The Contribution of Natural and Restored Wetlands to Changes in the Concentration and Composition of Dissolved Organic Material in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and San Francisco Estuary

The quantity and quality of wetland-derived dissolved organic material (DOM) entering delta and estuary environments remains poorly characterized, even though DOM has two roles of societal significance: 1) it supports estuarine foodwebs, which commonly are a habitat for endangered species, and 2) it presents problems when it occurs in drinking water supplies, because it forms carcinogenic byproducts when treated. The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is a source of drinking water for more than 20 million people and contributes 80% of the DOM entering the San Francisco estuary, nearly doubling the concentration of DOM in the influent river water. The majority of the Delta is composed of below-sea-level peat islands that are maintained in agricultural production by continuous pumping of DOM-rich drain water into Delta channels. Previous studies indicate that changes in DOM composition in water passing through the Delta are not consistent with the addition of peat island drain water, and are more consistent with the addition of wetland-derived material. Therefore, wetlands may contribute substantially to DOM export to the estuary. Although wetlands currently constitute only 14% of the Delta, restoration is planned that would more than double this wetland area, potentially altering DOM quality and content in the Delta and estuary waters. During the past several years, the seasonal variation in the quality of DOM added by a variety of wetland types and island drains within the Delta and estuary has been examined. In this study, 13 sites were sampled 5 times. As of September 2002, the samples have been analyzed to determine the content of hydrophobic DOM, characterize the ultraviolet absorbance and fluorescence properties, and quantify the susceptibility to biodegradation before and after photoexposure. Samples were humic-rich, averaging more than 75% hydrophobic content and varying from 74 to 86%, with the variation in hydrophobic content between samples corresponding to changes in the optical properties. Samples typically were refractory with respect to biodegradation, having an average of 11% of the DOM being susceptible to biodegradation prior to photoexposure, but the range was from 1% to 48%. Following photoexposure, samples generally were more refractory rather than more labile. Wetland DOM reacted to form more drinking water disinfection byproducts than influent waters, but some wetland types seemed to contribute fewer precursors. Seasonal variation in biodegradation and chemical parameters was much greater than variation among wetland types, and the peak of biodegradability was not related to the seasonal peak in DOM. Therefore, the addition of DOM through the Delta is controlled by changes in the nature of the source material rather than changes in efficiency or extent of remineralization.