Water Quality Indicators By: Brenlee Stewart, Lauren Desautels and Alivia McCroskey

What is water quality? Water quality is the condition of the water based on physical and chemical characteristics as well as the organisms living in the water.

What Does pH tell us about water? pH is classified as a number 0-14. On a pH scale an acid is from 0 to 7, 0 being the weakest. From 7 to 14 are bases, 14 is the strongest. This measures how much acid and or base is in the liquid. An acid is a chemical substance that overcomes salts and dissolves some metals. A base is a molecule that splits when it’s added to water and releases hydroxide ions. The hydroxide ion is a negatively charged molecule made up of one oxygen attached to one hydrogen. Some acids and bases are dangerous because they can poison people and animals. If a liquid has a pH of seven it is considered neutral or average, purified water would be considered neutral. pH can tell us how acidic or how much base is in a liquid. http://www.ducksters.com/science/acids_and_bas es.php https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair- projects/references/acids-bases-the-ph-scale EX- Acid is what makes lemons taste so sour.

A pH scale

What is turbidity? Turbidity is how cloudy or murky the water is. If your water is too cloudy, you wouldn’t be able to see through the water. High turbidity can significantly reduce the quality of lakes and streams, having a damaging impact on recreation and visitors. It can harm fish and other aquatic life by reducing food supplies and affecting gill function. The higher the turbidity the higher the temperature of the water. Warmer water holds less dissolved oxygen. Without dissolved oxygen, fish’s gills would get clogged, making all of the aquatic organisms unable to breathe. chrome-extension://bpmcpldpdmajfigpchkicefoigmkfalc/views/app.html

What is dissolved oxygen and why is it so important? Dissolved oxygen is used for respiration of aquatic life and it is one of the best indicators of water quality. Cool and fresh waters can hold more oxygen than warmer and salty waters. Dissolved Oxygen is important because we need water in everything we do and dissolved oxygen is just like breathing. It is important for survival of aquatic animals, bacteria and underwater plants. If there isn't enough oxygen in the water, fish can suffocate. https://www.pca.state.mn.us/sites/default/files/w q-iw3-24.pdf

Question 1 What is turbidity and how does it affect the water? Turbidity is how clear the water is. If your water is murky then it can harm aquatic life.

Question 2 What can happen to fish when there isn't enough oxygen in the water? They can suffocate They no longer can float in the water They can't see Nothing, fish don’t need oxygen ✔

What are bioindicators? A bioindicator is an organism whose role, population, or status can reveal the condition of the environment surrounding it. Organisms are sensitive to changes in their environment, the organism may die or change behavior when something drastically changes in their surrounding habitat. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioindicator https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/1538-bioindicators

good vs. bad bioindicators - Fishflies, scuds, and other macroinvertebrates can help tell whether the water quality is good. These organisms are very sensitive to changes in water quality, making them a good bioindicator. - Macroinvertebrates are a critical part of the food chain and they can’t escape the water, it makes it easy to find out the water quality based on the organisms living in the water. - Black flies, midge flies, and lunged snails are all tolerant to to pollution, meaning it doesn’t impact their daily routines. - These would not be good bioindicators because they could still live in the badly polluted water.

Question 3 What is the difference between good and bad bioindicators? A good bioindicator is sensitive to changes in water quality and a bad bioindicator is tolerant to the changes

What is temperature? Temperature is the measurement of how warm, hot, or cold something is. Temperature affects the oxygen level in the water Thermal Pollution is usually found near power plants. Power plants discharge large amounts of hot water into bodies of water with a cooler temperature than the water they dump in. Temperature has a high influence on biological activity and development. Species have certain temperature ranges, if the temperature goes too far or below their limit they will die off until there are none of that species left. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temperature http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/waterq3/WQassess4h.html https://water.usgs.gov/edu/temperature.html

Question 4 Explain what temperature measures Temperature measures how hot, cold or warm something is.

What are Nitrates and Phosphates? Nitrates are chemical compounds that have atoms of Nitrogen and Oxygen. Nitrates help agriculture with chemical fertilizers but not our water supplies because what is not taken away and absorbed by plants is washed away into groundwater or into bodies of water. This can cause Eutrophication. Phosphates are not organic chemicals. There are Hydrogen Phosphates and Dihydrogen Phosphates Both of these are found in fertilizers and soils. Large quantities of either of these can be harmful to the environment. http://www.freedrinkingwater.com/water_quality/quality1/1-what-nitrate-and-phosphate-do.htm

Interesting Facts!!!!!!! The Mississippi River carries about 1.5 million metric tons of nitrogen pollution into the Gulf of Mexico each year 10% of beaches in America fail to meet the quality standard for safe swimming water. More people die from polluted water than from all forms of violence 320 million people in China do not have access to clean drinking water BP caused a huge oil spill in 2010. Over 1,000 animals were reported dead and many of them were on the endangered species list. http://www.seametrics.com/blog/water-pollution-facts/

Websites http://www.ducksters.com/science/acids_and_bases.php https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/references/acids-bases-the-ph-scale http://www.seametrics.com/blog/water-pollution-facts/ http://www.freedrinkingwater.com/water_quality/quality1/1-what-nitrate-and-phosphate-do.htm chrome-extension://bpmcpldpdmajfigpchkicefoigmkfalc/views/app.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temperature http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/waterq3/WQassess4h.html https://water.usgs.gov/edu/temperature.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioindicator https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/1538-bioindicators https://www.pca.state.mn.us/sites/default/files/wq-iw3-24.pdf