Table Of ContentAN ENVIRONMENTAL EVALUATION
OF THE
LOWER WELLAND RIVER
JULY 1993
@
Ministryof
Ontario Environment
andEnergy
ISBN0-7778-1644-X
ANENVIRONMENTALEVALUATION
OFTHELOWERWELLANDRIVER
JULY 1993
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Copyright: Queen'sPrinterforOntario, 1993
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PIBS2659
ANENVIRONMENTALEVALUATION
OFTHELOWERWELLANDRTVER
Reportpreparedby:
R.JPope, K.AKeenleyside, S.DSpeller
TarandusAssociatesLimited
for
TheNiagaraRiverImprovementProject
OntarioMinistryoftheEnvironment
JULY 1993
DISCLAIMER
The content and conclusions ofthis report do not
necessarily reflect the views and policies of the
OntarioMinistryofEnvironmentandEnergy. The
dataaspresented areregarded asvalid and canbe
usedinadditionalassessments.
Mention of trade names or commercial products
doesnotconstituteendorsementorrecommendation
foruse.
ExecutiveSummary
An environmental evaluation of the lower Welland River was conducted by Tarandus Associates
Limitedduringthesummerandfallof1990. Thestudy involvedanassessmentofwaterandsediment
quality, as wellas an examinationofaquatic floraand fauna.
Theobjectivesofthestudy were:
1) to obtain a database subset forthe lowerWelland River foruse in assessing
possibleremediation options whereappropriateand fordetermining the need
forfurtherenvironmental investigationsand;
2) to provide information for use in evaluating the significance oftheWelland
River regarding environmental quality issues in the Niagara River Area of
Concern.
Afteraninitialreconnaissanceofthestudyarea, fieldtripstothelowerWellandRiverwerecompleted
during Augustand November, 1990. A total of25 stationswereevaluated. Analysesofsediments
and water from these stationswereconducted by Beak Analytical Laboratories.
Waterqualityvariedconsiderablyamongstations. Atseveral sites, iron, copper, mercury, andtotal
phosphorus exceeded the Provincial Water Quality Objectives (PWQO). Most water-quality
parameters,however,includingmostmetals,phenols,totalcyanide,PCBs,polyaromatichydrocarbons
(PAHs), and organochlorine (OC) pesticides were below detection limits.
Data from regular MOE water-quality monitoring stations indicate that levels of zinc, copper,
mercury, chromium, and lead have decreased in the Welland River from 1979 to 1987. A slight
increase in aluminumconcentrations in water, however, has been noted from 1981 to 1987.
Sediment quality was also variable throughout the study area. Concentrations oflead, chromium,
mercury, cadmium, zinc, iron, nickel,copper, arsenic, total Kjeldahlnitrogen, totalorganiccarbon,
totalphosphorus,andPCBsexceededtheMOEProvincialSedimentQualityGuidelines(PSQG)lower
effectlimit(LEL)atsomestations." ThePSQG-SevereEffectLimits(SEL)forchromium, mercury,
nickel, iron, andcopper werealsoexceededatseveral stationsin sections Band Cofthestudyarea.
Concentrations of total cyanide and oil and grease exceeded the Open Water Disposal Guidelines
(OWDG) atsomestations. PAHswerealsodetectedatseveral stations, mostnotably stations9and
10. All organochlorinepesticides were below detection limits.
Degraded sediment quality, as indicated by concentrations of several metals, oil and grease, total
cyanide,andPAHswere foundatstations9, 10,24, 11, and 12, in thelowerWellandRiverbetween
thesyphons, as wellasatstations 17, 18, 19and20in thesectioneastofPortRobinson. Sediments
atstation 7, located in thewestern portion oftheCityofWellandalso hadelevatedconcentrationsof
several contaminants. A numberofcontaminant inputs are located in the vicinity ofthese stations,
includingstormsewers,alandfillsite,awaterpollutioncontrolplant(WPCP),andseveralindustries.
Ninetybenthic-invertebratetaxawereidentifiedatthe25 samplingstations. Thetotal issignificantly
higher than the 28 taxa reported previously (Johnson, 1964). The number of taxa varied among
stations, rajiging from alow of 12 speciesat stations 6and25 toa high of29 speciesatstation 10.
Two invertebrate species were common to all the sampling stations; Procladius sp. and immature
tubificids,althoughChryptochironomussp.,Limnodrilushoffmeisteri, andSphaeriumsp. werefound
at24ofthe25 sites. Johnson (1964)also noted ProcladiusandLimnodrilusthroughouttheWelland
River. Sampling stations located upstream ofthe City ofWelland were characterized by relatively
high numbers of Hexagenia sp. and Coelotanyus sp. These species were generally absent from
stationsdownstreamofWelland,indicatingdegradedenvironmentalconditions. Stationslocatedbelow
theurbanizedareaswerecharacterizedbyrelativelyhighnumbersofthemorepollution-toleranttaxa,
Spirospermaferoxand immaturetubificids, as wellas Valvatasp., andHydrobiidae.
Thetotalabundanceofbenthicinvertebratesvariedamongstationsinthestudyarea, andranged from
alowof634individualspersquare meteratstation 12 toahighof5900individualspersquaremeter
at station 22. Generally, stations located in and below the City of Welland had higher total
abundances than those located in the rural areaaboveWelland.
Benthic-invertebratediversity (Shannon-Weaverand Brillouin) fluctuated considerably, especially in
the river below the City of Welland. Diversities at all the stations upstream of Welland were
relatively constant, ranging from 3.02 to 3.53. Shannon diversities ranged from a high of3.96at
station 11 toalowof2.52atstation25. SimilartrendswerenotedwiththeBrillouindiversityindex.
Diversities greater than 3.0are generally indicativeofunpollutedconditions.
Discriminantanalysis ofthe stations, based on the results ofclusteranalyses, indicated thatbenthic-
invertebratecommunitiesbelow theCityofWellandandabovetheQueenston-ChippawaCanalwere
associated with sediments characterized by elevated concentrations of several metals including
chromium, copper, and arsenic. In contrast, benthic communities at stations above the City of
Welland, occurred in an areacharacterized by sediments havingrelatively lowlevelsofmetals, and
ahighlossonignition. AluminumwasalsofoundathigherconcentrationsinthispartoftheWelland
Riverthan at stations furtherdownstream.
The fish community of the lower Welland River was dominated by warmwater species, including
catfish, whitecrappie, carp, suckers, and freshwaterdrum. Salmonid species were notfoundin the
lowerWelland River, although they arecommon in the Niagara River.
The Welland River shoreline was dominated by several emergent aquatic macrophytes, including
TyphalatifoUaandSagiitarialaiifolia. A numberofsubmergedaquaticmacrophyteswerealsonoted
including Myriophyllum spicamm, Vallisneria americana, and Ceratophyllum demersum. These
specieshavebeenpreviouslyreported inthestudyareabyJohnson (1964)andDickmanetal. (1983).
Previous authors have also noted areas devoid of higher aquatic plants below several industrial
discharges (Dickmanand Haynes, dateunknown; Dickman eral, 1983). During this study, sparse
macrophytegrowth was only noted below theThompson'sCreekconfluence.
