The purpose of this project was to learn about water quality and to determine the water quality of Ely Lake.
Between September 26 and November 13, 1999, the water of Ely Lake was tested seven times for water temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, nitrate, phosphate, and biological oxygen demand levels. Ely Lake is located outside of Brooklyn, Pennsylvania at 41:45:41 N, 075: 50:13 W. The water was tested using HACH Surface Waters and Water Ecology testing kits and HACH DR/2000 Spectrophotometer.
Optimal pH levels of lake water are between 6.5 and 7.5. Pure water has a pH of 7.0, which is neutral. In this project, the average pH of Ely Lake was 7.04.
Excellent dissolved oxygen levels of lake water are from 9-10 ppm. The average dissolved oxygen level of Ely Lake was 9.07 ppm. The average dissolved oxygen percent saturation was 84.7%. An excellent reading, this is in the range of 80-120%.
Nitrate and phosphate levels of less than one are considered to be excellent. The average nitrate level of Ely Lake was .083 ppm. The average phosphate level of Ely Lake was .096 ppm.
I believe that the results from the biological oxygen demand tests may be incorrect due to the fact that an incubator was not available for use.
Overall, it was determined that Ely Lake has excellent water quality.
Through this project, I learned about water quality and learned how to use the HACH DR/2000 Spectrophotometer. It was very helpful to compare my results with the results of others also participating in the GLOBAL water sampling project.
The Global Water Sampling Project is maintained with WebBBS 2.14.