PARENT SESSION
Poster Session #22: Fish, Lakes, Streams and Wetlands.
Tuesday, August 6. Presentation from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM. Exhibit Hall B & C, TCC

Assessment of water quality in three lentic bodies of water in the industrial areas of Warren County, MS.

Meeks, Timotheus^*,1, Acholonu, Alex¹, ¹ Alcorn State University, Alcorn State, MS

ABSTRACT- Lentic bodies of water hardly remain free from human contamination, and especially those located near industrial areas. The present study was conducted on three lentic bodies of water, namely, Papermill Reservoir and Ball Ground Creek, located in the vicinity of the International Papermill Industry in Redwood, MS and the Army Corps of Engineers Canal located in the industrial area of Vicksburg, Warren County, MS, to compare their habitat profiles, the seasonal distribution of pollutants in them and to find out if they meet the Mississippi water quality standards. During the period, August 2001 to March 2002, (covering the fall and winter seasons only) water samples were collected in three replicates from three sites in each of the bodies of water. They were taken to the laboratory and tested according to the methods indicated by the manufacturers of LaMotte Pollution Test Kits. The parameters tested were ammonia, total alkalinity, carbon dioxide, silica, hardness, phosphate, chloride, sulfide, nitrate-N, pH, fluoride, zinc, magnesium, cyanide, dissolve oxygen, and turbidity. The three lentic bodies of water were compared. There were no significant differences in their habitat profiles and all of them meet the Mississippi Water Quality Criteria for Intrastate, Interstate, and Coastal Waters. This is a preliminary report.

KEY WORDS: Industrial Water Quality Pollution, Warren County, Mississippi