Water Quality and Phosphorus Budget of Lake Auburn in Auburn, Maine

Lake Auburn, located in Auburn, Maine, has been the sole source of drinking water for both Lewiston and Auburn since 1875. The lake has a mean surface area of 3.53 square miles, a mean depth of 12.2 meters, maximum depth of 36.6 meters, and an approximate volume of 3,920 million feet cubed (Auburn Water District and Lewiston Water Division, 2002). The Auburn Water District and Lewiston Water Division collect lake and stream water quality data during ice free months that are then analyzed for constituents including: dissolved oxygen, bacteria, volatile organic chemicals, metals, radionuclides, organic carbon, nutrients, temperature, and water clarity. Recently, algal blooms and fish kills have affected the water quality. The transparencies of the water, turbidity, pH, and dissolved oxygen have indicated poor water quality. An important aspect of the lake ecosystem to look at when events such as these occur is phosphorus. An understanding of the processes that control phosphorus concentrations in the lake will be useful for identifying areas that should be targeted for remediation. The purpose of this study is to measure flux data, which has not been done on all of the tributaries before on Lake Auburn, and combine this with water quality and sediment trap data to get a better understanding of the processes occurring in Lake Auburn