The Conodoguinet Creek

I have learnt many new ways of gaining data and how to use many chemicals and metres to determine the results. This assignment has also gave me a look at how the council manages its time to make the creek cleaner.

So we can conclude that the creek is not polluted based on this evidence. The creek creature are mostly from group 1 and 2. Also, the creek water contains little to no nitrates and phosphates. The creek also contains a high amount of dissolved oxygen (9.8ppm to be exact) Lastly, the creek limestone neutralize acid rain. The pH of the water is also a healthy 7. After all this evidence we can conclude that the creek is not

At the first station I was at, we were looking for macroinvertebrates and crustaceans. When we found one of the insects we had to determine which group they belonged in. One way to determine if the water is polluted is to look at which group the critters are mostly from. My group and I tested this by taking turns going into the creek and finding a rock to bring out. When we brought the rock out of the water and back to our group we had to make sure to turn the rock over because the critters normally live on the bottoms of the rocks and most likely would fall off if you didn’t turn it over. After we all took turns a couple of times

“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

We did 3 different test to help conclude the water quality. The first testing/station i did was to see what kind of critters were living in the water. Then, my next group was to take a test to see if eutrophication was in the water. We also took

Overall, the more macroinvertebrates in the water, the healthier the stream. pH is a measure of how acidic or basic water is. It is measured on a scale from 0-14. 0 is the most acidic, 14 is the most basic, and 7 is neutral. It is the measure of the relative amount of free hydrogen and hydroxide ions in the water. Acidic water has more hydrogen ions, and basic water has more hydroxide ions. When water’s pH is around neutral (7), that is a suitable and healthy living environment for fish, and indicates a healthy stream. If the water is too acidic or too basic, it can be harmful to the aquatic life. Dissolved oxygen is a measure of how much oxygen is dissolved in the water. As the amount of dissolved oxygen drops below normal levels in water bodies, the water quality is harmed and creatures begin to die off as a result of eutrophication. The higher the level of dissolved oxygen, the healthier the stream. When there is a lot of dissolved oxygen present it makes for a safe environment for fish to live and reproduce. Having all this healthy fish can provide us with food, so overall the more dissolved oxygen, the better. Nitrates are a compound found in fertilizers that is used to help plants grow. It is what is given off as a result of the use of nitrogen in water. The organisms in the soil eat the nitrates and it helps the metabolism and the health of organisms. Plants, such as Algae use nitrates as a source

In this next stage we’re doing the Eutrophication Test, which is a test that finds the phosphate, nitrate, and dissolved oxygen. After everybody did their test, we all gathered and compared our results. My group did the phosphate test and got 0 ppm, and the everybody got an average of phosphate of .l ppm. Then the average for nitrate was .9 ppm. Last the average we all calculated for dissolved oxygen was 9.8 ppm.

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).

Now that the definition of stream has been defined and a few of its key characteristics discussed, the specific geographical characteristics of Plaster Creek

Eutrophication is when there is too much nutrients in the water, as stated above. Eutrophication can come from farmers fertilizing their fields and some detergents. We tested for phosphates, salts or ester of phosphatidic acid. We also tested for nitrates, salts or ester of nitric acid. The more the phosphates and nitrates, the more eutrophication is present in the stream. We tested for dissolved oxygen, the amount of oxygen in the water, as well. We found found a very low level of phosphates with an average of 0.1 parts per million (ppm). We also found a very low level of nitrates with an average of 0.9 ppm. The dissolved oxygen level was 9.8 ppm. The higher the velocity of the water, the more dissolved oxygen it will contain. All of these measurements are very good and show that there is little or no eutrophication in the

Introduction & Background The Conodoguinet Creek flows through Cumberland and Franklin counties of Southcentral Pennsylvania. From the Horse Valley next to Kittatinny Mountain at an elevation of 1680 feet, the Conodoguinet Creek flows 104 miles through the fertile Cumberland Valley of Pennsylvania, joining the Susquehanna River near Harrisburg. As it meanders north-eastwardly across a broad plain between Blue Mountain on the north and South Mountain on the south, the Conodoguinet flows through Buchanan State Forest and State Game Lands No. 76 then flows into Letterkenny Reservoir and changes course to a southeasterly flow.

On a still, warm morning our class set out on a hike to collect water and soil samples to explore. Our water sample was collected from the first portion of Sycamore Creek located on the Los Penasquitos Trail in Sorrento Valley. Collecting 6 in. deep into the creek, we wanted to ensure that the sample in the plastic test tube included soil, algae and vegetation from the floor. The sample was allowed to sit uncapped and covered with a layer of film for 24+ hours before microscopic observation occurred.

“Rowlett Creek water sample 1: Nitrate: 2 ppm, normal; Phosphate: 3 ppm, good; Dissolved oxygen: 5 ppm, slightly below normal...”

Physical and chemical Sampling: Since the water was a dirty brown color, we were almost sure we would find something wrong with the chemical balance. We tested pH and alkalinity, Nitrates and orthophosphates. Surprisingly, everything appeared to be normal based off of our

Introduction: Environmental issues caused by such human activities as farming, agriculture and infrastructural development can negatively affect the abiotic factors of the local environment. This can disturb water equilibrium and pose implications on the biodiversity of a watershed. Various forms of pollution, including runoff and erosion, can interfere with the health of its aquatic habitats. The purpose of this lab report is to observe to what extent the abiotic factors of Yellow Creek correspond with the health status of its ecosystem. This will be done by comparing the levels of turbidity and acidity and the corresponding level of impairment to four other water streams in the greater Toronto area.