Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID AR_2024_Halvorson

A comparison of internal and external nutrient loading in Brewer Lake, Arkansas

Institute: Arkansas
Year Established: 2024 Start Date: 2024-09-01 End Date: 2025-08-31
Total Federal Funds: $35,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $35,000

Principal Investigators: Halvor Halvorson

Project Summary: Nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus are important for organisms to grow. These nutrients can also become pollutants when the nutrients are in excess supply. In excess, nutrients can stimulate harmful algal blooms. We will study how nutrients transfer from land to downstream areas. We will also study how nutrients move around within lakes. The focus study area is Brewer Lake, a water supply for more than 80,000 people in Central Arkansas. Brewer Lake has shown water quality concerns like excess algal growth and taste/odor. Excess nutrient pollution is likely responsible for these issues. We will use field data to compare nutrient sources within vs. outside the lake. This will allow us to find the biggest cause of excess algal growth and taste/odor issues in the lake. Our results will help specialists manage the lake and protect water quality.