Colby College Digital Commons @ Colby Colby College Watershed Study: Other Area Studies Senior Capstone in Environmental Science 1997 Land Use Patterns in Relation to Lake Water Quality in the Messalonskee Lake Watershed Problems in Environmental Science course (Biology 493), Colby College Colby Environmental Assessment Team, Colby College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/otherlakes Part of the Environmental Health and Protection Commons, Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment Commons, and the Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons Recommended Citation Problems in Environmental Science course (Biology 493), Colby College and Colby Environmental Assessment Team, Colby College, "Land Use Patterns in Relation to Lake Water Quality in the Messalonskee Lake Watershed" (1997). Colby College Watershed Study: Other Area Studies. 2. https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/otherlakes/2 This Report is brought to you for free and open access by the Senior Capstone in Environmental Science at Digital Commons @ Colby. It has been accepted for inclusion in Colby College Watershed Study: Other Area Studies by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Colby. LAND USE PATTERNS IN RELATION TO LAKE WATER QUALITY IN Till: MESSALONSKEE LAKE WATERSHED Biology 493 Problems in Environmental Science Colby College Waterville, ME 04901 1998 DATE: March 18, 1998 TO: Report recipients FROM: Professors David Firmage and Russell Cole RE: Class report on Messalonskee Lake and its watershed We make this report available in the hope that the work contained herein may be of interest or help to others interested in the problem addressed. We realize that some areas of the study could and perhaps should be expanded. We feel confident of the quality of the work done and only wish the time had been available so that the students could fulfill their desire to conduct a more comprehensive study. This report is the work of students enrolled in the Problems in Environmental Science course (Biology 493) taught at Colby College during the fall semester of 1997. The course is taken by seniors who are majoring in Biology with a concentration in Environmental Science. The students work as though they were an environmental consulting firm. The object of the course is to teach the students how to approach a problem, how to develop a workplan, and what is necessary to implement the plan successfully. As part of this learning process the students use methods and tools they have learned in other courses and they are also introduced to new methodology as needed. Standard methods of analysis are used as well as state of the art instrumentation for any of the original analysis done. The methods used were those approved by EPA and the DEP. However, there are time constraints involved in the study since all reqUirements for the course must be completed within the fall semester. These constraints mean that much of the new data can only be gathered during the months of September through early November and, typically, that extensive analysis can not be done. Some of the water quality data were gathered during the previous summer and made available to the class for analysis in addition to their fall sampling. Also, in order to teach various techniques and to have the students consider a problem from a number of angles, the project is expanded to more areas than a group might normally take on for a short term project. This means that in some areas we sacrifice some depth for more breadth. While the class was constrained by time, they have managed to accomplish an amazing amount of work during that period and we are very pleased with the quality of that work! We hope that you find it useful. ! '._ , :�/_,; AUTHORS This study of Messalonskee Lake was conducted by the students of the Biology 493: Problems in Environmental Science class at Colby College, Waterville, ME . The Students were: Eric D. Adams Jennifer A. Lane Amanda V. Bakian Emily J. Larsen Sarah A. Boehm Brenda J. Madison Peter J. Clark Nicola J. D.Moody Nathanial P. Curtis Mary I. Pierce Gretchen A. Faulkner Jennifer E. Smith Justin M. Gadbois David P. Stem Stephen J. Higgs Andrew H. Techet Geoffrey R. Kelsey Mariana M. Upmeyer Nabla M. Kennedy Sarah L. Whitford Daniel B. Kipervaser Teri L. Young The advisors of the project were Drs. F. Russell Cole and David H. Firmage and Mr. Timothy Christensen. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTR0 DU CTI 0 N ..................................................................1 GENERAL NATURE OF THE ST UDY .........................................1 BACKGROUND .......................................................................3 Lake Characteristics ...............................................................3 Difference Between a Lake and a Pond .......... � .................................3 General Characteristics of Maine Lakes ...........................................3 Phosphorus and Nitrogen ...........................................................9 Freshwater Wetlands . .. .. .. .. 1 3 _W.:....::....:a=..;:t�e:.:r=-=s=h=..;e:;..;:d=---=L=.;::a=n=..;d=--U=--=s�e..................................... ....................... 13 Land Use Types.. .................................................................. 13 Buffer Strips ...................................................................... 17 Nutrient Loading...... ............................................................. 18 Soil Types .......................................................................... 18 Zoning and Development .......................................................... 19 Shoreline Residential Areas........................ .............................. 19 Nonshoreline Residential Areas .................................................. 20 Sewage Disposal Systems.. ....................................................... 20 Roads .............................................................................. 26 Agriculture and Livestock.......................... ............................... 28 Forestry ........................................................................... 29 Cleared Land ...................................................................... 30 Reverting Land.............. ..................................................•.... 30 Wetlands........ .................................................................... 31 Messalonskee Lake Characteristics............................... ............ 3 2 Geological and Hydrological Perspectives ...................................... 3 2 Historical Perspectives ............................................................ 3 2 Biological Perspectives ........................................................... 3 4 Regional Land Use Trends................... ..................................... 3 7 Resource Protection ....................................•...........•.............. 3 7 STUDY OBJECTIVES ............................................................. 3 9 Water Quality Assessment .............................. � ....................... 3 9 Messalonskee Lake ............................................. ................... 3 9 Tributaries....••............. ......•................•............................... 4 0 Land Use Assessment ............................................................ 4 o Effect of Land Use Patterns on Water Quality of Messalonskee Lake......... 4 O ANALYTICAL PROCEDURES AND FINDINGS ............ 42 WATER MEASUREMENTS AND CALCULATIONS •••••••••••••• . •••••• 42 Water Budaet ...................................................................... 4 2 Methods .•••.•••••••.••.....•.•...•...•..............•..•..•....•....•...•.......... 4 2 Results and Discussion..•....• .••.•......................•..•....•................ 4 3 Movement of Water into the Lake ........................................... 4 s Tributaries.... .•.•••...•.......•......•..•..••....•.•..•...•...•........•..•........ 4 5 Precipitation•.••.•.•.... ..••..••......••.•.••..•.•.••....•....•..••..•.•.•.......... 4 6 Groundwater ••........•..........................•.•...............•............... 4 7 Runoff .•••.••••••••••••••.•.••..••••.••.•••.•••...•..••....•.•.•.•...•.•...•...•.... 4 7 ...................................... Lake Leve l Manaaement .................. 4 9 M ESSALONSKEE LAKE WATER QUALITY ••••••••••••••••••••••••••• . • . so Biology Messalonskee Lake Report 493: 111 Study Sites ..........................................................................5 O Characterization Sites ..........•...................................................5 0 · .......•.•.• Spot Sites ...........••..•.•...•.........•............................... 5 2 Tributary Sites..... .........•........•........................................••....5 3 Water Quality Methodolo2y ....................................................5 4 Lake Water Quality Measurements and Analysis .........................5 5 Physical Measurements ......... .... ...............................................5 5 Chemical Tests ................................................................•....6 6 Trib utary Water Quality ........................................................78 Physical Measurements ........................... .................................7 8 Chemical Measurements ............................................ ...............8 1 WAT ER SHED LAND USE PATT ER N S .......................................8 4 Introduction ............................................................. ...........8 4 Watershed Residential