Second Year of Nutrient Sampling in the South Branch of the River Raisin

The western Lake Erie basin has had problematic Microcystis cyanobacteria blooms over recent years. These blooms have negatively impacted drinking water and recreational use of the Great Lake, among other problems.  Combined... [ view full abstract ]

The western Lake Erie basin has had problematic Microcystis cyanobacteria blooms over recent years. These blooms have negatively impacted drinking water and recreational use of the Great Lake, among other problems.  Combined sewer overflows, non-working septic systems, and agricultural practices have been variously blamed as the source of nutrients that have fertilized the lake.  In order to evaluate the Nitrate and Dissolved Reactive Phosphorous (=Nutrients) loads in the River Raisin Watershed, water samples were collected on a weekly basis from pre-selected locations at agricultural drainage sites and sites on the River itself. Within 24 hours of collection, the samples were tested in the lab to determine total nutrient concentrations. This presentation will explain this year’s 2016-17 procedure at every stage-- from collecting the samples, filtering the samples, and using our state of the art equipment -- for testing the aforementioned concentrations. Furthermore, the results from these tests will be presented and analyzed.