Use of Aquatic Macrocosms for Determining Site-Specific Water Quality Criteria Available to Purchase

Use of aquatic macrocosms for determining site-specific water quality criteria for hardness dependent metals (copper, lead) and total dissolved solids (salinity) is discussed. Inadequacies of generic criteria for application to site-specific needs was indicated. Generic criteria for metals were based on laboratory data alone. Site-specific water quality effects such as naturally occurring total organic carbon were not considered by USEPA when developing critera. It is often advantageous to develop site-specific criteria for an effluent due to local conditions that protect the environment. The case studies were conducted on an acidic stream with high organic carbon content associated with natural humic materials.