Comparison of Phosphate and Nitrate substances on three different water sources

Phosphate and nitrate substances are found in detergents and soaps. These substances can cause algal bloom. Algal bloom which is caused by products that contain phosphate/ nitrate substances poses real danger to the environment. The oxygen needed by organisms are used up when the algae dies. The absorption of these substances in different bodies of water is determined through algae count. According to the latest tally of the number of total number of households, agricultural land and industries done by the government through the National Statistics Office or NSO, there are 15,278,808 households, 3,392,361 agricultural lands, and 5,899 industries(National Statistics Office, 2003). With these vast number of household, agriculture and industries, one can just imagine the number of products containing phosphate and nitrate substances that are disposed daily. There is, therefore, a need to control the growth of algae. One way to do this is to control phosphate and nitrate contamination. So our group decided to conduct a study about the comparison of phosphate and nitrate substances in three different water sources. This study aimed to determine the level of phosphate/ nitrate contamination of the different water sources through their algae count. The water sources used in the study were a lagoon found in Ayala Center Cebu; a river in Kamputhaw; and a well found in T.Padilla. A water sample of 30 mL was taken from each source for five days at the same period using the same method all throughout. One drop was taken from each 30 mL. In each drop, the algae count was obtained with the use of a light microscope. The counting came up with the results after five consecutive days of gathering: the river had the greatest mean number of algae of 17.4 per drop followed by the well having only 2.6 algae cells per drop, while the lagoon had 6.2 algae cells per drop. The study used ANOVA to determine if there is significant difference in the Algae counts of the three samples. The test came up with an F- ratio of 3.81, lesser than the tabled value of 3.89. This meant that there was no significant difference in the algae counts of the sources. Out of the data gathered and findings, we therefore conclude that the water sample from Ayala, Kamputhaw and T.Padilla do not differ. Based on our findings and conclusion, we recommend the future researchers to conduct a replication of the study but with more days of gathering the water samples. Another replication of the study may focus on another water sample especially those near factories.