What are Total Suspended Solids (TSS)?
Sediment is a natural part of the ecosystem and the transport of sediment is a natural function of rivers. Streams transport sediment washed in from the watershed and deposit it on natural bars or into the larger rivers and lakes that they empty into. Modification of the landscape has accelerated the rate of erosion of soil into waterways. Problems occur when the protective vegetative covering from soils is removed. Loose sediments are then free to wash into the streams with surface water runoff during rain storms. Increased runoff has resulted in stream bank erosion. Why is TSS important? Elevated sediment (suspended soil particles) in waterways has many impacts. It makes rivers look muddy (increases turbidity), affecting aesthetics and swimming. Excess sediment degrades the river system, filling reservoirs, destroying aquatic habitats, altering biotic communities, increasing water treatment costs and reducing the river’s aesthetic qualities. Additonally, sediment carries nutrients, p
