• Ft Detrick uses about 1 million gallons of water per day supplied by the Monocacy River
• City of Fredrick Maryland uses the same water source
• Monocacy River located in heavy agricultural areas

• Continuous real time remote monitoring of source water
• Continuous real time monitoring of distribution water

• IAC 1090 iABS (intelligent Aquatic BioMonitoring System)

The US Army Center for Environmental Health Research (USACEHR) operates an IAC 1090 to continuously monitor the source water used by the Ft Detrick installation. USACEHR specially modified the IAC 1090 to enable simultaneous monitoring of both the source water (Monocacy River) and the distribution water (treated chlorinated tap water). In May 2004, during routine operations, the IAC 1090 generated an automatic alarm based on a toxic event detected by the fish receiving source water.

The IAC 1090 activated an auto-dialer which called USACEHR personnel. The IAC 1090 also triggered an automatic water sampling device to collect water samples for further investigation. This toxic event eventually caused mortalities in the fish receiving source water.

USACEHR personnel determined that the alarm was valid (toxic) and immediately notified Ft Detrick garrison personnel, who in turn notified the Maryland Department of the Environment and the City of Frederick.

No alarm response was received from fish monitoring dechlorinated distribution system water.

The cause of the alarm was suspected to be herbicide or pesticide formulations, but the specific chemical(s) causing the fish mortality could not be determined.