Vaisala HMP60 Humidity and Temperature Sensor - NexSens

Case Studies

Conserving Connecticut’s Lake Lillinonah

Conserving Connecticut’s Lake Lillinonah

Conserving Connecticut’s Lake Lillinonah

Connecticut’s second largest lake, Lake Lillinonah, is a eutrophic water body that has been suffering from algal blooms in recent years. What’s more, it has a troubling pollution problem that includes everything from refrigerators to propane tanks to entire cars.To get at the algae issue and study the lake for future preservation, volunteers with Friends of the Lake, a conservation group, launched a monitoring buoy on the water body in 2011. Much of the effort was overseen by scientists at Fairfield University who have worked with the group on other monitoring projects.What triggers the blooms isn’t clear, with researchers hypothesizing that they could be a symptom of excess nutrient loads from the area’s wastewater treatment plants. Another possibility is the way that the water body mixes. Depending on how the lake’s warm and cool waters interact, algae could be flushed out of the system or sent upward toward its surface with extra heft.

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Combating Water Insecurity Through Real-Time Systems

Combating Water Insecurity Through Real-Time Systems

Combating Water Insecurity Through Real-Time Systems

In regions impacted by water insecurity, water quality monitoring can be foundational in improving water treatment and informing environmental regulations that protect source water. Helen Baulch, an associate professor at the School of Environment and Sustainability at the University of Saskatchewan, relies on real-time water quality monitoring systems in her work, focusing on making the region more water secure. Challenge: Worsening Water Quality and Water Insecurity While natural physical properties worsen some of the poor water quality conditions in the region, others are connected to land use. Most of Baulch's work has focused on Buffalo Pound Lake, a source water resource that supplies drinking water to two cities.High nutrient loads and organic carbon in Buffalo Pound Lake have deteriorated its water quality over time. Additionally, the lake is very shallow, so it stratifies periodically, which can influence its chemical and physical properties. The main concern for Baulch is cyanobacterial behavior in the lake, as well as the impacts of dissolved organic carbon on disinfectant byproducts.

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Conservation and Source Water Protection

Conservation and Source Water Protection

Conservation and Source Water Protection

The Thomas More University Biology Field Station is managed by a team of students, faculty, and staff who facilitate ongoing assessment and source water monitoring programs. Molly Williams is the Station Manager and spends her days overseeing various research projects, internships, and outreach initiatives alongside the station's Director, Chris Lorentz, PhD.The work of the Field Station is divided into four primary areas:Research:

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