OUZ students study Muskingum River water quality

ZANESVILLE – Chris Frazier is an Eagle Scout and as a kid growing up in Cambridge, he explored the forests, rivers and their tributaries in the surrounding area.

But for all the years of familiarity, when he and his older brother Nathaniel began a research project at Ohio University Zanesville last November, he developed a new understanding of the regional environment.

Chris, a sophomore studying neuroscience, and Nathaniel, a junior pre-med student, began working with chemistry and biochemistry professor Dr. Shadi Abu-Baker in November to test the Muskingum River for nitrates, which can be especially harmful to pregnant women and infants.

Though Chris and Nathaniel recently moved to Westerville, they still consider the Muskingum a part of their backyard.

"This is the water I drink and the woods I'm in," Chris said. "I want to know what's in it."

The three found the Muskingum has been relatively stable over the past few years when they compared their data to that of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.

The students took samples every two miles of the river starting at the Y Bridge, heading south through Philo to Riverview Campground in McConnelsville.

"The river is clean," Abu-Baker said. "Hopefully, it stays this way."

Nitrate levels in drinking water have come into focus regionally after the city of Columbus issued a two-week nitrate advisory starting June 8. Nitrate concentration exceeded 10 milligrams per liter, which is the United States EPA safety threshold.

Drinking water with nitrate concentration in excess of that threshold consumed by pregnant women or infants may lead to what is known as Blue Baby Syndrome. The disease diminishes the oxygen-carrying capacity in the blood, which in extreme cases can lead to lethargy, seizures, loss of consciousness and sometimes death, according to the World Health Organization.

Agricultural runoff is a key culprit in nitrate contamination. Nitrate concentration in the soil increases with the addition of fertilizers. Runoff from fertilized fields often makes its way into the watershed, possibly leading to contamination.

As a result, watersheds in rural or agricultural regions are particularly susceptible to nitrate contamination.

Nathaniel said it is also important for people to remember humans are not the only ones drinking from that watershed.

"Increased nitrates could kill a lot of fish and have an effect on other wildlife," he said. "We have a lot of people down here who like to hunt and fish."

Despite the Muskingum's relative stability, Nathaniel said this is something to continually monitor, especially for people living in heavy agricultural zones.

Abu-Baker is extending the research opportunity to his classroom thanks to a $6,000 grant from Ohio University's main campus in Athens. The grant will provide enough funding to purchase testing kits for nitrate, phosphate and ammonia.

Abu-Baker wants to expand the project beyond the Muskingum River to allow students to observe the impact of human interaction with the environment.

"Our plan now is to take this and get more students to invest locally," Abu-Baker said. "If I'm from an area and I'm concerned about that area, we will allow them that freedom."

The grant money will allow at least 18 students to participate in the research. Nathaniel and Chris will both continue their education at the Ohio State University starting in the fall.

The Ohio EPA last issued a full, intensive water quality report on the Muskingum River watershed in 2007 with another scheduled to be released in 2018. The agency also regularly monitors outfalls and locations from which drinking water is drawn.

The watershed runs through all or part of 27 counties in Ohio.

Abu-Baker said the Fraziers' experiment opens the door to more types of testing. The conversation about water quality in general has grown louder in recent years in Appalachian Ohio as hydraulic fracturing or fracking has rapidly expanded.

Guernsey County has 183 Utica/Point Pleasant shale wells, 114 actively drilling or producing, according to data from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Coshocton County has just five of the same wells with one producing. Muskingum County has three wells with one producing.

But while Muskingum and Coshocton do not have nearly as many drilling wells, they are receiving the brunt of the wastewater or brine from hydraulic fracturing.

According to the ODNR, Coshocton County took in the most fracking waste in the state last year, injecting nearly 3.5 million barrels of brine. Muskingum took in the fourth most fracking waste with nearly 2 million barrels and Guernsey injected the sixth most with 1.6 million barrels.

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