Water Quality Factors 2014 SCIENCE CLASS

pH – Water (7) Water temperature affects the pH Amount of light can affect the pH Algae and plants affect the pH Types of rocks can affect the pH pH level affect the biosphere and what can live in that water.

Macro-invertebrates Use them to test water quality 3 Groups: Each group can live in different water conditions Polluted water, Somewhat polluted water, Clean water Play role in food web

Water Clarity Clear water usually means limited nutrients Measured by light penetration and transparency (turbidity or cloudiness) Soil, mud, sand, plankton, algae are common items that cause water clarity to decrease Heavy rainfall speeds up soil erosion Animals can stir up sediments on the bottom Wind helps add sediments to the water High temperatures = more aquatic plants. When plants die, they decompose and decrease water clarity.

Water Clarity continued Aquatic plants need sunlight. If the water is cloudy they do not get the sunlight. That in turn does not allow more dissolved oxygen to be in the water which living organisms need to survive. High turbidity is bad for drinking water supplies Clear water = people want to gather there (ex: vacations) Which leads to more pollution

Water Temperature Warmer water hold less dissolved oxygen Shallow water is warmer The amount of Trees that give shade affect the water temperature Thermal pollution = hot water is being released into rivers

Dissolved Oxygen Too many plants in the water causes higher dissolved oxygen rates Changes in water temperature changes the amount of dissolved oxygen Warm water has less dissolved oxygen Oxygen levels are high at day and low at night Changes in Dissolved Oxygen can put aquatic life at risk

Weather Conditions Affects temperature, wind speed/direction, precipitation and cloudiness which affect water quality Rain affects the pH level Acid rain

Current Speed Fast flowing waters are cool which gives it more dissolved oxygen More water = faster moving Flows faster through narrow openings Current speed changes during seasons Fast flow = more sediments moving Stream bed affects how fast the water can go