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Big Walnut Watershed

Big Walnut Watershed. By : Caroline Oldstone – Moore, Devina Mehta, Jillian Frost. Map of Big Walnut. Impaired streams are not meeting the Ohio standards for good water quality. The main causes of impairment are nutrient enrichment, siltation, and channelization.

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Big Walnut Watershed

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  1. Big Walnut Watershed By : Caroline Oldstone – Moore, Devina Mehta, Jillian Frost

  2. Map of Big Walnut Impaired streams are not meeting the Ohio standards for good water quality. The main causes of impairment are nutrient enrichment, siltation, and channelization. Impairment is affected by the quality of the substrate Agriculture Forests Reservoir Urban

  3. Construction sites expose soil and some soil is washed into the streams. Storm sewers drain runoff from streets and parking lots into streams and rivers. Urban Impact on Substrate Construction sites

  4. Substrate • A substrate is the bottom of a body of water. A rocky substrate is important because it gives macroinvertebrates a habitat, and fish lay eggs in between the rocks. If a substrate is covered with siltation, the fish and macroinvertebrate population will decrease.

  5. The Good and the Bad

  6. Scientific Method • Problem/Water Quality • Observations • Hypothesis • Data Collection from EPA test sites • Data Analysis with graphs • Conclusions • Recommendations

  7. Hypothesis #1 • The high quality of the substrate will greatly increase the quality of the habitat ( = the QHEI), and therefore the IBI will increase.

  8. Substrate vs. QHEI and IBI

  9. Conclusion My data has supported the hypothesis that as the substrate’s quality increases the IBI and the QHEI increase.

  10. When urban and agricultural areas in the watershed increase, the QHEI ( or habitat quality) decreases. Hypothesis #2

  11. Ave QHEI and Forestation vs. Urban and Agriculture

  12. Agriculture harms the QHEI in two ways. • As cattle cross the bank, dirt erodes into the stream and causes siltation. • When the land is farmed right to the stream’s edge, there is no vegetation to hold the dirt in place. This causes soil to erode into the stream and settle over the substrate.

  13. My Conclusion My conclusion is that the data I presented supports my hypothesis. The QHEI was improved when the riparian zone was healthy, while the QHEI was impaired when the riparian zone was in an agricultural or urban area.

  14. Hypothesis #3 When the water temperature decreases, there will be more dissolved oxygen and a higher IBI.

  15. Data

  16. Conclusion • My data showed that my hypothesis was partially supported. • The water temperature does affect the DO levels, but the temperature does not seem to affect the IBI at some places according to the data.

  17. Recommendations… Farmers could plant vegetation along fields and pastures to improve the Riparian Zone. Stop cutting down trees, and the trees that have been cut down should be replaced. Find safer ways of disposing of waste, and practice conservation more frequently. Fence off pastures to keep livestock out of stream areas.

  18. Acknowledgements Paula- for being such a great leader Steve & Virginie – for being so patient and such computer pros! Leslie- for always giving us a laugh when we needed one and for being so helpful. KK- for being a great mentor. Anne & Sahaja- for being there when we needed them! Parents- for giving us the opportunity to come. Nichelle- for being an awesome teacher!!!!!

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