Water Quality Factors Sources Implications Appropriate Values Protective Measures

Ammonia, NH 3  Sources: Industrial cleaners, bacteria from septic systems & farm animals, fertilizers  Appropriate Values: <.06mg/L  Implications:  >0.06mg/L fish begin to suffer gill damage  >.1mg/L considered polluted waters  >2mg/L fish like trout and salmon begin to die  More dangerous at higher pH and temperatures.  Using safe cleaners, cleaning septic systems regularly, maintaining vegetation between pastures & creeks, using less or slow release fertilizers.

Nitrates  Sources: fertilizers, bacterial processing of animal wastes and septic systems  Appropriate Values: maximum 10mg/L by USPHS to avoid poisoning.  Implications: Below 90mg/L nitrates have no effect on warm water fish, but salmon are more sensitive.  Protect by using less or slow release fertilizers, cleaning septic systems, maintaining vegetation between pastures & creeks.

Phosphates SSSSources: fertilizers, animal wastes, industrial boilers, pesticides, cleaners, & phosphate containing rocks. IIIImplications - 1: Low levels ( mg/L) increase growth of water plants and plankton which provide food for fish. IIIImplications – 2: High levels (.025mg/L) produce excessive growth of algae & plants consuming oxygen & choking out waterlife. AAAAppropriate Values: 0.1mg/L is recommended maximum for rivers and streams. PPPProtect by using less or slow release fertilizers, maintaining vegetation between pastures & creeks, disposing of boiler waste safely, using less pesticides or pesticides free of phosphates, washing cars on lawn so lawn will absorb cleaners.

Dissolved Oxygen, DO  Sources: Diffusion from the surrounding air; aeration of turbulent water & as a waste product of photosynthesis.  Implications-1: Dissolved oxygen decreases with higher temperatures. When there are too many bacteria or aquatic animal in the area, they may overpopulate, using DO in great amounts.  Protect by maintaining vegetation to shade creek & filter out pasture manure & bacteria run off. Regularly clean septic systems to minimize seapage of bacteria.

Dissolved Oxygen (continued)  Implications-2: Overfertilization of water plants by run-off from farm fields produces overgrowth. If the weather becomes cloudy for several days, respiring plants will use much of the available DO. When these plants die, they become food for bacteria, which in turn multiply and use large amounts of oxygen.  Appropriate Values: 4-5 mg/L (ppm) of DO is the minimum amount that will support a large, diverse fish population.  Protect by maintaining plants around creek to absorb excess nutrients from fertilizer and cleaners.

Turbidity  Sources:  Suspended silt from soil erosion from storms, logging, mining, and dredging operations.  Suspended bacteria, plankton, plant fibers, sawdust, wood ashes, chemicals and/or coal dust.  Appropriate Values: Healthy ponds have less than 25NTU.

Turbidity (2/3)  Implications-1: Interference with sunlight penetration. Turbidity can block out light, and reduce photosynthetic production of oxygen.  Implications-2: Large amounts of suspended matter may clog the gills of fish and shellfish and kill them directly. Silt will fill in the gravel where salmon eggs are laid. This can suffocate eggs that are present and ruin the spawning ground.  Protect by shielding creeks from construction, mining & logging run off.

Turbidity (3/3)  Implications-3: Suspended particles may provide a place for harmful microorganisms to lodge. Some suspended particles may provide a breeding ground for bacteria.  Implications-4: Fish can’t see very well in turbid water and so may have difficulty finding food. On the other hand, turbid water may make it easier for fish to hide from predators.  Protect by shielding creeks from construction, mining & logging run off.

pH – Measure of Acid/Base Balance  Sources:  Industrial & community discharges.  Organic decay adds CO 2 and lowers pH; fertilizers & detergents raise the pH.  Implications: Acid pHs (<7) amplify the toxicity of pollutants. Acid rain leaches important minerals from the soil that may be toxic in fresh water.  Appropriate Values:  pH 5-9 tolerable for most fish species.  Protect by maintaining vegetation around creeks to filter out pollutants before reaching the creek.

Temperature  Sources: Dark water absorbs more heat. Deep water stays cool longer. Shade keeps streams cool. Water temperature varies with the seasons. Glacial runoff is colder. Industrial waste water is warmer.  Implications: High temperatures decrease dissolved oxygen. Temperature changes signal migrations for fish.  Appropriate Values: Coho salmon can’t survive above 24 o C, can’t grow above 18 o C, and won’t spawn above 10 o C. Eggs can’t mature above 13 o C.  Protect by maintaining vegetation to shade creek. Allow warm industrial water to cool in ponds before returning to creeks.

Conductivity  Why is it important?  Electrical conductivity (EC) estimates the amount of total dissolved salts (TDS), or the total amount of dissolved ions in the water. conductivityTDSconductivityTDS  Inputs:  geology (rock types) - The rock composition determines the chemistry of the watershed soil and ultimately the lake. For example, limestone leads to higher conductivity because the limestone slowly dissolves.  "other" sources of ions to lakes - There are a number of sources of pollutants which may be signaled by increased conductivity: wastewater from sewage treatment plants; wastewater from septic systems and drainfield on-site wastewater treatment and disposal systems; urban runoff from roads (especially road salt). This source has a particularly bad when it rains or during more prolonged snowmelt periods. It may "shock" organisms with intermittent extreme concentrations of pollutants which seem low when averaged over a week or month; agricultural runoff of water draining agricultural fields typically has extremely high levels of dissolved salts from fertilizers

Conductivity  CONDUCTIVITY AND TOTAL DISSOLVED SALT VALUES EC (µS/cm) TDS(mg/L)  Divide Lake  Lake Superior  Lake Tahoe  Grindstone Lake  Ice Lake  Lake Independence  Lake Mead  Atlantic Ocean 43,000 35,000  Great Salt Lake 158, ,000  Dead Sea ? ~330,000  Appropriate Values: Most lakes appear to have less than 100mg/L of conductivity.  Implications: High levels of conductivity may indicate high levels of any number of possible pollutants. Conductivity provides a estimate of all the dissolved salts and minerals. A high value may be an symptom of excessive pollution.  Protection: Use sand instead of road salt. Maintain vegetation around creeks to filter and absorb pollutants before reaching the creeks.