ENV 4800 Final Presentation

Land Use Factors and the Effects on Water Quality

Aimee Aquino, Brian Dedeian, Mathew Heye, Brian Johnson, Joe Miller

Study Area

Study Area cont.

This sample site includes 4 separate lakes near West Milford, NJ

Greenwood Lake (heavily residential)

Upper Greenwood Lake (heavily residential)

Wawayanda Lake (forested/protected)

Surprise Lake (remote/glacial lake/control)

Problem Statement

This study attempts to see if there is any correlation between land use around a lake and lake water quality properties.

Possible Effects

Metal accumulation:

Metals have been shown to be higher in concentration in urban, agricultural lakes compared to forested and arctic lakes.

Organic content will affect metal accumulation, and metals can form complexes with organic compounds, meaning sites with more dissolved organic content are likely to have more metal complexation (Das, 2009).

Possible Effects

Phosphorus and Nitrate Loading:

Phosphorus and Nitrate can accumulate in a lake from agricultural and urban runoff.

Phosphorus can enter the groundwater and enter lakes through groundwater and lake water mixing (USGS, 2015).

Can also enter the water from point sources of pollution.

Possible Effects

Phosphorus Loading at Greenwood Lake:

Caused mainly from leaking septic tanks.

Greenwood Lake listed as a 303(d) site by EPA due to failing phosphorus standards.

Eutrophication is a problem at Greenwood Lake, leads to algal blooms.

Possible Effects

Dissolved Oxygen:

D.O could be lowered due to eutrophication.

pH:

Could be affected by organic content at sites.

Specific Conductivity:

Could be affected by metal accumulation from urban use.

Images

Photos taken by Brian Johnson

Tests Performed

Field Measurements:

Dissolved Oxygen, Specific Conductivity, pH, Temperature, Turbidity

Lab Analysis:

Phosphate Content using the Hach

Trace Metals (Mg, Cr, Fe) using the Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer

Anions using the Dionex

Biologic Colonies using gel cultures

Tests Performed cont.Visual Analysis: Land use GIS+Geoweb

Methods (GIS)

Find Data set: NJDEP Bureau of GIS

Determine buffer size

Create buffer intersect with land use

Analysis acres vs percentage

Results (GIS)

Open Water 3.44%

Residential 18.69%

Buffer 77.87%

Upper Greenwood Lake

Buffer 21.50%

Open 5.32%

Residential 73.18%

Methods (Field Sampling)

Dates:

Surprise Lake: 10/12, 10/20

Upper Greenwood Lake: 10/13

Greenwood Lake: 10/27, 11/13

Wawayanda Lake: 10/28, 11/13

Methods (Field Sampling) cont.

For all locations, measurements were taken using:

YSI 55 for dissolved oxygen

YSI 556 for specific conductivity, temperature, pH

LaMotte Turbidimeter for turbidity

Biologic Samples using sterile sample bottles

Samples were also taken from each location to be brought back to the lab to do further lab analysis

Results (Field Sampling)

NJDEP Data (dissolved oxygen)

NJDEP Data (conductivity)

NJDEP Data (pH)

NJDEP Data (phosphorus)

Methods (Hach)

Phosphorus (P) was measured in all sample sites for each waterbody. The

Standard Ascorbic Acid method was used to detect intensity of colored

molybdenum-blue complexes. A Hach DR 4000 spectrophotometer was used to

measure intensity at 880nm in 1cm path cuvettes. A Phosphorus standard was

created using known concentrations of P producing an r2 value of 0.9998. All

samples where tested five minutes after being exposed to reagent.

Results (Hach)

UGL showed values on all buffer types

Wawayanda residential had the highest value

Surprise lake best overall

Methods (Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer)

5 multi-elemental standards were made using Iron, Magnesium and Chromium. The standard concentrations were set to 1 ppm, 3 ppm, 5 ppm, 15 ppm, and 30 ppm. On 11/17/15, the sequence was set up using the Wizard AA software. All samples were filtered using vacuum filtration and placed into 15mL sampling tubes. The sampling rack was filled with samples in a specific order and placed into the fridge. On 11/18/15, the samples were tested on the Shimadzu Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer to analyze for trace metals.

Results (Flame Emission)






Methods (Dionex)

The Dionex was used to test for dissolved anions in all water samples. The Dionex tests water for anions by running the water through a tube, and testing the retention time and amount of ions. The retention time must be matched to specific ions manually, and standards must be created to find out which retention times correspond to which anions. On 11/16/2015, each sample of water was loaded into the sampling rack. It was stored in the Environmental Science Lab fridge. On 11/18/2015, the standards were placed in the sampling rack and the racks were set up in the Dionex. Then, the Dionex ran the samples one after another. It took fifteen minutes to test each sample, and another five minutes to switch between samples. This time interval was a good medium between accuracy of measurements and realistic runtime. The longer Dionex runs each sample, the more accurate the results.

Results (Dionex)

Results (Dionex)

Methods (Biologic Sampling)

To complete biological testing of the sites, water samples were obtained at each of the lakes in a sterile container and directly transported in a cooler to the lab. Easygel ECA Check and Easygel Coliscan solutions were used for biological testing. 10 mL of each sample was mixed with each of the solutions and poured into a labeled petri dish. The petri dishes were put in a oven at 37 degrees Celsius. All of the samples were removed after 1 day in the oven except for the Surprise Lake samples due to no growth. These samples were left in the oven for an additional day. Upon removal of each sample, a digital picture was taken for a count of bacterial species.

Results (Biologic Sampling)Location Coliscan ECA Check

Upper Greenwood Lake MC 45 Non-Fecal Coliform3 E. Coli17 Teal CFU

23 General Coliform548 E. Coli15 Aeromonas

Upper Greenwood Lake BL 17 Non-fecal Coliform1 E. Coli0 Teal CFU


Greenwood Lake SSM 8 Non-fecal Coliform0 E. Coli0 Teal CFU


Greenwood Lake BP 18 Non-fecal Coliform1 E. Coli0 Teal CFU


Surprise Lake 0 cultures 1 General Coliform

Wawayanda Lake 45 Non-fecal Coliform 1 E. Coli2 Teal CFU


Discussion

Dionex:

Values show that urban lakes (Greenwood and Upper Greenwood), have higher concentrations of phosphates and nitrates in general.

Open water sites have most dissolved nitrates/phosphates due to lack of plant material.

Buffer zones have least dissolved nitrates and phosphates because shrubbry absorbs nitrates and phosphates in water.

Discussion

Dionex results imply that land use will affect nitrogen and phosphorus levels in water.

Land use could cause the difference between two control lakes and two urban lakes.

Higher amounts of impermeable surfaces, agricultural land, and septic systems could lead to higher levels of nitrates and phosphates in Greenwood/Upper Greenwood Lake.

Discussion

Flame Emission:

The urban residential areas from each lake seemed to have higher concentrations of trace metals (chromium being the exception). In these areas, there is a high number of septic tanks that could potentially leak.

The buffer zones seemed to have the least concentrations of trace metals.

Chromium is a toxic pollutant and was not measured at higher concentrations in urban residential areas, but more in buffer zones. The chemical properties of chromium may have altered the actual results from the study. Chromium compounds precipitate at high temperatures, therefore false measurements may have been recorded by the AA.

Further Improvements

Due to time constraints and outside variables, some error may have been introduced into the study. Potential alterations to improve the validity of the results may include:

1. Conduct all site testing the same day to ensure same sampling conditions.

2. Sampling UGL at peak water levels (when sampled, lake levels were 3ft below average)

3. Adding a solute to the chromium samples to prevent precipitates from forming, altering results

These minor solutions would yield stronger results that would provide a stronger correlation between land use factors and lake water quality

Acknowledgements

Mike Dasilva, Dr. Davi, Dr. Griffiths, Dr. Liu

Johannus Franken from the NJDEP Lake Monitoring Group

References

Das, Biplop et al. “Watershed Land Use as a Determinant of Metal Concentrations in Freshwater

Systems.” Environmental Geochemistry and Health. December 2009. Springer ResearchGate.

USGS. “Phosphorus and Water.” The USGS Water Science School. Nov. 6, 2015.

Documents

ENV 4800 Final Presentation