| |
| author |
Hailei Clark
| | title |
Evaluating Local Water: How Development Affects Water Quality and Dissolved Solids in Lakes and Ponds of Morris County, NJ
| | abstract |
The lake and pond ecology of New Jersey provides an interesting perspective into
the ways that human presence and urbanization affect every aspect of the environment.
While some bodies of water are located within protected forests or wetlands, the vast
majority are surrounded by human-made structures like roads, homes, fields, and parks.
Lakes and ponds located within a forest typically experience a lower volume of pollution,
because surface waters carrying pollutants like fertilizer, road salt, detergent, oil, and
sediment are further away from the water, and are absorbed or redirected by the soil and
vegetation. My research involved asking the question, how does the level of development
around a lake affect the quality of its water? I found that development did not significantly
affect temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, or water clarity, and there were insufficient data
to determine the effects of development on ammonia, nitrite, and phosphate. However, I
did find that development had a significant impact on the total dissolved solids found in the
lake; as the percentage of developed land within a watershed increased, the average total
dissolved solids also increased. When looking specifically at calcium, magnesium, and
sodium ions, I found that these followed the trend observed in total dissolved solids. One
factor which is likely contributing to this trend is road salt pollution. This type of pollution
occurs during the winter and early spring when temperatures are around or below
freezing, and local municipalities apply sodium chloride salt to the roads to melt snow and
prevent the formation of ice. In late spring, snowmelt and rain will carry the salt from the
roads into bodies of water, where it persists and accumulates over time. Water quality
monitoring is necessary to keep track of the salinity of these freshwater ecosystems, since
the organisms living within them are not adapted to live in saltwater, and high levels of
salinity are toxic to many. Further research into alternatives to sodium chloride road salt,
as well as ways to prevent it from entering New Jersey's lakes and ponds is recommended.
| | school |
The College of Liberal Arts, Drew University
| | degree |
B.S. (2023)
|
| advisor |
Dr. Tammy Windfelder
|
| full text | HClark.pdf |
| |
