Residential Land Use and Population Densities By: Alexis Smallwood, Taylor Poling, Jordan Butts, Meghan Hissam, Tia LeMaster
Mill Creek of Opequon Creek Data Chemical conditions ResultUnits Temperature (C/F) 5.5C pH 7.5 Conductivity 680us Dissolved Oxygen 10ppm Nitrate/Nitrite 0ppm Alkalinity 275ppm Turbidity 0JTU Bacteria (Fecal/E-coli) na Phosphate 1 ppm
Physical conditions Run width (ft)naRiffle width (ft)5.0' Run depth (ft)naRifffle depth (ft).43' Discharge (cfs)5.5Streambed colorbrown Water levelnormalSurface foamslight Water clarityclearAlgae colorlight gr / br Water colornoneAlgae abundancemoderate Water odornoneAlgae textureeven coating Sediment odornaChannel shadefair: % shaded LeftRight Sediment Deposition4Bank Stability33 Embeddedness6 Riparian Buffer width 11 Substrate comp (LG)naHabitat Score:18
Mill Creek and Local Residential Areas
Overall, the Mill Creek data that our school collected showed that the stream was considered “healthy.” The Big Run data that was collected by the TMI Watershed group showed that their stream was healthier than the Mill Creek stream. The Big Run stream for example had less algae than the Mill Creek stream. We believe that the reason the Mill Creek stream isn’t as healthy as the Big Run stream is because the Mill Creek area is largely populated compared to the Big Run area.
April 19, 2010 Free Chlorine- 0.0ppm pH- 8 Total alkalinity- 0ppm Total chlorine- 0.2ppm Total hardness- 0ppm Nitrates- 0ppm Nitrites- 0ppm Iron- 0ppm Copper- 0ppm Sulfates- 100ppm Hydrogen Sulfide- 0.2ppm Chloride- 400ppm Temp degrees C April 12,2010 Free Chlorine- 0.0ppm pH- 8 Total alkalinity- 120ppm Total chlorine- 0ppm Total hardness- 0ppm Nitrates- 0ppm Nitrites- 0ppm Iron- 0ppm Copper- 0ppm Sulfates- 100ppm Hydrogen Sulfide- 0ppm Chloride- 500ppm Temp degrees C Current Data of Musselman High School
Musselman High School Watershed Photos
Conclusions of MHS In conclusion, MHS is like a big house, we have a kitchen, restrooms, and cars. Due to the similar features our school has a negative affect on the water around Musselman High School. This is caused by the waste, water use, trash, any amount of cars. Fortunately, there are many things being done to help our surrounding water such as the green roof and the watershed groups monitoring, cleaning up the trash and planting trees.
(1) slight, (2) moderate, (3) high; (W) watershed, (M) within ¼ mile, (S) streamside. Land useImpactLocation single family residencesS3 recreationS1 paved roadsS2 bridgeS2 Industrial areasW1 active constructionW2 abandoned miningW1 loggingW2 pasturelandM1 croplandW1 sub-urban developmentsM1 parking lotsS1 PipesNO Urban/residential/road impervious areas acres
Examples of land use in this area are restaurants, homes and housing developments, hotels, small businesses, school, banks, state highways, quarry, supermarkets, parking lots, farms, parks, recreational areas, orchards, etc.
This satellite photograph is the same picture as the previous slide except we made a few changes. The areas on the map that are blacked out are areas that have not been affected by population densities and residential land use. Things such as construction sites, quarrys, housing developments, educational facilities, and recreational areas are all dominant land uses in the local Mill Creek watershed area.
In this My World document, it shows different types of housing data. It shows the number of housing units for different types of people and different types of homes. It tells us that the total number of household units in the Mill Creek watershed area is 844, ,142 of these units are vacant homes, 553,699 are owner households, and 182,782 of the units are rental households. We believe that the type of owner’s of the units may affect how well the property is taken care of physically. The conditions of the property can affect local watersheds. For example, we believe that rental owners are not as considerate of their property as people who own their property.
The Opequon Creek covers 97,000 acres of land and the stream runs for kilometers (45 miles). The Mill Creek watershed has an area of square kilometers (29.75 square miles) and runs kilometers (14.5 miles) north and east. A maximum of 30% of people know about watershed groups. Berkeley County population as of 2009 is 99,734 people. The local sewage is not treated well enough according to a local court case. This contributes to higher nitrogen and phosphorus levels in the streams. As populations increase, the percentage of people that flush expired prescriptions increases. This causes the fish in the streams to mutate and become intersex. Since 2004, construction sites clearing over 1 acre of land were required to have an erosion plan to compensate.
Conclusion When population densities and new types of land use increase, the local watersheds around that area will be affected negatively. There are multiple factors such as whether the new land uses are constructed of impervious surfaces, the location of homes, and many other things that can affect local watersheds. Due to the 28.49% increase in population since 2000, local watershed groups (such as the one at Musselman High School) have teamed together to protect our local watershed.
Bibliography Big Run & Millcreek stream data. Retrieved October 9, 2009, from SM_StreamIndexCalculations_MASTER_09.xls SM_StreamIndexCalculations_MASTER_09.xls SM_StreamIndexCalculations_MASTER_09.xls Conley Natural Stream Design Project Proposal. (n.d.). Opequon Creek. Retrieved April 14, 2010, from ect319Conley08408.pdf ect319Conley08408.pdfwww.opequoncreek.org/Watershed%20Based%20Plan/ProposalForS ect319Conley08408.pdf Convert Miles to Kilometers. Retrieved April 22, 2010, from Get Wet. Retrieved April 22, 2010, from anielle-retention_pond-GLOBE_redo.ppt anielle-retention_pond-GLOBE_redo.ppt Google Maps. (2010, April 14). Google Maps. Retrieved April 14, 2010, from My World. Retrieved April 14, 2010, from ershed_pop_info_continued__3.doc ershed_pop_info_continued__3.doc ershed_pop_info_continued__3.doc Opequon Creek Watershed. (2007, June 15). Opequon Creek Project Team. Retrieved April 14, 2010, from Survey Results From Virginia And. (n.d.). What Do Riparian Owners. Retrieved April 14, 2010, from Stewards & Allies Win Jefferson County Sewage Case. (n.d.). Stewards of The Potomac Highlands. Retrieved April 5, 2010, from West Virginia County Map - WV Counties - Map of West Virginia. (n.d.). Free Printable Topo Maps - Instant Access to Topographic Maps. Retrieved April 14, 2010, from West Virginia Division of Natural Resources Department of Natural Resources. 10 Dec