Mullet river monitoring

1. By: Cheyanne, Kayla, and Ariana Mullet river monitoring

2. Our first thought of the river is that it was muddy, dirty, ucky, and nasty. We tested the dissolved oxygen, total solids, and pH to see if it was healthy or unhealthy.

3. Data Gathered • Dissolved oxygen is the first test. The higher the dissolved oxygen the better. We got: 10mg/l and 115% saturation, 10mg/l and 115% saturation, 8mg/l and 90% saturation. • The average is 9.3mg/l and 106% saturation. This is okay because if it’s over 110% it could be harmful to animals in the river. If it’s below 5% it puts stress on animals in the water.

4. The two main sources of dissolved oxygen in the Mullet River is the atmosphere and photosynthesis. Currents and small waves in the water mix air into the water where oxygen dissolves until saturation occurs. Oxygen is also the result of aquatic plants and algae going through photosynthesis.

5. Total Solids • Total solids is the second test we took. 500mg/l is considered drinking water so the higher the total solids is the more pure the water is. Before evaporating the water it weighed 141.5 grams. After the water evaporated it weighed 110.75. After subtracting and multiplying the numbers, it ended being 30.75 mg/l of total solids.

6. Sources of total solids include industrial discharges, sewage, fertilizers, road runoff, and soil erosion. All of the above could be the source of total solids in the Mullet River because we have factories in Plymouth that could release harmful gases into the air and land in the river. The river is by a road so there could be a lot of road runoff.

7. pH • The last test we did was pH. Pure water is 7. Anything below 7 is acidic and anything above 7 is basic. We tested it 3 times and got 7, 7, and 8. The most common value is 7. Therefore the water is healthy.

8. When rain drops fall through the atmosphere, they dissolve gaseous carbon dioxide, creating a weak acid. We do not have acid rain here. It is caused when there is too much sulfur and carbon in the air from a car’s exhaust and discharge from factories. Canada has a lot of acid rain because there are a lot of cars and factories there.

9. Improvements • As you can see the river is very healthy. • We can maintain the river by keeping the water clean and not polluting it. We can improve the river by opening the dam and then closing it so the water can stay fresh and clean.

10. The insects we found in a water sample of the river are: Mayfly Larva, Water Boatman, Tetrahymena, Euglena, and many more. In order to keep these insects healthy in the river, we have to keep a constant pH otherwise the insects will die because of the dramatic change. We also should keep the water healthy by not polluting it. • The pollution sometimes comes from the Youth Center when kids don’t feel the need to throw their trash in the garbage. They throw it where ever and it eventually ends up in the river. • Other times it comes from road runoff when cars drive past the river, the wind blows trash over to the river.