a. The performance of polymer mixtures shall be verified and field-tested in a body of water that is not discharging directly into the waters of the state. The body of water shall be a minimum of 1/3-acre surface area and an average depth of at least 3 feet.
b. The total suspended solids prior to the polymer treatment must be tested and verified by an independent testing lab, and must have a minimum value of 800 ppm or equivalent Nephelometric Turbidity Units (NTU) and be visibly turbid. The relationship between total suspended solids (TSS) and NTU is site-specific and the derivation of a unique TSS-NTU relationship shall be conducted for each sediment control structure. A minimum of two samples per acre-foot of water shall be taken from random locations within the test site.
c. Within 48 hours from the initial treatment of the water body, the total suspended solids must have a maximum of 80 ppm, or equivalent NTU.
d. Testing sites may not be used for subsequent testing for a period of 3 months from the time of initial application.
e. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) shall be notified at least 7 days prior to testing, and WisDOT and/or WDNR staff shall be allowed to monitor any such testing.
4. The WisDOT Erosion Control Storm Water/Product Acceptability List Committee will review and approve products as per the process set forth in WisDOT's Product Acceptability List (PAL).
5. The polymer mixture must be resubmitted if any portion of the mixture is altered subsequent to its approval. Such alterations may include:
a. The amendment of base polymers and/or any other additives
b. The ratios of individual components
VI. Considerations
The following are additional recommendations, which may enhance the use of, or avoid problems with, the practice.
A When using products in impoundments immediately adjacent to, or within waters of the state, consider using products for which the manufacturer's recommended application rate is considerably lower than the use restriction.
B. The applicator should use the least amount of polymer mixture to achieve optimal performance.
C. Polymer mixtures should be applied in conjunction with other erosion control BMPs and under an erosion and sediment control or stormwater management plan.
D. Test the pH of the water in the sediment control structure and follow the manufacturer's recommended pH range for their polymer mixture, as pH will impact the effectiveness of polymer mixtures.
E. Ethylene glycol, propylene glycol or any other known environmental toxicants should not be included in the polymer mixture.
F. Care must be taken to prevent spills of polymer mixtures. Follow the manufacturer's recommended cleanup procedures in the event of a spill.
G. Inhaling granular polymer may cause choking or difficulty breathing. Persons handling and mixing polymer should use personal protective equipment of a type recommended by the manufacturer.
H. Polymer mixtures combined with water are very slippery and can pose a safety hazard.
I. Polymer mixtures should be considered as an aid to removing solids from dredge slurries.
J. Where polymer mixtures are used with sediment control structures in the stream, such as during bridge construction, the structure should not be removed until the water is clarified. If the resulting sediment floc is more than a half a foot deep it should be excavated or filtered out.
VII. Specifications
Erosion and sediment control and stormwater management plans specifying polymer mixtures for sediment control shall be in keeping with this standard and shall describe the requirements for applying the practice to achieve its intended purpose.
VIII. Operation and Maintenance
Sediment levels on the bottom of the sediment control structure shall be monitored to measure the loss of storage capacity over time due to enhanced sedimentation by the polymer mixture.
IX. Definitions
Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) (V.A.3) Provide basic information on a material or chemical product intended to help someone work safely with the material. This includes a brief synopsis of the hazards associated with using a material, how to use it safely, and what to do if there is an emergency. The retail distributor and/or manufacturer as per OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard,
29 CFR 1910.1200, must provide MSDS, with the purchase of potentially hazardous products.
Nephelometric Turbidity Units (NTU) (V.C.3.b) A measure of the amount of light scattered by suspended and dissolved materials in the sample.
Polyacrylamide (V.A.1) A generic term for polymers made up of many repeating units of the monomer acrylamide (a simple organic compound).
Polymer (I) Polymers are materials that are either natural or synthetic and that have a chain of carbon molecules that are identical, repeating units. Polymers can be positively charged (cationic), negatively charged (anionic) or have no charge (non-ionic).
Polymer Mixture (V.A) Any reference to polymer mixtures refers to the whole manufactured product, including the polymer and any additives. Additional calcium or lime may be added as a buffering agent without being considered part of the whole manufactured product.
Sediment (II) refers to settleable soil, rock fragments and other solids suspended in runoff.
Sediment control structure (I.) A sediment control structure is an impoundment designed to intercept and detain sediment carried in runoff, prior to the runoff reaching the main channel of a waterway or body of water. Placement of these structures must be outside of the main channel of a waterway and shall not span opposing stream banks in channelized flow. The sediment control structure must provide for dedicated sediment storage to at least a depth of two feet, such that the sediment will not be subject to re-suspension during high velocity flow conditions.
Impoundments may be created by a cofferdam, turbidity barrier, earthen berm, sheet piling, self-contained filtering systems or similar material. Examples include properly maintained construction or post-construction sediment ponds, discharging directly or eventually to a water body. They may also include surface water impoundments that are immediately adjacent to a waterway, whose function is to treat stormwater or dredging material. Another potential application is to isolate localized areas surrounding bridge and culvert construction.
Standardized toxicity testing (V.A.2) Examples of such include, but are not limited to, those outlined in the State of Wisconsin Aquatic Life Toxicity Testing Methods Manual (Fleming, et.al, 1996) or Short-term Methods for Estimating the Chronic Toxicity of Effluents and Receiving Water to Freshwater Organisms (Lewis, et.al, 1994). The WDNR use restriction shall be developed from this data.
Surface Waters of the State (III) “Surface" refers to the sub portion of the waters of the state that discharge at the surface. Waters of the state, as defined by s.
283.01(20), Wis. Stats means those portions of Lake Michigan and Lake Superior within the boundaries of Wisconsin, all lakes, bays, rivers, streams, springs, ponds, wells, impounding reservoirs, marshes, water courses, drainage systems and other surface water or groundwater, natural or artificial, public or private within the state or under its jurisdiction, except those waters which are entirely confined and retained completely upon the property of the person.
Use Restriction (V.A.2) Identifies the concentration below which a product is not expected to cause acute toxicity in the aquatic environment.
X. References
Voluntary Use Of Polymers In DNR Programs (A Field Guide) For copies of this companion document contact Mary Anne Lowndes, Water Resources Engineer Bureau of Watershed Management 101 S. Webster St., Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707-7921 Phone (608) 261-6420
MaryAnne.Lowndes@dnr.state.wi.us
Fleming, K., P. Hubbard, N. Krause, R. Masnado, D. Piper, W. Repavich, G. Searle, S. Thon, “State of Wisconsin Aquatic Life Toxicity Testing Methods Manual, Edition 1." Bureau of Watershed Management, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Madison, 1996 (WI. PUBL-WW-033-96).
Lewis, P.A., D.J. Klemm, J.M. Lazorchak, T.J. Norberg-King, W.H. Peltier, and M.A. Heber, “Short-Term Methods for Estimating the Chronic Toxicity of Effluents and Receiving Waters to Freshwater Organisms, 3rd Edition." Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati, OH, 1994 (EPA/600/4-91/002).
Roa-Espinosa, A., Bubenzer, G.D. and Miyashita, E., “Sediment and Runoff Control on Construction Sites Using Four Application Methods of Polyacrylamide Mix." National Conference on Tools for Urban Water Resource Management and Protection, Chicago, pp. 278, February 7-10, 2000.
Roa, A., “Are there Safety Concerns or Environmental Concerns with PAM?" Dane County Land Conservation Department, 1997.
Sojka, R.E. and Lentz, R.D., “A PAM Primer: A brief history of PAM and PAM related issues." Kimberly, ID: USDA-ARS Northwest Irrigation and Soils Research Lab, 1996.
http://kimberly.ars.usda.gov.
Wirtz, J, R., “The Pros and Cons of the Use of Anionic Polyacrylamides to Control Erosion and Sedimentation in the Lake Mendota Priority Watershed". University of Wisconsin-Madison, MS Thesis, 2000.
Interim Sediment Control
Water Application of Polymers
APPENDIX I
REQUIRED TOXICITY INFORMATION FOR WDNR REVIEW
Toxicity information shall be reviewed by the WDNR and will be used to generate a written product use restriction for the polymer. With Chapter 1.7 of the Whole Effluent Toxicity Program Guidance Document (Fleming et. al., 2000) as a basis, the following toxicological information/data is required:
a. Manufacturer of the polymer.
b. Chemical name of the polymer.
c. Active Ingredient(s) (if not proprietary information).
d. Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) #(s) of the polymer and/or active ingredients.
e.
Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) and/or official toxicity test results listing available aquatic life toxicity data for the WHOLE PRODUCT. Toxicity data for active ingredients is not acceptable for use in calculating a use restriction. The following types of data is acceptable:
-
See PDF for table 
LC50 = the estimated concentration of polymer that would cause 50% mortality to the test population following the given time period
EC50 = the estimated concentration of polymer that would cause a given effect in 50% of the test population following a given time period
IC25 = the estimated concentration of polymer that would cause a 25% reduction in some biological measurement of the test population following a given time period
Note: To calculate a use restriction it is necessary to have data from at least one of the cladoceran species and at least one of the fish species (according to s. NR 106.10 (1)).
a. Complete listing of toxicity test conditions. Examples to follow include Tables 11 – 14 in Weber (1993).
b. Standardized test methodology (name of a specific method & its reference may be listed for this, such as “Acute Toxicity Test Procedures for Daphnia magna" in Weber (1993). If a modification to a standardized method was used, provide the reference of the specific method along with a specific listing of and reasons for the modifications).
c. Any noted observations from the toxicity tests.
Toxicity test results shall be submitted to: Water Quality Standards Section, WDNR, 101 South Webster Street, P.O. Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707, as one prequalification for field testing.
References:
Weber, C. 1993. Methods for Measuring the Acute Toxicity of Effluents and Receiving Waters to Freshwater and Marine Organisms, 4th Edition. Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati, OH. EPA/600/4-90/027F.
Fleming, K., S. Geis, E. Korthals, R. Masnado, G. Searle. 2000.
Whole Effluent Toxicity Program Guidance Document, Revision #3. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Chapter 1.7.
Interim Sediment Control
Water Application of Polymers
APPENDIX II
LABORATORY STANDPIPE TEST METHODOLOGY
1. Place 40 grams of oven dried “soil" in 2 liters of distilled water within a 2 liter graduated cylinder with stopper. The 40 grams of “soil" represents a “realistic" runoff suspended solids load of 20,000 mg/L (20,000 mg/L x 2 L) according to data collected from commercial and residential construction sites (Owens, et. al. 2000). Repeat a minimum of four times so that there are a minimum of five replicates. The “soil" used in the standpipe test may be characterized by one of the following three options:
Clays A clay “soil" is characterized as having greater than 20% of its particles < 2 mm in size. This option is appropriate for those seeking approval* of a polymer for use in any soil condition (clay, silt, or other).
Silts A silt “soil" is characterized as having less than 20% of its particles < 2 mm in size AND greater than 20% of its particles 2-25 mm in size. This option is appropriate for those seeking approval* of a polymer for use only in silt soils. The 2-25 mm size is representative of fine to medium silt soils.
Site-Specific Use of a site-specific “soil" provides an alternative for those seeking approval* of a polymer that may be customized for optimum performance (in both terms of suspended sediment removal and amount of polymer used) at a particular site. The results of a mechanical soil analysis characterizing the site soil sample particle size composition must be provided. The results of this analysis should be submitted with the results of the standpipe test entered on the “Standpipe Test Data Sheet." This option is provided since each site will have at least slight differences, if not significant differences, in soil chemical and physical characteristics. These differences may influence the effectiveness of any given polymer.
Indicate which “soil" type is used in the standpipe test on the data sheet under “√ Soil Type Used."
* Note that final approval of a polymer is granted only after it is demonstrated through both the standpipe and field tests that the polymer is effective and can be effectively applied.
2. Mix the solutions by completely inverting each graduated cylinder 3 times.
3. Add polymer mixture to each graduated cylinder. The volume and concentration of polymer added is the manufacturer's or supplier's choice, but must include a set volume and a gradient of “low" to “high" concentrations. The volume and each polymer concentration must be recorded on the data sheet. The purpose is to determine the lowest polymer mixture concentration needed to achieve effective removal of suspended solids. Ultimately the least amount of polymer mixture needed to achieve optimal performance should be used in the field.
A minimum gradient of five polymer mixture concentrations is used to achieve the above stated purpose. The purpose of the five concentration gradient is to attempt to pinpoint the concentration that achieves optimal removal of suspended solids (i.e. least amount of polymer mixture required to remove a minimum of 95% of the suspended solids). This gradient should be sufficiently wide to show a range of effectiveness in removing suspended solids (with at least one, but preferably more, meeting the 95% removal level). A second goal of using a minimum of five concentrations is to avoid the occurrence of false negative outcomes in the polymer approval process. By having more concentrations across a gradient it is more likely to find truly effective concentrations that are less than the use restriction value. As is graphically depicted in Figure I, a polymer mixture will not be approved for field testing, and thus for inclusion on the PAL if its effective concentration (as determined in this laboratory stand pipe test) is greater than the use restriction value.
4. Mix the solutions by completely inverting each graduated cylinder 3 times.
5. Let the solution in each graduated cylinder settle for 5 minutes.
6. Determine the percent suspended solids reduction in each graduated cylinder as follows:
a. Heat/dry one evaporating or drying dish at 103 – 105
°C for 1 hour for each graduated cylinder. Store the dishes in a desiccator until needed (steps b).
b. Weigh a dish out to at least one, and preferably more decimal points. Record this weight on the data sheet.
c. Collect 20 ml from within one of the graduated cylinders at the 1 liter mark and place in a preweighed evaporating or drying dish (from step a). Repeat steps b and c for each of the other graduated cylinders.
d. Evaporate and dry each of the 20 ml samples from step b at 98 °C for at least 1 hour.
e. Cool each dish with sample in a desiccator to balance temperature
