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Pond
and Lake Water
Testing
your pond or lake water is an important step for assessing its
quality and to help prevent problems before they
occur. For ponds or lakes with an existing water quality
program, testing is an essential tool for diagnosing the cause of the
problem and determining suitable treatment
options.
The
tests offered below and the recommendations that you will
receive with your test report assume that your pond or lake is
used for recreational purposes. If your pond or lake is
used as a source of drinking water for livestock, the sample
should be submitted through the laboratory's livestock
drinking water program.
To
submit a pond or lake water sample to the laboratory,
you should first obtain a free
sample mailer, available from the laboratory or from many county offices of the Penn
State Cooperative Extension. Payment for the specific test package
selected must be submitted with sample. Alternatively,
if you are requesting the WP01 Basic Pond/Lake Package (without
bacteria) you may submit a water sample (1/2 quart or 2 cups required) in your own
plastic container along with a Pond/Lake
water submission form (pdf format).
Payment
must be submitted with sample. Please follow sampling
procedures provided in the write-up on
How to Collect a pond/lake water sample and send your
sample to the laboratory so that it arrives within 36 to 48
hours of sampling. If submitting a sample for the WP02
test package (includes bacteria) you must, however, obtain a
test package since a special, sterile bottle is required for
the bacteria test.
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Pond and Lake Water Test
Packages
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Two
test packages are available. The
Basic Pond/Lake Water Package includes
essential tests for assessing pond/lake water quality. The
Basic Pond/Lake Water Package Plus Bacteria includes
tests from the basic package plus E.
Coli bacteria. E.
Coli testing is recommended for ponds or lakes that are used for
swimming, boating, or other recreational activities where there is close
human contact with the water.
 WP01:
Basic
Pond/Lake Water Package: pH,
total dissolved solids, nitrate-nitrogen, alkalinity, aluminum, iron, manganese,
phosphorus, sulfate, and
hardness......................................................................................... |
$42.00 |
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WP02:
Basic
Pond/Lake Water Package Plus Bacteria: pH,
total dissolved solids, nitrate-nitrogen, alkalinity, aluminum, iron, manganese,
phosphorus, sulfate, and hardness and E. Coli............................................................. |
$70.00 |
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Fees effective 7/01/12
Please send questions and
comments to: aaslab@psu.edu |
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