POLAND REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL SCIENCE CLASSES TESTING LAKE

Submitted by Mike Stone (student) and Al Wanamaker (teacher).

The entire ninth grade class, about 180 students, and many teachers utilized Tripp Lake last October as a living lab. They tested to determine water quality, which included pH, temperature and dissolved oxygen as well as looking for evidence of fecal coliform, erosion and macroinvertebrates. The sites were located at a boat launch at the northern part of the lake (site A), a beach area on the western shore (site B), the mouth of Meadow Brook( site C), and the Public Beach on the southern part (side D). After a successful trip learning about Tripp Lake’s watershed and collecting data, they returned to the H.S. to examine it.

They found water quality normal, indicating that Tripp Lake is healthy. It’s fine for swimming and boating, but not good enough for drinking.

Evidence of erosion was found at the public beach. The group also indicated concerns that animal feces might be washed into the lake, increasing fecal coliform numbers. Fecal and non-fecal coliform colonies were present in the water, no doubt from large colonies of ducks in residence near the Beach and Meadow Brook area.

Many bugs live in the waters of Tripp, such as dragonflies, damselflies and snails, indicating the water is of good quality. Their summary determined that the quality of Tripp is fairly healthy, but need to monitor the lake more thoroughly, over a longer period of time, for more accurate assessments.

*Note: this report was accompanied by charts and results, but not included in this article. It should also be noted that tests done by Scott Williams, aquatic biologist, and John Laskey, Volunteer Lake Monitor, may be interpreted differently. We thank the students and the teachers for their interest in utilizing Tripp as an academic resource and for all the help they have, and will, give us.