The effects of pH change on the physicochemical water quality of two East Texas pond

Thirty physicochemical parameters were analyzed monthly for a period of one year on Needham and Lowe Ponds, Rusk County, Texas. The purpose was to determine the effect of pH change on water quality of two East Texas ponds. The two ponds were acidified naturally due to the underlying geological formations. The acidification of Needham Pond was suspected to be related to an underground water supply flowing through a gypsum and pyrite-bearing geological formation. Lowe Pond was brought to a circumneutral pH range by liming approximately four years prior to this study. Four enclosures were placed in each pond and acidified or neutralized to certain pH ranges. One enclosure from each pond was not chemically altered but maintained as a control.;The effect of pH change was most noticeable for those parameters most closely related to water clarity. The general trend associated with increases in acidity was inversely related to the parameters that define water turbidity. These parameters were turbidity, iron, true and apparent color. Overall, the best water quality resulted from the sample sites with a mean pH within 6.0-5.1. Statistical analysis revealed many of the parameters as having significant seasonal and sample site variations.