Using Macroinvertebrates to Test the Water Quality of Lake Nacogdoches

The target of this assessment was to conduct a water quality test on Lake Nacogdoches in Nacogdoches TX. Lake Nacogdoches is operated by the city of Nacogdoches for municipal water supply and recreation. One of the tests that we ran to determine water quality was a macroinvertebrates test. To do this, we kicked up substrate to expose the organisms burrowed deep in the soil and caught them in a d-frame kick net. We then used our macroinvertebrate key to identify the organism and find the level of biodiversity in the lake. This test is essential because biodiversity affects climate stability, the food web, and the maintenance of the entire ecosystem. Therefore, this test will tell us the overall health of the ecosystem as well. Water quality tests will be used to find any pollutants in the area. Testing at the boat ramps by the dam where the water is taken to the Nacogdoches surface water treatment facility is key to find pollution that could be entering our water. At both the East and Westside park, we collected water samples over three different days and then took the samples to the Environmental Assessment lab for testing. Using a thermometer, Hq40d Probe, spectrophotometer, and colorimeter, we tested the samples for temperature, PH, dissolved oxygen, and nitrite (low range)