SPRING  WATER  ANALYSIS

We have been discussing the flow of water from the east side stream bed below Willow Lake Dam. In an effort to determine if it is a spring, or a leak from the lake, in August 2002 three samples of water were submitted for testing for heavy metals and volatile solvents.

The testing lab was at Heidelberg College, Ohio. The results have been received.

Following are my observations:

Arsenic.
The lake has a trace, 0.005 mg/l, none was found in the spring water. Arsenic is not easily removed, and not by "filtration" through the clay core of the dam.

Selenium.
None found in the lake, 0.138 mg/l in the spring, this is very high. Selenium is not very soluble which implies that the spring water spent much time underground washing through selenium rich rock.

Iron.
Lake 0.119 mg/l, spring 9.605 mg/l. Iron is quite soluble, but would not be leached out of the clay core of the dam to produce such a high reading, unless the course of the water flow was extremely long. It is more likely that this is water from a deep aquifer.

No volatile organics were found, but the spring surface appears coated or oily. It is likely this is caused by organisms which absorb iron from the water.

Manganese.
Lake 0.102 mg/l, spring 0.859. Same comment as for iron.

Calcium.
Lake 21.9 mg/l, spring 82.4 mg/l. Calcium is quite soluble, but again this large difference implies the water comes from two different sources. Again the source of calcium is rock not clay.

Magnesium.
Lake 46.0 mg/l, spring 70.4 mg/l. Magnesium can come from clay, but the difference is substantial.

In view of these very large differences in dissolved metals between the lake and the spring. I conclude that the water emerging in the stream bed is indeed a spring from a deep source, and can not possibly be lake water. i.e. this is NOT a leak from Willow Lake.

The above text prepared by Martin Oakes, based on data from Heidelberg College.  Copies sent to Gastel & Associates and IDONR.

This page created 4 March 03.