Ramey, Tyler

Per. 3

WATER GRAPH THING

50
45
40
35
30
Amount of each attribute

25

Turbidity (JTU)

20

Water Temp (C)

15

DO (mg/L)

10

pH

Air Temp (C)

Dates when information was recorded

Dear Singapores Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources:

I understand that Singapores Kallang River has undergone a facelift or
rather has been
cleaned up over the recent years because of the heavy pollution possibly due to
industrial and farming
runoff. It has also come to my understanding that the Kallang River was monitored
for its water quality
from late March to late September of 2009 at the Merdeka Bridge at 1:00 p.m. on
clear days. Ive
graphed (as you can see on pg. 3) and analyzed the dataset that was recorded.
To summarize, there were some trends and anomalies I noted in the dataset.
In terms of water
and air temperature, the average temperature was between 29-30 C (84-86 F)
over the course of the

Ramey, Tyler
Per. 3
monitoring period. This was most likely due to the fact that the data was recorded
mostly during the
summer months. For pH levels, the data recorded over the monitoring period was
mostly optimal. In
general there were no extreme variations except for the turbidity levels. The
anomaly I noted was on
August 23 where the turbidity level rose to 46.4 JTU when only five days before it
was 0 JTU. What was
even more interesting was that six days later it went back to 0 JTU. The reason for
the this immediate
rise and fall in turbidity levels is unclear seeing as there were no other extreme
shifts during this period
of time in the other things recorded. For DO levels, there were also some anomalies
I noted. Water
temperature and DO levels generally correlate negatively meaning that when the
water temperature
raises the DO levels usually fall and vice versa. The shifts were not extreme but
they did catch my
attention for instance on September 27, the water temperature was 32C (87F)
and the DO level was 9
mg/L or on April 19, when the temperature was 28C (82F) and the DO level was a
low 5.2 mg/L.
I cant accurately say whether or not the Kallang River clean up initiative
worked successfully or
not. Although the information recorded was mostly optimal, I feel like I wasnt
seeing enough of the
picture presented. For one, the extreme anomaly of the turbidity levels in August
could not be explained
using the information from the dataset. This would most likely be solved if I had
information pertaining
to when tourism is most active, or what time of the year do most people recreate
around the river

Ramey, Tyler
Per. 3
during the year, farm and industrial activities or anything that would cause cultural
eutrophication.
Another thing, the information was mostly recorded during the summer months
which are only about a
quarter of the year. It would be better to see information recorded year round to
analyze how well or
not the river is in terms of the parameters recorded. Also, an expansion of the
things being recorded
could be helpful as well. For instance, maybe the number of fecal coliform bacteria
colonies in every so
water sample could determine if there were any disease-causing bacteria in the
water.
In conclusion, I do believe that this river cleanup program could have great
potential in the
coming years as pollution of our rivers is a widespread problem especially in the
urban areas in the
world. I hope you consider my analysis and recommendations for a better informed
dataset and hope
you can expand and improve your program.

Sincerely,
Tyler Ramey