AP New YorkAdirondack water testing finds clear water, nitrogen concern
By MICHAEL VIRTANEN
Associated Press Writer

January 11, 2007, 10:40 AM EST

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Testing of 212 Adirondack lakes this summer shows clear water with little algae, but higher nitrogen levels in the west, some from air pollution, scientists said.

The preliminary analysis suggests a new threat to the once pristine waterways of northern New York from nitrogen overwhelming the natural filters of the forests and wetlands, changing lake chemistry, the researchers said. High levels of acid and mercury in Adirondack lakes from smokestacks to the west have already been well documented.




The question is whether the lakes are approaching a tipping point with levels of nitrogen and other nutrients that could turn them murky, algae-filled and unhealthy for people.

"There are various sources of evidence that suggest the filters are clogging, if you will, or getting saturated," ecologist Charles Canham said. He collected 212 water samples from a float plane this summer.

However, it may also be that nitrogen from the air pollution is going straight into the water, said Mike Pace, a lake ecologist and Canham's colleague at the Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook. They are continuing their analysis to factor out the nitrogen released into the lakes by natural processes.

Meanwhile, Canham and pilot Ed McNeil plan to return to the Adirondacks this summer to sample 212 more lakes, expand the data base and get a clearer picture of what's happening.

Other studies, by the state Adirondack Lakes Survey Corp., track the acid that has killed aquatic animals in several lakes _ damage at least partly addressed in 1990 Clean Air Act limits on sulfur dioxide emissions _ and the mercury that makes many freshwater fish in New York risky food for humans.

The nitrogen comes from smokestacks and tailpipes as well as organic material that breaks down in the forest watershed, feeding microbes at the start of the food chain and plants.

"Adirondack lakes ... they're clear, they're low in algal biomass, largely because they're very low in nutrient concentration," said Canham. "We found that still to be the case in our study, but there is a lot of variation out there.

"There are hotspots out there that do bear looking at," he said.

The scientists are also examining levels of phosphorous which, like organic nitrogen, feeds algae, but comes from fertilizer or sewage.

With little agriculture in the region, the Adirondack phosphorous threat comes mainly from lakeshore development, Canham said.

Researchers already know from rainfall testing that there's more air pollution on the western side of the park, Pace said. That's also where the new water sampling shows higher nitrogen levels.

"There's a 10-fold range of variation," Canham said, noting that even the highest levels are well within safe drinking water standards. "It's 100 times lower than would be a threat to human health."

In the northwestern Adirondacks, the lakes also had higher chlorophyll levels, which is a measure of algae, Canham said. They believe that combination of higher nitrogen and chlorophyll may be occurring naturally because those watersheds have a lot of organic carbon flowing from their wetlands, he said.

In the southwestern Adirondacks, they also found higher nitrogen, but not higher chlorophyll. "We think those are the lakes that are being impacted by air pollution," he said.

The researchers found hot spots in a couple of lakes in the High Peaks region.

Lake nitrogen levels tend to spike in the spring, with rain and runoff flushing uplands. Water samples were taken in summer, when levels tend to be low.

"If you just look at each one, mercury, acid, any form of deposition including nitrogen deposition, the conclusion that you have to come to is you have ecosystems that are significantly stressed," said McNeil, former board chairman of the Adirondack Nature Conservancy, who is volunteering his float plane and time to fly Canham to the middle of Adirondack lakes to get samples. "This is just one more piece in that puzzle convincing us it's a killer threat."

"If you just look at each one, mercury, acid, any form of deposition including nitrogen deposition, the conclusion that you have to come to is you have ecosystems that are significantly stressed," said McNeil, former board chairman of the Adirondack Nature Conservancy.


We in the Great Lakes wonder why there is so much algea in the Great Lakes especially in Lake Erie and why there is mercury in Great Lakes fish that makes them unsafe for consumption. We wonder why the planet is getting warmer at a faster rate in one decade then before. It's been proven that burning coal to create energy is harming the Great Lakes and this planet and our health. The particles of smoke contain pollutants that travel far in the air and come down in the rain elsewhere. This smoke pollutes our lakes, harms nature and us and warms the planet's atmosphere.