1 / 19

H 2 whOa !

H 2 whOa !. The Governor’s Institute of Environmental Science & Technology- Water Group. Analyzing data of the physical, chemical, biological parameters to make sure the rivers are healthy.

josiah
Download Presentation

H 2 whOa !

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. H2whOa! The Governor’s Institute of Environmental Science & Technology- Water Group

  2. Analyzing data of the physical, chemical, biological parameters to make sure the rivers are healthy. “It doesn’t matter how beautiful your theory is, it doesn’t matter how smart you are. If it doesn’t agree with experiment, it’s wrong.” -Richard Feynman Why? The Governors Institute of Vermont Environmental Science and Technology have conducted a series of tests and assessments for the overall quality of the rivers, Centennial and Mill brook . Water Pollution Study  We have damaged the rivers and now we want to fix them. Testing to ensure the water quality is normal To better understand the wildlife To get experience in field work.

  3. Centennial Brook: Land within the watershed The Brook is located in a urban area. The main part of the brook is .08 miles in length. It has many branches of water, but 2 main sections that branch towards the east and the south. It’s no longer touched by humans(as in farming and living). It has lower water levels that can be seen by past erosion located higher than the water levels now. Residential areas of the east side take up a lot of the watershed. The Watershed drains 887 acres

  4. Centennial Brook Watershed

  5. Mill Brook • Mill Brook is part of the Winooski Watershed, located in Jericho, Vermont. • Jericho is mainly farmland, with some residential areas. • Mill Brook is located in a rural area without a lot of civilization. • Mill Brook is used for recreational boating as well as trout fishing. • Mill Brook is about 9.5 miles in length.

  6. Mill Brook Watershed Mill Brook watershed area is 10,350 acres.

  7. Stream Habitat Assessment Results Centennial Brook: Averages Mill Brook: Averages Centennial Brook: Suboptimal 130 Mill Brook: Suboptimal 140

  8. pH and Light A pH measurement of 7.0 is considered neutral for water so both brooks were more basic. pH can affect which organisms live in the water. Light levels affect watersheds by controlling temperature and algae growth. EPA standards for pH measurement are between 6.5 and 8.0 so both brooks are within the Federal Standards.

  9. Conductivity Conductivity = how well water can conduct electricity. Directly related to dissolved ions/temperature (the warmer the water, the better the conductivity) Sources of ions: • Sodium (road salt) • Magnesium • Calcium • Iron • Aluminum • Chloride • Nitrate • Sulfate • Phosphate

  10. ICP(Inductively coupled plasma spectrometer) report 560 Parts per million Elements

  11. Dissolved Oxygen & Temperature Streams produce and consume DO Velocity and vegetation add oxygen Aquatic organisms and organic matter consume oxygen. Dissolved oxygen is directly related to temperature. The Numbers: Centennial Brook: Temp: 19°C DO: 11.2 mg/L Acceptable: 6.22-9.26 mg/L Mill Brook: Temp: 13.5°C DO: 9.8 mg/L Acceptable: 6.8-10.5 mg/L

  12. Phosphorus • Enters water systems by natural and human methods • Must be limited to not accelerate eutrophication- accelerated plant growth, algae blooms, low dissolved oxygen and death of certain aquatic animals • Centennial vs. Mill Brook

  13. Nitrates Nitrate content data Testing water samples for PO4-3 and NO3- NO3- & NO2- Pollution sources: fertilizers, septic tanks, sewers Algae growth  limited sunlight

  14. Macroinvertebrate Survey What are macroinvertebrates? Why should we study them? How do we collect them? What do our results mean?

  15. Midge Larva Mayfly

  16. SEM Data What is SEM? What can it do? What did we find?  Calcium, Carbon Oxygen

  17. Element Map of Black Fly Larva Key: Green= Carbon Red= Oxygen Blue=Aluminum

  18. Solutions Despite the fact that Vermont is one of the healthier states in the country, actions still must be taken to improve the overall quality of the rivers and streams • Waste water management/ water filtration • Patrol for invasive aquatic plants and animals • Weekly monitoring of the lake water quality • Healthy buffer zones • River and stream habitat awareness

  19. Thank You!

More Related