Lower Woonasquatucket River: Biochemical Oxygen Demand Reaction Rates and Time of Travel Studies


LOWER WOONASQUATUCKET RIVER
BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND REACTION RATES
AND TIME OF TRAVEL STUDIES
May, July and October, 1974
I Library - EPA Region I
[ Surveillance & Analysis Division
I
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Region I
Surveillance and Analysis Division
240 Highland Avenue
Needham, MA 02194
1p,4 Reg 0
Analy 8 8

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LOWER WOONASQUATUCKET RIVE1
BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND REACTION RATES
AND TINE OF TRAVEL STUDIES
Overview
In response to a request from the Rhode Island Water Pollution
Control Agency, Division of Water Supply and Pollution Control, personnel
from the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Region I,
Surveillance ônd Analysis Division (S & A), conducted a survey on the
lower Woonasquatucket River during Septembe; 1974. The purpose of the
survey was to augment work done by the State of Rhode Island by 4eterniining
the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) reaction rate (K) for that portion
of the river between Georgiaville Pond, Georgiaville, and the Eagle
Street Bridge, Providence. The Eagle Street Bridge was considered to
be the lower—most portion of the river-not influenced by tidal actions.
During the survey, personnel recorded the gage height at the United
States Geological Survey (USGS) Gage at Smith Street , Centerdale,
Rhode Island. The flows encountered during the survey are shown in
Table 1.
Sampling and Analysis
S & A set up five sampling stations below the Georgiaville Pond
outlet (WQTRO1 — WQTRO5) and one station at the outlet itself (WQTEO7).
Table 2 and Figure 1 describe and show the sampling station locations.
EPA personnel collected water samples at Stations WQTEO1 — WQTEO5 three
times daily and two times daily at Station WQTEO7 for three days. The
field crew coniposited the daily samples for each station and hand delivered
these to EPA’s Needham Laboratory (NERL) for BOD rate analyses.

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TABLE 1
FLOWS AT THE USGS GAGE AT CENTERDALE, RHODE ISLAND - RIVER KILOMETER 10.5
RIVER MILE 6.5
Plow
Cubic Mefèrs Per Second Cubic Feet P r_Second
(CMs) (CFS)
October 1, 1974 1.10 39.0
October 2, 1974 1.05 37.0
October 3, 1974 1.00 35.0
Note: The seven consecutive day low flow with a recurrance interval of
10 years (7—10 low flow) for this gage is 0.24 CNS (8.3 CFS).

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TABLE 2
SAMPLING STATION LOCATIONS AND DESCRIPTIONS
River Distance Latitude Longitude
Station Kilometer/Mile 0 I It 0 It Descrfpt [ nn
WQTE 07 15.0 9,3 41 53 35 71 30 26 Georgiaville Pond immediately prior to
discharge over outlet dam.
WQTR 01 10.5 6.5 41 51 33 71 29 17 Woonasquatucket River by USGS gaging station
immediately downstream of the Route 44
bridge at Centerdale, Rhode Island.
WQTR 02 9.4 5.8 41 51 02 71 28 56 Woonasquatucket River immediately upstream
of the dam by Allandale Road near Allen—
dale, Rhode Island.
I I
WQTR 03 7.9 4,9 41 50 22 71 28 39 Woonasquatucket River immediately upstream
of Lymansville Dam behind the Ronci Indus-
trial Park, Lymansville, Rhode Island.
WQTR 04 6.9 43 41 50 06 71 26 11 Woonasquatucket River immediately upstream
of Manton Dam, Johnston, Rhode Island
WQTR 05 16 1.0 41 49 35 71 24 28 Woonasquatucket River on the upstream side
of the Eagle Street Bridge, Providence,
Rhode Island.

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2
n addition, personnel recorded the temperature and preserved a portion
of each individual sample making up the composite samples for subsequent
dissolved oxygen determinations at NERL. Samples were collected by
hand dipping or using a bucket.
EPA ’s Region I chain of custody procedures were in effect at
all times.
Time of Travel Studies
In addition to the BOD K rate studies, EPA personnel conducted
two time of travel studies to assist the state in interpreting the
significance of the K rates in relation to the actual river. These
studies are discussed in Appendix I.
Results
The results of the sampling and analyses efforts are given in
Table 3.

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TABLE 3
RESULTS OF ANALYSES OF SAMPLES COLLECTED ON
THE LOWER WOONASQUATUCKET RIVER
Dissolved
0 cygen
(mg 11)
BOD
5—day
K
(1/Day)
Base 10 Base e
Time
Temp
Ult.
Station
WQTRO1
Date
10/01/74
(Hours)
0825
{°C)
15.0
8.8
(mg/i)
—
—
—
——
1030
15.5
9.0
—
—
—
——
1235
16.0
9.7
—
—
—
——
9999*
— —
—
3
6
0.04426
0.10192
10/02/74
0830
1005
1300
9999
15.5
15.5
16.0
——
9.0
9.5
9.6
—
——
—
—
2
—
——
—
3
—
—
—
0.23496
——
——
——
0.54112
10/03/74
0815
0920
1045
14.5
14.5
14.5
9.0
9.5
9.6
——
—
—
—
——
—
——
——
——
Average
9999
—
1
—
2
5
0.03511
0.10478
0.08086
0.24130
W TR02
10/01/74
0845
1045
1245
9999
15.5
15.5
16.0
—
8.3
8.5
8.6
—
.
—
—
——
3
—
—
—
6
——
—
——
0.07238
——
——
——
0.16669
10/02/74
0845
1015
1310
9999
15.5
15.5
15.0
—
8.7
8.8
8.7
—
—
—

2
—
—
—
3
—
——
——
0.19821
—
——
——
0.45648
10/03/74
0830
0925
1055
9999
14.5
14.5
14.5
——
8.9
8.8
8.9
——
—
——
——
4
—
—
—
4
—
—
——
0.21387
——
——
—
0.49254
Average
.-
0.16149
0.37190
W1TRO3
10/01/74
0915
1055
1300
9999
17.0
17.0
17.0
——
8.6
9.0
8.8
——
—
——
—
4
—
—
—
6
——
——
—
0.08055
—
—
—
0.18551
10/02/74
0900
1035
1320
9999
15.5
15.5
16.5
—
8.8
8.9
9.2
—
.—
—
—
3
—
—
—
3
—
—
—
0.26219
—
—
—
0.60383
10/03/74
0840
0935
1105
9999
14.5
14.5
145
—
9.2
9.0
9.3
—
——
—
—
3
—
—

4
—
—
0.13429
—
—
0.30927
Average
0.15901
0.36620
*9999 denotes composite sample of three previous grab samples.

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TABLE 3 (CONT.)
RESULTS OF ANALYSES OF SAMPLES COLLECTED ON THE LOWER WOONASQUATUCKET RIVER
Station
WQTRO4
Date
10/01/74
Time
(Hours)
0930
Temp
(°C)
17.0
Dissolved
Oxygen
(mg/i)
8.1
5—day
g/1)
BOD
Ult.
(mg/1)
K
(1/Day)
Base 10 Base e
——
—
—— —
1110
17.0
9.0
——
——
—— —
1320
17.0
9.2
——
——
—— ——
9999
——
——
4
7
0.06740 0.15523
10/02/74
0920
15.5
8.7
——
——
—— ——
1055
16.0
9.1
——
——
— ——
1325
17.0
9.6
——
——
—— ——
9999
——
——
2
.
3
0.16806 0.38704
10/03/74
0850
14.5
9.0
——
—
— ——
0950
14.5
9.2
——
——
—— ——
1120
14.0
9.6
—
—
—— ——
9999
——
——
3
4
0.11489 0.26459
Average
0.16783 0.26895
WQTRO5
10/01/74
10/02/74
10/03/74
Average
0955
1125
1335
9999
0940
1110
1340
9999
0905
1005
1130
9999
15.0
15.0
16.5
——
15.0
15.5
——
13.5
13.5
14.0
——
9.6
9.8
9.6
— —
9.8
10.0
.9.5
——
10.1
10.2
10.5
——
——
——
——
3
——
——
——
3
——
——
——
2
—
——
——
11
—
——
——
3
—
——
——
3
— — —
—— ——
—— ——
0.07341 0.16905
— — ——
—— ——
—— ——
0.29331 0.67550
—— — —
—— ——
— — —
0.14730 0.33922
0.17134 0.39459
.WQTEO7
10/01/74
1030
18.0
8.6
——
—
— ——
10/02/74
10/03/74
Average
1345
9999
0935
1120
9999
0900
1035
9999
19.0
——
17.0
18.0
——
16.0
16.0
——
8.5
——
8.2
8.6
——
8.3
8.9
——
—
2
——
——
2
——
——
1
——
5
——
——
3
——
—
2
— ——
0.05823 0.13411
—— ——
—— ——
0.11802 0.27180
—— ——
—— ——
0.09602 0.22114
0.09756 0.20917

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APPENDIX I
WOONASQUATUCKET RIVER TIME OF TRAVEL
The time of travel studies conducted on the Woonasquatucket River
from the Georgiaville Pond outlet to the Park Street Bridge, Providence,
Rhode Island, consisted of timing the passage of Rhodamine WT and B
dyes using cuvette and recording flow—through fluorometers to detect
fluorescence. The time of travel was taken as the peak of the dye
mass where sharp normal peaks occurred. When the dye patch passed
the pick—up location strung out or excessive skewness occurred, the
calculated centroid was used s the time of travel. These time of
travel are shown in Table 1—1 and Figures I—i through 1—4 for both
the May high flow and July low flew dye surveys. - The average flows
at the Centerdale, Rhode Island, gage during each study are shown
below:
- Average Flow
Date Cubic Meters per Second (CMS) Cubic Feet per Second(CFS )
May, 1974 2.21 78
July, 1974 0.75 28.5
From time of travel conducted during high flow and low flow
conditions, a logarithmic relation can be developed for different
flows in the river (Figures 1—1 through 1—4). Thus, time of travel
for various stretches of the river under various flow conditions can
be found from the two time of travel studies data (Figure 1—5).
The following example demonstrates how to use Figures I—i through
1—5.
To determine the time of travel at 1.05 cms (37 cfs) measured at
the CenterdaL gage (the average flow during the water quality survey)

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from the dam at Allendale, river kilometer 9.33, to river kilometer 4.02,
turn to Figures I—i through 1—4. Determine the time of travel, for the
established reaches and plot this curve, (unique for 1.05 cms) on
Figure 1—5. Then determine the time value at river kilometer 9.33
(mile 5.8) (9.7 hours) and subtract this from the time value at
river kilometer 4.02 (mile 2.5) (22.0 hours). This tells the time of
travel (12.3 hours) from the Allendale Dam to river kilometer 4.02
at a flow of 1.05 cms (37 cfs) measured at the Centerdale gage.

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TABLE I-i
WOONASQUATUCKET RIVER TIME OF TRAVEL*
Length of Average Velocity Reach Time Cumulative
Reach Meters per Sec. of Travel Time of Travel
Reach Kilometers (Feet per Sec.) (In Hours) (In Hours)
From To (Miles) May July May July May July
Georgiaville Centerdale 4.5 0.22 0.22 5.7 5.7 5.7 5.7
Pond Dam Bridge (2.8) (0.72) (0.72)
Centerdale Lymansvil le 2.6 0.15 0.09 7.9 9.5 13.6 15.2
Bridge Dam (1.6) (0.48) (0.30)
Lymaneville Dyerville 2.3 0.17 0.13 3.6 5.0 17.2 20.2
Dam Dam (1.45) (0.57) (0.42)
Dyervi lle Bullard 2.0 0.35 0.12 1.6 4.8 18.8 25.0
Dam Pickering Co. (1.25) (1.14) (0.38)
Bridge
(Olneyville
R. I. )
*Average flow8 in the river during the studies were:
Flow ____ July 7-10 Low Flow
Cubic meters per sec. 2.21 O.75 0.24
Cubic feet per sec. 78.0 28.5 8.3

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Figure I—i
WOONASQUATUCKET RIVER
Time of Travel Vs . Flow
Georgiaville Pond Darn to Centerdale Bridge
TEE:
20 :o o 60 7O i;O
:f :
.
1
30Q OO oo;o 9 1
Flow (cfs)
NOTE: To convert cfs to cms, multiply by 0.028.
‘p
: 4i ±:
:E: ;: : :: :. • ::, T : : .:: . .: ::: 9:: T
:: . : -:---H- --• — - ; : :- — - : —. i ’ -: I :::t .
:p :t -- - ---1 r

-- - --= :_; : -• -•_: : . : ; :_:: i.:_ :; ; --- :.: - - - -— =; :-4 : = Lt; ..:_ -._ - :;: ; - .; ‘ -
I -: r :
-.- ——— — ————— —-—— -
: : L: :::E . j 1 : : I i . : . :
:4 ± ‘- ‘ 21:
L ELL

. . L: L :; 1 : L N :
:- - _ I _- _jj j_
it:-::-: .: :::t: .: t i . .i. ::::::::: :4::: : . :: ..:. .. : .. :::: ..:
: _ P -• :-i::: ;: t I I - -
F 1 T I -
T4I i
:4 r i jIf Et:
ii 4 4
1: ; -kl—i--:i- -“- —-L 1- -I-
E :L HE

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FIGURE 1—2
WOONASQUATUCKET RIVER
Time of Travel Vs. Flow
20
Centerdale Bridge to Lymansville Dam_
30 40 O 60 70 80 90100
FI ow (àfs)
Measured at Centerdale Gage
200 300 400 ,C08
NOTE: To convert cfs to ems, multiply by 0.028.
. :. :.::; : Tn.:

-_
i :

..: : _ . :::. : : ;::


J i

_______
i1 .::.L:k.E . .
I
t —— - H— -1-

— - r:j - —---
i. .
1 L 1 ’ lI T : 4 iI4iT J j
:
i1I 4_
- t :j t f

- H- I :- :---—-t--
.::: -= : :
: -i: .


: ;

4 .

:. i : i
-— .—-—— ———

;
:I


I : :_

L L±4 4
-

I
.
= 4=Ti4III
l :FEt H
• —
: .

E : i,

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FIGURE 1-3
WOONASQUATUCKET RIVER
Time of Travel Vs. Flow
Lymansville Dam to Dyerville Dam
20 30 b 50 60 70 a c 100
Flow (cfs)
Measured at Centerdale Gage
NOTE: To convert cfs to ems, multiply by 0.028.
2O 300 4 5g0 6 7 8 9 10
: :.L: : TT : TT. Ti: : : L : :1:::i
I L i :h I ———— -
=. 4 L: ::: -t. : : :6: - -= :: :1: ::. ::. :: ... .::: - 1:::: :J ::: : ::f:: : : ::.. . - ...... j
._ — : :- :- • -:•: - -: : T:t..f — .; .. r -; - - -•— .. • - — — !..r_ —. :: 4 ::::: —_::j— ; . . ‘ ... .. . . .,-. . P’ •••
-f — Th t
f j
— - :t I -
Ti 1 _ ! _ ___
irI I H j— -
- : TME : :::*:; :,: tT TTT T T T E iTE T: :: . T E ::t ::::l:: T: : : T
-
T E F 1 ’ ti JI_ ‘t E 4
t: T T t T [ ET: I t 4 : : :j :: .:: :: T i : H
J Et 1 - -— I t-H
-
-i iEi ±TF Z- H. :j: E E i 3I III I :H: : : : ::
E;E
9 - - - -- 1 -_ ;
I: . I .. -.-— ‘ -*-“ .
8i : : --- • • — - --:LJ ----- - ; — •- —-- —- : - • :: - :L::__ •
l t :: I - t- : _I___ E ample The Time of Travel
. ‘,: [ . :: : : : from L ansville Dam to the
1: 1 __Dyervi1le Dam at 37 cfs is I
; .. t:: ::: . L :4 .5 hours . . : : .i l:: : : :
: ‘L T T j i iitt ;
iL 1 1 t E j
I -1:__ --
.ETTTTT’T. .F:f:: .. TT: ::: .:. _::::T ..

H - -


L E I

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FIGURE 1—4
WOONASQUATIJCKET RIVER
Time of Travel Vs. Flow
Dyervllle Dani to the Bullard içkering_ Company Bridge (Olneyville)
20 30 O 50 60 E OEO1 O
Flow (cfs)
Measured at Centerdale Gage
Note: To convert cfs to cms, multiply by 0.028.
‘p
T :L R . : I 4 . H EE. t r F ;± :T 4 L 4j+#j +.L
: th -- H : - :rE I Lt - - :1
L
:—E-I :z j— —::-- : ——T:--rT:-- -- I —4-: - :I
Iiii i
t i - - I
;T I i-:
.
=- — . I t j - T - - - •- -. . .. .. .— =i_ .J —
“ — —- - —

I j
1 * i t i i_1_ : i
- 1 t çi i_
.
LX - -
I - \ - t T -
I I _:LIiI1I-: -T I:TII .- I . :::L TT i: T ::
_=L 1 -
tj: - I —: f iTi
I - =:T l-J L - :t
-H - r -::

-I
:- - — :—
ii iiIII
-
L - - .
—4
1 ILJ



-- j 4

JT T ii- Irii

-i
I
EH 1 :
: flJ
2
3 4 5 6 78910

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FIGURE 1-5
WOONASQUATUCKET RIVER
Time of Travel
(Flow Measured at Centerdale Gage)
___ I
L U
‘1 —
i f::: t
-
0.5? ems
,1 .
‘1
._ L
:.
—
- — -
: T::
- -
—
22 0
-——

..

:11
.-.•
-
- —
- :
—•
.../I....
....-..
..l.05
(37cf;)
cms
30
25
20
U)
1 -4
0
‘ 1
5
I
7.
/.
1 42
cms
fr r
I
2 HiH
:LrT

t
I T Ti

= I

=

.

.::.
/ CL )
/
. / (1 Ocfs .

. :i

.—.
T
-
TL
=- -
-:
-
>1.
7::
/
..i : : ;
:.
. :H-
. HHH HH 1 H’
. .
•- ----•-
5 8
... ,5
0
--4..
. H
10
9 8 7 6 5 4
46.09 14.48 12.87 11.26 9.65 8.04 6.44 4.83 3.22 1.61 Kilometers
Lencvth from Thuth of Yoon . squ tucket River
0 Miles

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