FDNSC Water Awareness

May 20th, 2011   8:30-12:00 am

Creek Observations:

In our group and as an observer, I couldn’t help but notice the cloudy and dreary weather that would bring rain. It looked as if there wouldn’t be sunshine for the rest of the day or maybe more. There was a little wind and the air, freezing for the moments, made it extremely enjoyable especially after a nice soak in the creek. Birds were alive,  as well as animals that we only noticed by flashes of brief seconds of their movement. And as for the creek, itself, it looked clean and somewhat clear. We found evidence of crawfish in the creek, but that doesn’t nessecarily tell us it was healthy.

From our observations, I must add that the characteristics of the creek don’t emphasize a certain assumption of a healthy form of water, but only a possibility. The most important observations range from the appearance, temperature, surroundings, and population of good indicators.

Field work by Chanelle, Ella, and Emma: Happy reading!

May 20th, 2011 9:23:47 am

Matthew, Isabella, Naomi did temperature tests at Feeder Creek, Rhododendron Creek before pipe, and Rhododendron Creek after pipe. Most aquatic animals are cold-blooded, meaning that they take on the temperature around them. If their body  gets too hot or cold, they could die.

Feeder Creek (A) Temperature Average – 56.3 Fahrenheit

Rhododendron Creek (B) (Before Pipe) Temperature Average – 54.5 Fahrenheit

Rhododendron Creek (C) (After Pipe) Temperature Average – 55 Fahrenheit

They are different because  they are different temperatures, I think the reason this is, is because the tests were done at various areas around West Asheville Park.

Matthew, Isabella, Naomi

Friday, May 11, 2011

8:30-12:00

Creek feeder:

Average: 12.666ppm

Why are they different? The creek feeder’s Phosphate level is lower than the Rhododendron Creek’s ppm because the creek feeder does not flow into that part. Also, there are houses all around it which causes pollution. It is also in the middle of a park so lots of litter runs off into the creek feeder. There is also less life in that steam compared to the Rhododendron creek. All this affects this steams phosphate level.

Why are they similar? The Creek feeder and Rhododendron creek’s phosphate levels are somewhat similar. They both have very poor phosphate readings. This is because there is so much constructions, roads, litter, and people around both streams. It causes lots of unwanted nutrients to enter the creek and cause it to be unhealthy.

Before pipe:

Average: 15ppm

Why is it different? I think the Stream before the pipe is different from the creek feeder because it is not attached to the creek feeder and so it must be almost fully different. Also, the stream before the pipe has lots of constructions surrounding it, which causes high pollution and an unhealthy stream with unwanted nutrients. Too many nutrients cause lots of the aquatic life to die. There is also a lot of litter around the stream from runoff and the people who throw their trash in the stream. The Stream before pipe and after pipe is almost the same but the stream after the pipe also has the water from the creek feeder in it.

Why are they similar? The stream before the pipe and the stream after the pipe are very similar. The only difference is that the stream after the pipe also has the water from the creek feeder in it. This causes the quality of Rhododendron creek to be slightly mixed with the creek feeder water, but the water from the creek feeder flowing into Rhododendron creek is so little that it the ppm of the creek doesn’t change from the creek before pipe.

After pipe

Average: 15ppm

Why are they different? Rhododendron creek after the pipe is different from the creek feeder because the creek feeder mixes only slightly with the water from Rhododendron creek, causing the pph not to change. The stream after the pipe is different from the stream before the pipe because the stream after the pipe also has some water from the creek feeder. This does not change the ppm though.

Why are they similar? Rhododendron creek after the pipe is similar to the stream before the pipe because it has almost completely the same water. It is similar to the creek feeder because it has some of the water from the creek feeder in the stream after the pipe.

Observations

Before Pipe: mountain dew bottle, fish, temperature –cool, hair bow, algae, vegetation, and Cray Fish.

After Pipe: a shoe, murky from us walking through the creek, fish, sharpie, sour cream container, mud, sediment, Cray Fish, salamander, and a necklace.

Creek Feeder: clear, lot of sediment, pipe into creek, dead worm, reeds, worm, murky, action figure, temperature –cool, and sunny and shady places.

Berms are in many locations around the creeks.

Friday, May 11, 2011

8:30-12:00

Creek feeder:

ppm: 12.666 ppm

Why are they different? The creek feeder’s Phosphate level is lower than the Rhododendron Creek’s ppm because the creek feeder does not flow into that part. Also, there are houses all around it which causes pollution. It is also in the middle of a park so lots of litter runs off into the creek feeder. There is also less life in that steam compared to the Rhododendron creek. All this affects this steams phosphate level.

Why are they similar? The Creek feeder and Rhododendron creek’s phosphate levels are somewhat similar. They both have very poor phosphate readings. This is because there is so much constructions, roads, litter, and people around both streams. It causes lots of unwanted nutrients to enter the creek and cause it to be unhealthy.