Wapato Lake faces water quality problems, past and present
by Jim Gawel, Ph.D., UW-Tacoma
Wapato Lake is a small, 23-acre lake in the highly urbanized area of south Tacoma, and has attracted visitors since the late 19th century. Wapato has a long history of water quality problems and management activities and has been closed to recreational use four different times over the years due to poor water quality.
Drinking water purveyors studying problematic biota – your input wanted
Limnological processes occurring in drinking water reservoirs can cause problems for treatment infrastructures. Classic examples involve invasive species, such as zebra and quagga mussels or the recently infamous rock-snot diatom Didymosphenia geminata. But endemic biota can also affect treatment systems. Recently, several drinking water purveyors in the Cascade foothills have encountered issues caused by planktonic organisms.
Where are they now? Update on WALPA scholarship winner Tim Caldwell
Timothy Caldwell received a WALPA student scholarship in 2009 to help fund his Master’s research at the University of Idaho. He worked with Mysis diluviana in Lake Pend Oreille, Idaho, where he used nutrient excretion experiments and diet analysis to examine the role of M. diluviana in the nutrient budget and food web dynamics of the lake, and related his findings to kokanee salmon populations.
Students report their impressions of the 2011 NALMS conference
Chelsie Strowbridge and Terri Hurlbut, undergraduate students at UW-Tacoma, attended the Spokane conference and report their impressions. Chelsie and Terri study with Jim Gawel, PhD, associate professor of environmental chemistry at UW-Tacoma.
