Katrina N.
Piney Z Narrative
Piney Z is a lake in Tallahassee, which gets its
name from the abundance of pine trees in the area around it, and
from being in the shape of a “Z”. In 1995, the city
of Tallahassee purchased the lake in hopes of being able to restore
the once beautiful and healthy lake. Once the project is finished,
the lake will be open to the public who will use it for hiking,
biking, picnics, etc. Recently the lake has been used for drainage
and a recent sewage spill deeply hurt the progress they were making
on the lake. If it is continued to be used for this purpose, it
could hurt the lake forever. Also there have been plans to create
the Fallschase subdivision around the lake. The builders agreed
to hold off on the development because it would be much more difficult
to restore the healthy lake with the development occurring at
the same time.
Water quality parameters are extremely important at maintaining
Piney Z. Water temperature directly and indirectly affects aquatic
life. If water temperature is too high, it reduces the ability
for essential dissolved oxygen levels, which puts too much stress
on the ecosystem. Dissolved oxygen analysis measures the amount
of gaseous oxygen dissolved in an aqueous solution. The percentage
of dissolved oxygen in water should never exceed 110. It is also
dangerous for the levels to be too low. The life forms go through
too much stress. Either way, the aquatic life is likely to suffer
from disease and possibly die. Without a good oxygen level, life
would not be able to flourish at Piney Z. It would defeat the
purpose of opening up the lake for viewing the wildlife. There
would be none to view. PH is affected by the concentration of
hydrogen ion activity in a substance. PH must range from 6.0 to
9.0 to give protection to freshwater fish and other aquatic life.
PH levels will affect the impact other substances from agricultural
or industrial areas will have. If the pH levels reach or fall
to a dangerous level, it could negatively impact Piney Z as an
urban fishery because simply, there would be no fish. When nitrogen-containing
compounds are found in rivers or lakes, they act as nutrients.
Sometimes nitrate reactions occur which deplete the water’s
oxygen. If this occurs, the aquatic life is likely to die because
they depend on oxygen to survive. There are many ways in which
nitrates can enter the lake including car exhaust. Now that Piney
Z lake is surrounded by the plantation, it is likely that nitrate
producing events can affect the lake. Phosphates can be produced
by runoff from farmland. This probably happened at some point
during Piney Z’s existence. Phosphates are essential, but
also dangerous if excess phosphate occurs. Phosphates help grow
aquatic plants and plankton which feed the fish, which makes the
fish population higher. One of Piney Z’s purposes is to
be used for fishing. But in excess, phosphates can cause aquatic
plants to grow wildly, using a lot of the oxygen and choking the
waterway. Piney Z once had an abundance of aquatic plant life
and algae, but a lot of it has been used to create the dikes.
Turbidity refers to how clear water is. It can be increased by
clay and silt from shoreline erosion of phytoplankton. If water
becomes too turbid, organisms can be suffocated and animal growth
can be hindered. It is important to keep the level just right.
We tested the dissolved oxygen levels in the lakes
by using the two chemical testing kits. We tested the pH by using
the graphing calculator. We used a thermomator to test the water
temperature.
Karst topography, an amalgamation of caves, underground
channels, and a rough and bumpy ground surface. Karst topography
is formed when limestone interacts with underground water and
the water dissolves the limestone. When enough limestone is eroded
from underground, a sinkhole may occur. This has occurred in the
Lafayette area because there is a sinkhole located there which
has been affected by the Karst topography. The sinkhole at Lafayette
could serve the purpose of managing the lake. Creating a berm
around this sinkhole may help protect the aquifer.
This is a diagram of the Karst Topogrpahy common
in the region.
The Floridan aquifer system falls under Florida, Georgia, and
Alabama. It is important in providing ground water for these areas.
Three billion gallons of water come from it everyday. In many
places, it is the only source of freshwater. The aquifer has been
threated by both man and natural occurrences but it will most
likely never run out. The annual rainfall and Florida’s
flat topography keep it going. Without the aquifer, Piney Z and
Lake Lafayette might not be here.
Eutrophification is another aspect of the area. It is a condition
where high nutrient concentrations in aquatic ecosystems cause
an increased amount of algae. Eutrophication is a natural process
but is often accelerate by human intervention. Some of the causes
of increased eutrophication are agricultural runoff, sewage, and
leaking septic systems. Piney Z lake was once surrounded by agricultural
land, so this process was sped up. It is important to restore
the lake so the affects of this process can be slowed.
