Water Quality of Salmon CreekWater Quality of Salmon CreekTerri-Ann MahoneyTerri-Ann MahoneyMarci WedemeyerMarci Wedemeyer

Water Quality of Salmon CreekWater Quality of Salmon Creek

• Is the water quality consistent along the Salmon Creek Greenway Trail at different times of the day?

• We wanted to determine if phosphate, nitrate, pH, and dissolved oxygen changed based on the time of day the water was collected.

Water Quality of Salmon CreekWater Quality of Salmon Creek

• Our collection site is along the Salmon Creek Greenway trail off of NW 36th Avenue.

45.720106, 122.704153 +45° 43' 12.38", 122° 42' 14.95"

Site DescriptionSite Description

The Salmon Creek Trail is a paved walking trail along the Salmon Creek.

Our collection site was about .14 of a mile from the west entrance.

The trail from the pavement to the creek is through long crab grass and then slopes down to the bank.

This is considered a recreational area however there are houses close by.

Water Quality MeasurementsWater Quality Measurements

• We purchased the water monitoring kit from the Clark College Bookstore, Earth Green LaMotte Company – Low Cost Water Monitoring Kit.

Water Quality MeasurementsWater Quality Measurements

• We tested the water samples for the following:– Dissolved oxygen: important for all aquatic animals to

survive– Nitrate: needed for plants and animals to build

protein– Phosphate: nutrients for plant and animal growth– pH: measures for acidic or basic quality of water– Coliform: test used to detect the presence of fecal

contamination– Turbidity: clarity of the water

Water Quality MeasurementsWater Quality MeasurementsEach measurement proved to stay consistent regardless of the collection time.

ResultsResults

Phosphate levels - FairNitrate levels - FairDissolved oxygen – GoodPH – GoodTemperature range 18-21 C – PoorColiform Positive - PoorTurbidity 0 - Excellent

Date Time Phosphate Nitrate DO pH Depth

7/10/2010 7:00 AM 1 5 8 7

7/22/2010 6:00 PM 1 0 8 8

7/23/2010 9:00 AM 1 5 8 7 37"

7/31/2010 7:00 PM 2 5 8 7

8/7/2010 10:00 AM 2 0 8 8 31.5"

Field Notes – Terri-Ann and MarciField Notes – Terri-Ann and Marci

7/10 Marci and I collected water together the first day. We selected an area not far from the west entrance to Salmon Creek Trail. Collection time 7:00 am, the water is high and we don’t have to leave the bank to collect our sample. While we are collecting we see a duck swimming along the creek.

Time of day 7:00 am

pH (kit) 7 ppm

pH (computer) 7.6 ppm

pH (paper) 6 ppm

Phosphate 1 ppm

Nitrate 5 ppm

Dissolved Oxygen

8 ppm

• 7/22/10 – Collection today was done with the help of Ross, Marci’s son, he was gracious enough to venture down into the mud of the creek bank to obtain the sample. Collection time, 6:00 PM, clear slow moving water, no wildlife observed. Ambient temperature was 84 F, water temperature 68 F, no measurable rain since our last collection date.

Field Notes – MarciField Notes – MarciTime of day 6:00 PM

Air Temp 28 C

Water Temp 20 C

pH (kit)pH (paper)

8 ppm7 ppm

Phosphate 1 ppm

Nitrate 0 ppm

Dissolved Oxygen

8 ppm

Turbidity Clear

Field Notes – Terri-AnnField Notes – Terri-Ann7/28 For this collection I was accompanied by

my son, Johnathan. It is a very sunny morning and the

temperature outside is comfortable. The water level is lower. The creek itself is

muddy and the bottom is rocky. The current is fast moving.

The water appears to be clear.

Time of day 9:00 am

Air Temp 21.8 C

Water Temp 15.2 C

Depth 37”

pH (kit) 7 ppm

Phosphate 1 ppm

Nitrate 5 ppm

Dissolved Oxygen

8 ppm

Field Notes – MarciField Notes – Marci7/31

Again Ross joined me for water collection, today he brought rubber boots. The skies are clear, no rain since the last collection date, no wildlife observed, the water is down quite a bit from the last date and Ross has to wade through the muddy creek bed before he can collect a water sample. The ambient temperature today is 20 C and the water temperature is 15 C.

Time of day 7:00 PM

Air Temp 20 C

Water Temp 16 C

pH (kit) 7 ppm

Phosphate 2 ppm

Nitrate 5 ppm

Dissolved Oxygen

8 ppm

Coliform Positive

Turbidity Clear

Field Notes – Terri-AnnField Notes – Terri-Ann

8/7For this collection I was accompanied again by

Johnathan and my daughter Keelie. It is a very sunny morning and the temperature outside

is comfortable. The water level is much lower than the last two trips

only 31.5”. The current is fast moving.

The water appears to be clear. We want to collect some macro Invertebrates but find

we cannot, because we don’t have the correct equipment to collect a proper sample.

Time of day 10:00 am

Air Temp 19.4 C

Water Temp 15.1 C

Depth 31.5”

pH (kit) 8 ppm

Phosphate 2 ppm

Nitrate 0 ppm

Dissolved Oxygen

8 ppm

Coliform Bacterial

Positive

Turbidity 20 JTU

MacroMacro InvertebratesInvertebrates

After our field trip with Judy Bufford, we tried to collect a sample of macro invertebrates. However, without the proper collection equipment the attempt was unsuccessful.

ConclusionConclusionWe found that the water quality results along the Salmon Creek Greenway Trail were consistent and that the time of collection had no bearing on the sample collected.

Overall the water in Salmon Creek was not as healthy as we had anticipated. It would be interesting to investigate the causes for such a low quality water rating.

This was a fun family activity that brought to light the need to protect our streams and to be more conscious about our wastewater habits.