A Study of the Benthic Algal Communities to Assess Water Quality in the Monocacy River

Abstract

The use of living organisms to assess water quality is an expanding field. Biological responses to various water quality conditions can be monitored by studying organisms in their natural community or under laboratory conditions. The oldest method of biological assessment is tabulating the numbers and types of taxa occurring in a natural community. One sector of the community that has been used to indicate water quality is the benthic algae. A study of the effects of the Frederick Sewage Treatment Plant effluent on the water quality of a portion of the Monocacy River was made, using the numbers and types of taxa in the naturally occurring benthic algal community as a method of assessment. Water temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, and total phosphates were also measured. A slight degradation of water quality due to the effluent was indicated by a decreased species diversity and a shift in the types of taxa present just below the sewage outflow. Total phosphate values indicated a nutrient enrichment in the river just below the effluent, while the remaining physical parameters measured showed no significant changes in water quality.