PURPOSE AND SCOPE:

Home Background Purpose and Scope Approach and Methods Results and Discussion Conclusions

The objective of this article is to describe the occurrence and distribution of a wide range of potential trace-elemental and organic contaminants in the bottom sediments of the Barron River Canal and to compare the occurrence and distribution with antecedent data collected in the vicinity of the study area. Bottom sediments were analyzed for 96 organic compounds or groups of compounds including pesticides, PAHs, phthalate esters, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Pesticide contaminants were also evaluated in the canal water during the sampling period, October 26-29, 1998, as part of a National Water-Quality Assessment study. The Barron River Canal extends south from near Immokalee to Everglades City (Fig. 1), a distance of about 64 kilometers (km). The northern 19 km of the canal within our study area drains urban-residential areas near Immokalee and agricultural lands; the remaining southern part of the canal drains through preserves, including the BICY to the east and the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge and Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve to the west. The Turner River background (control) site is in the BICY and is 8 km east of the Barron River Canal. The Turner River receives water from the Turner River Canal that has some human influences such as a lightly-traveled, unpaved road adjacent to it. The drainage basin of the Turner River Canal is sparsely populated and extends north of I-75.