A COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT OF THE WATER QUALITY OF CLAREMORE LAKE, OKLAHOMA: POPULATION GROWTH AND ITS EFFECT ON WATER QUALITY

This study was conducted to determine the current water quality of Claremore Lake and to compare past water quality data to the present to determine if any spatial or temporal changes have occurred. Claremore Lake serves as the main source of drinking water for the growing population of Claremore, OK. Use of the lake as a water supply will increase with the population, which has increased 30% from 1993, and is projected to increase another 30% by 2030. Also, land use in the watershed has changed in the past 20 years, and is projected to change in the future. We collected water samples from 13 Sites over the lake for the months of April and May, 2014 for physical and chemical measurements, and the results were compared with past water quality data from April and May of 1993 and 1994. We found that the pH recorded in 1993-94 was both slightly lower and more stable than that of the 2014 samples, while the alkalinity of samples taken in 2014 was significantly higher than those of 1993-94. The concentrations of Na⁺ and Cl^- have more than doubled in the last 20 years while the concentrations of NO₃^- and PO₄^3- have not changed. There was a 30% increase in total dissolved solids (TDS) concentrations over the years. This increase in alkalinity concentration could indicate an increased amount of sewage inflow into the lake. The slightly higher pH in the present study compared to the 1993-94 data is indicative of higher photosynthetic activity. The higher concentrations of Na⁺ and Cl^- in the present study could indicate an increasing use of road salt during the snowy months. Since the concentrations of NO₃^- and PO₄^3- did not change over the years, it indicates that there has been less use of fertilizers around the lake. The increased TDS concentrations would mean that there is an overall increase in solute concentrations into the lake and this could be due to an anthropogenic impact because of the population growth. Despite the increased solute concentrations over the 20 year period, a comparison of our data with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) standards for drinking water did not exceed the contaminant levels. If the population of Claremore, OK. continues to grow, it is likely that the water quality could be compromised.