How Water Quality Is Important For The Health Of The Ecosystem

The health of the Susquehanna River and Chesapeake Bay was found based on Biological (macroinvertebrates and wildlife) and Chemicals characteristics (pH, dissolved oxygen, phosphates, nitrates, etc.) as well as physical observations (amount of forested buffers, wetlands, etc.) Overall it was concluded that the health of the water was good to excellent. What was found was that many of the macroinvertebrates found in the water were sensitive or facultative, meaning the water quality was good enough for them to live in. Also, the level of ph, temperature, dissolved oxygen, phosphates, nitrates, and turbidity showed that the water quality was good. Finally, while we were canoeing down the Susquehanna River, observations were made on the land

The samples of unfiltered Rio Salado River water used in these experiments were collected from a site on the south bank of the river near S. 7th Ave. in Phoenix Arizona (see figure 1). The samples of water were collected by filling a three-gallon carboy by submerging it in the river. The carboy was then transported at ambient air temperature to the lab the same day it

For the convenience of the students, a packet for recording the stream’s content and results was provided. On the first and second page, tables for seeing the taxa types of aquatic macroinvertebrates found were laid out, and students were to check the boxes with the names of the taxa they found in this area. Students entered the stream with a large water strain, and put dirt from the stream and carried it out of the stream to be examined. After observing several catches from the stream, the group one taxa findings included Stonefly nymph, Mayfly nymph, and Dobson fly nymph.

I conducted a survey of Pulaski county residents to get their opinion about the Pulaski county water supply. The purpose of the survey is to get others viewpoint of Pulaski County drinking water so that we can improve our waters system. In the Article “Arkansas Rivers is Too Polluted to Touch” written on April 24, 2000, it states “The river is fairly clean as it flows into Wichita, but by the time it leaves the city, the water is so dirty it is not safe for wading, fishing and touching, said Tom Stiles, chief of the office of planning and prevention at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. The river also is not safe for canoeing, kayaking or water skiing.” Have Arkansas Rivers improved within 14 years? This question will help us to see how far Arkansas Rivers have come since the year 2000. According to Carl Safina in “Song for the Blue Ocean” he discussed how pollution can interfere with not only wildlife and aquatic animals, but humans as well. Pollution can get into our water system causing bacteria and diseases. These waters are the same that runs in our faucets and pipelines. I will discuss resent studies of central Arkansas water quality later in the survey report.

Turner, R. Eugene, and Nancy N. Rabalais. "Linking Landscape And Water Quality In The Mississippi River Basin For 200 Years." Bioscience 53.6 (2003): 563. Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 May 2016.

Located near Cowan, Pennsylvania, Conley Run is a tributary of Buffalo Creek that has experienced severe degradation due to agricultural activity. Specifically, the deposition of large amounts of animal wastes, pesticides, and fertilizers has resulted in significant eutrophication throughout the stream. Furthermore, bank degradation associated with the movement of livestock has caused the displacement of foreign sediments into stream habitats. These factors, among many others, have caused the lake to be considered “impaired” by PA-DEP. In response, the Buffalo Creek Watershed Alliance, the the Union County Conservation District, and the Department of Environmental Protection and Fish and Boat Commision have partnered in an effort to restore stream habitat and create a riparian buffer to protect the stream.

I infer that the water quality was affected more by other factors. The two sites with about the same amount of human activity were McKinney Falls State Park and Bulls Creek. On the other hand, Wild Basin swimming is not allowed. Our results showed that the order from greatest to least amount of nitrate and phosphorous concentration was Bulls Creek, McKinney Falls, and Wild Basin at the lowest. Hence, because Bulls Creek was had the high amounts of human activity and nitrate and phosphorous levels, this relates

In summary, there are many different factors that contribute to the health of the Susquehanna River. The factors include the pH, temperature, phosphate, nitrate and dissolved oxygen levels. Another factor is the wildlife living in and around the water. A healthy pH level is from five to eight. The tested level was within this range! The temperature was also at a good level because it was cold enough to have the healthy level of dissolved oxygen. The dissolved oxygen level was about nine. The nitrate levels were excellent, but the phosphate levels were just good because they were slightly above where they are supposed to be. Also, by analyzing the types of macroinvertebrates in the river, the level of pollution can be evaluated. The

During the many sessions we had to investigate and research the health and condition of Steele Creek; at the same time we also hypothesized that “If the results indicate that Steele Creek is in the optimum range for damselfly nymphs then damselfly nymphs will be abundant.” The many experiments we conducted on the creek provided us with crucial findings that showed Steele Creek was in the lower range of ‘good health’. The several experiments we conducted consisted of a: Habitat Survey, Soil Analysis, Water Analysis and Macro-Invertebrate Identification. These tests were restricted to the section we chose of Steele Creek (excluding the Macro-Invertebrate test) . This allowed us to compare an array of aspects of Steele Creek’s water such as pH level and turbidity , giving us an insight into the kind of species that the Steele Creek habitat could sustain and the very nature of it. The fact that the the investigations were conducted at different times, dates and conditions, suggests a possible variation in our results.

The day the experiment was conducted was on April 18th 2016 at Spring Lake creek. Spring Lake Creek is located on county road E about less than a quarter mile from Williams road. In order for the fresh water ecology class to conduct

In conclusion all of this data helped us determine if the creek was healthy or polluted. The eutrophication test and acidity tests gave us a really good idea if the creek can neutralize acid and how many phosphates and nitrates are in the creek. We now know that the Conodoguinet Creek is a limestone creek. The stream insects and crustaceans that we found had a positive effect on our hypothesis. Out of all of our data, we have found out that the Conodoguinet Creek is a healthy creek.

A group of future biologists and I ventured through Beaver Creek and wrote down observations. We had found that the bank of the creek was eroded. We found invasive species such as Persicaria Longiseta and the English Ivy. We observed a lack of animal activity besides numerous mosquitoes and one salamander. In a section of the water there was a large amount of oil changing that section orange. The runoff system seemed obsolete and all the storm water from the parking lots would drain directly into Beaver Creek. We took a water sample two weeks later. Our water sample was slightly biased because we had taken it in a different location then where the obsolete design occurred. Water temperature was 16 C⁰. We did not find a significant threat or dangerous chemical levels of Nitrate, Nitrite, pH, Alkalinity, and chlorine. We did find our water hardness to be high. The area did test positive for having bacteria like Ecoli, Salmonella, Shigella, Enterobacter, Kliebsiella, other Coliform and non-coliform bacteria. The area also tested positive for pesticides atrazine and simazine.

The idea here is to find out if the ecosystem is contaminated to the point that it will risk populations from further expanding along the river.

The water quality was excellent at the UHS creek, but not all creeks or streams have a great water quality. The current water quality index for the UHS creek is 42. Some human impacts to keep this water clean consists of a clean environment by not littering, picking up any garbage by/in the creek, or making sure only pure water is flowing through the stream and not any sewer water. To prove the point that some creeks don’t have a great quality, but actually end up have an excellent water quality like the UHS creek. Some observations looking at the UHS creek for the first time were; the plants appeared dead, garbage on the banks of the rivers and in the water, and the creek smelled bad. Even though these seem like bad observations not all observations

Benthic macroinvertebrates have been used to assess the health of aquatic environments. Quality analysis involves looking at benthic species composition and organization within the stream (Resh and Unzicke 1975). Different macroinvertebrates have differing sensitivities to pollutant, with some being more susceptible to environmental toxins than others (Metcalfe 1989). Such methods group macroinvertebrates in regards to their tolerance to pollution.