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| Project Title
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Urban
Lakes: Recipient Systems for Nutrients and Contaminants |
| Project Number |
NU24 |
| Participants |
- Milton Sommerfeld, Principal Investigator
- Mark Compton, Graduate Student
- Jennifer Hunter, Undergraduate Student (Hughs BREU)
- Natalie Case, Undergraduate Student (Hughs BREU)
- Shero Holland, Research Technician
- Michael Myers, Research Technician
- Damon Bradbury, Research Technician
- Jacqueline Walters, Research Specialist
- William Karl, Volunteer
- Town of Fountain Hills, Fountain Hills, Arizona
- Dobson Ranch Homeowners Association, Mesa, Arizona
- Dawn Lake Homeowners Association, Sun City, Arizona
- Val Vista Lakes Community Association, Mesa ,Arizona
- Ocotillo Homeowner Association, Chandler, Arizona
- Ross Management Inc., Phoenix, Arizona
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| Start Date and Status |
June
1998; expected completion December 1999 |
| Research Activities and Findings
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In the
Phoenix, Arizona, metropolitan area there are numerous small urban
lakes artificially created to serve recreational, aesthetic and flood
control purposes. The lakes were constructed when a variety of water
sources could be readily accessed by developers. Like construction
of urban lakes, the monitoring of the lakes has been uncoordinated.
Although some individual lake owners associations have conducted some
level of lake monitoring over the years, little effort has been made
to bring these preexisting data sets together or to systematically
investigate the lakes chemically or biologically. The objective of
the study is (1) to determine how the chemistry, primary productivity,
and algal populations in the urban lakes are related to lake age,
water source and other urban lake features, and (2) to determine if
the urban lakes represent sinks for nutrients and contaminants.
To achieve the objectives of this study, six urban lakes were
selected to maximize variations in age (urbanization) and water
source. The lakes selected were Dawn Lake (Sun City, AZ), Dobson
Ranch Lakes (Mesa, AZ), Fountain Hills Lake (Fountain Hills, AZ),
Lakewood (Ahwatukee, AZ), Ocotillo Lake (Chandler, AZ), and Val
Vista Lake (Mesa, AZ).
Monthly water sampling was initiated in Fall 1998. Monthly water
samples were examined for depth of visibility, pH, conductance,
Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Dissolved Total Nitrogen (TDN), Dissolved
Total Phosphorous (DTP), Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC), Particulate
C (PC), particulate N (PN), and Chlorophyll a. Bimonthly,
the water samples were examined for algal density and composition.
The pollutants analyzed include Cu, Pb, Zn, Benzene, Toluene, Ethyl
benzene, Xylene (BTEX), and Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPHC).
As of June 1999, six months of data has been collected.
Lake chemistry, especially specific conductance and nutrients, and
biology (algal biomass and species composition) differs appreciably
among the lakes and appears to be primarily related to feed water
source. Priority pollutants were typically not detectable in lake
waters.
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| Research Training |
This
project has provided research training for one M.S. Degree student
in Plant Biology and two undergraduate students, one at Arizona State
University and one at Scottsdale Community College. |
| Educational and Outreach
Activities |
Homeowners
associations have embraced the research activities and are collaborating
by providing information about lake operation and management.
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| Contributions |
a. Project Benefits to Principal Discipline
The activity will provide information to ecologists and urban planners
about how water sources influence the quality of urban lakes, the
extent to which urban lakes become sinks for contaminants from urban
runoff and knowledge of changes to be anticipated as the lakes age.
b. Other Disciplines of Science or Engineering
This activity will provide data for the field of phycology about
the distribution of algal populations and species composition over
time and in relation to certain variables (water type, nutrients,
treatments, etc.).
c. Development of Human Resources
This activity has and will provide significant learning and research
opportunities in the ecology/environmental field for students at
the undergraduate and graduate level. One graduate and two undergraduate
students will benefit by participation in the research.
d. Information Resources
Results from this activity will be published in the scientific literature.
We anticipate development of a web site that will have photo images
of urban lake algae for public school students and homeowners to
view.
e. Other Aspects of Public Welfare
Project will provide data about the local environment, and some
aspects of the historical changes in artificially created lakes.
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| Products |
- The project has produced six months of data, a physical collection
of permanent mount diatom slides for future reference and is producing
a photo record of algal species that will be useful for future
reference for researchers and Homeowner Associations.
- Thesis in process
- Poster Presentation - "Urban Lakes - Relationships Between
Source Water, Lake Age, Water Quality and Biota." M. Compton,
J. Hunter and M. Sommerfeld. First Annual CAP-LTER Research Symposium,
Tempe, AZ, January, 1999.
- Poster Presentation - "Effects of Chlorine Gradient on
Algal Diversity and Biomass in an Urban Lake." J. Hunter,
M. Compton and M. Sommerfeld. The 6th Annual Undergraduate Biology
Education Programs Research Poster Symposium, Arizona State University,
January, 1999.
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