article_snippet: The canal will run through Lake Nicaragua (among other areas), Central America's largest lake and freshwater reservoir, which not only preserves an integral part of Nicaragua's ecosystem, but directly supports numerous communities.
article_snippet: With the pending completion of the Panama Canal in 2019, Lake Nicaragua may be impacted in ways only time will reveal.
article_snippet: Environmental experts worry that the shallow waters of Lake Nicaragua won't be able to withstand the dredging that will come with construction.
article_snippet: In terms of the canal impact on Lake Nicaragua, one big concern is the damage to the quality of the water; the ship traffic will pollute the water with toxic sediments and industrial chemicals and introduce destructive invasive species, plants and animals," Dr. Jorge A. Huete-Perez, vice president of the Nicaraguan Academy of Sciences and director of the Molecular Biology Center at the University of Central America told CNN.
article_snippet: Dredging of the lake for the construction of the Panama Canal will render the lake for the construction of the canal a 'dead zone' because of hypoxia, eutrophication and turbidity.
highlights_snippet: Experts fear proposed canal through Nicaragua could adversely affect Central America's largest lake .
  