Amanda, UR. Introducing my IRP

Hello, I'm Amanda Adams, a part of the wonderful IMES program at Daytona State College. The project I am doing actually started last semester on land when I became curious as to how many of the houses in my neighborhood use chemicals on their lawns.

One of the perpetrators in my neighborhood!

This semester Dr. Woodall has given me the priviledge of taking this project to the waters of Central Park. I take my dog from my house down Roble and around the park area. It's a beautiful park and my little guy loves it as much as I do.

I plan on sampling from the small lake at the top of the picture, the big lake in the middle of the picture, and the small pond by itself.

My scientific question is: Out of N, P, and Cu, which has the highest concentration in the waters of Central Park near my house? And, do these levels exceed what the EPA deems safe? 

I plan to go out on the lakes in a kayak and take 2 samples from the top lake, 2 from the middle lake and one from the small pond. I will take my water samples to the lab and run tests to see if there are concentrations of the above mentioned nutrients, and if so, how much. I will be able to input all my findings into excel to graph my results.

I have already been asked: why test for Cu? Where does Cu come from and if/why is it a problem in my lake? I can say that Cu has natural sources and anthropogenic. It is a naturally occurring metal but is also used in plumbing. Once it's aged it can start to leach out into waterways. I'm not certain that I will find any Cu but I want to test for it since our lab has the capability to test for the 3 nutrients I've listed.
Thank you for the questions and I look forward to uncovering the mysteries of a couple of the Central Park lakes once I get into the water.