Water quality monitoring at Acadia National Park: Northeast Temperate Network 2014 summary report

Gawley, William; Wiggin, Shannon

This report on the water quality of Acadia National Park (ACAD) includes data gathered by the Northeast Temperate Network (NETN) during the 2014 monitoring season and displays these results in graphic form, accompanied by a brief interpretation. The data address the NETN objective to detect change in the status of physical, chemical, or biological attributes of park freshwater bodies. The NETN freshwater monitoring protocol calls for a total of 37 ACAD lakes, ponds and streams to be sampled monthly from May through October, with 12 sites monitored annually and the remainder visited on a 2-year (streams) or 3-year (lakes and ponds) rotating schedule. Staff measured physical and in-situ water chemistry parameters each month and periodically collected water samples for analysis at the University of Maine’s Sawyer Environmental Chemistry Research Laboratory. Monthly sampling parameters included in-situ water quality measures (pH, specific conductance, temperature, and dissolved oxygen), lake water transparency and light, stream turbidity, weather, stream flow (discharge), and stream and lake/pond stage. In May (stream only), June (lakes and ponds only) and August (all sites), water samples were obtained and analyzed for acid neutralizing capacity (ANC), color, nutrients, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), chloride, sulfate, and chlorophyll a (lakes and ponds only). April and October lake acidification samples were also collected. The primary environmental stressors affecting ACAD water resources include nutrient enrichment and toxic contaminants within the watershed, atmospheric deposition, and climate change. Monitoring in 2014 revealed that the majority of water quality parameters for Acadia National Park were within state standards, and were generally within the range of EPA regional nutrient criteria, where applicable. The values were also typically within the range of Acadia’s historic monitoring data record, and there were no indications that significant nutrient enrichment took place during the 2014 season. Analysis results of 2014 quality control samples were within the acceptable range of accuracy and precision.

Water quality monitoring at Acadia National Park: Northeast Temperate Network 2014 summary report

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