Water Quality of Community Ponds

The Environmental Services staff monitors 23 of the 40 plus ponds throughout Broomfield. These ponds are easily accessible (e.g., The Trails Pond), used for sport fishing (i.e., Tom Frost Reservoir, Josh's Pond), and/or highly visible (e.g., Community Park Pond adjacent to the Mamie Doud Eisenhower Public library).

Field observations and measurements

When Broomfield staff visit a community pond, observations are made of wildlife, waterfowl, trash, natural debris, algal blooms, and anything else that may affect the water or aesthetic quality of the pond. Based on these observations, other departments in Broomfield may be asked to help resolve issues such as trash, a broken aerator, or a harmful algal bloom.

In addition to observations, the following field measurements are recorded:

Measurement	Purpose
Secchi disk depth	The secchi disk is a black and white disk that is used to measure the transparency of water. This depth measurement is used to estimate the depth of light penetration through the water.
Temperature	Cold water holds more dissolved oxygen.
Dissolved oxygen	Necessary for survival by fish and zooplankton
pH	pH outside certain ranges (depending on species) can become a stresser for aquatic and amphibian organisms
Conductivity	Helps to identify main source of water or indicate possible illegal dumping

Laboratory Analyses

Typical tests performed on pond samples are:

Total dissolved solids
Total suspended solids
Ammonia
Total phosphorus
Bacteria counts (Total coliforms, E. coli)
Alkalinity

Total hardness
Calcium hardness
Chlorophyll a
Phytoplankton (i.e., algae, cyanobacteria, etc.) identification and enumeration

These results provide a valuable tool to evaluate changes in water quality over several years. Changes could be due to illegal dumping of pollutants, overuse of fertilizers, sediment buildup in inlets or the pond, or severe weather events.

Impact of field and laboratory parameters on water quality

Listed below are websites that provide more information about the importance of each of these field measurements and laboratory determinations on water quality:

Boulder Area Sustainability Information Network

Water on the Web