The Portland Water District (PWD) deployed a real-time water quality buoy in Sebago Lake鈥檚 Lower Bay in May. The buoy is recording and wirelessly transmitting data on temperature, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll (a measure of algae in the lake), pH, and water clarity to the Internet where it is available for the public at飞飞飞.辫飞诲.辞谤驳.听聽The data is being studied by PWD scientists as well as Saint Joseph鈥檚 College of Maine (色虎视频) faculty and students. The Sebago Lake buoy project joins the Global Lake Ecological Observation Network (GLEON), a worldwide network of instrumented buoys on lakes. This network places critical lake information at the fingertips of researchers, resource managers, and the general public.
Dr. Emily Lesher of 色虎视频 Sciences said, 鈥淪ebago Lake provides water for 15% of Maine鈥檚 population, so it is critical to actively sustain this resource and better understand how it responds to challenges like climate change and development. 聽Sustainability and wellness are campus-wide focuses at 色虎视频, and this collaborative project is a very good fit and a step to protect this crucial water body.鈥� Lesher is working along with co-investigators Brie Holme (PWD), Ryan Dorland (色虎视频), and Nina Eduljee (色虎视频); the team will use the data to study topics such as long term acidity and carbon dioxide trends, physical models of lake turnover, and how stakeholders interact with lake data.
鈥淲e are very excited to have real-time data,鈥� said Portland Water District鈥檚 Environmental Services Manager Paul Hunt. 聽鈥淯sed in conjunction with our current monthly testing 鈥� which we鈥檝e done for decades - the continuous data generated by the buoy will help us better understand the physical and ecological dynamics of the lake, the factors that affect water quality, and will support the operation of the Sebago Lake Water Treatment Facility.鈥�
Powered by solar panels and equipped with a variety of sensors, the 145-pound buoy has been positioned in Lower Bay鈥檚 deepest point. 聽Seasonal maintenance, calibration, and deployment of the buoy are the responsibility of the Portland Water District.
Saint Joseph鈥檚 College and the Portland Water District applied for and received the grant to support sustainable water resource management, lake research, undergraduate research training, and community engagement. Partial funding of this buoy was provided by the Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey through the Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions, University of Maine, under Grant No. G16AP00057.
