10.2190/X4K4-50L2-K0R7-M3H1 X4K450L2K0R7M3H1 2 An Oil Spill Focuses Attention on the Problems of a Man-Made Recreational Lake 31 49 20020509 20020509 20020509 20020509 X4K450L2K0R7M3H1.pdf http://baywood.metapress.com/link.asp?target=contribution&id=X4K450L2K0R7M3H1 1 Gary F. Bennett George R. Kunkle Elliot J. Tramer Charles E. Stoops Rolf H. Scheidel The University of Toledo NTH, Inc., Farmington, Michigan Attorney at Law, Shumaker, Loop and Kendrick When a runaway diesel engine fell into a turntable pit at a railroad maintenance facility, its oil tanks ruptured releasing 4,000 gallons of No. 2 diesel oil that subsequently flowed through sewers to an agricultural stream that led to an inland, man-made lake; two days later the lake residents awoke to find "wall to wall" oil covering the water surface. The oil quickly disappeared, but not the anger of the property owners who sued the railroad for $1.2 million to dredge the oil-containing sediments "from the lake bottom," claiming not only that the spill had added oil to the benthic sediments but also chronic pollution from poorly designed and operated wastewater treatment units had impacted the lake. To obtain data for the pending court suit, the defense attorneys assembled a team of scientists and engineers who used a <i>systems approach</i> to evaluate the lake, its water quality inputs into it, and impact of the oil on it. Jones and Henry Engineers Limited, Toledo, <i>Water Pollution Abatement Study</i>, City of Willard, Ohio, May 1971. Standard Methods for the Examinations of Water and Wastewater, American Publication Health Association, New York, NY. D. B. Baker, The Effects of the Holiday Lake Siphon Systems on the Lake Phosphorus Budget, Heidelberg College (Ohio), Report, November 1, 1973. J. V. Hunter, T. Sabatino, R. A. W. Gomperts, and M. J. MacKenzie, Contribution of Urban Runoff to Hydrocarbon Pollution, <i>JWPCF, 51</i>, pp. 2129-2138, 1979. Bio-Environmental Engineering Division, <i>Control of Pollution from Outboard Engine Exhaust; a Reconnaissance Study</i>, USEPA Report, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York, 1971. A. S. Boughey, <i>Man and the Environment</i>, The MacMillan Co., New York, 1971. J. R. Jones and R. W. Backmann, Reduction of Phosphorus and Chlorophyll Levels in Lakes, <i>JWPCF, 48</i>, pp. 2176-2182, 1976. National Academy of Sciences—National Academy of Engineering (NAS-NAE, <i>Water Quality Criteria</i> (Blue Book), Report prepared by Environmental Studies Board under contract with USEPA, 1972. R. A. Vollenweider, <i>Scientific Fundamentals of the Eutrophication of Lakes and Flowing Waters, with Particular Deference to Nitrogen and Phosphorus as Factors in Eutrophication</i>, OCED Technical Report DAS/CS1/68.27, p. 159, 1968. D. P. Larsen and K. W. Malueg, Limnology of Shagawa Lake, Minnesota, Prior to Reduction of Phosphorus Loading, <i>Hydrobiologist, 50</i>, pp. 177-189, 1976. K. Imhoff, W. J. Muller, and D. K. B. Thistlewayte, <i>Disposal of Sewage and Other Waterborne Wastes</i>, Ann Arbor Science Publishers, Ann Arbor, 1971. P. H. McGaughey, <i>Engineering Management of Water Quality</i>, McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York, NY, 1968. J. C. Merrell, Jr. and A. Katko, Reclaimed Wastewater for Santee Recreational Lakes, <i>JWPCF, 38</i>, pp. 1310-1318, 1966.