Total Nitrogen
Total Nitrogen
is a measurement of the sum of organic and inorganic nitrogen in a water body.
Factors that introduce this nutrient into the environment include sewage and
residential runoff, soil erosion, and organic decomposition. The state criteria
for total nitrogen content in a healthy body of water should not exceed
0.25 mg/L. Most of the data collected from Enchanted Lakes gave figures that
were far above state criteria, such as a level of 1.437 mg/L collected from
site 2 on March 4, 2004. It is possible that heavy spring showers caused an
overflow of nutrient rich untreated sewage, thereby boosting the total nitrogen
level.