Environmental Changes Caused by Development: An Analysis of pH and Water Quality

BY: Raven Rooney

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY (ENVL-2105)

SPRING 2022

STOCKTON UNIVERSITY

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND GEOLOGY PROGRAM

Instructor: Dr. Emma Witt

Introduction

The power of Hydrogen, or pH, refers to a scale used in order to determine the acidity or

alkalinity of a solution. Monitoring pH levels in water is highly beneficial as many organisms

can only prosper within a narrow range of pH. pH is a major parameter to gather data for when

determining water quality, as it can control nutrient availability, biological functions, microbial

activity, as well as chemical behavior. At a high pH, hydrogen bonds holding strands of DNA

break up, and too low of a pH is more likely to be unfit or harmful to living organisms

(Keenleyside 2019). A constantly changing pH does not allow for new growth, and many

organisms cannot adapt to rapid changes. By testing sites of urban runoff for contaminants, we

can understand where “problem areas” are and prioritize clean-up efforts. Water with a low pH

(<6.5) is more likely to be contaminated by pollutants; both low and high pH can damage pipes.

Water pH is crucial to measure, due to its significance of it to the health of living organisms, as

well as the agriculture industry.

One factor influencing water quality and pH is the increase in the development and

urbanization of rural areas. New Jersey is the most densely populated state and is constantly

under development in order to be able to provide more living spaces as well as recreational areas.

Less developed areas have been noted in seeing less change in water pH (Jung 2020). This is

most likely due to the increase in public and private well pumping in more populated

neighborhoods, which can decrease the stream flows of naturally acidic water. In addition to the

high population density, the water table in the Pine Barrens is very shallow, making it easy for it

to be contaminated by runoff and other pollutants. Studies have shown a higher amount of toxic
chemicals discovered in the coastal groundwater found in developed areas. Groundwater

gathered among these locations has also been noted to display a pattern of continuously

fluctuating pH levels (Jung 2020).

In a study conducted by Hun Bok Jung during the summer of 2017 and 2018, pH was

measured from three different sites (groundwater, surface water, and aquifer sediment) along the

Newark Bay in order to further understand the human impacts of “biogeochemical cycling of

nutrients in the urban estuary.” (Jung 2020). It was found that there is a high amount of

Nitrogen, Ammonium, and Phosphorus in urban coastal groundwater, as well as groundwater

collected along Newark Bay shown to have a wide range of pH (6.62 - 8.68). Rapidly fluctuating

pH levels are detrimental to ecosystems and organisms, which are not able to adapt to such

sudden changes.

A similar study was published by the Journal of Coastal Research conducted in the

months of July of 1970-2013 in Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey in order to determine if

significant changes to the water quality of the Barnegat Bay watershed have occurred. The trend

found during this study shows that the pH of all freshwater zones shows an increasing trend or

no change in pH level. Northern delineated areas, the Metedeconk and Lower Tributaries, as well

as the Toms Rivers zones all showed a significant increase in water pH. In Bay zones, there is a

mixture of water pH declining and increasing- in the summer months, the Metedeconk and

Lower Tributaries-Bay, the Manahawkin Bay and Upper Little Egg Harbor, and the Lower Little

Egg Harbor all displayed a declination of pH levels. (Goodrow 2017).

pH is an important and applicable tool in assessing soil quality and water quality, as well

as maintaining a healthy and inhabitable ecosystem. Water pH can either provide beneficial gains
to living organisms and agricultural efforts or impact them negatively. Developed and urbanized

areas have been victims of an increase in pollutant runoff, which results in human health issues

and environmental degradation. Testing sites of urban areas with high runoff for contaminants

can contribute to the protection of New Jersey’s wetlands and coastal plains by identifying areas

that require the most preventative action. Regulation and remediation of these areas will also aid

in future restitution efforts, as the continuous development of New Jersey’s rural areas will only

accelerate urban runoff.

Methods
Site Description
Stockton University, located in Atlantic County, is part of New Jersey’s Coastal Pine

Barrens. It consists of land with little elevation variation, sandy and porous soil, and a shallow

water table. The majority of land use on Stockton’s Galloway campus is forested areas (Figure

1). The average annual precipitation, as measured at the Atlantic City Airport, is 38.35 inches.

The average monthly temperature, as measured at the Atlantic City Airport, is 55.1 degrees

Fahrenheit. (NOAA 1991-2020).

Figure 1: Types of land uses as indicated at Stockton University’s Galloway campus.

Field Methods
There were three streams on Stockton University’s Galloway campus that were sampled;

identified as tributary, down ditch, and up ditch (Figure 2). The sampling occurred from May

2021 to February 2022, using a YSI multi-parameter probe (YSI Inc, Yellow Springs OH) water

sampling meter. The parameters measured were pH, temperature, conductivity, dissolved oxygen

concentration, and dissolved oxygen percentage of the stream.

Figure 2: Tributary, up the ditch, and down ditch watershed boundaries as indicated at Stockton University’s
Galloway campus.

Statistical Approach
Data were assessed for normality using a Shapiro-Wilk test. Results indicated that the

data were not normally distributed (p = 0.03). Therefore, a Kruskal Wallace nonparametric

ANOVA was used to assess differences among the sites, with pairwise comparisons using Dunn

tests if needed. A p-value of 0.05 was used to determine if the differences were statistically

significant. All tests were run in R-Studio.

Results
Significant differences in pH were found among the sites (p = 0.008, Kruskal

non-parametric ANOVA). pH measured in the ditch upstream (6.00 + 0.25) was not significantly

different from the pH measured in the ditch downstream (6.06 + 0.25) (p = 0.57). pH measured

in a tributary (6.30 + 0.25) was significantly different from pH measured in the ditch up (p =

0.01) and ditch down (p = 0.03).

Figure 3: pH measured at three streams on Stockton University’s Galloway campus. Letters denote difference at the
p=0.05 level (Kruskal test followed by Dunn Pairwise comparisons).

Discussion

This study found that the tributary was significantly different than both ditch up and ditch

down; ditch up and ditch down were not significantly different from each other. This is important

to note because the tributary gathers runoff from both ditch up and ditch down, as well as leading
into a larger stream. The tributary having a notably higher level of pH in comparison to the other

streams sampled may be indicative of a larger issue, which through identification and isolation

can be corrected. The main source of pollutant runoff is likely caused by road salt. During the

winter months, Stockton University uses road salt in order to create a safer environment for its

students and faculty. However, road salt can have harmful effects on watersheds, especially

where water turnover is low. “Salt itself does not drastically change the pH or total alkalinity.

However, the liquid form of chlorine generated by the salt cell will cause high pH swings.”

(Curtis 2014). The high level of pH in the tributary can also have adverse effects on other

watersheds on campus, since it leads into a larger stream, making it easy for pollutants to travel.

The results gathered from this research are pertinent in keeping a high standard of water

quality in populated areas around New Jersey. In the study conducted by Jung, it was found that

water in areas with a high population density and rate of development have an excessive quantity

of Nitrogen, Ammonium, and Phosphorus. While Nitrogen and Phosphorus are essential

nutrients for plant growth, at high concentrations they can be toxic and cause harm to the

environment. Similar results were found when sampling the Barnegat Bay watershed between

the months of July 1970-2013. Goodrow found that freshwater zones had an increase or no

change in pH level; while the Metedeconk and Lower Tributaries as well as the Toms Rivers

zones displayed a significant increase in water pH. This study emphasizes the effects of

development on water pH, as it shows how the most developed area (The Toms River zone) has a

drastic increase in pH values throughout the year. Through their research, Jung and Goodrow

display the effects of development and population on water cleanliness, which can aid in

isolating issues surrounding urban coastal groundwater. Knowing what is being done wrong will

also provide benefits in future development planning and management.

 The next step in this research is to identify and isolate areas of high pollutants in New

Jersey’s watersheds. By doing so, restoration and conservation efforts can be prioritized and

utilized to the best ability. Many watersheds that have poor water quality also have the same

issues: a dense population, an urban environment, and high runoff leading into the affected area.

Some beneficial steps to take when progressing this research would be to monitor pH levels in

affected watersheds and surrounding areas regularly, regulate discharge being let into bodies of

water more heavily, and educate those in nearby neighborhoods on proper waste disposal.

Conclusion
These results can be applicable to watershed and groundwater conservation efforts, which

are of high importance in New Jersey due to the Pine Barren’s pristine aquifer. Due to the

shallow water table and porous, sandy soil, the groundwater of New Jersey is under constant

threat from runoff and toxic pollutants. Watersheds, such as tributaries, have displayed a pattern

throughout multiple studies of having either an abnormally high or fluctuating pH level, with

those in urban areas displaying the most significant high levels. This can be especially dangerous

to surrounding bodies of water, as tributaries lead into larger streams, therefore increasing the

risk of pollutants spreading. By focusing rehabilitation efforts on highly populated, developed

areas with poor water quality, New Jersey’s watersheds have the potential to be restored and

maintained.
References

Curtis, Allan. “Salt Water Effects on Ph & Alkalinity.” Ask the Pool Guy, 27 June 2014

Goodrow, S. M., Procopio, N. A., Korn, L., Morton, P., Schuster, R., Pang, H., . . . Heddendorf,

B. (2017). Long-term temporal water-quality trends within the barnegat bay watershed,

new jersey. Journal of Coastal Research, Si(78), 22-33.

Jung, H. B. (2020). Geochemical and hydrological study of coastal groundwater discharging to

an urban estuary in northern New Jersey. Environmental Earth Sciences, 79(6)

Keenleyside, Wendy. “9.5 The Effects of Ph on Microbial Growth.” Microbiology Canadian

Edition, Pressbooks, 23 July 2019.

NJ Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP). (2019). Land Use/Land Cover 2015

Update, Edition 20190128 (Land_lu_2015).

NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals (1991-2020). NOAA National Centers for Environmental

Information. DOI:10.7289/V5PN93JP.