As a result of a labeling error, a banned water-soluble pesticide was accidentally applied over an
agricultural area.
The area is drained by a small creek which sustains the flow entirely as a result of subsurface drainage from the
agricultural area. Inhabiting the creek is the largest known population of a rare and endangered
species of minnow which is particularly sensitive to environmental contamination. Concentrations of the
pesticide greater than 50 ppb are known to be toxic to this species of minnow.
The state environmental agency proposed to do a 9 mo., $500,000 sampling and modeling study before recommending any action.
Environmentalists propose that a soil-treatment process applied to the upper 20 cm of the soil be initiated immediately. This will cost several million dollars and involved tilling of the soil which would destroy the crops.
The farmers have suggested that the problem be solved by capturing the minnows and holding in a fish hatchery for a few months until the creek contamination has cleared. You are hired to develop a quantitative analysis of these proposals.
(Lumped Parameter Models- 8)