Blair, Michele2019-12-062019-12-062001-08Blair, M. (2001). Impacts of recreational watercraft use on concentrations of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) in surface waters in Texas (Unpublished thesis). Southwest Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas.https://hdl.handle.net/10877/9036To determine whether motorized watercraft are a major factor in MTBE surface water contamination through recreation, surface water samples were collected in a multipurpose reservoir (Lake Austin) during periods of high and low recreational watercraft use. A non-parametric, one-tailed, Mann-Whitney U two-sample analysis was used to determine if there was a significant difference between the summer and winter sampling. Concentrations of MTBE above the Texas taste and odor criteria of 15 ppb were not found in Lake Austin. Although a significant difference was found between the summer and winter concentrations (1.48 ppb) of MTBE (p<0001), MTBE contamination due to motorized recreational boating did not pose a health threat in Texas.Text83 pages1 file (.pdf)enbutyl methyl etherwater pollutionmotorboatslakesAustinTexasThesis