IV. Introduction: The purpose of this research is to determine whether there has been a change in the overall water quality of the Lake Tarpon Basin, and if so, whether the quality has improved or worsened. The variables that will determine whether the quality has changed are: nutrients (phosphates and nitrates) and dissolved oxygen (DO). The expected changes are lower dissolved oxygen levels (from the already low levels), higher nitrogen levels (from the already high nitrogen levels), and the state qualifications still are not met for nutrients and dissolved oxygen (Levy, Flock, Burnes, Myers, Weed, River 2010). This topic relates to environmental management because the changes in water quality would be due to pollution, which relates to the question “How does human activity lead to the pollution of water stores?” The hypothesis that will be tested is that Lake Tarpon’s water quality will have worsened since the last measurements by Levy, Flock, Burnes, Myers, Weed, and Rivera in 2010.
V. Methodology: The water samples will be collected utilizing sterile plastic water bottles from Lake Tarpon. The location the samples will be collected from is Anderson Park, by the boat docks, located at 39669 U.S. 19, Tarpon Springs, FL 34689. The water samples will be brought to Tarpon Springs High School to be tested, located at 1411 Gulf Rd, Tarpon Springs, FL 34689. The phosphate, nitrate, and dissolved oxygen levels will be tested utilizing various LaMotte water testing kits,
We tested the dissolved oxygen, nitrates, phosphates, pH, and turbidity of the water from the Hudson River. To test the dissolved oxygen, we first dropped two Dissolved Oxygen TesTabs into the tub with water. Once the cap was on, we shook the tub for 4 minutes and then waited 5 additional minutes for a color to develop. We compared the color in the tub to the colors on the dissolved oxygen color chart to get the ppm of the dissolved oxygen.
The spatiotemporal pattern of water quality in the Reedy Fork and Buffalo Creek watersheds exhibits a trend of river deterioration, mainly due to Fecal Coliform. Our study suggests that most of the pollution sources were related to human activities. Looking at table 2a to 5b, it is clear that, F.Col, coliform is the dominant parameter with the highest means in all the sites, both at the Reedy Fork and Buffalo Creek watersheds. However, there are higher mean values of this nutrient in the Buffalo Creek watershed than the Reedy Fork creek watershed. This is clearly visible by looking at the variation in mean variable concentrations for the individual sites through the years under study from the graphs.
I infer that the water quality was affected more by other factors. The two sites with about the same amount of human activity were McKinney Falls State Park and Bulls Creek. On the other hand, Wild Basin swimming is not allowed. Our results showed that the order from greatest to least amount of nitrate and phosphorous concentration was Bulls Creek, McKinney Falls, and Wild Basin at the lowest. Hence, because Bulls Creek was had the high amounts of human activity and nitrate and phosphorous levels, this relates
As a rower who uses Lake Samish as a place to practice every day, I am quite aware of the poor water quality and debris within the lake. Other users and residents of the community around Lake Samish can attest to the fact that something is quite wrong, considering the lake has recently turned from a dark blue, to an obscure brown color. Unfortunately, while in the middle of a race piece a few days back, our boat nearly crashed into a full lawn chair just floating about in the lake. Samish resident David can agree the pollution has increased, as he stated that he and his wife enjoy kayaking on the tranquil waters each weekend. In merely the
The day the experiment was conducted was on April 18th 2016 at Spring Lake creek. Spring Lake Creek is located on county road E about less than a quarter mile from Williams road. In order for the fresh water ecology class to conduct
The monitoring program includes field and laboratory components to identify sources of materials (nutrients, sediment, microorganisms, and chemicals) to the lake, evaluate in-lake water quality conditions, and examine the interactions between Onondaga Lake and the Seneca River. Onondaga County’s trained technicians collect water quality and biological samples at a number of key locations in the watershed. Streams flowing into Onondaga Lake are monitored to estimate the annual input of water and materials including nutrients, sediment, salts, and bacteria. Samples are collected upstream of the lake to help pinpoint sources of pollution. Accurate estimates of inflows are a critical component of the AMP, since they underlie many of the management
Overall the objective of this lab exercise was to introduce students to watershed ecology and the ecological factors that affect water quality. Students used biotic (macroinvertebrates ) and abiotic indicators to asses the quality of water in a freshwater body. Specifically students collected water chemistry data (hardness, nitrate/phosphate concentrations, dissolved O2 and pH) to asses the quality of water. Additionally macroinvertebrates from the benthic environment of a respective field site were collected, analyzed as well as catalogued. Collectively the results indicated that a greater species diversity was indicative of greater water quality(Lenat). Likewise within a freshwater ecosystems a negative correlation was found to exist between fluctuating abiotic factors,species diversity and water quality. It can be concluded that amongst the three field sites the ranking of water quality from highest to lowest is as follows; Great Brook Farm, Russell Mill pond, Lawrence Street Stream.
Our report involved participation in the remaining volunteer positions for Evergreen’s program, collecting water quality data and urban watershed restoration. We compiled the data from TRCA, PWQMN and Evergreen to perform spatial analysis on sampling sites and compare data-sets on water quality parameters. Through qualitative and quantitative research, our research hoped to address the following questions;
Abstract--Water quality is sometimes ignored by lake management until it affects fish production and aesthetic values and is significant to test the quality of lakes frequently, sometimes as many as multiple times a day since the water in the lake could be used as a drinking source for both humans and animals. Protecting the present quality of the lake is significant when it comes to avoiding future problems. Duckers Lake’s water quality was sampled in spring 2014. Variables that could measure the water quality of lakes include: dissolved oxygen (DO) levels, temperature, pH, turbidity, and phosphate and nitrates levels. Mean turbidity levels increased overall throughout the sampling dates, while pH seemed to decrease overall throughout
Richard Smith, Richard Alexander, and M.Gordon Wolman, Water Quality Trends in the Nation's Rivers. 235 Science 1607, 1987.
This project evaluates drought and water quality measures for North and South Carolina coasts. It provides a better understanding of how drought may affect the coastal region’s water quality. The project supports the National Integrated Drought Information System and the Carolinas Integrated Sciences and Assessments. It contributes to the Drought Early Warning System for the Carolinas. Individual questions are brought to attention during the data collecting process. Overall this project is to determine if there is a significant correlation between water quality and droughts. In addition to the overall project, an interesting research idea I proposed is the link between drought and fecal coliform present in water bodies. The results will be
While rain does help replenish and dilute polluted fresh water, it also can contaminate it just as fast. Sewage waste and runoff fills the waters with pathogenic microorganisms and chemicals that reduce the dissolved oxygen levels. A loss in oxygen kills off fish and leaves their habitat murky and dark. High levels of nitrogen and phosphorus from runoff cause growth of algae and other harmful aquatic life. In an article on water pollution, it is stated that “many fish species require a minimum of 4–5 mg of dissolved oxygen per liter of water” (Scholz, Nathaniel). Scholz is saying that fish in the areas that become over polluted die off or are forced to leave their natural environment due to a lack of oxygen. The article continues to explain that the fish living in these poor conditions are consumed as food and the levels of toxins can multiply as it goes up the food chain, potentially leading to illnesses for humans. As more water is demanded, more water filtration plants are put into place to get consumable water to all in need. One gallon of contamination can make one thousand gallons of water undrinkable. In 1993, Michigan received heavy amounts of rainfall which affected Lake Michigan and the drinking water. The study of this incident is included in John Gary’s book, Can We Cope?, and is stated that:
Which focusses on both the physical geography of freshwater and human impacts on water quality.
In the schoolyard assessment conducted of Glenelg, it was discovered that the offsite river that collects the schools pollutants had had excess phosphate, nitrates, and nitrites. These chemicals aren’t harmful in healthy amounts but the 0.25 ppm of phosphate, 10 ppm of nitrate, and 1 ppm nitrite is past the natural norm. When the amounts of phosphate and nitrates increase, so does the growth of plankton and algae. These aquatic plants use up a lot of oxygen and block sunlight, stealing needed resources from other aquatic life. Excess nitrites, when consumed, can alter the hemoglobin in blood to methemoglobin, which reduces the amount of oxygen the blood can carry. Adding more no mow areas would also help solve this problem, as well as not using and fertilizer or pesticides and cleaning up the schools property, (“What is Water Pollution”, 2017). The results of the Schoolyard Assessment show that the Glenelg water is not the best that it could be, but improving the vegetative cover, lessening the pollution in the area, and improving the water quality is necessary for the overall improvement of the
2 Department of Geography and Environmental Management, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Port Harcourt, P.M.B 5323, Choba Campus, Port Harcourt.