Evolution and Characterization of Water Quality in Quarry Lakes

With this project, the research team will help to identify knowledge gaps and potential issues of concern for utilities to consider when evaluating quarries and gravel pits for raw water storage. They will leverage existing, comprehensive databases to establish characteristics of quarry lakes relative to typical lakes and reservoirs, ground truth these observations with data from partner utilities, and conduct two utility workshops to capture issues of concern to the utility community.

The primary objective of this project is to identify challenges and considerations related to the evolution of water quality in quarry lakes that are used as raw water storage for potable water systems. This will be the first study in the United States to conduct an in-depth analysis on the water quality in quarry lakes and evaluate the impacts on utilities that use them.