The document analyzes water samples taken from six locations along the Towson Run stream, which flows from Towson University toward Lake Roland in Baltimore, Maryland. Chemical analysis found elevated levels of calcium, chloride, strontium, and manganese indicating influences from both natural sources like limestone bedrock and anthropogenic sources like development, roads, and urban runoff. While conductivity varied along the stream's path, some sample sites exceeded limits for supporting aquatic life. The study concludes the stream has experienced some degradation from the surrounding community but further research is needed to identify specific pollution sources.

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Kliffi M.S. Blackstone
ENVS 601
12/16/16
Towson-Lake Roland Study
Natural and Anthropogenic factors of Towson Run stream:
Introduction
Towson Run stream flows west through Sheppard Pratt and Towson University, near the Rodgers
Forge and Armagh Village communities. The stream is one that connects from the university
toward Lake Roland to flow through the city and into the Bay. In consideration of the location,
Towson Run could contain substantial anthropogenic pollution flowing into the stream from the
university and surrounding communities. While humans along the stream do not drink from it there
is a possibility of individuals coming into contact with the water through recreational activit y.
Along with this the local fauna and fauna population would consistently utilize the stream. This
leads to the larger problem of bioaccumulation as Lake Roland is a large recreational area and
people do fish in the lake. Thus the contaminates would be an endangerment to this population.
Using samples taken from six different locations along this stream is chemical composition can be
analyzed in order to determine the level of contamination and give an idea of what is contaminating
the stream.
Background:

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The sampled locations were found along various points along the Towson Run stream. All
sampled locations, despite being surrounded by urban infrastructure, were surrounded or covered
by various flora. TTR-1 is located between a concrete road and downhill from a Towson University
building. The stream itself has been redirected under the road through a concrete conveyance;
notably the stream is completely covered by thicket; so much so that sampling was somewhat
difficult. TTR-2 is located behind the Towson University sport field and downhill from a manmade
hill, while leads to a parking lot. This stream flows where a farm once functioned. This stream
clearly overflows during precipitation events, clearly indicated by the cut-banks and the exposed
layers of bedrock around the stream bank. TTR-3 is surrounded on three sides by a concrete road
with its far end housing a small church and little flora cover. The area contained large concrete
slabs indicating previous urban development occurred there. TTR- 4 is located in a small somewhat
flora covered area behind residential homes and adjacent to a concrete road. The stream bank is
laden with large light colored clasts. TTR-5 is located in a small forested area between two
Map 1. Towson Run Sample Sites, Fall 2016

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residential homes and a concrete road. TTR-6 is still in a forested area but different in that it is
located adjacent to a railroad as well as a concrete road.
Towson is on the Piedmont Plateau Province is which composed of hard, crystalline igneous and
metamorphic rocks. Bedrock in the eastern part of the Piedmont consists of schist, gneiss, gabbro,
and other highly metamorphosed sedimentary and igneous rocks of probable volcanic origin. The
general underlying bedrock is indicated as Granitic Gneiss. Gneiss often forms from the
metamorphism of granite or diorite. Gneiss is a metamorphic rock form characterized by banding
caused by segregation of different minerals, typically light and dark silicates. Rather than an
indication of specific mineral composition, the term is an indication of texture. The "gneissic
texture" refers to the segregation of light and dark minerals. It is indicative of high-grade
metamorphism where the temperature is high enough, (600-700 °C), so that enough ion migration
occurs to segregate the minerals (Lutgens, 2000).
Methods
Locations were sampled on September afternoons with 6 samples in total being acquired.
A 0.45 µm filters were placed on the ends of syringes and placed into a labeled bottle for transport
Map 2. Geologic Map of the Towson Quadrangle, Maryland. William Crowley, Emery Cleaves.
1974

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eliminating the chance for air bubbles in the container and to prevent against gas exchange. The
field parameters such as: connectivity, pH, and temperature were analyzed using a portable pH
conductivity meter. The samples were later refrigerated until they could be processed. The
processing included the use of Ion Chromatography in order to determine the major ions,
Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer for trace element identification, an auto-titrator
containing 40g of each sample. Once the data was obtained from the titrations, the values were
transferred into the USGS alkalinity calculator to determine the inflection point using the Gran
Method. This method calculates the HCO3 and CO3 concentrations in order to determine the
alkalinity of the sample in parts per million. In order to analyze the chemicals found in the streams,
the PHREEQ computer program was also utilized. This method simulates chemical reactions and
transport processes within the sampled stream.
Results
It can be seen via the Figure 1 and Table 1 that Towson Run has a high level of salinity
and is considered hard-water. Hard water is indicated by the 2+ charge of calcium and magnesium
along with the introduction of bicarbonates. Bicarbonate is also a major indicator of alkalinity,
limestone is rich in carbonates, so waters flowing through limestone regions or bedrock containing
carbonates generally have high alkalinity. While many chemicals found in the streams were not
indicated on the ambient surface water regulated by the EPA, Chloride was indicated in terms of
levels allowed for aquatic life. This is indicated its chronic levels as 230000 μg/L or 230 ppm
(Environmental Protection Agency, 1986). While all chloride levels in the samples were far above
the EPA requirement the data sampled contains chloride levels as high as 324.91 ppm found in

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TTR-4. Areas TTR-3 at 255.42 ppm and TTR-6 at 272.06 ppm also exceed the EPA limit and are
the other two areas that have recently been subject to development. This development come in the
form of concrete roads and the railroad in TTR-6. The influx of pollutants from the construction
run off could also be a reason as to why no aquatic life was found with the stream segments.
Via Table 2 it is clear that Towson Run has high levels of strontium. This element replaces calcium
in bicarbonates and is commonly found in concrete. Unfortunately, there was no ability to test the
isotopes of strontium, which would indicate the exact source. While much lower than the strontium
levels, the manganese levels are still notable. In surface waters, manganese occurs in both
dissolved and suspended forms, depending on such factors as pH and anions present (ATSDR,
2000). Groundwater often contains elevated levels of dissolved manganese and is predominant in
most water at pH 4–7, but more highly oxidized forms may occur at higher pH values or result
from microbial oxidation (WHO, 2011). Manganese can be adsorbed onto soil, however the extent
of adsorption depending on the organic content and cation exchange capacity of the soil. While
the chemicals found give a high indication of a mix of anthropogenic and natural sources, the
connectivity gives light as to which input has the higher affect. This because it is a measure of the
capability of an aqueous solution to pass an electric current. This is an indicator of the
concentration of dissolved electrolyte ions and trace metals in the water, it also implies that a
significant increase in conductivity may be an indicator that polluting discharges have entered the
water. Ideally streams should have a conductivity between 200 to 1000 µS/cm to support diverse
aquatic life (Banta, 1977). Notably about half of the sample sites fall within this range, and as seen
in Table 4, the conductivity of the stream generally increases toward Lake Roland.

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Discussion
As the conductivity levels indicate the Towson Run stream is teetering between high and
average ion levels based on the World Health Organization. This could be because of the more
suburban, and thus somewhat forested, areas that surround the streams. Despite this suburban
landscape, the cause of this is clearly both anthropogenic with some influences from naturogenic
sources. Of the chemicals found, those that indicated large impacts were calcium, chloride,
strontium, and manganese. Calcium is an important nutrient that is used by plants and animals, but
much like carbonate, it also buffers the pH of the streams. Calcium is present in adequate amounts
in most soils, as calcium is a component of several primary and secondary minerals in the soil.
Calcium is also present in relatively soluble forms, as a cation adsorbed to the soil colloidal
complex. Most calcium, and its mimic strontium, in surface water comes from streams flowing
over limestone, gypsum, and other calcium-containing rocks and minerals. Baltimore in general
has as large amount of limestone, which when weathered, it dissolves into calcium and carbonate.
However, Towson University has large clasts of limestone along the Towson Run stream that sits
behind the Towson Town parking garage and upstream of the sampled locations. As strontium is
so strongly associated with calcium it actually indicates calcareous rocks, like limestone. This
coupled with the fact that dolomite and calcite can be found in limestone as a pH buffer could be
why the water remained generally within the normal 6-8 pH range for stream water. When testing
for the saturation index of each sample it was found that stream segments TTR-1, TTR-4, and
TTR-6 were all super-saturated with respect to calcite and dolomite. Calcite is common in
limestone and is another source of calcium in stream water. Calcite can also be recognized as the
mineral used in homes to neutralize acidic or low pH water. Dolomite is thought to form when
the calcite in carbonate mud or limestone is modified by magnesium-rich water. The available

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magnesium facilitates the conversion of calcite into dolomite (Deer, 1966). In order to determine
if stream water is magnesium-rich a simple calculation of Mg/Ca levels measured in meq/l can be
used; if the ratio is above 0.9 the stream is magnesium rich (Razowska, 2014). This is interesting
as the highest saturation levels of dolomite can be found in TTR-1, which has the highest Mg/Ca
ratio of 0.7. This could be based on the bridge over TTR-1, depending on its components could
be leeching into the water during precipitation events. Another source of anthropogenic runoff is
calcium and strontium which are major elements in concrete (Bain, 2010). Bearing in mind that
the land use around all of the streams were urbanized with large amounts of concrete roads and
these roads are directly adjacent to the streams; it is clear a large amount of run-off makes its way
into the stream. This most likely produced the high levels of strontium. As for manganese, the
national groundwater level of 5600 µg/l is generally higher than that in surface waters, but the
median level in groundwater, 5 µg/l, is lower than that in surface water (WHO, 2011). Major
reports for manganese found dissolved levels generally range from 51 µg/l to 200 µg/l (Agency
for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, 2000). This data indicates a median manganese level
of 16 µg/l in surface waters, and higher levels in waters being associated with industrial pollution
(WHO, 2011). In turn this shows that the measurement of 76.33 ppb in TTR-3 is most likely a sign
of some industrial pollution to Towson Run stream. This seems to be accurate in consideration of
the heavily developed land around the stream. Chloride is the largest major ion found in the stream;
this is not unusual as chlorine is commonly found in streams and wastewater. It should be noted
that chloride does occur naturally in the water system as there is a natural input from the weathering
of rocks and minerals. There are numerous natural sources of salts to water resources, however for
Maryland the most influential would include: natural weathering of bedrock, surficial materials,
and soils; and geologic deposits containing halite. Chloride is present in several minerals in

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common rocks, and its release to waters as chloride ions is generally slow and through processes
other than dissolution (Mullaney, 2009). For the areas sampled chloride may have gotten into
surface water from several sources including: wastewater from water softening, salting from road
salt as all streams were adjacent to concrete roads, and possibly small agricultural runoff.
Therefore, a magnitude of chloride concentration in a sample of water indicates its degree of
salinity (Church, 1993). In consideration of this and the proximity of the sampling locations to the
concrete roads one could speculate that every winter after roads and sidewalks are treated with salt
for de-icing, the excess salt is eventually introduced to the stream chemistry. Considering
approximately 55 percent of chloride in deicers applied during road salting is transported in surface
runoff into the surface water, and the remaining percentage typically infiltrates through soils into
ground water and ultimately into streams (Church, 1993).
Conclusions
The information presented of the stream samples indicate that the Towson Run stream has
some degradation based on chemical pollutants. Much of the information presented indicates that
Towson Run has both natural and anthropogenic influences effecting the soil and water chemistry
of this stream. While there is nothing that can truly be done about the natural biology and chemistry
of the stream system, the general community can make changes to the various point sources
neighboring the stream. The conductivity does indicate pollutants but half of the samples were
within the acceptable range, with the higher conductivity levels rising as the streams came in
contact with more heavily travelled roads gave way to neighborhoods, churches, and schools.
TTR-4 did not follow this trend, but this is probably due to the fact that this stream is on a back
road with few resident homes.

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Unfortunately, the research has produced a large amount of questions that time did not allow to be
answered. It is hard to draw exact conclusions based on the limited amount of information and
available research on the area surrounding Towson Run stream. However, it is fair to say that the
University and its surrounding communities have had an effect on the Towson Run stream. Future
research would be required in order to determine exactly where these chemicals are coming from
and how to eliminate or elevate their effects.

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References
 Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (2000). Toxicological profile for
manganese.
 Atlanta, GA, United States Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health
Service,
 Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
 Bain, D., Yesilonis, I.D., Pouyat, R.V., 2010. Metal concentrations in urban riparian
sediments along an urbanization gradient, Volume 107, pp 67-79
 Banta RG, Markesbery WR. (1977). Elevated manganese levels associated with dementia
and extrapyramidal signs. Volume 27, pp. 13–216.
 Behar, S. (1996). Testing the waters: Chemical and physical vital signs of a river. pp. 25
 Church, P.E., and Friesz, P.J. (1993). Effectiveness of highway drainage systems in
preventing road-salt contamination of groundwater—Preliminary findings: Transportation
Research Board Transportation Research Record 1420, pp. 56–64.
 Deer, W. Howie and J. Zussman (1966) An Introduction to the Rock Forming Minerals,
Longman, pp. 489–493
 Environmental Protection Agency. (1986). Guidelines for Deriving Ambient Aquatic Life
Advisory Concentrations. https://www.epa.gov/wqc/national-recommended-water-
quality-criteria-aquatic-life-criteria-table
 Holzgraefe M et al. (1986). Chronic enteral poisoning caused by potassium permanganate:
A case report. Journal of Toxicology and Clinical Toxicology, 24:235–244 erratum in
Journal of Toxicology and Clinical Toxicology, 24:462.
 Lutgens, Frederick K., Tarbuck, Edward J. (2000). Essentials of Geology, 7th Ed., Prentice
Hall.
 Mullaney, J.R., Lorenz, D.L., Arntson, A.D. (2009). Chloride in groundwater and surface
water in areas underlain by the glacial aquifer system, northern United States: U.S.
Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2009–5086, pp. 41
 Razowska-Jaworek, Lidia. (2014).Calcium and Magnesium in Groundwater: Occurrence
and Significance for Human Health, pp. 40-41
 Reed, J.C. and Bush, C.A. (2004).Generalized Geologic Map of the Conterminous United
States, U.S. Geological Survey, scale 1:7,500,000. http://pubs.usgs.gov/atlas/geologic/
 World Health Organization. (2011). Manganese in Drinking-water. Guidelines for
Drinking-water Quality, Volume 3, pp. 15-20

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Appendices
Table 1. Graph form of Piper Diagram for improved visual reference
Location Symbol
TTR1 Circle
TTR2
Open
Circle
TTR3 Square
TTR4
Open
Square
TTR5 Triangle
TTR6
Open
Triangle
Major Ions in Sample Site

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Table 2. Metals found within Towson Run