Our drinking water reservoir, Loughberry Lake, is treated with a chemical algicide, copper sulfate. We investigated the effects of copper sulfate on non-target aquatic invertebrates by exposing aquatic snails, insects, and leeches to one of three copper concentrations, all below the limit set by the EPA. All three types of organisms experienced altered metabolic responses, and ultimately increased mortality rates, in the presence of copper sulfate relative to controls with no copper sulfate added.
