Month/Year of Graduation

5-2024

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science (B.S.)

Department

Biology

First Advisor

Dr. David Pantos

Abstract

Water is a finite resource, and most water has the potential to become contaminated in sitting bodies. Health complications have an increased chance of occurring when these water sources have pollutants. Preventative and treatment methods are components of the legislation put in place to prevent concentrations from reaching levels capable of causing these ailments. However, sites sometimes fail to keep them under tolerated levels. This study is intended to examine if several locations across Omaha are keeping pollutants under legal concentrations and analyze any trends in the data. Locations (n=10) are sampled twice, with exactly two-weeks between collections. The water is stored in glass containers which are kept at room temperature from the time of collection until testing. Each water sample is tested twice, resulting in 40 total tests. The testis give concentrations in parts per million (ppm). Sites ranged from downtown to east of 204th Street in western Omaha. pH, hardness, and alkalinity vary throughout in tolerable ranges. Adams Park, Elmwood Park, Candlewood Reservoir, and Walnut Grove gave non-zero concentrations for at least one trial when excluding hardness and alkalinity. Despite detectable levels at these locations, none exceed the threshold enforced. The remaining locations have no detectable pollutant concentrations for this water kit. In line with reports put out by the Metropolitan Utilities District of Omaha, the results of this study indicate that Omaha’s water follows regulation and has very low, if not zero, concentrations of many of the major pollutants associated with discussions regarding water pollution.

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