AWRC Continues Support of Water Quality Initiatives in Arkansas
At the University of Central Arkansas (UCA), assistant professor Halvor Halvorson’s lab is continuing to research the health of Brewer Lake in Conway, Arkansas.
His research is supported by funding from the Arkansas Water Resources Center (AWRC) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). It focuses on two main projects monitoring cyanobacteria and severe weather and analyzing its impacts on the lake’s water quality.
The first project, completed last year, investigated how algae produce cyanotoxins and taste-and-odor compounds driven by nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus. Undergraduate and graduate students played a key role, from conducting experiments to maintaining lab operations. Their efforts revealed significant findings.
“Collectively, we found evidence that when you add nitrogen and phosphorus, you stimulate the production of both taste and odor compounds and the cyanotoxins,” said Halvorson, assistant professor of Biological Sciences at UCA.
The second project examines how storms introduce nitrogen and phosphorus into Brewer Lake, a concern amplified by the increasing frequency of severe weather with changing rainfall patterns. Graduate students Tate Hill and Haley Racioppo, alongside undergraduate researchers, are collecting and analyzing water samples to understand how storm severity affects nutrient levels.
“My students and I are interested in the role severity of storms plays in the amount of nutrients you yield from each storm,” Halvorson said.
The AWRC’s advanced instrumentation is vital to this research, enabling precise analysis of nutrient samples. “AWRC is very helpful at getting our nutrient samples analyzed,” Halvorson said. “They do analysis with their advanced instrumentation that we do not have on campus.”
Halvorson’s team will continue storm sampling through mid-summer, with data analysis to follow. The AWRC is proud to support this impactful research, contributing to improved water quality and environmental resilience in Arkansas.
