U-Creek Water Quality

We add substances to the water – intentionally or not. As precipitation falls on the ground and moves into rivers and creeks, it picks up a whole range of pollutants. In rural areas these pollutants may include farm pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers as well as wastes from faulty septic systems and improperly handled manure. In urban areas, the pollutants may include gas, oil, pet waste, fertilizers, pesticides, salt and treated human waste from sewage treatment plants.

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.

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

Different physical structures may be used in stream restoration in order to provide channel stability and in order to provide habitat and other beneficial functions. Some of the typical structures that are used are revetments made of gabions or riprap and woody debris. Each type of structure has benefits and costs that should be considered before installation and some are more appropriate in certain situations than others.

TRASH! TRASH! TRASH! Regardless of environmental laws that protect the quality of streams and lakes, garbage often ends up in our waters. Most of the trash comes from people who fish or participate in other forms of water-related recreation. Regardless of the source, trash is a form of water pollution. The most important issue facing us is the preserving of our waterways for future generations to enjoy. There are several things which can be done to make a difference regarding this issue so we will have a lifetime to enjoy our beautiful rivers and lakes.

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.

After I saw this, I inferred that the creek was not heavily polluted at all. If the creek was heavily polluted, then there would not be much healthy plant life around the creek. However, the Conodoguinet had a lively amount of plant life so, it was already not heavily polluted. After I actually got close to the creek I saw that there was a small amount of algae, this meant that the creek most likely has a small amount of pollution. If a creek has a small amount of pollution that is not bad however, if a creek has a lot of pollution, then there is a problem. Some different types of organisms in the creek are macroinvertebrates, crustaceans, and other organisms. A macroinvertebrate is the term used for an invertebrates that can be caught by a 500 micrometer net or sieve. A crustacean is an arthropod of the large, mainly aquatic group Crustacea, such as a crab, lobster, shrimp, or barnicle. When I got in the creek, I saw an immense amount of critters that lived under the rocks and it the soil. These critters included 15 clam, 2 water pennies, 5 may fly, 5 gilled snails, 10 stone fly, and finally I also saw 3 crayfish. These critters are separated into 3 different groups based on their sensitivity to pollution and in the creek, most of the critters that I found belong to group one. Group 1 is the group that is most sensitive to pollution, this means that the organisms in

The environment plays a large role in the number of nutrients and other materials which are implemented into the water surrounding. If the environment is highly populated with more human traffic, then the water would be less healthy as the environment would not be as pristine. The environment with a more natural feel, more nutrients, would tend to have a healthier water system because of minerals would not be polluting to the surrounding area as certain climates are. The water quality affecting aquatic species is “important for maintaining fish health and reducing stress throughout transport as well as proper tempering into the receiving water” (Harmon). If there are any changes in the water quality the species in the area could be drastically affected which has a chain reaction back to humans as most of these species are low in the food chain and are required to collect the fish, we do today for

There is an array of pollutants capable of contaminating freshwater in different ways (Schiedek et al., 2007). Some of these contaminants include fertilizers and pesticides from agriculture farms, heavy metals such as mercury which are prone to long-range transport and oil spills from pipes in the course of transport of fossil fuels (Kundu et al., 2007). Human activities have also been identified as the most prominent cause of freshwater contamination (Liu et al., 2004). Some of these human activities include improper management of agricultural runoff and sewage disposal methods and the use of energy sources that can emit particulates into the atmosphere, which may eventually end up in freshwater bodies (Li et al., 1999). Approximately 50% of untreated waste water is dumped in freshwater bodies. The consumption of contaminated water may cause illnesses such as cholera and

Ecologists study environments and one part of environments is water. With water quality comes water quality index. Water quality can be either excellent, good, fair, or poor. They can collect samples and analyze the samples to determine the water quality. One negative way that humans could negatively impact water quality is removal of ecosystems. When we tear down an ecosystem to build structures, we effect the water quality. We make cities and tear down ecosystems with which we interact are directly linked to the well-being of our natural water resources. Another way that we have a negative impact on water quality is urbanization, industrial development, agricultural activities, and mining enterprises. These two link together, the second way we impact the water quality mostly causes the first one. For the second one its where we are growing in population and need more space. Because of this,

Trash thrown into a stream directly affects, not only the creatures that live in the stream, but it also affects the animals that rely on the stream for survival. Polluted water is no longer suitable for fish; such as the Rainbow Darter, and even crayfish will not survive in polluted water. This in turn affects many animals that survive by eating crayfish and other fish, not to mention all of the animals that depend on the stream as their source of drinking water. Eventually more and more birds and animals, including humans become impacted negatively by the pollution. When streams become polluted people can’t take advantage of the opportunities a stream has to offer.

There was some pollution found but not a lot, there was many pollution intolerant invertebrates found which means that the water must be healthy enough to support those organisms, and the water was clear enough to see the creek bed.. Water quality index is a number from 1-100 that measures the overall quality of the water and it indicates if the water is healthy or not. If the water has a water quality index of 10 or less than the water quality is poor. If it is 11-16 than the quality is fair. If it is between 17-22 than the quality is good, and if it is 23 or more than the water quality is excellent.

Pollution of aquatic habitats can coincide with human activity which then results in detrimental effects on an aquatic ecosystem. Pollution is an observable threat that can harm the ecological health of an aquatic system and the survival rate of the organisms that reside within (Allan and Flecker, 1993). Due to the advancement in civilization, there has also been an increase in pollution production through human activity. Which then affects many aquatic ecosystems, including but not limited to streams and rivers (Allan and Flecker, 1993). Although pollution of rivers and streams are contributed by toxic chemicals, the alteration of a habitat weakens the health on a higher level. Examples of these alterations are limiting vegetation alongside streams, and embankments or changing the direction of a channel (Allan and Flecker, 1993). Pollution and seasonal changes were found to be factors which aided in the reduction of species diversity, thus reducing the variety in rivers that resided in modified ecosystems (Williams et al. 2003). Although harmful to an environment, pollution can be diminished by ensuring that man-made alterations or creations of ponds have more extensive protection in agriculturally rich landscapes (Davies et al. 2008). Pollution and other ailments that harm an environment can greatly affect the habitats means of health on both a physical and

However, there are also many ways that a watershed can be deemed unhealthy. This can be due to the overwhelming factors of pollution that affects water quality. Some of the negative variables that scientists may study when collecting data on watersheds may include but are not limited to, runoff, pollution, erosion, and changes in water cycle that can affect flows in the river. Runoff is the movement of land water to the ocean and consists of precipitation that does not evaporate or go into the ground and is also a major cause to flooding. When land is paved or covered, the ground is not able to absorb water from the rain. The amount of water reduces due to human use

“Water is life's matter and matrix, mother, and medium. There is no life without water. (Szent-Gyorgyi)” This powerful phrase was coined by Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, a Nobel Prize winning biochemist. Even in the early 1900’s when Albert lived, people were talking about water pollution. Pollution is still even today, a hot topic of politics. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, pollution is “the action of polluting, especially by environmental contamination with man-made waste.” Pollutants can be more than synthetic waste. Pollutants can be natural such as soil, volcanic ash, and minerals. Whether the pollution is natural or accidental, humans should always carefully monitor pollution in our waterways. Pollution can affect the life from plants to wildlife, and even humans. Therefore, having regular water testing is important for maintaining and monitoring pollution, animal populations, and overall water quality.