg/l at the mouth
of the Detroit River in the mid-channel flow. If this is used as a
base, or inflow concentration, then 11.3 mg/l are gained in the western
basin and 3.2 in the central and eastern basins. Thus 77 percent of
the gain is derived from inputs to the western basin (see Figure 44).
In nearshore waters chloride values are higher (Table 29). Along
the west side of the Detroit River and along the Michigan shore, values
of more than 40 mg/l are common. It is from this area of the basin
that most chlorides originate. Maumee Bay, Sandusky Bay, and Loraln
Harbor do not show concentrations much above the average lake values.
Cleveland Harbor averages 35 mg/l and ranges up to about 90 mg/l.
Ashtabula and Erie Harbors both average more than 30 mg/l. By far the
highest values have been found in Fairport Harbor, with concentrations
up to 350 mg/l in the upper water and up to ten times this amount in
the bottom waters. Chloride concentrations are so high that they
create a permanent density stratification in and around Fairport Harbor.
High concentrations and subsequent stratification dissipate to back-
ground lake values within a few miles.
SULFATES
Sulfates, like chlorides, are among the more persistent of dis-
solved compounds and are generally found in acceptably low concentra-
tions. They can be useful as tracers for pollution sources if natural
background levels are known. They are also important in establishing
long-term trends in water quality. They have increased in concentra-
tion by 90 percent in Lake Erie since 1910 (Figure 45) but now appear
to be level ing off.
104
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TABLE 15
CHLORIDE CONCENTRATIONS IN LAKE ERIE
mg/1
Western Basin
Cruise
9
40
42
52
55
57
58
61
62
66
67
Avg.
Date
4/63
5/63
6/63
10/63
4/64
5/64
5/64
6/64
6/64
8/64
9/64
Max.
—
22
—
29
34
32
—
31
—
—
32
Min.
—
16
—
10
15
12
—
13
—
—
11
Avg.
—
19
—
18
21
22
—
25
—
—
23
21.3
Central Basin
Max.
31
33
—
31
46
—
28
—
26
—
—
Min.
21
20
—
19
23
—
26
—
25
—
—
Avg.
24
24
—
22
24
—
27
—
26
—
—
24.5
Eastern Basin
Max.
25
28
—
25
31
—
27
—
28
29
—
Min.
22
21
—
21
22
—
27
—
24
23
—
Avg.
23
24
— *
22 -
24 -
—
27
*>
26
25 ''
—
24.5
Michigan waters of Lake Erie not included.
105
-------
Table 16 lists maximum, minimurr), and average concentrations in
each basin for each sampling cruise. In the western basin for the
periods of the surveys in 1963 and 1964, suI fates ranged from 9 to
35 mg/l in open waters with an average of 17.7 mg/l. In the central
basin the range was 15 to 43 mg/l with an average of 22.4 mg/l. The
range in the eastern basin water was 17 to 33 mg/l with an average
of 23.4 mg/l. Using the value of 9 mg/l as the concentration de-
rived from upper lakes inflow, there is a gain in Lake Erie of 14.4
mg/l. Inputs to the western basin account for 60 percent of that
gain, with 40 percent from central and eastern basin sources (Figure
44).
In the nearshore zone significant concentrations have been found
in Sandusky Bay with an average of 127.1 mg/l. Lorain and Erie Harbors
did not show high concentrations. Sulfate levels at other harbors were
low, but upstream data indicate that the Cuyahoga and Grand Rivers sup-
ply significant amounts. Obviously large quantities must be derived
from the Detroit-Monroe-Toledo area. Concentrations at the Monroe,
Michigan water intake are normally more than twice the average in the
western basin.
CALCIUM
Hardness is caused by divalent metallic ions that are capable of
reacting with soap to form precipitates and with certain anions in
the water to form scale. Calcium is the principal cation associated
with this effect, and as such, knowledge of its concentration is nec-
essary for the production of satisfactory water for domestic and in-
dustrial uses.
Calcium, in its concentration pattern, is similar to suI fates in
Lake Erie (Table 17 and Figure 44). Its average concentration in the
western basin water is 33.9 mg/l with a maximum of 43 mg/l and a min-
imum of 28 mg/l. In the central basin it ranges between 32 and 49 mg/l
with an average of 39.5 mg/l, while in the eastern basin it averages
40.5 mg/l and ranges between 36 and 49 mg/l.
If the value of 28 mg/l is near that originating in the upper lakes,
then calcium is not appreciably accumulating in Lake Erie. Compared to
most other constituents, the accumulation from western basin sources is
rather low, being only 47 percent of the total accumulating in Lake Erie
exclusive of upper lakes input. An additional 45 percent accumulates
from additions to the central basin, while the remaining 8 percent
accumulates from eastern basin additions. Large quantities of calcium
have been found in Sandusky Bay, averaging 65 mg/l and ranging up to
I 14 mg/l.
Calcium concentrations have increased only a small amount in Lake
Erie during the past 30 years (Figure 45). Calcium will react with
106
-------
TABLE 16
SULFATE CONCENTRATIONS IN LAKE ERIE
mg/1
Western Basin
Cruise
9
40
42
52
55
57
58
61
62
66
67
Avg.
Date
4/63
5/63
6/63
10/63
4/64
5/64
5/64
6/64
6/64
8/64
9/64
Max.
—
21
25
23
—
35
—
30
—
—
28
Min. Avg.
—
11 17.7
18 21.2
14 17.7
—
11 17.1
—
9 16.6
—
—
9 16.2
17.7
Central Basin
Max. Min. Avg.
28 22 24.2
43 21 24.8
31 18 23.5
25 15 21.0
—
—
25 20 21.3
—
—
22 18 19.8
—
22.4
Eastern Basin
Max.
29
25
26
33
—
—
23
—
—
26
—
Min. Avg.
20 24.1
22 23.7
23 24.3
18 26.4
—
—
17 20.1
—
—
18 21.8
—
23.4
Michigan waters of Lake Erie not included.
f07
-------
TABLE 17
CALCIUM CONCENTRATIONS IN LAKE ERIE
mg/1
Western Basin
Cruise
9
40
42
52
55
57
58
61
62
66
67
Avg.
Date
4/63
5/63
6/63
10/63
4/64
5/64
5/64
6/64
6/64
8/64
9/64
Max.
—
37
37
34
—
43
—
42
—
—
37
Min.
—
28
32
29
—
31
—
29
—
—
28
Avg.
—
32.4
34.5
32.2
—
36.1
—
35.4
—
—
33.3
33.9
Central Basin
Max.
38
44
39
49
—
47
—
—
41
—
Min.
37
34
34
32
—
—
46
—
—
38
—
Avg.
37.3
37.4
36.8
40.2
—
—
46.5
—
—
38.9
—
39.5
Eastern Basin
Max.
40
39
40
44
—
—
49
—
—
42
—
Min.
36
36
36
40
—
—
47
—
—
38
—
Avg.
38.5
37.9
38.0
41.4
—
—
47.6
—
—
39.9
—
40.5
Michigan waters of Lake Erie not included.
108
-------
phosphates, suI fates, and carbonates at prevailing Lake Erie hydrogen
ion concentrations (above pH 8.0) to form insoluble precipitates, thus
creating a stabilizing calcium effect.
Calcium in Lake Erie presents no known health hazard. In addition
it may be important in moderating phosphate concentrations by precipi-
tating them from solution.
MAGNESIUM
Magnesium also is considered as hardness but in Lake Erie is one
of the more insignificant constituents. Its content averages 8.7 mg/l
in the western basin, 10.0 mg/l in the central basin, and 10.0 mg/l in
the eastern basin (Table 18 and Figure 44).
If the minimum of 7 mg/l found at the mouth of the Detroit River
in the mid-channel flow is taken as the concentration of the upper
lakes input, then only 3 mg/l are added to Lake Erie from basin sources.
Fifty-seven percent of this amount is added from western basin sources.
Comparatively large concentrations, averaging 22 mg/l, have been found
in Sandusky Bay.
Magnesium concentrations are not expected to increase signifi-
cantly in Lake Erie.
SODIUM
Sodium has little sanitary significance in Lake Erie. It is an
indicator of relative quantities of salt being discharged to the lake
and thus an indicator to trends in chemical water quality. However,
sodium does have public health significance. In cases of cardiovas-
cular deficiency, it is imperative that sodium intake be kept at a
minimum. Waste sources to Lake Erie are from brine discharges. Max-
imum, minimum, and average concentrations for each basin are shown in
Table 19.
Sodium concentrations in the western basin water averages 9.9 mg/l
and ranges between 4.7 and 19 mg/l. In the central basin the average
concentration increases to 11.0 mg/l, ranging between 8.3 and 17 mg/l.
The eastern basin is essentially the same as the central basin with an
average of 10.9 mg/l and a range of 9.3 to 15 mg/l.
The low of 4.7 mg/l is near the average for the discharge concen-
tration from the upper lakes. This concentration more than doubles
within Lake Erie, and 83 percent of this increase results from dis-
charges to the western basin (Figure 44).
POTASSIUM
Potassium, like sodium, has no great sanitary significance In the
109
-------
TABLE 18
MAGNESIUM CONCENTRATIONS IN LAKE ERIE
mg/1
Western Basin
Cruise
9
40
42
52
55
57
58
61
62
66
67
Avg.
Date Max.
4/63 -
5/63 10
6/63 9
10/63 9
4/64 —
5/64 11
5/64 -
6/64 11
6/64 —
8/64 —
9/64 11
Min. Avg.
—
9 9.3
8 8.7
8 8.1
—
7 8.5
—
8 9.3
—
—
7 8.4
8.7
Central Basin
Max. Min. Avg.
11 10 10.2
10 10 10.0
9 7 8.2
10 8 8.9
—
—
14 13 13.3
—
—
11 9 9.7
—
10.0
Eastern Basin
Max. Min. Avg.
11 10 10.1
11 10 10.1
9 7 8.4
10 8 9.0
—
—
14 12 12.8
—
—
11 8 9.6
—
10.0
Michigan waters of Lake Erie not included.
-------
TABLE 19
SODIUM CONCENTRATIONS IN LAKE ERIE
rag/1
Western Basin
Cruise
9
40
42
52
55
57
58
61
62
66
67
Avg.
Date Max. Min.
4/63 —
5/63 9.0 6.8
6/63 11.2 8.5
10/63 13.0 4.7
4/64 ~
5/64 17.0 6.4
5/64 —
6/64 17.0 5.5
6/64 »
8/64 ~
9/64 19.0 5.7
Avg.
—
7.78
9.80
8.47
—
10.91
—
11.24
—
—
11.27
9.91
Central Basin Eastern Basin
Max. Min. Avg. Max. Min. Avg.
12.0 8.9 9.75 9.9 9.4 9.51
12.3 8.3 9.65 10.5 8.6 9-30
14.7 9.0 10.20 12.7 9.5 10.62
13.0 9.5 10.80 15.0 10.0 11.18
—
—
17.0 13.0 14.50 14.0 12.0 12.83
—
—
13.0 11.0 11.43 13.0 11.0 11.72
—
11.05 10.86
Michigan waters of Lake Erie not included.
If
-------
Great Lakes. In most natural waters It is reported as a part of
"sodium-plus-potassium" because of low concentrations and analytical
complexities. Peculiarly, as concentrations of both these elements
increase in natural waters, the proportion of sodium to potassium in-
creases. In Lake Erie the ratio of sodium to potassium is about 8 to
I. Sodium plus potassium has approximately doubled In concentration
in Lake Erie since 1920 (Figure 45).
Potassium is an essential nutrient for aquatic life and can be
limiting in natural waters.
The potassium concentrations found In each of the basins are shown
in Table 20 and Figure 44. The concentration of potassium in the
western basin water averages 1.47 mg/l and varies from 1.0 to 4.5 mg/l.
In the central basin it averages 1.31 mg/l and ranges from I.I to 1.6
mg/l, while in the eastern basin the average Is about the same at 1.34
mg/l and the range is I.I to 1.9 mg/l.
Placing the Detroit River mid-channel input concentration at 1.0
mg/l, there is a 47 percent gain in the western basin and then an II
percent drop between the western and central basins. The drop may rep-
resent uptake by aquatic life or dilution by lower-level potassium
waters.
Sandusky Bay averaged 2.6 mg/l and ranged up to 4 mg/l, indicating
it as an important source of potassium. The Michigan shore waters,
with concentrations above 4 mg/l, indicated large sources in that area.
Cleveland Harbor concentrations were similar. Other sources along the
United States shore do not appear to be significant.
SILICA
Dissolved silica (SiO?) In Lake Erie Is one of the few constituents
which shows lower concentrations, on the average, than the upper lakes.
Presumably, this is due to uptake and precipitation by aquatic organ-
Isms, principally diatoms. Silica in natural waters has no known health
significance. It has some significance in Industrial use, especially
in high pressure boiler feed water.
In the western basin the water averages 1.20 mg/l silica and ranges
from 0.3 to 5.0 mg/l (Table 21 and Figure 44). In the central basin the
average decreases to 0.68 mg/l, ranging from 0.2 to 3.5 mg/l. The
eastern basin water averages 0.47 mg/l and ranges from 0.2 to 3.5 mg/l.
All tributaries contribute silica, since silica is a universal
mineral. The most important sources are soil and land runoff, and
mineral refining industries.
Silica will not significantly increase the dissolved solids content
of Lake Erie.
12
-------
TABLE 20
POTASSIUM CONCENTRATIONS IN LAKE ERIE
•8/1
Western Basin
Cruise
9
40
42
52
55
57
58
61
62
66
67
Avg.
Date Max.
4/63 -
5/63 4.5
6/63 1.3
10/63 1.5
4/64 —
5/64 3.6
5/64 ~
6/64 2.3
6/64 -
8/64 —
9/64 2.0
Min. Avg.
— —
1.1 2.30
1.1 1.17
1.0 1.20
—
1.0 1.35
—
1.0 1.32
—
—
1.1 1.50
1.47
Central Basin
Max. Min. Avg.
1.4 1.1 1.18
1.3 1.1 1.23
1.6 1.1 1.23
1.6 1.1 1.38
—
—
1.5 1.3 1.43
—
—
1.6 1.3 1.41
—
1.31
Eastern Basin
Max. Min. Avg.
1.4 1.1 1.21
1.5 1.1 1.28
1.4 1.1 1.23
1.6 1.3 1.44
—
—
1.9 1.4 1.60
—
—
1.9 1.1 1.32
—
1.34
Michigan waters of Lake Erie not included.
13
-------
TABLE 21
SILICA CONCENTRATIONS IN LAKE ERIE
mg/1
Western Basin Central Basin Eastern Basin
Cruise
9
40
42
52
55
57
58
61
62
66
67
Avg.
Date Max. Min .
4/63 ~
5/63 1.8 0.8
6/63 5.0 0.7
10/63 1.6 0.4
4/64 —
5/64 2.0 0.4
5/64 ~
6/64 2.6 0.3
6/64 ~
8/64 —
9/64 1.8 0.3
Avg. Max. Min. Avg. Max. Min. Avg.
1.4 0.2 0.52 1.2 0.4 0.61
1.36 1.1 0.3 0.60 0.8 0.2 0.35
1.87 3.5 0.3 0.75 3.4 0.3 0.71
0.83 1.2 0.2 0.41 0.6 0.2 0.29
—
1.13
0.6 0.3 0.42 0.4 0.2 0.30
1.04
—
9.6 0.3 1.37 3.5 0.2 0.57
i.oo
1.20 0.68 0.47
Michigan waters of Lake Erie not included.
14
-------
ALKYL BENZENE SULFONATE (ABS)
This compound (ABS), up until July 1965, was a constituent of syn-
thetic detergents. It is difficultly degradable and is a rather stable
part of receiving waters. In excessive quantities, more than I mg/l,
it imparts a disagreeable taste and will foam. Much higher concentra-
tions have not produced any toxic effects on humans, however, this has
not been ascertained on aquatic life. The USPHS drinking water standards
recommend a limit of 0.5 mg/l based on taste and foam production. This
value in Lake Erie has not been exceeded.
The average concentration of ABS in the western basin water in 1963
and 1964 was 0.067 mg/l, in the central basin 0.065 mg/l, and 0.065 mg/l
in the eastern basin (Table 22). Sample values ranged from 0.01 mg/l to
0.20 mg/l. Most nearshore areas range within the same values.
SOLUBLE PHOSPHORUS
Soluble phosphorus is a minor constituent, quantity-wise, in Lake
Erie. It has no public health significance, nor is it an important
factor in regard to chemical water quality in concentrations now found
in the lake. However, its concentration is a very important controlling
factor in Lake Erie's major water quality problem, the problem of eutro-
phication or the over-production of attached and planktonic plants.
Phosphorus is a limiting nutrient.
The maximum, minimum, and average concentrations in each basin for
all cruises are shown in Table 23. In the western basin of Lake Erie,
soluble phosphorus, during the 1963-64 surveys, averaged 0.032 mg/l and
ranged from 0.003 to 0.333 mg/l. The average was 0.010 mg/l in both the
central and eastern basins. The range in the central basin was from
0.000 to 0.066 mg/l and in the eastern basin from 0.000 to 0.033 mg/l.
Figure 44 shows phosphate (PO.) values. Phosphorus is equal to one-third
these values.
The input of soluble phosphorus from the upper lakes appears to be
approximately 0.005 mg/l. If this is true, there is nearly a six-fold
increase in the western basin of Lake Erie. However, this is followed
by a 60 percent decrease in the phosphate level of the central and eastern
basins. The decrease apparently results from both chemical and biochem-
ical precipitation and biological storage within the lake. Figure 46 shows
the soluble phosphorus distribution in the western basin for one cruise in
September 1964 in which the west to east decrease is apparent.
Nearshore values generally are higher in the vicinity of tributaries
and harbors. Maumee Bay averaged 0.027 mg/l of soluble phosphorus during
the time of survey but apparently at times of heavy runoff the amount is
higher. Concentrations of 0.066 or more are prevalent along the Michigan
shore. Relatively high levels of phosphorus have been found in Sandusky
I 15
-------
TABLE 22
ABS CONCENTRATIONS IN LAKE ERIE
mg/1
Cruise
9
40
42
52
55
57
53
61
62
66
67
Avg.
Date
4/63
5/63
6/63
10/63
4/64
5/64
5/64
6/64
6/64
8/64
9/64
Western Basin
Max. Min. Avg.
—
0.06 0.05 0.053
0.14 0.05 0.090
0.14 0.07 0.097
—
0.10 0.5 0.075
—
0.06 0.01 0.033
—
—
0.12 0.01 0.055
0.067
Central Basin Eastern Basin
Max. Min. Avg. Max. Min.
0.07 0.03 0.038 0.07 0.03
0.18 0.03 0.072 0.15 0.04
0.17 0.02 0.058 0.17 0.04
0.20 0.04 0.083 0.15 0.03
—
—
0.07 0.06 0.065 0.07 0.06
—
—
0.12 0.05 0.075 0.10 0.03
—
0.065
Avg.
0.040
0.087
0.077
0.076
—
—
0.065
—
—
0.045
—
0.065
Michigan waters of Lake Erie not included.
116
-------
TABLE 23
SOLUBLE PHOSPHORUS (P) CONCENTRATIONS IN LAKE ERIE
rag/1
Western Basin Central Basin Eastern Basin
Cruise Date Max. Min. Avg. Max. Min. Avg. Max. Min. Avg.
9 4/63 — — -- 0.020 0.003 0.009 0.017 0.003 0.009
40 5/63 0.024 0.007 0.014 0.020 0.003 0.011 0.017 0.007 0.011
42 6/63 0.010 0.007 0.009 0.040 0.003 0.005 0.033 0.003 0.009
52 10/63 0.017 0.003 0.008 0.023 0.000 0.008 0.027 0.000 0.006
55 4/64 0.333 0.007 0.068 0.027 0.007 0.014 0.017 0.010 0.014
57 5/64 0.030 0.007 0.013 —
58 5/64 -- — — 0.037 0.000 0.012 0.037 0.000 0.013
61 6/64 0.240 0.024 0.080 —
66 8/64 -- — — 0.066 0.000 0.013 0.024 0.000 0.006
67 9/64 0.123 0.003 0.034
Avg. 0.032 0.010 0.010
Michigan waters of Lake Erie not included.
I 17
-------
118
FIGURE 46
-------
Bay (up to 0.056 mg/l) and Lorain Harbor (up to 0.037 mg/l). The
Cuyahoga River, in places, shows extremely high concentrations of sol-
uble phosphorus. The outer harbor has not shown these high values,
apparently because of chemical precipitation In the channel. The other
harbors along Lake Erie have not shown abnormally high concentrations.
TOTAL PHOSPHORUS
Total phosphorus analyses were not made on mid-lake waters for
this study. Total phosphorus includes both soluble and insoluble or-
ganic and inorganic phosphorus. It is apparent that phosphorus can
change in biochemical processes from the soluble to insoluble form and
vice versa. As a result, the measure of total phosphorus is more valid
in the evaluation of nutrient potential than is soluble phosphorus
determination.
Both total and dissolved phosphorus analyses were made in the
Michigan waters of Lake Erie by the FWPCA Detroit River Enforcement
Project. Those analyses showed an average concentration of 0.093
mg/l of total phosphorus and an average concentration of 0.053 mg/l
of soluble phosphorus. The Bureau of Commercial Fisheries (Carr, per-
sonal communication, 1967), in a study of central basin waters off Lorain,
Ohio in 1966, showed a total phosphorus average of 0.016 mg/l and a sol-
uble phosphorus average of 0.006 mg/l. Data from the Ontario Water Re-
Sources Commission (Steggles, personal communication, 1965) indicate
that of the total phosphorus discharged via the Grand River (Ontario),
56 percent was soluble at the time of survey. It appears then, in mid-
lake, the proportion of total to dissolved phosphates is much greater,
even though the concentrations are much less.
Analyses for total phosphorus at the National Water Quality Network
station at the Buffalo water intake show concentrations of about O.I mg/l
(Table 24). The values are reported to the nearest O.I mg/l. It is
likely that if they were reported to the nearest 0.01 mg/l, the phos-
phorus levels would be something less than O.I mg/l.
NITROGEN
Nitrogen in Lake Erie is similar to phosphorus in that its effect
on water quality is felt in its nutritional stimulus to plant growth.
Under isothermal conditions, it is not a factor of importance in water
supplies, however, during summer stratification, where water intakes are
located beneath the thermocline, ammonia concentrations assume proportions
where large increases in raw water chlorine demand must be satisfied.
Total nitrogen includes all forms, organic and inorganic found In
water. Organic nitrogen is unavailable as a nutrient until it is oxidized
to the inorganic forms.
The inorganic forms of nitrogen are elemental nitrogen, ammonia
nitrogen (NH ), nitrate nitrogen (NO,), and nitrite nitrogen (NO ). The
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nitrogen cycle includes all these forms. The chemical and biological
condition of the water gives rise to considerable variations in levels
of each form present.
For the periods of the 1963 and 1964 surveys the total nitrogen
content of the western basin averaged 0.71 mg/l and varied from 0.17 to
2.66 mg/l (Table 25 and Figure 44). In the central basin and the east-
ern basin, the levels were nearly identical with averages of 0.43 and
0.42 mg/l, respectively. The extremes were 0.10 and 1.30 mg/l. Figure
47 shows the total nitrogen distribution in the western basin for one
cruise in September 1964.
Nitrite nitrogen and elemental nitrogen are not significant in the
waters of Lake Erie since the oxidation-reduction potential is such to
discourage duration of these forms. Ammonia nitrogen, for the periods
of survey, averaged 0.159 mg/l in the western basin water and ranged
from 0.01 to 9.77 mg/l (Table 26). In the central basin the average was
0.086 mg/l with a range of 0.00 to 0.39 mg/l. The eastern basin average
was identical to that of the central basin and the range was nearly so,
0.00 to 0.32 mg/l.
Nitrate nitrogen averaged 0.124 mg/l in the western basin with a
range of 0.02 to 1.50 mg/l (Table 27). In the central and eastern basins
the averages were identical at 0.090 mg/l. The range in the central
basin was 0.01 to 0.50 mg/l while in the eastern basin it was 0.01 to
0.85 mg/l .
Organic nitrogen averaged 0.36 mg/l in the western basin, 0.25 in
the central basin, and 0.24 in the eastern basin (Table 28).
Nearshore areas, especially harbors, show widely varying nitrogen
concentrations in all three measured forms. In the western basin, values
approximately double the mid-lake concentrations, whereas in the central
and eastern basins, the values are only slightly higher, on the average,
than mid-lake (Table 29).
OTHER CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS OF LAKE ERIE WATER
Analyses have been made for several metals in western basin water
where concentrations exceed those in the remainder of the lake. Table
30 shows the acceptable limits listed in the 1962 U. S. Public Health
Service Drinking Water Standards and the concentrations in western basin
water for the listed metals.
TABLE 30
Substance
Zinc
Copper
Cadmi urn
Nickel
Lead
Ch rom i urn
U.S. PHS
Limit (mg/l )
5.0
1.0
0.01
0.05
0.05
Concentration
Western Basin (mg/l)
.00-. 23
<.OOI
<.OOI
<.OOI
<.OOI
<.OOI
121
-------
TABLE 25
TOTAL NITROGEN CONCENTRATIONS IN LAKE ERIE
rag/1
Western Basin Central Basin
Cruise Date Max. Kin. Avg. Max. Min. Avg.
9
40
42
52
55
57
58
61
62
66
67
Avg.
4/63 -- — — 0.68 0.13 0.47
5/63 0.67 0.53 0.59 0.93 0.07 0.33
6/63 0.71 0.60 0.65 1.09 0.26 0.42
10/63 0.72 0.31 0.50 0.89 0.18 0.45
U/6k -
5/64 2.02 0.25 0.90
5/64 -- — — 1.30 0.12 0.42
6/64 2.66 0.17 0.76
6/64 --
8/64 -- — -- 0.83 0.20 0.50
9/64 2.30 0.20 0.86
0.71 0.43
Eastern Basin
Max. Min. Avg.
1.16 0.10 0.41
0.75 0.13 0.32
0.61 0.20 0.39
0.80 0.23 0.46
—
—
1.18 0.17 0.45
—
—
1.00 0.21 0.47
—
0.42
Michigan waters of Lake Erie not included.
122
-------
FIGURE 47
-------
TABLE 26
AMMONIA NITROGEN CONCENTRATIONS IN LAKE ERIE
mg/1
Western Basin Central Basin Eastern Basin
Cruise
9
40
42
52
55
57
58
61
62
66
67
Avg.
Date Max,
4/63 -
5/63 0.09
6/63 0.26
10/63 0.19
4/64 —
5/64 0.23
5/64 -
6/64 0.60
6/64 —
8/64 —
9/64 0.77
Min. Avg. Max. Min. Avg. Max.
0.10 0.02 0.055 0.32
0.04 0.055 0.11 0.00 0.031 0.27
0.09 0.160 0.23 0.06 0.128 0.29
0.03 0.083 0.17 0.02 0.068 0.22
—
0.07 0.143 —
0.23 0.01 0.089 0.27
0.04 0.256 —
—
0.39 0.04 0.144 0.31
0.01 0.258
0.159 0.086
Min. Avg.
0.01 0.104
o.oo 0.046
0.08 0.135
0.02 0.058
—
—
0.01 0.082
—
—
0.02 0.094
—
0.086
Michigan waters of Lake Erie not included.
124
-------
TABLE 2?
NITRATE NITROGEN CONCENTRATIONS IN LAKE ERIE
mg/1
Western Basin Central Basin Eastern Basin
Cruise
9
40
42
52
55
57
58
61
62
66
67
Avg.
Date Max.
4/63 ~
5/63 0.25
6/63 0.06
10/63 0.29
4/64 —
5/64 -
5/64 -
6/64 1.50
6/64 —
8/64 -
9/64 0.54
Min. Avg. Max. Min. Avg. Max. Min. Avg.
0.13 0.02 0.052 0.06 0.01 0.019
0.02 0.113 0.13 0.02 0.047 0.17 0.02 0.039
0.02 0.040 0.84 0.02 0.063 0.03 0.01 0.018
0.09 0.157 0.42 0.03 0.111 0.47 0.01 0.091
—
—
0.50 0.00 0.121 0.52 0.06 0.207
0.03 0.287 —
—
0.36 0.01 0.146 0.85 0.07 0.164
0.02 0.148
0.124 0.090 0.090
Michigan waters of Lake Erie not included.
125
-------
TABLE 28
ORGANIC NITROGEN CONCENTRATIONS IN LAKE ERIE
mg/1
Cruise
9
40
42
52
55
57
58
61
62
66
67
Avg.
Date
4/63
5/63
6/63
10/63
4/64
5/64
5/64
6/64
6/64
8/64
9/64
Western Basin
Max. Min. Avg.
—
0.42
0.45
0.26
—
—
—
0.21
—
—
0.45
0.36
Central Basin
Max. Min. Avg.
0.36
0.25
0.23
0.27
—
—
0.21
—
—
0.21
—
0.25
Eastern Basin
Max. Min. Avg.
0.29
0.24
0.24
0.31
—
—
0.16
—
—
0.21
—
0.24
Michigan waters of Lake Erie not included.
126
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Lake Erie contains no known chemical substances in quantities
toxic to aquatic life or sufficient to cause any sort of health
hazard to users of the water. This does not apply to tributary waters
in highly industrialized areas where concentrations may, under certain
conditions, be hazardous. Such areas exist at Detroit, Lorain,
Cleveland, Fairport, and Ashtabula.
RADIOCHEMISTRX
Radioactivity is defined as the spontaneous emission of alpha,
beta, or other radiation by the disintegration of unstable atomic
nuclei. Naturally-occurring, radioactive isotopes usually decay (dis-
integrate) by stepwise emission of alpha or beta particles to form
stable isotopes. An artificially produced radioisotope, however,
generally decays in a single step by the emission of a beta particle.
Alpha and beta particles have the ability to ionize any matter
with which they interact by the production of ion-pairs. It is the
formation of such ion-pairs in biological tissue that results in cell
destruction, impairment, or mutation.
Radioactive wastes discharged to the environment are not absorbed
in harmless fashion. Even though decay and dilution may occur, radio-
nuclides may be concentrated physically, chemically, and/or through
biological assimilation and retention. As a result the radionucllde
concentration will increase as it passes through the environment to
the point of human contact.
Human exposure to radioactiveIy contaminated surface water can
result when the surface water is used as a public water supply. In
addition, biologically concentrated radioactivity can be assimilated
through the ingestion of fish and other aquatic life.
Prior to cessation of atmospheric nuclear testing, fallout was
the most significant source of radioactive pollution to Lake Erie.
Other possible sources are the atmospheric and drainage discharges
of reactor plants and of licensed radioisotope users in the basin.
ALPHA ACTIVITY OF LAKE WATER SAMPLES
The annual mean concentrations of alpha radioactivity in sus-
pended and dissolved solids observed in samples from Lake Erie were
0.6 and 1.6 pc/l, respectively, for 1963.
The highest averages and maxima in 1963 occurred near the mouth
of the Black River where the suspended solids mean and maximum were
1.5 and 4.6 pc/l, respectively; and the dissolved solids mean and
maximum were 5.2 and 12 pc/l, respectively.
128
-------
All 1964 averages were low in alpha activity with none exceed-
ing 5.3 pc/l.
BETA ACTIVITY OF LAKE WATER
All suspended solids average beta activities were low for both
1963 and 1964. The 1963 means ranged from 8.9 to 18 pc/l with a
weighted mean of 14 pc/l; the 1964 mean, however, ranged from 3.9 to
9.5 pc/l with a weighted mean of 7.9 pc/l.
ALPHA ACTIVITY OF PLANKTON SAMPLES
The gross alpha radioactivity in plankton samples was less than
one to 30 pc/gram of ashed weight for 1963 with a mean value of 8.3
pc/gram, and from less than one to 20 pc/gram with a mean of 8.7
pc/gram for 1964. These ranges and means are essentially the same.
The radioactivity levels (both alpha and beta) in plankton are higher
than in water due to the concentrating effect of biological materials.
Published work (Williams, Swanson) has shown the effectiveness of
Euglena and Chlorella in decontaminating water of cesium 137. In 6+days
Euglena reduced the degree of contamination 69 percent - 96 percent in
34 days.
Since alpha activity is usually associated with naturally occur-
ring radio!sotopes, and such isotopes, being of high atomic number,
seldom appear as components of plankton, low alpha activities for
plankton can be expected.
BETA ACTIVITY OF PLANKTON SAMPLES
Gross beta values range from 33 to 1200 pc/gram with a mean of
160 pc/gram for 1963, and from 76 to 400 pc/gram with a mean of 190
pc/gram for 1964. The ranges are similar except for the value of
1200 pc/gram which came from a sample collected off the tip of Long
Point toward the east end of the lake.
129
-------
CHAPTER 4
LAKE ERIE BIOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Aquatic biological life is sensitive to physical and chemical
changes in its environment. Biological effects are often relatively
extreme, and for this reason, the aquatic community is an excellent
indicator of water quality. The important considerations are the
total population, types, and relative numbers of each type. Pristine
water and its bottom sediment contain a low total population, many
types, and low numbers of each type. As water is degraded, the total
population increases, the number of types decrease, and the numbers
of a few resistant types increase greatly.
The total numbers increase because of increased nutrient content
in the water. Organisms which more readily take advantage of high
nutrient content and organic sediments begin to predominate. Bottom
organisms which can withstand extended periods with little or no
oxygen may replace those requiring an abundant oxygen supply. Plankton
and fish populations change to those which are less desirable from a
human standpoint. Plankton may cause taste and odor problems in water
supplies and the clogging of intakes and filters. "Rough" fish may
replace those prized for their edibility.
Lake Erie is presently experiencing rather dramatic changes in
its biological productivity. These changes are not at the natural
sequence rate, and can be related directly to man's activities.
LAKE BOTTOM BIOLOGY
The benthic fauna are minute animals which live on and within the
lake bottom sediments. Some have been classified, rather non-precisely,
as "pollution-tolerant" or "pollution-sensitive". This classification
rests on the ability of an organism to withstand periods of deficiency
or absence of dissolved oxygen and does not imply that some organisms
might prefer a lack of oxygen. Accordingly, these terms will be used
in the following narrative.
Studies conducted by the U. S. Bureau of Commercial Fisheries
between 1929 and 1959 (Beeton, 1961 and Wright, 1955) and personnel at
the Franz Theodore Stone Institute of Hydrobiology (Britt, 1955 a and b)
show significant changes in population, type, and habitat of bottom-
dwelling organisms in western Lake Erie. Pollution-tolerant forms have
increased greatly along the west side of the basin and in the island
area. These include Tubificidae, Sphaeriidae, and Tendipedidae. As
130
-------
an example in the island area, Tubificidae have increased from 10 or-
ganisms per square meter in 1929 to 550 organisms per square meter in
1957. During the same period Tendipedidae increased from 60 to 300
organisms per square meter. The Sphaeriidae showed a three-fold in-
crease at two index stations near South Bass Island.
The pollution-sensitive caddis fly larvae (Tricoptera) and the
mayfly (Hexagenia spp.) have been drastically reduced in numbers.
Beeton (1961) reported that the formerly abundant Tricoptera larvae
averaged less than one per square meter in 1957. The burrowing mayfly
nymph, which lives in soft mud and feeds on detritus, was the most
common macro invertebrate In the western basin prior to the early I950's.
Wright (1955) found 285 and 510 nymphs per square meter in 1929 and
1930, respectively, in the island area. Chandler (1963) summarized
studies made between 1942 and 1947 and reported an average of 350
nymphs per square meter for that period. Wood (1963) found an average
of 235 per square meter for 204 samples collected in 1951 and 1952.
In June 1953 Britt (1955) found approximately 300 nymphs per square
meter. After sampling again in September following a five-day period
of thermal stratification and bottom oxygen depletion Britt found only
44 nymphs per square meter. The succeeding year showed a good re-
covery but Beeton in 1959 found only 39 per square meter. In June 1964
the U. S. Public Health Service found only two nymphs in samples from
47 island area sites. None were found in the Michigan waters of the
basin.
Published quantitative data are not available on the bottom fauna
of central and eastern Lake Erie. Newspaper articles, dating back to
1927 describe "immense swarms" of mayflies blown into the city of
Cleveland. A decline was first noted in 1949 but they reappeared in
1950 and were reported yearly through 1957. They were not reported
after 1958.
Ferguson (personal communication), on a transect between Port
Burwell and Conneaut in the spring and summer of 1958, showed popula-
tions of Tubificidae, Tendipedidae, Sphaeriidae, Amphipoda, Tricoptera,
and Gastropoda. Gut contents of blue pike demonstrated that the pol-
lution-sensitive Tricoptera and Amphipoda were common food.
The results of bottom fauna surveys of Lake Erie by the U. S.
Public Health Service in 1963 and 1964 are summarized in Figure 48.
It shows the relative abundance of the pollution-sensitive scud to the
more tolerant sludgeworms, bloodworms, fingernail clams and nematodes.
Figure 49 divides the lake into four zones based on the benthic fauna
populations. It is evident that most of the western and central basins
were characterized by the lack of pollution-sensitive scud and prepon-
derance of pollution-tolerant species of sludgeworms, bloodworms,
fingernail clams, and nematodes. A few areas in the western basin, the
131
-------
FIGURE 48
-------
CO
133
FIGURE 49
-------
eastern part of the central basin, and the eastern basin support a
good population of pollution-sensitive scud and are indicative of the
more favorable environmental conditions in these areas. The four
zones shown in Figure 49 are described as follows:
Zona A - Contains only the pollution-tolerant groups, sludge-
worms, fingernail clams, nematodes, and pollution-tolerant species of
bloodworms.
Zone B - In addition to groups in Zone A, the following groups of
intermediate tolerance were found: aquatic sowbugs, snails, leeches,
and several additional species of bloodworms.
Zone C - May contain any organisms found in Zones A and B but
the two species of scuds (Gammarus fasciatus and/or Hyalella azteca)
are always present.
Zone D - May contain any group of organisms listed in Zones A,
B, and C but always contains the intolerant scud (Pontoporeia affinis).
Zones C and D had the greatest variety of bottom-dwelling organ-
isms and were characterized by the presence of scuds at each station.
Gammarus fasciatus was found regardless of bottom type and Hyalella
azteca was present at many locations associated with a sand, gravel,
or rock bottom. Pontoporeia affinis which requires cold, deep, clear,
and we 11-oxygenated water occurred only in Zone D.
The variety of bloodworms is also important. All lakes have a
variety of bloodworm (midge) larvae as part of the benthic fauna, and
their habitats vary according to the quality of the overlying water.
Curry (Unpublished) classified the larvae according to one of four
categories depending upon their environmental requirements. The cate-
gories (I) Pollution-tolerant, (2) Cosmopolitan, (3) Clean-Water, and
(4) Others, adequately covered the 38 species identified in Lake Erie.
The Pollution-tolerant species include larvae existing even for
a short period of time in habitats having sediments with a high per-
centage of organic matter, low dissolved oxygen, rather high tempera-
tures, and possible septic conditions. The Clean Water species in-
cluded larvae that were found in the colder, deeper waters of oligo-
trophic lakes and streams. In these areas the temperatures were
lower, dissolved oxygen high, and septic conditions were never present.
Larvae classified as Cosmopolitan species were found in both pollution-
tolerant and clean-water environments. The Other species group in-
cluded larval forms found only occasionally in any bottom samples.
Usually these larvae were restricted to isolated regions of the lake.
This could be due to one or more factors including depth, temperature,
food, carbon dioxide, or oxygen.
134
-------
Of the 38 identified species in the lake, 54 percent were
Pollution-Tolerant, 43 percent Cosmopolitan, I percent Clean Water,
and 2 percent Other. The population of bloodworm larvae inhabiting
the central portion of Zone A was composed of 80 percent Pollution-
Tolerant species. Zone A is also the area that contained the fewest
number of species of bloodworm larvae. Curry, in unpublished data,
gives a more detailed treatment of the bloodworm distribution data.
Dissolved oxygen data from studies conducted by the Public Health
Service, Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, and the Great Lakes Institute
are summarized in Figure 50. This map shows that Zone A is approx-
imately the area in which dissolved oxygen concentrations of less than
2.0 mg/l have been found in the hypolimnion during the summer. Not
only was the number of species much less in the area of low dissolved
oxygen, but the following table indicates that total numbers were
lower as well. Stations chosen for this comparison were between 13
and 22 meters deep where a persistent thermocline is present from mid-
June to mid-September. Bottom deposits were mostly mud in the low
dissolved oxygen area and mud and sand in adjacent areas.
BENTHIC FAUNA
Number of Organisms per square meter
West of Low
DO area
Tub i f icidae
Tendipedi dae
Sphaeri i dae
Amph ipoda
Other
Total
Spring
1,850
47
350
1
121
2,369
Fall
1,830
407
502
7
145
2,891
Low DO
Area
Spring
186
39
187
0
26
438
Fall
•
1 ,460
156
137
0
31
1 ,784
East of Low
DO area
Spring
354
107
162
69
73
765
Fall
2,300
278
307
465
221
3,571
The dissolved oxygen deficit not only limits the number of species
but limits the total numbers as well, even though the sediments are
higher in organic matter.
Zone B is a transition area where the pollution-intolerant scuds,
mayflies, union id clams, and caddis flies were absent. Intermediately
tolerant forms such as the aquatic sowbug (AselI us mi Iitaris), snail
(Gastropoda), and leech (mostly Helobdella sp.) were found. Zone B
approximates the area where dissolved oxygen was between 2.0 and 4.0
mg/l in the hypolimnion during the summer of 1964.
135
-------
FIGURE 50
-------
The distribution of the mayfly nymph (Hexagenia spp.) is diffi-
cult to plot graphically because of erratic occurrence. This genus
can apparently survive only a short time when dissolved oxygen in the
water is less than 4.0 mg/l and water temperature relatively high.
The genus rarely occurs in water deeper than 50 feet, and since it
requires a soft bottom its absence cannot always be attributed to poor
water quality. Data from inshore stations where bottom type and depth
were suitable for Hexagen i a spp. showed the nymph was absent along the
south shore except at one station northeast of Ashtabula. HexagenI a
was abundant at all stations in Long Point Bay and in small numbers
at most suitable locations near the Canadian shore of the eastern
basin. A few Hexagen i a spp. nymphs were found near the Canadian shore
at the mouth of the Detroit River in 15 feet of water and near Colchester
and Kingsville, Ontario.
A special study was conducted in the island area of Lake Erie in
June 1964, to determine Hexagen i a populations where they were formerly
the most abundant macro invertebrate inhabiting the bottom. The entire
island area was sampled at 47 stations and only two nymphs were found.
The bottom dwelling animals, except in shallow rocky areas, were pre-
dominately sludgeworms, bloodworms, and fingernail clams with only a
few union id clams and snails.
LAKE WATER BIOLOGY
ALGAE
Algae are indicators of water quality. Increases in total pro-
ductivity and decreasing variety indicate degradation resulting from
increased nutrient content in the water.
Increases in productivity of both phytoplankton and the filamen-
tous green alga, Cladophora sp., have been noted in the literature.
Nuisance growths of Cladophora have been reported for many years in
the island area (Langlois, 1954). However, in recent years island
residents report the problem has become worse. Reports indicate that
Cladophora nuisance problems have also increased on beaches around Erie,
Pennsylvania and on New York beaches in the last several years. Neil
and Owen (1964) report many Canadian beaches are also experiencing
increased problems.
Chandler (1940, 1944) and Chandler and Weeks (1945) evaluated
extensive phytoplankton, chemical, and physical data collected between
1938 and 1942 around the Bass Islands. It was concluded that phyto-
plankton populations were highly variable from year to year and that
phytoplankton productivity based on only one year could be misleading.
Chandler and Weeks believed these variations to be related to physical
changes such as temperature, turbidity, and solar radiation rather than
chemical changes. During the study period, diatoms never comprised
37
-------
less than 27 percent of the total, and total numbers never exceeded
1,000,000 units per liter. Blue-green algae were rarely predominant
and never exceeded 52 percent of the total. Generally, the predom-
inant spring genera were Synedra, Aster!one I la, FraglI aria, labellarjj,
and Cyclotella. Casper (1965) indicated that productivity had Jn-
creased significantly and species composition changed to a great degree
since 1942. Samples collected around the island area in September 1964
gave total counts of up to 3,500,000 units per liter with blue-greens
comprising 70 percent of the total. Samples collected in April 1964
also yielded higher counts than any reported during the 1938-1942 study.
Davis (1964) has summarized plankton data accumulated by the
Cleveland Division Avenue Filtration Plant since 1919. Although yearly
variations are large, a definite long-term increase in plankton pro-
ductivity is apparent as shown in Figure 51. The data show that plank-
ton counts have increased from a yearly average of 200-400 cells/ml
between 1920 and 1930 to a current average of 1,500-2,300 cells/ml.
This indicates an increase in algal concentration of between 500 and
700 percent in the Cleveland area. The data also indicate an increase
in duration of pulses. A pulse is a profusion of algae at a certain
period of the year. Comparing the phytopIankton abundance between
1927 and 1962, Figure 5IF, the increase in duration is very apparent.
The spring and autumn pulses in 1927 occurred from March to April and
from late August to mid-September, respectively. In 1962, the spring
and autumn pulses occurred from mid-February to mid-April and from
mid-June to mid-September, respectively. Correspondingly, the lows
are now shorter in duration and numbers of phytoplankton per mill!liter
have increased considerably. There has also been a significant change
in dominant genera of the spring and autumn phytoplankton pulse as
indicated in Table 31. The dominant spring genera have changed from
Asterionella to Me Ios i ra. A corresponding shift in the fall pulse
has been from Synedra to Me Ios i ra to Fragilaria. During recent years
the autumn pulse has shown an increase in importance of green and
blue-green algae such as Pediastrum, Anabaena, and OsciIlatoria re-
placing in part the previous dominance by diatoms. Burkholder (I960),
in the central and eastern basin in 1928-29 showed that diatoms were
the dominant group of phytopIankters during June and July while in
August the ratio of diatoms to green and blue-greens decreased. By
mid-September, however, the diatoms once again were by far the dominant
group. The data also showed that concentrations of phytoplankton never
exceeded 2,000 per liter.
During the spring and summer of 1964, U. S. Public Health Service
personnel made several visits to the island area of western Lake Erie
to determine the extent of Cladophora growths. Around the islands,
the rocky shorelines and reef areas provide an ideal substrate for
Cladophora attachment. Under these conditions the major factors in-
fluencing abundance are nutrient supply, solar radiation, turbidity,
and adequate wave action.
138
-------
2500-
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O 1000-
500-
20 30 40 50 60
A. YEARS
Average phytoplankton cells per
mi Hi liter for all years with
complete records, 1920 to 1963.
JFMAM J J A
J F M A M J JASOND
6600-
6000-
UJ
O
2000-
JFMAMJJASOND
E. 1957
O
UJ
o
J F M A M J J A SON D JFMAMJJASOND
C. 1935 F. 1962
PHYTOPLANKTON ABUNDANCE
LAKE ERIE (CLEVELAND WATER INTAKE RECORDS)
139
FIGURE 51
-------
TABLE 31
DOMINANT PHYTOPLANKTERS DURING SPRING AND AUTUMN
PFYTOPLANKTON PULSES, 1920-63*
(The dash signifies that there was no pulse)
Spring pulse
Year
Autumn pulse
Asterionella
Asterionella
Asterionella
Synedra, Asterionella
Asterionella, Melosira
Asterionella
Asterionella
Asterionella
Melosira, Synedra
Asterionella
Asterionella
Asterionella
Asterionella, Melosira
Melosira, Asterionella
Asterionella, Cyclotella
Asterionella
9
Melosira
Melosira
Fragilaria, Melosira
Melosira
Fragilaria, Tabellaria
Melosira
Melosira
Melosira
1920
1921
1922
1923
1927
1928
1929
1930
1931
1932
1933
193^
1935
1936
1937
19^1**
1946
19^7
1955
1956
1957
1958
1959
I960
1961
1962
1963
Synedra
Synedra
Synedra
Synedra
Melosira, Synedra
Synedra, Melosira, Stephenodiscus
Asterionella, Melosira
Melosira
Melosira
Melosira
Melosira
Melosira
Melosira
Melosira
Synedra, Melosira
Melosira
Melosira
Synedra, Melosira
Melosira, Synedra
Melosira, Pediastrum
Melosira, Asterionella
Synedra, Pediastrum
Melosira
Synedra, Melosira
Pediastrum, Fragilaria
Fragilaria, Melosira, Anabaena
Fragilaria
Melosira
Fragilaria, Melosira, Anabaena
Melosira, Anabaena, Oscillatoria
Fragilaria, Synedra, Stephanodiscus
Some of the included information has been adapted from an undergraduate
project written by Mr. John Wolk.
From Chandler's (19144) report of the Filtration Plant records for
**
14.0
-------
Around Kelleys Island the water is usually clear and seech! disc
readings were 8-12 feet except during heavy phytoplankton blooms when
readings of less than two feet were recorded. Observations by scuba
divers revealed heavy Cladophora growths extended from the surface to
a depth of II feet and then gradually decreased until extinction at
a depth of 15 feet. At maturity in late June and early July, strands
of algae three to six feet in length were common. Growths were heav-
iest on the east side of Kelleys Island around Gull and Kelleys Island
shoals. The more turbid waters around the Bass Islands did not permit
adequate light penetration for growths in water depths greater than
5 feet. The investigation detected approximately four square miles
covered with luxurious Cladophora growth in the island region alone.
Throughout the island region, and along the shores of Lake Erie,
where the conditions are suitable, generally along rocky shores, these
heavy growths exist. Upon maturity, wave action, etc., the strands
of algae are broken from their attachment enabling wind and currents
to deposit the massive quantities of Cladophora on beaches, in harbors,
and in deeper waters of the lake. It has also been noted that mats
of decomposing algae settle to the bottom in the central basin (Zone
A of Figure 49) and become part of the sediment after decomposition.
During interviews, local residents reported that growths have been
increasing rapidty in the past 20 years and that each succeeding year
was becoming worse. Canada and other communities along the lake shore
are experiencing this increasing problem.
It is clear from the literature that phytoplankton productivity
in Lake Erie is highly variable from year to year and evaluation of
phytoplankton data based on one or two years sampling could be mis-
leading. Extreme care must be taken in comparing data under these
conditions. Due to limited phytoplankton analysis from 1963 and 1964
the data will be treated generally to show ranges and to illustrate
seasonal variations in productivity and species composition.
The phytoplankton data were averaged from all stations and sep-
arated according to basins and seasons. The tables below illustrate
differences between diatoms and others which consisted of green and
blue-green algae forms for each basin and season.
PHYTOPLANKTON 1963 - 1964
Diatoms vs. Total Number of Organisms
(Percent)
Basin Diatom - Spring Diatom - Fa I I Total Annual Average
Western 79.2 3.0 8.8
Central 44.4 12.9 27.3
Eastern 49.8 35.4 40.0
141
-------
Basin
Western
Central
Eastern
PHYTOPLANKTON 1963 - 1964
Greens and Blue-greens vs. Total Number of Organisms
(Percent)
G-BG - Spring
20.8
55.6
50.2
G-BG - Fa I I
97.0
87.1
64.6
Total Annual Average
91.2
72.7
60.0
The data show a spring pulse composed primarily of diatoms In the
western basin, mainly Cyclotella-Stephanodiscus. It is indicated that
diatom blooms occur in the western basin during the spring when the
dissolved silica content is high. Diatoms assimilate silica In skel-
etal formation. The spring diatom pulse was also noted in the central
and eastern basin but not to the extent of that in the western basin.
It was followed by a low level summer population composed mainly of
diatoms in the central and eastern basins and greens or blue-greens
in the western basin. Due to lack of data, a comparison was not made
with the other seasons. In late summer and early fall another pulse
developed in which greens and blue-greens were dominant over the entire
lake. Greens and blue-greens comprised a much higher proportion of the
total population in all basins as indicated by the table of percentages,
The following table shows populations and types of algae with reference
to basin and season. As expected, the decreasing west to east trend
is very pronounced when considering the total averages.
PHYTOPLANKTON
Average Numbers of Organisms per ml
Type of
Algae
Season
Basin
Western
Centra I
Eastern
Green
Blue-green
Diatom
Total
Green
Blue-green
Diatom
Total
Total
Spring
Spring
Spring
Fa I I
Fa I I
Fall
Average
375
1,450
I ,805
10,475
525
10,800
8,000
875
150
1,005
I ,100
290
285
575
I 15
65
180
500
142
-------
An extensive blue-green and green phytoplankton bloom In western
Lake Erie was investigated in September 1964 (Casper, 1965). The
bloom, covering approximately 800 square miles, consisted primarily
of OsciIlatoria sp., Aphanizomenon ho I saticum, Anacystis cyonea, and
Glenodiniam sp. Average numbers were 28,600 organisms per ml with a
maximum of 170,000 organisms per ml. According to residents of the
area these massive blooms have been occurring for a number of years
but the intensity, frequency, and duration have been increasing.
FISH
The changes in the alga! productivity of Lake Erie have been ac-
companied by changes in the fish populations. As far as man is con-
cerned the changes over the years have been for the worse. Fish
desirable for human consumption have declined in abundance (Figure 52)
and have been replaced by less desirable species.
Man is responsible for the accelerated eutrophication of Lake Erie
with its consequent changes in the quality and quantity of fish present.
He catches the desirable fish when available with great efficiency, and
returns the less desirable; he directly alters the fish habitat by
introducing his wastes to the water and sediment. The resulting tur-
bidity, oxygen depletion, and toxicity have eliminated preferred fish
food forcing the desirable fish to vacate and spawn elsewhere. The
less desirable species then proliferate since competition for available
food has decreased. Unfortunately most of man's activities have been
detrimental.
Commercial fish catch statistics, gathered by the U. S. Bureau of
Commercial Fisheries, have provided a long record of the relative abun-
dance of desirable fish species in Lake Erie (Tables 32 and 33 and
Figure 52). In recent years, continuing surveys have been introduced
by federal and state agencies on the reproductive phase of the life
cycles of fishes and limited predictions of future populations are now
possible.
The sturgeon almost disappeared from catch statistics at about the
turn of the century. The cisco, once the dominant species of the com-
mercial catch, experienced a sudden decline in 1926, showed a slight
recovery, and declined to insignificance in 1957. Whitefish declined
drastically in the commercial catch in 1955. The walleye began a drastic
decline in 1957 and is still in great distress. The blue pike, which
formerly produced several million pounds per year became nearly extinct
in 1958.
The yellow perch has managed to hold its own, but it also shows
signs of weakening in the commercial catch. It is the only plentiful
fish remaining of the former many prized varieties. The smelt is now
commercially exploitable and it, along with yellow perch, is sustaining
the fishing industry in Lake Erie.
143
-------
20-
u-
16-
14-
HI6H YEAR
^35,291,000 IBS.
CISCO
U.S. LAKE ERIE
FISH CATCHES
5-YEAR RUNNING
AVERAGES
o
*.
o
z
o
"-
10-
i •-
6-
M ff
£: >!&&>::•:
BLUEPIKE
.•i^
HIGH YEAR
19,909,000 IBS.
w^mtmptitiimiim
HIGH YEAR
6,162, OOO IBS.
WALLEYE
/
«*c
1920
1940
YEAR
1960
t44
FIGURE 52
-------
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-------
The capability of Lake Erie to support fish, considered as a
total population of all species, has apparently been maintained and
may be increasing. This means that the habitat is changing in favor
of such fish as carp, alewife, shad, sheepshead, etc. These are
generally considered as indicators of general water quality degra-
dation.
Massive adult and near-adult fish kills occur in Lake Erie and
have occurred on various occasions for many years. These kills are
not associated with the decline of desirable species. Species which
have been susceptible to kills have commonly been perch, white bass,
alewife, smelt, gizzard shad, and carp. Kills seem to be more common
in the months of June and August. Occasionally during times of large
commercial catches, the appearance of a local kill may be given by
the discarding of fish from commercial fishing operations. Sometimes
fish kills have been called natural die-off, but this does not appear
to be a good explanation. At any rate, it does not appear that massive
fish kills have had a measurable effect on any ^pecies in Lake Erie.
Doubtless the changing benthic fauna of Lake Erie have had an
effect on the fish population because many fish are bottom feeders and
prefer certain types for food. It is also true, however, that most
fish will adapt themselves, at least up to a point, to the diet at
hand. The total effect of changing food supply is not known, but it
can be said that the effect has been detrimental to most desirable
species and these desirable species are carnivorous types.
Desirable fish species, according to the Bureau of Commercial
Fisheries, are experiencing difficulty in reproduction and this dif-
ficulty is responsible to a great degree for the decline of these
species. The cause appears to be pollutional in silting of spawning
areas and depletion of dissolved oxygen.
147
-------
CHAPTER 5
LAKE ERIE BACTERIOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
WATER BACTERIOLOGY
The U. S. Public Health Service conducted microbiological inves-
tigations of Lake Erie and its drainage basin in the spring, summer,
and fall of 1963 and 1964 in order to determine present microbiological
quality of the waters. Further objectives were to determine points of
influx and extent of sewage and fecal contaminated waters and to aid
in the evaluation of microbiological water quality criteria for major
uses. The following table shows the groups measured and the frequency
of measurement.
Groups used
I. Total coliform, 35°C
a. Membrane filter (MF)
b. MPN (most probable number)
2. Fecal coliform, 44.5°C
a. MF
b. E.G. (Escherichia coli.)
c. MPN - E.G.
3. Fecal streptococci, 35°C
a. MF (Kenner, etc.)
Frequency
a I I routine samples
selected samples
a I I routine samples
10-20$ of at I samples
\0% of all samples
a I I routine samples
4.
5.
Total bacterial
a. MF, 20°C
b. MF, 35°C
count
Enteric pathogens
a. Salmonella, Shi gel
b. Enteroviruses
determinations were made
Standard Methods for the
all lake and inshore samples
all lake and inshore samples
Tributary & bathing beach samples
Tributary & bathing beach samples
in accordance with procedures set
Examination of Water and Waste water,
All
forth in
Nth Edition, I960, or in accordance with those established through
research at the Robert A. Taft Sanitary Engineering Center, Cincinnati,
Ohio, and described in Recent Developments in Water Microbiology, 1964.
The coli form group is defined as consisting of aerobic and faculta-
tive anaerobic, gram-negative, non-sporeforming, rod-shaped bacteria
which ferment lactose with gas formation within 48 hours at 35°C.
148
-------
The members of the coliform group are found in the feces of warm-
blooded animals, including man; in the guts of cold-blooded animals,
in soils, and on many plants. The presence of coliform bacteria de-
rived from warm-blooded animal feces in a body of water is interpreted
as indicative of the possibility of the presence of enteric pathogens.
Increased densities of coliform bacteria found in water are related to
the greater possibility of their association with enteric disease-
producing groups found in the gut of iI I persons.
The fecal coliform group is that part of the coliform group asso-
ciated with fecal origin in warm-blooded animals. The purpose of the
test is to separate the members of the coliform group into those of
fecal and non-fecal origin. The test is based on the ability of coli-
form bacteria associated with warm-blooded animals to grow at 44.5°C i
0.5°C and the failure of coliform bacteria from cold-blooded animals,
plants, and soil to grow at that temperature.
The sanitary significance of the fecal coliform bacteria in a body
of water is described (Public Health Service, 1963) as follows:
"In untreated waters, the presence of fecal coliforms
indicate recent and possibly dangerous pollution. In
the absence of fecal coliforms, the presence of inter-
mediate or aerogenes organisms suggests less recent
pollution or runoff. Present information indicates
that non-fecal subgroups tend to survive longer in
water and resist chlorination more than E. coli."
High total coliform densities, accompanied by high fecal coliform
densities, indicate the presence of human wastes and the possibility
of human enteric pathogens capable of causing enteric infection and/or
disease.
The fecal streptococcus group is any species of streptococcus
commonly present in significant numbers in the fecal excreta of humans
or other warm-blooded animals, rarely occurring in soil or in vegeta-
tion not contaminated with sewage. The Public Health Service (1963)
states that:
"The presence of fecal streptococci means that the fecal
pollution is present in amounts no greater than orig-
inally present or in reduced amounts comparable to the
combined effects of natural purification processes, for
they do not multiply in water to produce overgrowths as
sometimes occurs with the coliform groups."
Recent research studies (Geldreich et.al., 1964) indicate that
when the ratio of fecal coliforms to fecal streptococci exceeds 2:1
the fecal bacteria have originated from domestic sewage, whereas ratios
149
-------
of 1:1 or less are indicative of wastes from warm-blooded animals
other than man, such as stockyard and dairy animals.
The total bacterial count was determined after incubation at 35°C
t 0.5 for 24 hours i 2 hours, and at 20°C ± 0.5 for 48 hours ± 3 hours.
The method was used to determine an approximation of all viable bacter
ial populations able to produce colonies under the test procedures.
The tests were used to provide information applicable to water quality
evaluation and to give support to the significance of coliform test
results.
Enteric pathogens^ were detected according to methods described
by Edwards and Ewing (1962). The resulting data were used to demon-
strate the existence of enteric pathogenic bacteria such as Salmonella
and Shi gel la in streams draining into the Lake Erie basin. The data
were correlated with associated bacteriological data.
The presence of enteric pathogenic bacteria in a body of water
indicates a potential health hazard.
Enterovi rus studies were conducted by Dr. Norman Clark, of the
Robert A. Taft Sanitary Engineering Center. Enteroviruses such as
infectious hepatitis, polio, coxsackle, and echo viruses and adeno-
viruses may be found in large quantities in the feces of infected
individuals, and in sewage. Infections with these agents are wide-
spread in the normal population especially during the summer and
early fall. Presence of these viruses in a body of water is indica-
tive of the presence of fecal matter containing them.
WESTERN BASIN
Bacterial water quality in western Lake Erie in offshore waters
was measured in 308 samples collected in 1963 and 1964 from the fixed
depths of surface, 5, 10, and 20 meters, depth permitting. In order
to achieve a more valid picture of bacterial distribution, it was
necessary to separate the values according to "surface" and "lower-
most" conditions. Samples collected from mid-depth and deep waters
revealed a substantial reduction in bacterial densities from those of
the surface, and this was true in all three lake basins. A consistent
and significant increase in bacterial densities at all depths was
found at the inflow areas of major tributaries.
Median total coliform densities for surface and lowermost samples
are shown in Figure 53 and Figure 54, respectively. Surface coliform
concentrations are expressed in six ranges: less than I, I to 10, 10
to 100, 100 to 500, 500 to 1,000, and 1,000 to 2,400 organisms per 100
ml of sample. Lowermost coliform values include just the first five
ranges.
150
-------
FIGURE 53
-------
-I i
152
FIGURE 54
-------
It is evident that extensive bacterial pollution exists at the
mouth of the Detroit River. Off the mouth, median coliform values
of 1,000 to 2,400 organisms per ml were found in the surface samples
and 500 to 1,000 per ml in the lowermost samples. Fecal coliform
densities ranged from 18 to 54 percent of the total coliforms. Num-
bers of fecal streptococci were less than either fecal or total coli-
forms. The ratio of fecal coliform to'fecal streptococcus exceeded
2:1 at all depths, indicating the presence of human wastes derived
from domestic sewage. Total bacterial counts near the Detroit River
mouth exceeded 20,000 per ml in the maximum values, indicating the
presence of a large amount of organic matter.
From this zone southward to east of Stony Point, Michigan, both
surface and subsurface samples showed median total coliform concen-
trations between 500 and 1,000 organisms per 100 ml, exceeding this
range in maximum values. Fecal streptococci densities were below 20
organisms per 100 ml. The ratio of fecal coliform to fecal strepto-
coccus averaged 16:1, indicating the presence of domestic sewage.
Total bacterial densities at 20°C and 35°C ranged from 2,700 to 59,000
organisms per ml, with slightly higher values at 20°C.
A zone of median coliform densities of 100 to 500 per ml with
three to six percent fecal coliform, along the west shore, was shown
only in the lowermost samples, with surface samples showing median
counts of less than 100 per 100 ml. It appeared that the Raisin River
was supplying polluted water. Similar total coliform densities were
found in waters north of Pelee Island with five to ten percent fecal
coliform. Fecal streptococci showed a median of 32 organisms per 100
ml. The ratio of fecal coliform to fecal streptococcus did not exceed
2:1, indicating a source from warm-blooded animals other than man.
A zone of median coliform densities of 10 to 100 per 100 ml in
surface samples radiated south, southwest, and southeast from the
Detroit River mouth area, extending into the southern island group
and to the Canadian shore in the Pigeon Bay area. Lowermost samples
were similar in area but slightly different in zonal shape. Other
areas showed a median total coliform range of I to 10 organisms per
100 ml. Fecal streptococci median values were less than 20 organisms
per 100 ml in areas with less than 100 coliforms per 100 ml.
CENTRAL BASIN
Total coIiforms, fecal coliforms, fecal streptococci, and total
bacterial counts at 20°C and 3b°C were made on 1,228 samples from
central Lake Erie. Samples were taken at the surface and at 5, 10, 20,
30, 40, and 50 meters, depth permitting. Samples taken at mid-depth
and below are referred to as "lowermost" samples.
153
-------
Samples collected from surface waters showed higher bacterial
densities than the lowermost samples except for an area around the
mouth of the Chagrin River (see Figures 53 and 54).
The highest median total coliform values in the central basin,
100 to 500 organisms per 100 ml, were shown in deep water samples in
the offshore area near the Chagrin River. Maximum values reached
3,000 organisms per 100 ml. Fecal coliforms ranged from 4 to 14 per-
cent of the total coliform densities. The ratio of fecal colt forms
to fecal streptococci ranged from 6:1 to 15:1, indicating pollution
by domestic sewage.
Median total coliform values of 10 to 100 organisms per 100 ml
were found in surface samples from two offshore areas. One area was
around Cleveland, extending approximately 20 miles north and 30 miles
northeast (Figure 53). Maximum coliform values for this area exceeded
5,000 organisms per 100 ml. Median total coliform densities in lower-
most samples (Figure 54) ranged from 10 to 100 per ml, but did not
exceed 5,000 per 100 ml. Median fecal coliform densities ranged from
4 to 70 percent of the total, indicating the presence of pollution
from domestic sources. Fecal streptococcus densities exceeded 20 or-
ganisms per 100 ml in the maximum values. The ratio of fecal coliforms
to fecal streptococci was 2:1 or greater at all depths, indicating the
presence of human wastes derived from domestic sewage. Total bacterial
counts in this area at 20° and 35°C at all depths ranged from 91 to
740 per ml in median values and from 570 to 73,000 per ml in maximum
values. The pollution effect of the Cuyahoga River was evident. The
gross pollution from the Cleveland area was apparently kept close to
the United States shore and followed the shoreline east of Cleveland.
The second area of median total coliform densities of 10 to 100
organisms per 100 ml was located along the Canadian shore near Port
Stanley and was shown in surface waters only (Figure 53).
Median total coliform values of I to 10 organisms per 100 ml were
found in a major portion of Central Lake Erie offshore surface and
lowermost waters as shown in Figures 53 and 54. Maximum coliform
densities were below 1,000 organisms per 100 ml. The ratio of fecal
coliform to fecal streptococcus was t:l or less. Total bacterial
counts at 20° and 35°C ranged from 5 to 110 per ml in median values
at a I I depths.
EASTERN BASIN
Bacterial values were also measured in 255 samples of eastern
basin water. As in the other basins, the lowermost samples showed
lesser densities than surface samples.
An area of median total coliform densities of 10 to 100 organisms
154
-------
per 100 ml in surface samples was located around Presque Isle, Penn-
sylvania. Maximum values were 3,400 coliforms per 100 ml, fecal
coliforms of 44 percent, and fecal streptococcus of 1,200 organisms
per 100 ml. In general, the coliform population from the Presque
Isle area was diffused in a fan-like pattern and dissipated in a
distance of approximately five miles from the shore. High coliform
densities in maximum values accompanied by high fecal coliform values
were indications of domestic sewage pollution.
Another major zone with median total coliform values in the sur-
face samples of 10 to 100 organisms per 100 ml extended over most of
the eastern half of the basin (Figure 53). The lowermost samples had
a median range of I to 10 coliform bacteria per 100 ml decreasing to
less than I north of the international boundary (Figure 54). Median
fecal coliform and fecal streptococcus values ranged from less than I
to 12 organisms per 100 ml. Total bacterial counts ranged from 60 to
420 at 20°C and from 10 to 50 per ml at 35°C in median values.
LAKE ERIE HARBORS (SOUTH SHORE)
Evaluation of the quality of these waters was made in 1964 from
the examination of water samples collected from representative sam-
pling points at surface and mid-depth levels. Bacterial pollution
was measured in terms of total coliforms, fecal coliforms, fecal strep-
tococci, and enteric pathogens.
Gross bacterial pollution was demonstrated at the mouths of Ottawa,
Maumee, Portage, Black, Rocky, Cuyahoga, Chagrin, Grand, Ashtabula,
and Buffalo Rivers.
OTTAWA RIVER AND MAUMEE RIVER
A median total coliform value of 90,000 organisms per 100 ml was
observed in the Ottawa River which empties into Maumee Bay. The mouth
of the Maumee River contained a median of 190,000 coliform organisms
per 100 ml. High median fecal coliform (125,000/100 ml) and fecal
streptococcus (1,000/100 ml) densities were accompanied by enteric
pathogenic bacteria. Six species of SaImoneI I a were isolated in the
Ottawa and Maumee Rivers. The peak incidence of Salmonella occurred
from January through April 1964.
Bacterial pollution in the Toledo Harbor became well diluted within
2 to 4 miles lakeward of the mouth where median coliform values ranged
from 100 to 1,000 organisms per 100 ml, with 10 to 50 percent fecal
coli forms.
PORTAGE RIVER
Results from Portage River, at its mouth, showed a median coliform
155
-------
level of 17,500 organisms per 100 ml, with 14 percent fecal coliform.
The median fecal streptococci count was 1,100 organisms per 100 ml.
SaImoneI I a organ i sms were found during the spring survey.
SANDUSKY HARBOR
Sandusky Harbor median total coliform densities ranged from 800
to 6,000 organisms per 100 ml with correspondingly high fecal coliform
results. The median total coliform value of 6,000 organisms per 100
ml with a fecal coliform to fecal streptococcus ratio of 18:1 was dem-
onstrated at a sampling point east of the Sandusky sewage treatment
plant. From the tip of Cedar Point lakeward, median total coliform
values were less than 1,000 per 100 ml. In the Sandusky River highest
bacterial densities were found near the Fremont treatment plant and
the presence of SaImoneI I a was revealed.
LORAIN HARBOR-BLACK RIVER
Results from Lorain outer harbor, lakeward of the river mouth
showed a median total coliform range of 100 to 9,000 organisms per
100 ml with 16 to 53 percent fecal coliform. Fecal streptococci
median values ranged from 19 to 340 organisms per 100 ml. Median
total bacterial counts at 20°C and 35°C ranged from 600 to 150,000
organisms per ml. The coliform numbers in the outer harbor corres-
pond to those in the Black River above the Lorain sewage treatment
pI ant.
The median total coliform counts at the mouth of the Black River
ranged from 6,900 to 28,000, while maximum values exceeded 2,000,000
organisms per 100 ml. Median fecal coliform densities ranged from 2
to 64 percent of the total, and median fecal streptococci showed
values of 200 to 500 organisms per 100 ml. SaImoneI la organisms were
found just above the mouth of the river.
The outflow of the Black River was traced, bacteriologically,
into Lake Erie approximately one mile to the north and east. Stations
west of the breakwall showed median total coliform values of less than
1,000 organisms per 100 ml.
ROCKY AND CUYAHOGA RIVERS - CLEVELAND HARBOR
Median coliform densities greater than 5,000 organisms per 100 ml
were observed at the mouths of Rocky and Cuyahoga Rivers. Maximum
coliform densities ranged from 560,000 to 1,200,000 organisms per 100
ml. Fecal coliform population ranged from 8 to 10 percent of the
total coliform, and fecal streptococci showed values from 900 to
49,000 organisms per 100 ml. Fourteen SalmoneI la serotypes were
isolated from the mouth of Cuyahoga River and ten from the mouth of
Rocky River. These findings are attributed to the gross pollution of
156
-------
human wastes entering these streams. The water leaving Rocky and
Cuyahoga Rivers carries bacterial pollution into Lake Erie. Results
obtained from sampling points north and east of the Rocky River,
approximately one-half mile from the shore, showed median coliform
densities in excess of 1,000 organisms per 100 ml, reaching a level
of 86,000 in the maximum values. The total coliform results inside
and immediately outside of the breakwall in Cleveland Harbor showed
median coliform values from 3,300 to 10,000 organisms per 100 ml with
9 to 30 percent fecal coliform. The ratio of fecal coliform to fecal
streptococcus ranged from 5:1 to 30:1. Maximum total coliform values
showed a level of 520,000 organisms per 100 ml north of the breakwall.
The maximum total bacterial counts at 20°C and 35°C inside and outside
of the breakwall ranged from 13,000 to 660,000 organisms per ml.
These results indicate that the water inside and immediately outside
of the breakwall is polluted to the extent that it cannot safely be
used for municipal water source, recreational, or for other uses in-
volving body contact. A marked decrease in total coliform and an
increase in percentage of fecal coliform organisms in the harbor was
noted during the study.
The gross bacterial pollution from these two tributaries is lost
within a distance of 2 to 3 miles into the lake (Figure 55). The
pollution tends to flow northeast and east of the harbor, becoming
diffused and diluted as it moves into the lake. It is apparently
forced close to the United States shore and follows the shoreline east
of Cleveland.
CHAGRIN RIVER
Median coliform density in the Chagrin River at its mouth showed
a level of 7,300 organisms per 100 ml, reaching a maximum of 90,000,
with 23 to 50 percent fecal coliform. The ratio of fecal strepto-
coccus ranged from 2:1 to 3:1. Three species of Salmonella were
isolated from river samples indicating pollution from human wastes.
GRAND RIVER - FAIRPORT HARBOR
The highest bacterial densities in the Grand River were observed
2.3 miles above the mouth. The median total coliform value was 15,000
organisms per 100 ml with 40 percent fecal coliform. The maximum coli-
form was 340,000 organisms per 100 ml. The median ratio of fecal coli-
form to fecal streptococcus was 8:1. Two species of Salmonella were
found at this sampling point and represented the presence of pollution
from domestic fecal sources. Median coliform densities of 1,400 or-
ganisms per 100 ml with 7 percent fecal coliform were observed just
above the river mouth. The maximum total coliform densities reached
a level of 8,000 organisms per 100 ml. The median ratio of fecal coli-
form to fecal streptococcus was 1:1.
157
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FIGURE 55
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In the Fairport Harbor, inside the breakwalls and beyond the
river mouth, median total coliform densities ranged from 15 to 540
organisms per 100 ml with 4 to 67 percent fecal coliform. The median
fecal streptococci count exceeded the fecal coliform count at one
station. A count of 3,200 organisms per 100 ml was observed during
the study. These findings indicate pollution from sources other than
man. A maximum total coliform density encountered was 34,000 organ-
isms per 100 ml. Median total bacterial counts at 20°C and 35°C
ranged from 280 to 6,700 organisms per ml, reaching the highest level
of 710,000 organisms per ml.
ASHTABULA RIVER
Median values of total coliform levels in the Ashtabula River
at its mouth, and in the Ashtabula Harbor, inside the breakwall, ex-
ceeded 1,000 organisms per 100 ml. A range of 17,000 to 64,000 coli-
form organisms per 100 ml was demonstrated in the maximum values.
Median fecal coliform densities ranged from II to 28 percent of the
total coliform at the mouth of the Ashtabula River and from 6 to 40
percent in the Ashtabula Harbor inside the breakwall. The ratio of
fecal coliform to fecal streptococcus was as high as 176:1 in the
harbor. Salmonella he!del berg was isolated at a sampling point 0.7
miles upstream. The waters in Ashtabula River, at its mouth, and in
the Ashtabula Harbor, inside of the breakwall, were found to be in
a continual state of gross pollution in terms of microbiological
parameters. Bacterial quality of these waters were unacceptable for
recreational purposes and at times for municipal or other uses. Water
west of the breakwall was of good bacterial quality. Waters north and
northeast of the breakwall showed total coliform densities of 2,700
to 3,300 organisms per 100 ml in the maximum values.
ERIE HARBOR - PRESQUE ISLE
Study of the microbiological results of sampling in the Presque
Isle area reveals low coliform densities on the west side of the
peninsula near the shore. The results from sampling stations located
north and northeast of the isle indicate a substantial increase in
coliform densities in the maximum values. A corresponding increase
in coliform values was observed in Erie Harbor. Median total coliform
values of 2,100 to 17,000 organisms per 100 ml were demonstrated in
samples collected from Erie Harbor stations located near Mill Creek
and in the ship channel. Maximum total coliform in this area reached
a value of 520,000 organisms per 100 ml. Median fecal coliform den-
sities in waters north and east of Presque Isle ranged from 3 to 12
percent of the total coliform densities and fecal streptococci counts
averaged from I to 10 organisms per 100 ml. The ratio of fecal coli-
form to fecal streptococci ranged from 2:1 to 5:1 in the median values.
The source of this pollution is probably Mill Creek. SaJknoneJJ_a_ or-
ganisms were isolated from 80 percent of the samples collected in both
Mill Creek and the harbor. The same organisms were found in Erie's
159
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sewage. Generally, the water quality at the stations west of Presque
Isle was of satisfactory quality for swimming purposes. The water
quality north and east of Presque Isle varied considerably. The max-
imum total coliform values of 2,800 to 15,000 organisms per 100 ml
indicated the pollution entered the lake intermittently, constituting
a health hazard in the immediate vicinity along the eastern shore.
BUFFALO RIVER
The Buffalo River showed a median total coliform concentration
of 25,000 organisms per 100 ml near its mouth with 14 percent fecal
coIiform. Salmonella was isolated from this area. The Buffalo River
is grossly polluted bacterially.
160
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