Pollution Analysis of River Running through a Community

Methodology: The water samples will be collected utilizing sterile plastic water bottles from Lake Tarpon. The location the samples will be collected from is Anderson Park, by the boat docks, located at 39669 U.S. 19, Tarpon Springs, FL 34689. The water samples will be brought to Tarpon Springs High School to be tested, located at 1411 Gulf Rd, Tarpon Springs, FL 34689. The phosphate, nitrate, and dissolved oxygen levels will be tested utilizing various LaMotte water testing kits,

Codi noticed an irregularity in the river when her biology students and herself tested the pH of the river and found that it was very acidic. The Environmental

The pH scale is 1 to 14, 7 being the best quality. To the right is a pH scale. 7 is what the water should be. 7 is also what we had for the creek average. We had a higher number of rocks neutralizing acid (limestone is the stone found mostly in the creek) than the ones that don’t. this means that the acid rain we get is mostly neutralized by limestone in the stream. We get acid rain from Philadelphia. This is because of the massive steel companies. All of the toxic smoke comes over and comes down in the conodoguinet as acid rain. So the creek is non-acidic and non-alkaline.

Pollution can cause changes in the planet’s energy balance, such as changes in the greenhouse effect, which affects the amount of heat retained by Earth’s atmosphere, variations in the sun’s energy reaching Earth changes in the reflectivity of Earth’s atmosphere and surface. The changes have changed the climate many times which have an effect on humans also. (NRC EPA. 2010) Our planet can is good at reusing waste but humans are producing more than what the Earth can handle. Pollution happened at different stages and it has an impact on all living things including species and humans. Unfortunately, humans are the most polluting species.

“The pH of a solution is a measure of the molar concentration of hydrogen ions in the solution and as such is a measure of the acidity or basicity (sic) of the solution. The letters pH stand for power of hydrogen and the numerical value defined as the negative base 10 logarithm of the molar concentration of hydrogen ions.” (PH, 2002). The pH scale is from 0 to 14. When the pH is higher, the hydrogen ions are fewer and the substance considered alkaline. This means when a pH unit increases by one, there is a tenfold change in the hydrogen ion. For example, if a substance has a 7 pH, it has 10 times as many as hydrogen ions available as 8 pH. A lake having a water pH between 6.5 and 8.5 is considered to be neutral. Researchers tested Peckham Park lake water monthly from August 2015 to April 2016 for water pH levels. A water quality PH test strip taken from a jar and dipped into the lake. After a few minutes, the strip will turn a color and this color determines the pH. The jar the strips came in has a chart of the colors on the back which compared to the color on the strip. The lake tested monthly using the PH test strips, which show the pH level, hardness, toxic, etc. using color-change

Not only is pollution the cause of the death of many organisms essential to ecological balance, but human drinking water has also been affected.

Abstract: During this lab, the pH of water in soil from a man made garden, a deciduous forest, and a river bank were tested after leaving it in containers for one, two, and three hours, coming out to a total of three trials with three different soils all together. After testing the pH of the water when being added to the soil for the desired amount of time and comparing it to the original water with no soil added, is then when each pH difference was observed and recorded in a a notebook, while pictures were taken of the experiment being conducted.

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.

In the academic journal written by Ronald A. MacGillivray the purpose was to find out information about the Delaware River and how polluted it is. The research was done over a four-year period to find out if lethal toxins were coming out of tributaries (MacGillivrary et al., 2011). The research was done by a sampling procedure. The researchers would go out into the field and collect samples on a weekly basis depending on the weather to see how the toxic levels in the river were from 16 different locations (MacGillivrary et al., 2011). At the end of the four years that the research was taken the results were conclusive that the tributaries that led into the Delaware River were found to be at normal toxic water level rates (MacGillivrary et al., 2011). The pollution levels found were normal with a few exceptions depending on the water content of the day (MacGillivrary et al., 2011).

Is the Conodoguinet creek polluted? I thought it was, but multiple tests from my peers and I proved my hypothesis wrong. To prove our hypotheses, my peers and I did multiple tests of the organisms living in the creek. We also tested the water quality. You may be wondering, “ How does this apply to me?” “ Why should I care?”, the fact is that the Conodoguinet runs through 100 miles of Pennsylvania. It runs through farms, towns, communities, and maybe even your backyard. So, making sure we protect it should concern all of us.

There is an extreme amount of pollution in the Missouri River. Lots of rivers are being polluted, but one of the worst is the Missouri River. For example “According to the EPA, in 2007 the amount of pollution dumped into the Missouri River within the boundaries of our state totaled pounds.” (Top Ten Frightening Facts About The Missouri River, 1). The amount of pollution that has been deposited into the river is terrifying. Even companies that we trust and are a part of our everyday life like Tyson fresh meat which is the world's leading beef and pork supplier have been found polluting and were fined one million dollars. Companies have even been found dumped cancer causing chemicals into the river, “In 2009, Bayer CropScience released 342 pounds of cancer-causing chemicals into the Missouri River.” (Top Ten Frightening Fact About The Missouri River, 2).

The St. Johns River is suffering from a significant environmental disaster because of toxic substances from municipal and industrial wastewater, fertilizer runoff, failing septic tanks, and stormwater. Consequently, over 55% of the river miles, 80.4% of acres of large water bodies, 59.4 % of estuaries, and 31.4% of coastline miles do not meet water quality standards in Florida (Florida Department of Environmental Protection 119). For that matter, studying those pollution problems that the river faces is vital since one can use this information to salvage the natural resource which is at the brink of destruction.

Our plan is research the phosphorus levels in Lake Monroe and Griffy Lake and compare them in terms of area surrounding and the impacts it has on the City of Bloomington. Due to the proximity of agriculture around Lake Monroe and Griffy Lake, we want to research the effects of agricultural practices such as pesticides on water. Specially, we want to see if there are differences between the body of water we use as a drinking water source, Lake Monroe, and Griffy Lake. We think it will be beneficial to compare the chemical levels in both bodies of water and evaluate the differences.

The purpose of this study is to learn about what substances are in local drinking water. There are many things that can be found in drinking water that can be beneficial, harmful, or even neutral in some cases. These substances can change how the water tastes, such as copper, how it smells, like total dissolved solids, and there minerals like iron that can change the water's color. The tests that this study will cover will help determine the different substances found in water from different sources, like city water or well-water. Then after recording the amount of specific substances, one can look at EPA's standard for drinking water and learn if the water that people are consuming in the surrounding area is healthy or not.

By characterizing the spatial and temporal variation in the water quality of rivers and streams, results from water quality analysis can provide an improved understanding of the environmental conditions and m help policy makers establish priorities for sustainable water management (Cooper et al., 2002 and Antonopoulos et al., 2001). Watershed-scale analysis of water quality variables can illustrate the changing influence of various human activities in different sub-basins and as one proceeds from headwaters to downstream. Reports on stormwater quality management program have shown that Greensboro currently faces water pollution problems in its main rivers and lakes (Greensboro Water Resources Dept., Report, 2013). Water quality at most of the regularly monitored stations in major rivers and streams in the county are below the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) standards suitable for human consumption and aquatic life sustainability including sites along the Buffalo Creeks and Reedy Fork Creek. The condition of the water in Greensboro Rivers and streams is related to land use and the quality and quantity of the rainfall washing off the landscape. In an urban setting like Greensboro, the predominant factors in determining the water quality characteristics of rivers and streams are the pollutants washing off Greensboro’s