Period2E

**Hypothesis:** We believe that the river is clean because it has life. We have seen evidence of life like plants, algae, fish, and birds. We did see litter, but we don't think it's enough to do so much damage.
 * // __Hypothesis/Prediction__ //**

**Prediction:** If the animals and plants can survive in the tributary and the water quality tests come out okay then the tributary is clean.


 * // __Areas Tested__ //**
 * Point Source Observations:** There is algae growing on the point source and there is rust from the pipe that we believe is going in the tributary. Because there is rust, we believe that chemicals are running through the pipe and breaking it down. There is also grass growing around the point source in the concrete cracks  . The water from the point source is not exactly //flowing// so some of the tests, such as flow rate and depth, will not apply to the point source.


 * Bridge Observations: ** We saw tadpoles, fish, and algae. We also saw that there was tire tracks and litter in the tributary. This area is a pool zone,which means that the water is deeper and does not flow as fast.

**Riffle Zone:** We noticed that the fishes like to be by still deep water and they don't like to be by the rift zone and deposition zone. The fish were really fast and acted like normal fish (like from a pet store or at the zoo). We are guessing that this is due to the quality of the water.

Right before the riffle zone, was a "dam". Which was concrete holding the water in and small pipe only let water and things in the water through it. Because of this where was a lot of plant and litter debris backed up that was on not in the water. This makes the stream look dirty and unkempt in that area, but it kind of “filters” the rest of the river by stopping the debris from moving. There is also a lot of litter in this area.

Depth: This is how deep the tributary is. We found depth by placing a yardstick in the water and measuring where on the yardstick the water was up to. Depth does not directly affect how healthy the river is pH level or dissolved oxygen. //**
 * // __Our Tests__

7 pH is neutral, so that would be healthy.
 * pH Level:** This is how acidic it is. PH can be an indicator of if the water is changing chemically. We were able to test pH multiple ways. One way to test it was to stick the paper pH testers into the area we were testing, and then compare the color that it turned with the colors on the key. We also used the pH probe with the handheld, and I think there may have been a kit to test it like the dissolved oxygen and nitrogen tests.

Again, unless the flow rate is noticeably too fast or slow, this does not affect the health of the river so much.
 * Flow Rate:** This is how fast the water flows. We have noticed that more algae grows where there is a smaller flow rate, so we think that flow rate affects the growth of plants, more plants growing where there is less movement. We measured flow rate by placing the flow rate probe for the handheld into the water. The probe is a long pole/stick kind of thing with a propellor at the end. We hold it perpendicular to the water with the propellor facing against current.

I couldn't find the healthy ntu, but one website said that you should be able to see at least 3 ft below the surface.
 * Turbidity:** This refers to how clear the water is. The unit used to measure turbidity, NTU (Nephelometric Turbidity Unit), tells how many particles are in the water. A higher number would mean more particles (and less clarity). If the water is not clear enough, not enough light will get to underwater plants. We tested this using one of the probes for the handheld. What we do is fill this container with the water to be tested, put it in the probe, and the probe will pass light through the container of water to find the turbidity.

River temperatures vary.
 * Temperature:** This can affect how much oxygen the water can hold, how well aquatic life is able to resist pollutants, and more. This can be affected by flow rate and shade. We measured this just by using a thermometer.

5 mg/l is the minimum of acceptable dissolved oxygen amounts.
 * Dissolved Oxygen:** This tells how much oxygen is in the water. This oxygen is needed by fish and other aquatic animals to survive. If there is a lot of decaying going on in the water, the oxygen level will be low because the bacteria will be using the oxygen. We found this by using a kit with these chemicals for finding the oxygen levels.

** // __Conclusion__ // We think that the river is healthy. We know that the river can support a variety of life because we've seen fish, algae, those spidery kind of bugs on the water's surface, grass growing in spots of dirt next to the river, and also ducks and frogs, although those were seen in a different section of our tributary. We also think that it has a food chain: sunlight allows algae to grow, bugs eat algae, and then fish eat algae and bugs (this probably isn't completely right, but we still think that there is a food chain). We don't think that the pollution is so bad either. Although there is some litter, it isn't so much, and could be easily cleaned up if some people would volunteer. We don't think there is pollution coming from the point sources either. Our test results from our point source seem normal, but we can't be sure. There aren't that many point sources, and most of them are just for rainwater. The pH level is a little over 7, so it is slightly basic, but not by so much. There is a normal level of oxygen, too. From the data we collected and our observations of the river, we think it is healthy. __
 * // __Our Results__ //**
 * **Tests** || **Riffle Zone** || **Point Source** |||| **Bridge** ||
 * **Depth** || 6 cm ||  || 8 cm ||
 * **pH Level** || 7.75 pH || 8-9 pH || 8-9 pH ||
 * **Flow Rate** || . 29-.295 m/sec ||  || .14-.15 m/sec ||
 * **Turbidity** || 10.4 ntu || 5 ntu || 18.2 ntu ||
 * **Temperature** || 23.7 C(74.66F) || 18 C(64.4F) || 23.7 C(74.66F) ||
 * **Dissolved Oxygen** || 7.8 mg/l || 8.7 mg/l |||||||| 7.8 mg/l ||

Riffle Zone Turbidity: ** 10.4 NTU **Point Source Turbidity:** 5.0 NTU NTU STANDS FOR Nephelometric Turbidity Unit WHICH TELLS THE MESUREMENT OF PARTICALS IN THE WATER,(WATER'S CLARITY)
 * Bridge Turbidity:** 18.2 NTU

**Point Source pH:** 8
 * Riffle Zone pH:** 7.5
 * Bridge pH:** 7


 * Depth of River (riffle zone):** 6 cm


 * Flow Rate(riffle zone):** .295 meters/second
 * Flow Rate(deposition zone):** .1415 meters/ second


 * Temperature (riffle zone):** 23.1C
 * Temperature (point source):** 18C

Future experiments: Bacteria test( algae, point source, and fish)-when we look at slides with water samples, soil samples, and other miscellaneous samples. Our own experiment which is going to be to see if the fish we caught lived well where it lived

-Zeke finished rift zone, added some info to the rift zone, and future experiments -hey guys! Maggie here and I just added some of my notes and made a few changes so our data is clearer... sorry for the spelling mistakes...=] -hey everyone, it's Elaine, I added our new data from today and updated some old data...sorry I couldn't find the symbol for Celsius... :) -hey! so Maggie and Elaine added more stuffs about the riffle zone like about the backup of debris and we decided to change the section where everyone wrote what they did to the wiki in red... =] -hey its Maggie! So I added what NTU means relating to the turbidity test, and I converted the source temperatures into fahrenheit. I also changed the font... Oh and i checked all the spelling and organized the page a little bit... -Kirstie added the information about tests, added pictures, and tried to organize page some more.