Personal Project
Background: For the past 22 years I have been hired to monitor the water quality of a lake in the Berkshires. This lake is called “Big Pond” and is located in East Otis, MA. I have monitored the pH, acidity, alkalinity, and dissolved oxygen weekly. The lake association has been very active and aggressive toward protecting our lake. Ironically, after being involved in the PTW project last year and learning about the hazards of PTW, I noticed that the lake has approximately 200 structures (docks, rafts, decks) made out of or partially made from PTW. These structures must be leaching arsenic into this lake. This prompted my investigation.
Question: My question is “What is the impact of pressure treated wood on the lake?”
Procedures: My first step is to identify these structures by a wipe sample. After these structures have been identified I will further investigate by testing water, soil, fish, and plant samples to see the impact of these structures on the lake