On the 14th of September 2015, residents of Jaffrey city voiced concerns over the water quality of their lake, known as Jaffrey Lake, which is located just off the shores of their community. After receiving observations of algae, murky water, and dead fish in the water and on the shore, Jaffrey City Council has ordered for there to be tests conducted on the lake water as of 9:25AM.
Interestingly, these tests revealed strikingly high levels of phosphate and nitrate, two chemical compounds that exist naturally on the earth to aid the growth of organisms as nutrients. As the world’s agricultural needs transform, nitrates are often found in man-made fertilizers compared to its typical natural source . This increased use of fertilizers in farms
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leads to the runoff of excess nitrate into bodies of water. On the other hand, phosphate normally ends up in bodies of water through the decomposition of rocks and minerals containing phosphorus. In terms of man-made sources, phosphate is very often found in consumer products like detergent and toothpaste, and also wastewater treatment plants. Furthermore, although the presence of phosphate and nitrate is a key element to the growth of plants and animals, high levels in water supplies accelerate eutrophication, causing detrimental effects to aquatic ecosystems.
The natural level of nitrate is usually low with less than 2 ppm. Meanwhile, the maximum contaminant level goal (MCLG) and local limit is 10 ppm. If the concentration of nitrate in a body of water exceeds 10 ppm, it can cause health problems for humans, such as methemoglobinemia, and a spike in the growth of plant life, such as algae blooms. As for the amount of phosphate, there is an even lower natural concentration with 0.05 ppm and 0.1 ppm for the local limit. Similar to an excess amount of nitrate, a higher presence of phosphate encourages aquatic plant growth but also the growth of plankton. This overproduction of nitrate and phosphate forms a growth of toxic algae blooms that then decrease food supplies and destroy habitats. Since nitrate is required by organisms to function and phosphate is essential to the development of complex cells, the algae that grows from these nutrients blocks out the sunlight for organisms below the surface of the water. Thus, these organisms die off and bacteria decomposes the waste, releasing more phosphate. The decomposition also uses up oxygen in the water, which will severely inhibit the growth of other organisms, like fish. As conditions worsen and the deadly cycle continues, the body of water will age in an …show more content…
accelerated way and fill with decaying plant material. At Jaffrey Lake, eutrophication is evident.
Out of the 12 water tests conducted along different sides of the lake, there seemed to be a great concentration of nitrate and phosphate near the City of Jaffrey, the main water treatment facility, and the side of the farmland with West Side Park. As stated before, the local limit for the concentration of phosphate is 0.1 ppm. Phosphate levels in the parts of Jaffrey Lake near the farm and city were tested to range from 0.5 to over 2.5 ppm. That is 5 to 25 times more than the limit! On the other hand, nitrate was also tested to have 25 ppm in these same areas. That is more than twice the local limit. At every other side of the lake, phosphate levels were within the local limit at 0 to 0.19 ppm. Nitrate was also below the limit at 2 to 4.9 ppm across the lake. This shows that there are specific areas of
contamination. In conclusion, the contamination of Jaffrey Lake is pretty severe with concentrations that are at least twice the limit. The likely sources of this contamination are the use of consumer products and the sewage from the septic systems in the City of Jaffrey, the main water treatment facility, and runoff of fertilized farmland and parks. Although the storm drains of these areas are meant to drain excess rain and groundwater for human life, water quality test data have shown that this drained groundwater is facilitating the presence of nitrate and phosphate in surface waters of Jaffrey Lake. The contaminated waters are directly in front of these storm drains. For future testing, more water samples should be collected to produce more data. More data results in a more accurate and clear conclusion about the source of the contamination. Since there were only 12 samples collected in this test, there could still be undiscovered locations of contamination. Also, testing the phosphate levels on the shores of Jaffrey Lake would be a helpful to pinpointing where these compounds are coming from. In the future, it is also recommended that these areas be managed more efficiently and effectively to prevent eutrophication and the disruption of life in Jaffrey Lake.
For years farmers have been adding natural fertilizers to their crops. It is a big risk though. Over fertilizing is very dangerous. It puts high concentrations of salt into the soil. It can also affect the water resources nearby. Nitrogen, Phosphate, and Potassium are the basics of fertilizer. If a certain nutrient is short in supply the fertilizer might not work as well. Calcium, iron, manganese are also nutrients that might be needed. So don’t just trust the fertilizer bag that says it has all the nutrients, test it out. (Miller and Levine 717)
Nitrogen and nitrates relate to Hypoxia via the process of eutrophication. Since Nitrogen is a limiting nutrient in most waters, the added input of nitrate causes massive growth in algae. The algae rapidly consume all available N, and once the nutrient is limited again, the alga dies en masse. As the alga decomposes, oxygen is depleted in the water. This lowers dangerously lowers the level of dissolved oxygen in the water, which harms living organisms in the area. Small organisms and organisms that are immobile or unable to escape low-oxygen areas are particularly vulnerable. Hypoxia and resulting “dead zones” are harmful to local fishing and shrimping industries and algal blooms hurt the tourism industry. Hypoxia has lead to a decrease of about 25% in the brown shrimp habitat, forcing shrimping operations further offshore. As the hypoxia issue continues to grow, negative human effects will only increase. Since nitrate runoff from ag. has been proven to be the dominant source of hypoxia, policies could be enacted to effectively deal with “point-source” pollution. This makes enacting environmental policy more easily adapted, possibly included in past policy such as the Clean Water Act.
INTRODUCTION: There are over 50 lakes and ponds in Cumberland County, Maine, all of various sizes and shapes. Many of these lakes serve different purposes, from hydrating plants to being a source of water for both animals and humans. With this responsibility, comes the question, are these ponds and lakes safe drinking water for animals and humans? Contaminated water poses a risk for both humans and animals.
This is an experimental lab that tested if drinking water passes the United States maximum phosphate standard. The results of this lab can help the American who drink the water know if there are too much phosphate in the water. Each group made a Potassium phosphate dilution from a stock solution. The concentration of the solution that needed to made affected the amount of Potassium phosphate that was diluted. To create a calibration curve, each group used the different concentrated Potassium phosphate solutions in their test.
The ineptitude of the monogastric animals to fully hydrolyze the phytic acid resulted in several problems. For instances, supplementation of inorganic phosphate, which is expensive, is needed to compensate with the inability of the monogastric animals to utilize phytic acid. The supplementation of inorganic phosphate in the animal feeds is crucial to meet the animals’ dietary requirements. Furthermore, the unutilized phytate-phosphorus causes the concentration of phosphorus in the animals’ excreta increases and this will indirectly contributes to serious phosphorus pollution complication (Pen et al., 1993; Volfova et al., 1994). Cyanobacterial blooms, hypoxia and death of marine animals have been reported to occur as a consequence of the eutrophication of the rivers by this excessive phosphorus (Mallin, 2000; Naqvi et al., 2000). In fact, phytic acid has been well-known for ...
About 80% of the State’s surveyed freshwater rivers and streams have good water quality that fully supports aquatic life uses, 17% have fair water quality that partially supports aquatic life uses, and 3% have poor water quality that does not support aquatic life uses. Ten percent of the surveyed rivers do not fully support swimming. The major sources of impairment are agriculture (responsible for 53% of the impaired river miles), urban runoff (responsible for 16%), and construction (responsible for 13%). These sources generate siltation, bacteria, and organic wastes that deplete disssolved opxygen.
The lake receives all of the storm runoff water from the land around it which is what causes the lake to be overrun with phosphorus. Phosphorus is actually considered a nutrient for the lake and is essential for the survival of a lot of the lake’s plant life. However, too much of the element impacts the biodiversity of the lake: there is a large increase in algae, which in turn, affects the rest of the life in the lake. Winnipesaukee Gateway lists more effects: decrease in water clarity, increased chlorophyll-a, increased cloudiness of the water, and decreased oxygen
Pennsylvania has the most acid rain in the country, so it is not a surprise if the creek was polluted, but it’s not. It could be because of limestone rocks, or rocks that neutralize pollution in waters. Are next experiment was a eutrophication Test. A eutrophication is an enrichment of an ecosystem with chemical nutrients typically compounds containing nitrogen, phosphorus, or both. In this test we took samples of water into clear measurable tubes. There is 3 things we tested with water, Phosphate, nitrate, and dissolved oxygen. Phosphates and nitrates are examples of polyatomic ion. Phosphates and nitrates are found in fertilizers and some detergents. We tested for them and we didn’t get big results, so we know that waters aren’t polluted. There was a lot of dissolved oxygen, which is good, because that is what fish need to
A concentration of 42.64 ppm will kill 50% of the brine shrimp population. The nitrate has some effect on the life cycle because nitrate-exposed shrimp develop more quickly but most die off before reaching the adult stage. Research conducted by Hollis and Bedding and published in The New Scientist stated the maximum safe nitrate concentration for drinking water is 45 ppm, and these results compare to the 42.64 ppm for Brine Shrimp. Based on the model organism Artemia, nitrate concentrations in excess of 45 ppm can be potentially harmful to human development. Varying the concentration by 15 ppm from 0 ppm to 135 ppm will provide appropriate data for this
The Great Lakes provide almost half the water for the residents of Ontario. The Great Lakes also provides water to residents in Thunder Bay, Port Hope, Sault St Marie, Niagara and many parts of The United States to name a few. With 70% of the Earth covered in water only 0.1% of it is clean accessible drinking water. The Great Lakes plays a major role in helping to provide water for people that live near the American/Canadian border. However this resource is being mistreated. Water pollution is a growing problem in the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes is being contaminated by pollutants that are released for direct and indirect sources without proper treatment. This is causing the lake to being polluted with harmful chemicals. By identifying the cause we can take initiative to help conserve the Great Lakes and to help restore it to its natural beauty.
Fertilizers are strong pollutants, but there a few solutions, that can reduce the pollution. The main solution, that won’t get rid of all pollutants, but will...
Eutrophication is the reaction resulting from the addition of harmful substances to aquatic ecosystems. Eutrophication causes decreased biodiversity, changes in species composition and dominance dissolved oxygen depletion and problems in water treatments. Eutrophication is currently happening to many of the Canadian Lakes including Lake Winnipeg. Since 1969, it has been observed that Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) has been the reason for the 90% hike in the algal blooms.Cyanobacteria causes a smelly odour and releases toxins that are detrimental to humans and some other organisms. When the lake is enriched with phosphorus, cyanobacteria thrive due to nitrogen-fixing. Due to the unfair advantage cyanobacteria has over other non-nitrogen-fixing species and its cause in oxygen depletion, other species die off causing decrease in biodiversity. It has been proven through the recoveries of lakes in many countries, including Canada, that reducing phosphorous is the most inexpensive and efficient way to solving the Cyanobacterial blooms. Synthetic fertilizer applications and manure from ca...
Different pollutants cause different things to happen to plants. Sometimes, water pollution causes an explosion of new plant growth by providing necessary nutrients and food. If there is too much of one species, this can harm or kill plants by changing their growing conditions, such as raising or lowering the environment’s acidity. Plants must take in nutrients from the surrounding environment in order to grow. Nitrogen and phosphorus, in particular, help a plant’s growth because they are important in photosynthesis. This is why they are common ingredients in plant fertilizers. When runoff from farms pollute waterways with nitrogen and fertilizers rich with phosphorus, the water enriched with nutrients often have stunts of growth. Sometimes too much growth can be harmful, as when plant-like algae bloom in polluted waters and create oxygen-depleted dead zones. One solution to this issue is planting seaweed farms in areas that get alot of runoff from farms. This is because seaweed can soak up the excess nutrients and be harvested for people to eat. Marine debris is garbage that ends up in the ocean. Plastic debris that builds up at or near the water’s surface blocks sunlight from fully reaching plants that rely on sunlight to move along the photosynthesis process. By blocking sunlight, marine debris prevent plants from creating glucose at full capacity, which stunts their growth. When chemical pollutants
The global population in the year 2050 is expected to be nine billion and the agricultural demand is expected to double. With the current population already over seven billion people, there are hunger issues all around the world (“New” par. 1). How are we going to deal with food shortages in the future? With less land to work with, strains on the soils, and the lack of water, it is getting harder for the farmers of the world to support our growing population. These complications are making it harder for farmers to produce quality, affordable food. To help the crops grow better, farmers use fertilizers and chemical sprays to enhance growth and control the weeds. Farming in the United States is a relevant business because it supplies people with food, provides people with jobs maintaining the used equipment with the new equipment being much more expensive, and it provides research for more efficient ways on how to feed the world.
Smith, Zachary A., and Grenetta Thomassey. Freshwater Issues: A Reference Handbook. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2002. Print