Increasing Water Quality In U-High Creek

When you think of problems in the world today, water pollution isn’t one that would normally come up. In fact it is one of the worst problems in the world today. Water pollution, by definition, is the contamination of streams, lakes, underground water, bays, or oceans by any substances harmful to living things. All living things contain water and most need water to survive, so water pollution is a big problem. If severe, the pollution can kill off birds, fish, and any animals that use the water source. In some cases even killing an entire species.

Although the amount of pollutants from a single town or construction site may seem insignificant, the combined concentrations of contaminants threaten our lakes, streams and wetlands. When things such as: human and animal waste, decaying plants and animals, discarded litter, or food waste enter surface waters, either dissolved or suspended in stormwater runoff, they can deplete the supply of dissolved oxygen in the water. When dissolved oxygen is reduced below a certain critical level, it can impair or kill aquatic plants and animals (CNYRPDB, 2011).

The Conodoguinet Creek is a one-hundred mile long body of water running through central Pennsylvania. This area has many pollution issues, such as Eutrophication and many others. Eutrophication is when there is too much nutrients in the water. Some people might not understand why too much nutrients in the water is a problem, but it is a very serious one. The higher amounts of nutrients in the water allows a larger amount of algae to grow on the surface of the water, absorbing all the dissolved oxygen in the water, leaving no oxygen left for the fish, and they die.

The Conodoguinet Creek flows 101 miles through the Cumberland Valley of Pennsylvania. We traveled to just a small portion of the Conodoguinet Creek. In our area eutrophication and acid rain are common. Eutrophication is caused by sewage treatment plants, home sewage systems, and fertilizer runoff. Acid rain is caused by fossil fuel burning. If we were to test the Conodoguinet Creek for signs of acid rain, eutrophication or other types of pollution, then it would test with high levels of pollution. That way my hypothesis and what I thought about the pollution in the Conodoguinet Creek before I went there and tested the water.

Bioindicators of stream health include blackfly larvae, caddisflies, and algae. The presence of blackfly larvae indicates sewage pollution. Caddisflies indicate higher  O2 concentrations. The presences of algae can indicate different things. If algae is absent, there may not be enough nutrients to support its growth. Thick algae indicates eutrophication.  Previous studies by the Colorado Department of Health Water Quality Control Commission in 1981 show comparable amounts of dissolved  O2 as well as pH, nitrite, and nitrate levels in both Cherry and Bear creek. The  NH 3 levels were much higher in Cherry Creek at .10 mg/L compared to Bear creek where the  NH 3 levels were at .06 mg/L (Colorado 1981). In today’s society, it is important to find a balance between preserving the natural ecosystem and accommodating the wants, needs, and desires of the humans who affect it. (Meyer 1997). Pollution is inevitable but should be considered and kept as low as reasonably achievable.

The water quality of the U-High creek is excellent, however not all water is excellent like U-Highs creek. One-way people could pollute the water is when farmers put fertilizer on their plants. When it rains it flows into rivers and the chemicals nitrogen and phosphorus can cause plants like algae to grow faster and may cover the sea floor. This is bad for the plants under algae because they will not be able photosynthesize. Also when the algae are broken down the bacteria quickly multiply using all of the oxygen in the water which may kill other animals. (Lenntech 1998) Another way people can pollute the creek is after heavy rainfall the drainage systems overflow into rivers or lakes which pollutes the water with feces and urine, this may

After taking samples, and running tests on the water of the U-Creek, the conclusion was made that the water quality of the U-Creek is excellent. Water quality is not excellent in all cases, but keeping good water quality is very important for life of the organisms in the water. One way that humans could change the water quality, or pollute the water is through runoff. Rivers are a very convenient place for the companies or farms to get rid of waste. For example, farmers put pesticides and fertilizers on their crops to protect them from bugs, or to help them grow better. Fertilizers contain nitrates and phosphates, if large amounts of these two things end up in the water it will lead to an overgrowth of plant life, and algae growth. Over time as the algae starts to rapidly grow, the algae will start to use up all of the dissolved oxygen in the water. Dissolved oxygen is very important to organism life so if it is all gone then organisms will start to die. Another way that humans pollute water is through chemical water deposits. Chemical waste is discharged from industrial processes, that can end up in rivers or streams. An example of a

The Deep Creek Water Quality Initiative Project offers funds for you to protect water quality and prevent soil erosion! This project is to demonstrate Nutrient Reduction Strategy (NRS) practices which will address water quality priorities identified in the watershed.

How does the water quality of South Creek in the Narrabeen catchment vary downstream and what do these variations infer about human influences?

Water pollutants introduce abnormal conditions (harmful chemicals, changes in water temperatures) into water bodies, disrupting existing ecosystems and can potentially contribute to reducing biodiversity in that affected area – one of the effects of water pollution. For example, the discharge of heated-up water from thermal and nuclear power plants into a river can cause problems for aquatic organisms, which are fairly used to specific temperatures. The increase in water temperatures could increase their metabolic rates and hence their need for food. This could eventually lead to the depletion of food sources in that water region and in turn cause a reduction in species population in that water region. Besides thermal pollution, water could also be polluted via the entry of acidic substances into the water bodies through rivers, seas and oceans. The effects of water pollution by this process, known as

The water quality of the U-High creek was determined to be excellent. However, not all areas of water have an excellent water quality. One way humans can negatively impact the water quality of an area of water can include using large amounts of fertilizers for the farming purpose of growing crops. These fertilizers end up draining into rivers and increasing the concentration of chemicals like nitrates and phosphates, thus causing the buildup of algae and blocking sunlight from providing energy to the organisms and plants in the water. Another way humans can impact the water quality negatively involves using chemical waste products in factories because chemicals like cyanide, zinc, copper, lead, and mercury in these products can get into rivers and kill off animals living in the water. Additionally, these chemicals can invade rivers so much that they affect the food cycle to the point where the tertiary and quaternary consumers

Algae growth due to altered flow and growth of invasive species has severely degraded the Johnson Creek Watershed. Creek sediments are contaminated with pesticides and stream banks have eroded (City of Portland

The largest source of contamination is runoff from land. Toxic runoff can be sewage, rainwater flowing over exposed topsoil, flooding or agricultural runoff. Rain can cause runoff of chemicals or waste that can seep into creeks, rivers and other waterways that lead to the ocean. Some of the chemicals found could be antibiotics or waste from animals, pesticides from crops or from pollutants, originating in the air, which have settled on land and washed away. Unless a solution to pollution runoff is found, this type of contamination will continue indefinitely and contribute to the deterioration of the ecosystem in the

A reason that water pollution is a problem today is because many people don’t realize that they are hurting out water supplies when they really are. There are many pollutants that hurt our water supply such as farming. When farmers spray their fields with chemicals and apply fertilizers. Some of these chemicals reach the river, and animal urine and manure may be washed into the river. Another cause of water pollution is from accidents, such as tanker spills. Accidents with chemicals may cause river pollution as well. Mining can be another cause because the dusts and minerals get washed into the rivers. Seepage is another cause of water pollution. Because chemicals from waste dumps join the groundwater flow into the river. Urban Wastes is a major cause because the sewage comes from toilets, sinks, and industrial processes. This causes many human diseases such as diarrhea, dysentery, hepatitis, and cholera.

Water pollution occurs when pollutants are discharged directly or indirectly into water bodies without adequate treatment to remove harmful compounds.