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Although the biodiversity of Costa Rican national parks, forests, and wetlands has been extensively surveyed, there has not been a watershed assessment that reflects their baseline water quality. Undoubtedly, the influx of 3.1 million visitors annually can lead to deterioration. Additionally, the country's movement toward 100% carbon neutral energy means reliance on capturing water for the production of hydroelectricity. The missing hydrologic data set is of immediate concern, as watershed health predicts total ecosystem health. This field-based project measures eight parameters (pH, temperature, fecal coliform, dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand, nitrates, total phosphates, turbidity) needed to assign a watershed quality index (WQI) value at nine national parks or protected areas. Overall, the WQI for the systems surveyed reflect good water quality. Results compared with US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and World Health Organization (WHO) drinking water standards indicate limited levels of contamination at most sites, with elevated signatures of nitrates, phosphates, turbidity, and/or fecal coliforms at few. The parks selected include coastal lowlands and central highlands; they also experience diverse tourist activities, degrees of use, and forest type that are challenges when managing land sustainably.

Four forest reserves within 50 km of Kampala in Uganda act as a critical buffer to the Lake Victoria watershed and habitat for local populations. Over a 9-month period we capture a pioneering water quality data set that illustrates ecosystem health through the implementation of a water quality index (WQI). The WQI was calculated using field and laboratory data that reflect measured physical and chemical parameters (pH, dissolved oxygen, biological oxygen on demand, nitrates, phosphates, fecal coliform, and temperature turbidity). Overall, the WQI for the four forest reserves reflect poor to medium water quality. Results compared with US Environmental Protection Agency and World Health Organization drinking water standards indicate varying levels of contamination at most sites and all designated drinking water sources, with signatures of elevated nitrates, phosphates, and/or fecal coliforms. As critical health problems are known to arise with elevated exposure to contaminants in drinking water, this data set can be used to communicate necessary improvements within the watershed.

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Background and Aim: A population of endangered sitatunga antelope (Tragelaphus spekii) lives in a free-range environment at Impala Sanctuary in Kisumu, Kenya. Kenya Wildlife Service park officials suspected that increased demands on outdated sewage infrastructure caused animal drinking water sources to become contaminated which resulted in animal sickness and death. In this study, we complete a water quality assessment on open water sources within the park boundaries to determine if water was suitable for animal consumption. Materials and Methods: For the assessment of water, we measure eight physical and chemical parameters (pH, temperature, fecal coliform, dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand, nitrates, total phosphates, and turbidity). These eight parameters were chosen because they are used to establish a water quality index (WQI) percentage which proved to be useful to communicate conditions to park rangers, stakeholders, and adjacent landowners. Results: Through 6 months of assessments, data collection, and analysis, we determined that most open water sources are severely contaminated, ranking on the WQI from 46% to 58% (bad to medium). In addition, we compared our data to drinking water standards set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for livestock to find that only two sites met the minimum criteria. The remaining four sites were exponentially contaminated with levels reaching 10× recommended values for animal health. Conclusion: Following these findings, the park was able to attract money for sewage infrastructure rebuilds that resolved the contamination problems. Sickness and death of free-roaming animals, including the antelope, were reduced.

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