Several experiments were conducted in order to test the water quality of a nearby water source, otherwise known as Lake Ripple. Such tests included testing for bare soil, bank erosion, water odor, soil odor, water appearance, benthic macroinvertebrates, coliform bacteria, dissolved oxygen, BOD, nitrates, pH, phosphates, temperature, and turbidity. All of these tests would be used to determine the overall quality of the water of Lake Ripple. There were two testing sites used to determine more accurate results. Samples were taken from water sources on the hill near the school grounds and from the area around the dam. The soil appearance, odor, and Erosion were all tested by students to determine pollution in the environment surrounding the lake. Healthy soil would have minimal erosion, little to no odor, and a mostly clear appearance with the presence of plantlife and algae. The soil emitted a distinctly musky odor at the testing site on the hill, signifying the “presence of sewage discharge, livestock waste, decaying algae, or decomposition of other organic material.” This scent would indicate organic pollution. The …show more content…
Present and diverse macroinvertebrates signify excellent ecological quality. The organisms live and feed on leaves that accumulated on the bottom of streams, so the tests were done by scooping up leaves in the lakebed. There were approximately eight to eleven macroinvertebrates found on in the bottom of the lake. The results were fair, but not as positive compared to the sixteen and above macroinvertebrates found by the dam. Based on the results, one can predict that the ecological quality of the dam is increasingly better than the quality of the water on the hill. The lesser quality of the water on the hill could be due to contaminants in the