Water Quality Experiment

Lake Maury, Newport News, VA

17 Oct 2006

 

   
    AP Environmental class, 2006-2007, participated in World Water Quality Monitoring Day in collaboration with NOAA Marine Sanctuary Program and CNU.       
         
   

Background Information

   
    Lake Maury is part of a privately owned park and museum.  The lake occupies 167 acres of the total 550 acres of the park.  The lake was formed by building the dam at Lion's Gate Bridge.  Freshwater lakes generally have a pH that ranges between 6 and 9.  The pH is usually driven by the dissociation of bicarbonate, a buffering system (CO2-, HCO3-, CO3-2).  Dissolved oxygen (DO) shows little variation horizontally in the spring and the fall.  Generally, there is less vertical stratification in the spring and fall.  Lake Maury is not deep, most of the lake is less than 10m.  There is little or no spring and fall overturn that would alter DO and nutrient distribution.      
    In the summer months, Lake Maury may be affected by eutrophication, especially in the shallow areas.  Excess N and P may be attributed to by surface runoff and by excess wastes of the duck and geese populations.  The Canada geese population has been intentionally reduced in the recent past (summer 2006).      
         
       
   


Sites Sampled

Site 1 Museum Arm 10:50 AM
Site 2 Museum point Ctr. 10:20 AM
Site 3 Middle Lake Ctr  10:20:00 AM
Site 4 Middle Lake Ctr 4 10:20 AM
Site 5 Shallow Cove 10:50 AM

 

   
   

   
   


Data by Site
Site 1 Site 2 Site 3 Site 4 Site 5
Temperature C 21 21 18 18 21
Secchi m 0.76 0.82 0.8 1 0.6
pH 6.5 6.5 8 6.5 6.5
DO ppm surface 8 7 7 12 10
DO ppm 1m 6 10
DO ppm 3.3 m 4.8


   
   
Primary Productivity in Lake Maury (Site 4)
17-Oct-06
Depth (m) Initial DO ppm Light ppm Dark ppm Gross Prod ppm Net Prod ppm Resp ppm mg C fix/L
0 12 13 7.4 5.6 1 4.6 0.374128
1 10 10 7.4 2.6 0 2.6 0
3.3 4.8 5.2 4.4 0.8 0.4 0.4 0.149651
   
         
       
         
      Picture Page 1