Lake Tarpon’s Water Quality: Change over an Eight Year Span

Introduction: The purpose of this research is to determine whether the overall water quality of the Lake Tapen Basin has changed, and if so, whether the water quality has improved or worsened. The variables that determine whether the quality has changed are nutrients (phosphate and nitrate) and dissolved oxygen (DO). The expected change is a lower dissolved oxygen level (already from a lower level), a higher nitrogen level (already from a higher nitrogen level), and a certification of nutrition and dissolved oxygen status that has not yet been met (Levy, Flock, Burnes , Myers, Weed, River 2010).

Through the drainage of the lake, the destruction of the stream, changes in water quality lead to loss of fish habitat. The water quality change at 200 km downstream of Lac de Gras (Ekati mine) can be measured and the quality of water and possible species of Snap Lake has undergone an irreversible change. A total of 20 lakes have been removed and there are no compensation measures for fish habitats. The diamond mining company inserts a large amount of ammonia under the bottom of the lake to help extract the minerals. This will hurt the fish there. These toxic chemicals contaminate the air in the area and contaminate surrounding lakes. Due to the wind carrying pollutants, these toxic chemicals from the mine may eventually fall to a yellow knife or a neighboring community.

Climate change just beginning to be understood 40 years ago worsened water pollution. Climate change is a change in water. When the water temperature is high, toxic algae are likely to breed in rivers, lakes and bays. More frequent and intense rain will cause more pollution to flow into the city streams and rivers. In the already dry western part, the drought condition means that water, fish, wildlife and humans in rivers and rivers will decrease in the water. Politics is also the culprit. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been limited by increasingly hostile parliaments, especially in the past 15 years. The interests of strong polluters such as the US Agriculture Department and oil and gas companies have successfully influenced several members of Congress to support the weakening of serious water purification protection. The water purification law has not been updated for nearly 30 years, EPA's budget and the number of staff are shrinking every year.