The Effects Of Water Quality On The Reedy Fork Creek And Buffalo Creek

Introduction: The purpose of this research is to determine whether there has been a change in the overall water quality of the Lake Tarpon Basin, and if so, whether the quality has improved or worsened. The variables that will determine whether the quality has changed are: nutrients (phosphates and nitrates) and dissolved oxygen (DO). The expected changes are lower dissolved oxygen levels (from the already low levels), higher nitrogen levels (from the already high nitrogen levels), and the state qualifications still are not met for nutrients and dissolved oxygen (Levy, Flock, Burnes, Myers, Weed, River 2010). This topic relates to environmental management because the changes in water quality would be due to pollution, which relates to the question “How does human activity lead to the pollution of water stores?” The hypothesis that will be tested is that Lake Tarpon’s water quality will have worsened since the last measurements by Levy, Flock, Burnes, Myers, Weed, and Rivera in 2010.

Each watershed varies depending on location. The Salem Creek watershed naturally consists of rocks, vegetation, water, clay and loam soils, slopes, and juvenile aquatic life. Conversely, there is naturally some stream bank and soil erosion. As for human features, the watershed consists of drainage pipes, sewage pipes, bridges, mounds of cement, and pollution sources. Most of the human features are generally in the highly urbanized areas of the watershed, which consists of northwestern portion of Winston-Salem, NC. There were also impervious surfaces bordering both sides of the watershed. On the stretch parallel to Old Salem Road, there was Old Salem Road on one side of the watershed, and housing and other buildings on the other. With the portion that is appears near South Main Street, there is a multiuse development and major road bordering it. There is also cement on the furthest side of the watershed and a sidewalk on the other that border the wide portion of the watershed that is located in the Salem Creek Greenway.

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

Through our research we aimed to determine if there were any differences in water quality of both the north and south forks of Strawberry Creek. As time progresses and the environment changes it is important to keep track of how certain species are being impacted by these features, and how they cope with change. We hypothesized that due to the lack of pollution, the south fork will promote a greater diversity of macroinvertebrates. This was due to the fact that there was less runoff and trash that could be introduced to the water in the south fork, than there was in the north fork. We gathered data by analyzing the different organisms living in both forks. We collected a total of fifty vials composed of five organisms from each fork, and inspected them under microscopic view. After gathering data and identifying the different kinds of organisms living in the different forks we assessed whether the organisms from the samples could live in high or low resolution water. We also took a t-test to assess the probability of these differences being due to relevant factors or by chance. Our major findings suggest that organisms in the south fork showed a higher demand to living in cleaner water indicating that our hypothesis was correct.

The Silver Bow Creek watershed in southwest Montana encompasses approximately 474 square miles and forms a portion of the headwaters of the Clark Fork River and ultimately, the Columbia River (Montana Natural Resource Damage Program, 2009). The site covers about 26 miles of stream and stream side habitat. Silver Bow Creek was used as a conduit for mining, smelting, industrial and municipal wastes for more than a hundred years (Weitz, Luxenberg). Rather large amounts of mine tailings deposits are found along the creek. These deposits contain elevated levels of metals and have been dispersed over the entire flood plain (Weitz, Luxenberg).

This paper will inform the reader why the Delaware River was polluted and how it is being solved. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is trying to clean up all rivers and lakes to make sure that every waterway in America is healthy and not harmful to humans or animals. With the coordination of the EPA, and the Delaware County Regional Water Quality Control Authority (DELCORA) are trying to fix the problems that have occurred over years that humans have been around the Delaware River. The use of a Combined Sewer Overflow Program also known as a CSO is very important for the protection of drinking water in major cities including New York City and Philadelphia. The toxic chemical levels are at an all-time high making this one of the dirtiest rivers in North America. This paper will talk about what results were received from the multiple tests that were taken from multiple sites along the Delaware River and its tributaries. Also, what solutions are being used to solve the problem that is at hand to make sure the public has knowledge of the toxic levels in the water and to make sure that everyone including the animals nearby have clean and safe drinking water?

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.

Newtown creek is a 3.8-mile waterway located on the border of Brooklyn and Queens in New York City and was once a busy center for industrial activity. More than 50 factories were located along its banks, including oil refineries, petrochemical plants, sawmills, and lumber and coal yards. The Creek was also the site of one of the largest oil spill in the U.S. (EPA, 2007). As a consequence, the soil surrounding the area became polluted with toxic heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and was declared a Superfund site. The Superfund Program requires responsible parties to perform cleanups or reimburse the government for cleanups led by EPA. Superfund sites are hazardous to human health and to the environment. benz[a]anthracene,

The aim of this essay is to investigate the overall health of the Credit River located in Southern Ontario, Canada through data collected for phosphates, nitrates, dissolved oxygen and pH levels over many years. The Credit River originates around the city of Orangeville and then travels downstream for about 65 kilometers into Lake Ontario, near the Greater Toronto Area (Orphanos, 2004). It is essential to discover the health of this major river as it is one of the few which makes it way through the large urbanized zone including the city of Mississauga. There is a diverse wildlife that is supported by the water source, and it must be considered a priority to sustainably manage and investigate the concentrations of contaminants and water quality

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.

When the Freshman Biology classes originally tested the water quality of the UHS creek, it was found to be excellent. However, not all creeks have excellent water quality. Humans can impact water quality when fertilizers and pesticides that are sprayed on plants wash into the rivers and creeks. The extra chemicals will bring down the quality in the water. Certain factories use river water to cool down or power their machines. The dirty or used water is put back into the river. If the water has any chemicals or dirt in it then it will cause the water quality to decrease. A lot of people hurt the water without realizing. What are some natural solutions to fix the damage done to the water? (http://www.lenntech.com/rivers-pollution-quality.htm)

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.

Upon browsing on the Google Scholar, I came across many acceptable and reliable resources on the subject of E. coli (or “coliforms”) that are generally found in the environment or, specifically, ground water. The article, “Bacteriophages as indicators of enteric viruses and public health risk in groundwaters”, stated that E. coli was the first indicator of fecal pollutes and that the presence of E. Coli in water can cause many threats to the environment around it. This bacterium can cause destruction to the ecosystem, like polluting water. Water is used for a variety of activities including: bathing, drinking, washing, and cooking. If the water is infected with E. Coli, it can present many problems to the surrounding ecosystem. E. coli can enter the water through precipitation.

For bacteria TMDL development after January 15, 2003, E. coli is the primary applicable water quality target. However, the loading rates for watershed-based modeling are available only in terms of fecal coliform. Therefore, the following translator equation is applied to convert instream fecal coliform concentrations to instream E. coli bacteria concentrations (VADEQ, 2003) and estimate E. coli loads based on the model

The study will use remotely sensed imagery from Landsat Multispectoral Scanner (MSS), Thematic Mapper (TM) and Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM+) imagery for the periods 1980s, 1990s, 2000s. It will also use Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data from the ASTER satellite for the periods 2010s will be collected and employed for analyzing the spatial and temporal changes in land use land cover in the study area. Water quality data from rivers will be in form of physical-chemical water parameters including temperature, pH, turbidity, conductivity, Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), and nutrient levels (silicates, nitrogen and phosphorous). Species richness and abundance and total versus fecal coliform bacteria in river water will also be used.