INTRODUCTION
If you look at the Earth from space, you will quickly see that the Earth is 70% water. You wouldn't think that a lack of water would be a problem. However, 97% of that water is salt water leaving only 3% of the water as fresh water. To intensify the problem, the majority of that water is frozen in polar icecaps leaving only a small fraction of the Earth's water available for human consumption. This water that is needed for our everyday needs comes from two sources: surface water and groundwater. Maintaining and verifying the quality of the water we consume is of vital importance to survival of life on this planet as we know it.This project is intended to monitor water quality using a variety of quantitative tests on surface water sources from Ray Roberts Lake located in Denton County, Texas and Joe Pool Lake located in Dallas County, Texas.
Secondary students from Pilot Point High School will collect water samples from Ray Roberts Lake and compare their data with the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) minimum standards of water quality. In addition, secondary students from The Canterbury Episcopal School will collect water samples from Joe Pool Lake and compare their data with that of the EPA's. In addition comparisons will be made between water samples before (out of the lake) and after treatment( out of the tap). Data from the water analysis taken from the two lakes will then be compared in a corraborative effort between Pilot Point High School and The Canterbury Episcopal School via this web site.