Water Quality Data ( Fixed Interval Sampling )

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.

Government agencies carefully monitor water quality and its effect on wetlands (Reference: Environment Protection Agency Wetland Report EPA 832-R-93-005). Of particular concern is the concentration of nitrogen in water draining from fertilized lands. Too much nitrogen can kill fish and wildlife. Twenty-eight samples of water were taken at random from a lake. The nitrogen concentration (milligrams of nitrogen per liter of water) was determined for each sample. The variable in this information is nitrogen concentration (mg nitrogen/l water).

The Neuse River has played a vital role throughout much of the history of North Carolina. In recent decades however the river has seen degradation of its health and ecology via massive amounts of point and non-point source pollution. The result has been numerous events of eutrophication, resulting in the ecological “dead zones” found throughout the river. Notable contributors of this pollution have been industrial plants and agriculture, most notably power plants and hog farms. As a result, federal and state agencies have enacted strict regulations and water quality standards and procedures to monitor the tributaries, estuarine areas, and main stem of the greater Neuse River watershed.

One of the recurring problems at Howard County is the large quantities of stormwater runoff that flow into nearby streams. This is due to meteorological factors and physical characteristics including: land use changes. The more impervious surfaces there are the more surface runoff there will be; thus, placing adverse effects upon the environment. To be exact, these stormwater runoffs carry car oils, fertilizers, pet waste, litter, and sediment to the Chesapeake bay. Hence, 20% of the chesapeake bay’s pollution is due to stormwater runoff. However, not only does storm water contribute to pollution, but it also harms wildlife and its environment, as well as cause floods, erosion, and property damage. To address such issue, Howard Community College

This year I went on a field trip to the Conodoguinet Creek. This creek runs into the Susquehanna River and drains 500 square miles of diverse landscapes. Conodoguinet comes from an indian word meaning “a long way with many bends.” It begins near Carlisle at North Middleton Park and comes to an end in West Fairview, when it flows into the Susquehanna River. The Conodoguinet Creek is about 90 miles of bends and loops that meander throughout Cumberland Valley. When I went on this trip, I tested how fast the water was moving downstream. I also tested the creek for the acidity and eutrophication. Eutrophication is excessive richness of nutrients in a lake or other body of water, frequently due to fertilizer runoff from the

The Conodoguinet Creek flows 101 miles through the Cumberland Valley of Pennsylvania. We traveled to just a small portion of the Conodoguinet Creek. In our area eutrophication and acid rain are common. Eutrophication is caused by sewage treatment plants, home sewage systems, and fertilizer runoff. Acid rain is caused by fossil fuel burning. If we were to test the Conodoguinet Creek for signs of acid rain, eutrophication or other types of pollution, then it would test with high levels of pollution. That way my hypothesis and what I thought about the pollution in the Conodoguinet Creek before I went there and tested the water.

Land transformation as a result of anthropogenic effects continues to be one of the biggest threats to the ecological integrity of headwater streams today. Land transformation induced by human alterations to the landscape, have been shown to have negative impacts on habitat, water quality, and the biota of natural waterways (Allan 2004). For instance, in 2004 Gage found that macro invertebrates were negatively impacted by anthropogenic mediated land use, which often lead to declines and even eliminations of sensitive taxa from the stream (Gage et. al. 2004). Urbanization is considered to be one of the driving forces behind land transformation and is mainly responsible for increases in impervious surface area. Increases in impervious surface area have led to the rapid conveyance of storm waters, resulting in the increased presence of oils, metals, and road salts within surface waters (Moore et. al. 2005). The increased presence of these solutes are leading to variations in ionic concentrations that deviate from natural concentrations, thus altering the conductivity within the water systems.

According to analysis by Southern Regional Water Program, local ground water has contamination problems. This contamination has been as a result of agricultural chemicals such as fertilizers and pesticides in storm water runoff and leakage of petroleum products from underground storage tanks. Due to this the state requires testing of all community water systems periodically for 118 toxic organic chemicals. The quality of Florida’s soil has been affected by similar factors that affect the quality of water (Wexler, Hakkinen, Kennedy & Stoss, 2000). In addition to the factors, the state’s unique hydro geologic features such as thin soil layer have also contributed to the degradation of the soil’s quality. Quality of air in the state has been the most affected in the state. This is due to emissions from Florida’s largest electric utilities as well as emissions from vehicles in the state. For instance, nitrogen oxides are the major contributor to ground level ozone smog which has led to increased asthma

The St. Johns River is suffering from a significant environmental disaster because of toxic substances from municipal and industrial wastewater, fertilizer runoff, failing septic tanks, and stormwater. Consequently, over 55% of the river miles, 80.4% of acres of large water bodies, 59.4 % of estuaries, and 31.4% of coastline miles do not meet water quality standards in Florida (Florida Department of Environmental Protection 119). For that matter, studying those pollution problems that the river faces is vital since one can use this information to salvage the natural resource which is at the brink of destruction.

The Cape Fear River Basin is one of the four river basins completely contained within North Carolina, and is over 9,164 square miles. Cape Fear’s quality ranges from 35% of the streams contained in this basin considered to be threatened and 18% to be impaired by pollutants. Many toxic spills throughout the years have been one of the main causes to the low quality.During the last 5 years, investigators have reported 43 different incidents, which resulting in about one million fish being killed. The Catawba River Basin begins on the eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge Mountains and flows east into Lake Wylie on the North Carolina-South Carolina border, ranging to 3,285 square miles in size. The Catawba river contains the most major dams of any North Carolina river. This river basin was named after the first tribe that settled in its banks. Today, the Catawba is the most densely populated river basin in the state, and is home to large variety of species that are very unique are rare. 16% of Catawba’s basin is impaired from polluted runoff from agricultural activities, construction, and stormwater. Agriculture and home or road construction are typical sources of sediment pollution. Several of the Catawba lakes are showing stress from excessive amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus in runoff. In small amounts they are beneficial, but to much can trigger algae blooms. These can affect the taste of water and odor and

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.

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

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

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;

    During this semester I traveled with the North Carolina State University’s Environmental Technology and Management program ET 201 class, under the direction of Dr. Teresa Litzenberger, to Little Rock Creek in Raleigh North Carolina. Little Rock Creek is a small stream located in southeast raleigh near the Walnut Creek Wetland Center. Located in a watershed of approximately 705.879 acres, the creek looks like an upside down uppercase “L” from a map perspective. The creek floor is sandy with a few small rocks (cobblestone) in areas. The stream has plenty of tree cover to provide shade. However, the lack of large trees encourages the curves in the creek to widen which allows the water to slow down and create pools throughout the creek. According to Title 15A of the North Carolina Administrative Code, Rule .0302 contains the classifications for waters located within the Neuse River Basin (15A NCAC 02L .0312). Little Rock Creek, however, is not classified and therefore follows Rule .0301 which simply states that it should carry the classification of the stream to which it is a tributary (.