Autumn Jones

October 13, 2012

Chemistry Honors

Water Tests at Pike River

October 4, 2012, was a fieldwork day for the sophomore class at

Harborside Academy. The area occupied by students was near the pavilion at
JR by the play set. It was a sunny day at 65, but it was a bit windy at 11
miles per hour. There are many tests that were performed while at the Pike
River at Petrifying Springs. Each can be connected to another, but all are
different. The river is, of course, not perfect. There are always improvements
to be made regarding its health.
The temperature test is, like many would assume, how hot or cold a
river is. A probe or an average thermometer is used to measure the
temperature. What lives in the river is determined by the measurement. The
Pike River for that day was 18.9 Celsius. A lot of this test though is the pH
balance. The pH scale measures how acidic or basic a substance is. In Pike
River, the pH level was 7.2. The pH levels range from 0 to 14, so 7 is neutral.
This means that the river was not too acidic, nor basic. If the pH levels were
lower than 4.5 or higher than 9.5, a lot of the aquatic life would die off. The
best way, it seems, to maintain a healthy pH is to keep track of how much, if
any, chemicals go into the water.

Transparency is all about clarity. The group that tested it got 15.15
NTU, which is average or fair for a river. NTU, or Nephelometric Turbidity
Units, are a measurement of the amount of light scattered through a
substance. This number was reached by finding the average between the
turbidity tube and vernier probe. A turbidity tube was used by filling the tube
up with water from the river. A secchi disk is in the bottom of the tube, so
that it is filled up to the last point where you can still see the disk through
the water. A way to get better results and make the river healthier is to
reduce pollution and urban runoff.
The biotic index test is seeing how many creatures are in the water.
The goal for every river is to have a variety of living things. A student from
the group went into the river with waders and a net. They kicked around the
bottom so that the aquatic life could drift from the bottom and into the net.
Once there, the students picked out the macro-organisms and identified
each. The Pike River happened to have a biotic index of 2.6 out of 4.0. The
number is fine, but could be better. A way to make it better is to, again, not
pollute and take care of all the other tests.
Habitat is one of the more important tests because it really controls a
lot of results for the others. A rating is given for different categories, such as
channel alteration or vegetation. The ratings are on a scale of 1 to 4. The
Pike River varied in each category depending on if it was on the left or right

bank. Overall the river was 32.5 out of 40. If the river is healthy, it has no
pollution, not a lot of erosion, and vegetation & animal life.
Stream flow is a test thats number can always change. It is judged by
the depth, width, and velocity of the river. The stream flow can alter a lot
depending on the speed of the river and amount of water in it. If the flow
alters drastically, its bad for the river. Two groups went out to test the river.
Pike Rivers stream flow was 9.4 cubic feet per second. However, in an area
about 70 feet away from the first group, the stream flow was 8.7 cubic feet
per second. To make the river more healthy, one can eliminate pollution and
take out any large objects that may be changing the flow.
An alkalinity test was taken while at Pets. Alkalinity is the ability to
neutralize acid. The group that tested got 115 milligrams per liter. This result
is normal because it is between the ranges of 20 to 200 milligrams per liter.
Dissolved Oxygen tests the quality of dissolved oxygen in the water,
and how much plants and animals use. When tested, it was 8 milligrams per
liter and 85% saturation. The oxygen levels were averaged after nine
different tests. A healthy saturation level is 71% to 90%, any higher is
excellent. Above 5 milligrams per liter is a good result. Some factors that can
increase the numbers are high pressure, cold water, excessive amounts of
plants, or clarity. Therefore, Pike River tested very well.

A nitrate test is used to discover the amount of nitrate in a substance.

The test can be difficult because most nitrates are soluble in water. The
group that tested found that the result was 0.1 milligrams per liter.
All the tests had good results, but some were not great, and could be
better. The habitat test for example had a lot of soil erosion, which could be
improved. Same with the biotic index, more macro-organisms could have
been found. Testing is about trying again and again. Most of the results are
only temporary, and testing in the future will change those. Hopefully they
will change for the better as long as we all keep helping with keeping the
river healthy.