The Determination of Nitrate and Phosphate Levels in Water in Western Independence

The Determination of Phosphate and Nitrate Levels in Water Samples from Western Independence

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A Science Paper Presented to

The Van Horn High School Science Fair and

The Greater Kansas City Science and Engineering Fair

by

Raymond Kistner

Van Horn High School

Mrs. Debbie Cox, Certified Instructor

1109 Arlington Ave

Independence, Missouri 64053

Abstract

The presence of Nitrates (NO3-) and Phosphates (PO43-) in the water of a community can be harmful to the environment. A small amount of NO3 and PO4 in water is not something to fret about. The EPA has set the legal standard for the amount of NO3 to be contained in water at 10 ppm. and for PO4 at 0.1 ppm for streams that do not empty into reservoirs and 0.025 ppm for reservoirs. These two substances are essential to the growth of plant and aquatic life they are not needed in that much excess. Humans can also consume small amounts of the substances, but if an infant less than six months consumes more than the EPA standard they can become serious ill, and even die. The presence of large amount of NO3 and PO4 could mean that water based plants are dying, because algae when dying put off large amounts of NO3 and PO4, which contaminate the water and kills the fish and other wildlife in the water and those animals who use the area as a water source. This could be catastrophic to the ecosystem.

The experimenter went around the town of Independence and collected samples from a variety of sources including a personal residence house, a high school school, Blount International, Inc. (a manufacturer of outdoor products, industrial and power equipment, and lawn mowers), a stream under the 24th Street Bridge in Independence, MO, and creeks on Arlington and Oxford road in Independence, MO. The experimenter then used different reagents to test the different samples and using an axial reader to interpret the color change in the water. The results and...