The water quality of lakes/rivers/ponds in New Jersey have declined over the years due to runoff, pollution, human activity, and animal life. Certain environmental factors can have an immense affect on the water quality of a body of water. In recent years the water quality in New Jersey has been declining, and many lakes have also been hit with algae blooms. Runoff has been a leading cause for many particles and bacteria to enter bodies of water. The amount of pollution has also increased over the years. For this project I am testing several different parameters, which are the pH level, nitrites, nitrates, alkalinity, sulfate, and sodium chloride. I am also looking at each water sample underneath a microscope to look for any microorganisms. To prepare for the project I found 4 lakes/ponds that all have different amounts of human activity, animal life, pollution, and runoff. I made sure to find bodies of water that all had different amounts of environmental factors because the purpose of my project is to test my hypothesis and answer my testable question that these environmental factors can negatively affect water quality. 

PROCEDURE

1. Collect water samples from each location and the tap water from your kitchen sink (not filtered). Make sure to collect each sample in separate containers. Be careful while collecting your samples not to touch your face or get any water in your eyes, nose, or mouth.
2. Take note of any environmental factors that may affect the water quality of your sample. (human activity, animal life, runoff, and pollution)
3. You can compare all samples based on appearance. (How dirty the water was on a scale of 1-5)
4. Once you complete step 3 take your water test strips and test all samples individually. Make sure to look at the directions for the test strips, most test strips need to be read within a certain amount of time to be the most accurate. Record the tests for all samples.
5. Then, take one of your samples and use a pipette to put a drop of your sample onto a petri dish. To obtain the clearest image underneath the microscope, adjust the level of focus and the size of the microscope. Make sure to take images of anything found. (optional step)
6. After, if you are looking at the samples underneath a microscope repeat step 5 for all samples.
7. Finally compare the data found of all water samples including any data taken from the test strips, images, and any other data recorded.

MATERIALS

• Sample of water from Colonial Lake
• Sample of water from Pond Run 
• Sample of water from Carnegie Lake
• Sample of water from Rosedale Lake
• Tap water sample (unfiltered)
• Varify Complete Water Test Kit (16 parameter water test strips)
• Wolfe Microscope
• Petri Dishes 
• Pipettes
• Containers

RISK AND SAFETY

1. Be careful when collecting water sample to not touch your face.
2. Do not get any of the water samples in your mouth, ears, or nose.

DATA ANALYSIS

To analyze the data I collected, I looked back at the notes I took at each of the lakes/pond. Once I put all of the data onto a data table I tested each water sample individually using the Varify 16 parameter testing kit. Then, I will be taking photos of all the test strips and collecting the data from the results of the test strips. After all water samples are tested I will be looking at the water samples underneath a microscope to look for any microorganisms. After the experiment is done and the data is collecting I will be recording all the information into graphs and making them data tables.

ABSTRACT

The location of a body of water does affect the water quality. My water samples were all taken from different lakes/ponds that have different environments. The body of water that the overall out of range test levels was Pond Run. Pond Run has a high amount of animal life in the area, which includes fish, snakes, birds, and squirrels. It has a high amount of human traffic within the area. It appears that there would also be a high level of runoff that goes into Pond Run. Additionally I found some trash around Pond Run. In comparison, my water sample that in general was closest to my tap water sample was Rosedale Lake. Rosedale did appear to have a high animal rate, but the only animals seen were geese that were further out in the lake. The area did have some human activity, but it was minimal. There seemed to be some runoff, but not in the area I collected my data from. There was some trash near the lake, but it was overall clean. My evidence supports my claim because it proves that my hypothesis was correct. Pond Run had higher levels of animal life, human traffic, runoff, and pollution compared to Rosedale Lake. The nitrite/nitrate levels of the water samples of both bodies of water corresponds with my background research. Pond Run had a nitrate level of 10 and nitrite level of 1 while Rosedale Lake had a nitrite and nitrate level of 0. Fish are more common in Pond Run that would result in more ammonia which would cause higher nitrite/nitrate levels. The pH levels of the 2 bodies of water were also different. Rosedale had a pH of 6.7 and Pond Run had a pH level of 5.9. Rosedale Lake’s pH was within the recommended level of pH for drinking water while Pond Run was not. Overall the location of the body of water and the environmental factors did have an affect on the water quality.

The water sample from Rosedale lake had very little microorganisms which was expected because the sample seemed mostly clean and had few visible particles. The only microorganisms seen underneath the microscope was algae. Overall Rosedale Lake was exceptionally clean, and had little trash. Carnegie Lake was moderately clean as well, but there was a much higher amount of human activity in the area. There also seemed to be some runoff, but specifically around the area I got my sample from. Underneath the microscopes I only found minimal microorganisms such as algae. Colonial Lake’s results fit with my hypothesis because the water sample was dirtier even to the naked eye. There is a high level of human activity, animal life, and runoff. In the area I collected my sample from there was a downhill slope which could cause stormwater runoff. Underneath the microscope I found small mobile microorganisms, a high level of algae, and what appeared to be bubbles of oxygen. Pond Run’s results in general are very different from the other samples. The area surrounding Pond Run had a high level of animal life, human activity, runoff, and pollution. Pond Run has an exceedingly high level of stormwater runoff because of the weather in the area and the downhill slope going towards the water. The water sample I collected was very murky and contained some dirt. While looking at the sample underneath the microscope I found multiple arthropods, copepods to be specific. I also found a chironomidae larva, which is a bloodworm larva. A possible source of error in this experiment is, due to the lakes being frozen at the time, the sample collected from Rosedale Lake was taken from further out in the lake. While all other samples were collected closer to shore.