New Mexico Watershed Watch Your school name and river name This project funded by the NM Dept. Of Game & Fish and the Sports Fish Restoration Program

Hydrologic Cycle

What is a watershed?

What is your watershed address?

What types of connections exist within watersheds? Community settlement often near water sources Surface water and groundwater What people do upstream affects people downstream Rivers change naturally from upstream to downstream

Surface Water and Groundwater Connections Septic tanks can pollute groundwater Over-pumping from wells can diminish water in streams

How might upstream users impact downstream users?

Rivers Change Naturally River Continuum Concept – – Speed of water flow slows down at lower elevations – Water temperature increases downstream – Shade decreases at lower elevation and food for aquatic life starts coming from the sun rather than from streamside vegetation

Rivers Change Naturally Season of the year affects the temperature of the stream & turbidity (intense rainstorms produce more sediment in streams) Functional feeding groups for fish and insects change – upstream there are organisms that rely on coarse food such as insects that are shredders -- downstream there are more collectors that filter with nets or gather their food

Watershed Management How do we assess and learn what is happening in our watershed? –How do we test if the watershed is healthy?

Chemistry Turbidity Temperature pH Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Nutrients (Nitrogen and Phosphorus)

Turbidity Measurement of how clear or cloudy water is depending on suspended solids. –How much light is able to pass through?

Temperature Why is water temperature important to fish or other aquatic life?

pH Acidic vs basic Pure water = pH of 7.0 Rainwater = pH of 5.6 pH of 6.6 to 8.8 is optimal for most species

Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Inorganic salts (calcium, magnesium, bicarbonates, etc) Organic matter Hard vs Soft water We measure TDS by looking at how water conducts electricity

Nutrients Nitrogen Phosphorus Too much nutrients cause algae blooms When the algae die, oxygen gets too low for fish

Biology Benthic macro-invertebrates Vegetation diversity Vegetation buffer width

Benthic Macro-invertebrates (water insects) Benthic = “bottom dwelling” Invertebrate = “without a spine” Some water insects are very sensitive, they can’t handle pollution they tell us if the water has been clean

Vegetation Diversity and Buffer Width Shading Filtration of erosion and other pollutants Bank stabilization Improved habitat

Physical Stream-flow/Discharge Distance of river to nearest disturbance Rock embeddedness

Stream-flow How much water (volume) is passing a point in time. –Cubic feet/sec; Cubic meters/sec

Stream-flow

Monitoring on the ---- River What is the condition of the River near location?

Monitoring on the River Temperature Turbidity pH Total Dissolved Solids Nutrients Riparian habitat assessment Benthic macro-invertebrates Streamflow

Monitoring on the ---- River Warm clothing Good shoes Water bottle Have fun & be safe!