Impacts of Raystown Lake on Water Quality of the Raystown Branch of the Juniata River Based on Using Macroinvertebrates as Bioindicators

• Tim DeWalt

  Juniata College

  Author

• Grace Rose

  Juniata College

  Author

• Averie Hess

  Juniata College

  Author

• Brooke Miller

  Juniata College

  Author

This study examined how Raystown Lake impacts the water quality of the Raystown Branch of the Juniata River. To assess the impacts of Raystown Lake, two collection sites were selected. One site was below the dam and the other was located above the dam near Juniata College’s Raystown Field Station. Macroinvertebrate sampling as well as the measurement of several physical characteristics of each test site were taken at three different visits. Following the analysis of the results, it was concluded that there are no drastic differences between the Pollution Tolerance Index value or physical indicators of the collection sites above and below the dam. Further investigation of nutrient loads of the water above and below the lake, as well as more precise measurements of water quality indicators could be used in the future for further investigation.

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