Water Quality of Salmon Creek Terri-Ann Mahoney Marci Wedemeyer

Water 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 Creek Our collection site is along the Salmon Creek Greenway trail off of NW 36 th Avenue , ° 43' 12.38", 122° 42' 14.95"

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

Water 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 Measurements Each measurement proved to stay consistent regardless of the collection time.

Results Phosphate levels - Fair Nitrate levels - Fair Dissolved oxygen – Good PH – Good Temperature range C – Poor Coliform Positive - Poor Turbidity 0 - Excellent DateTimePhosphateNitrateDOpHDepth 7/10/20107:00 AM1587 7/22/20106:00 PM1088 7/23/20109:00 AM158737" 7/31/20107:00 PM2587 8/7/201010:00 AM "

Field 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 dont have to leave the bank to collect our sample. While we are collecting we see a duck swimming along the creek. Time of day7:00 am pH (kit)7 ppm pH (computer)7.6 ppm pH (paper)6 ppm Phosphate1 ppm Nitrate5 ppm Dissolved Oxygen 8 ppm

7/22/10 – Collection today was done with the help of Ross, Marcis 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 – Marci Time of day6:00 PM Air Temp28 C Water Temp20 C pH (kit) pH (paper) 8 ppm 7 ppm Phosphate1 ppm Nitrate0 ppm Dissolved Oxygen 8 ppm TurbidityClear

Field Notes – Terri-Ann 7/28 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 day9:00 am Air Temp21.8 C Water Temp15.2 C Depth37 pH (kit)7 ppm Phosphate1 ppm Nitrate5 ppm Dissolved Oxygen 8 ppm

Field Notes – Marci 7/31 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 day7:00 PM Air Temp20 C Water Temp16 C pH (kit)7 ppm Phosphate2 ppm Nitrate5 ppm Dissolved Oxygen 8 ppm ColiformPositive TurbidityClear

Field Notes – Terri-Ann 8/7 For 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 The current is fast moving. The water appears to be clear. We want to collect some macro Invertebrates but find we cannot, because we dont have the correct equipment to collect a proper sample. Time of day10:00 am Air Temp19.4 C Water Temp15.1 C Depth31.5 pH (kit)8 ppm Phosphate2 ppm Nitrate0 ppm Dissolved Oxygen 8 ppm Coliform Bacterial Positive Turbidity20 JTU

MacroInvertebrates Macro Invertebrates 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.

Conclusion We 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.