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2003 Project Final Reports
NORSTAR
What was something new that you learned?
Our newest member learned the components of testing water. We also
learned that water conditions do not change rapidly. We noticed that
the Norfolk
International Airport did not affect the conditions of the waters in
Lake Whitehurst. Although, we did notice that the phosphate levels and
nitrate-nitrogen
levels were high, and we believe that is due to runoff from
fertilizers from Botanical Gardens.
What conclusions did you reach?
Date of Sampling: 10/24/03
Time of Sampling: 2:00pm
Place of Sample: Botanical Gardens/Lake Whitehurst
Water Appearance: Cloudy Greenish Grey
Weather: Cold, Slightly Breezy, Clear Skies
Organisms: Tadpoles, Pine Trees, Canadian Geese, Fish (Bass), lily
pads
Conditions around the edges of the water: No trash, grassy, lily pads
close to water’s edge, a lot of debris due to Hurricane Isabel.
Results:
We took samples from 3 piers located on “Snake Island.”
Pier #1
Temperature: 59 degrees
Nitrate-Nitrogen: 4.4 ppm
pH: 7 – neutral
Phosphate: .1 ppm
Dissolved Oxygen: 10 ppm
Pier #2
Temperature: 59 degrees
Nitrate-Nitrogen: 4.4 ppm
pH: 7 – neutral
Phosphate: .1 ppm
Dissolved Oxygen: 10 ppm
Pier #3
Temperature: 59 degrees
Nitrate-Nitrogen: 4.4 ppm
pH: 7 - neutral
Phosphate: .1 ppm
Dissolved Oxygen: 10 ppm
What would you do differently next time?
Our group would make sure to take our digital camera along to document
the appearance of the water. |
ECOLOGISTII I /HIGH SCHOOL LUCIAN B
Location: Tabacarie Lake
latitudine: 44.12.0N
longitude: 028.38.0E
color: green
there was no polution, but a lot of algae
Date of collection: october 13 2003
Time of collection: sunny
Rain within last 48: None
Stream flow: low
Lack/pond level: don't know
Urban
Local land use:
forested land:/ forested area with Roads
air temperature - 12 degrees C
water temperature - 10 degrees C
pH - 8.20
disolved oxygen - 5.9 mg/l
Nitrates
NO2 - 0.34
NO3 - 0.9
Phosphates
PO4 - 2.1
Equipment Used
Multi LAb P5 Meter WTW |
Allentown High School
Allentown, NJ
9-12, RCR Physical Science
We discovered that the quality of the water at Allentown Lake was good
despite the sewage treatment plant located at the head of Crosswicks
Creek. Our
tests all indicated good water quality. For instance, the pH was 6.5,
which can sustain aquatic life. The nitrate reading of 0.5 ppm would
indicate that there
wasn’t any overgrowth of plants. Having a phosphate level of 0.0 ppm
showed us that there probably were low or no wastes and run-offs
affecting the water.
The DO was 7 ppm which is beneficial for the lake’s organisms.
We had fun working in groups, analyzing our graphs and checking for
life under the microscope. It was a first-time experience for us to
conduct water sample
tests. We thought it might be good to repeat those experiments later
in the year for comparison.
We want to thank you for giving us the opportunity to participate in
the Global Water Sample Project. |
Jedlicka Middle School
We sampled three different
streams to see if the streams were healthy. The first stream we went
to was Kingsbury Creek in Proctor, MN. Our conclusion is that
Kingsbury creek is mostly healthy, but is declining in health.
Kingsbury Creek has a good water temperature, pH and biological oxygen
demand. The
negative aspects of the stream were that you could smell oil in the
water and there were a lot of red midges found in the stream. The
nitrates were also high.
Keene Creek in Duluth, MN is healthy. There was a lot of diversity in
the invertebrates and we found lots of pollution intolerant
invertebrates. The sediment was mainly sand and pebbles, which is good
because invertebrates can hide in the cracks of the pebbles. The
chemical tests were mainly good.
The St. Louis River is fairly healthy. The temperature, pH, biological
oxygen demand and phosphate are all at healthy levels. The dissolved
oxygen, nitrate, carbon dioxide, sediment and current speed are
unhealthy parts of the stream.
If we had to do the stream study over again, we would find more
experiments to do and test the stream even more exact. We would be
more careful with our measurements. We need to find a nitrate and
phosphate test kit that measures these chemicals more accurately. Some
students would like to do the tests in the summer so the water would
be warmer and the invertebrates more plentiful.
The students wrote scientific papers that included data tables,
graphs, and conclusions for all of the tests. Please contact us if you
would like more specific information.
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Sanford High School
| Got our test kits, just in
time! Temp: Air 0 C Water 7.2 C ph: strip 5 Colorimetric 6.7
Turbidity: between 0-5jtu Phosphate less than 1ppm Nitrate unknown
Dissolved oxygen 8.9ppm Macroinvertebrates: 2 coiled shell snails, 1
leech, 3 dragonfly larvae, 5 amphipods, midge larvae [mod] |
Denby Tech and Preparatory High School
85 percent of the world's
human population lives on or near a river. For these reasons, the
study of rivers, makes a good topic to focus on for the study of a
wide range of environmental issues. Thus explains the condition of the
Detroit River in its urban setting. Rivers also contain a historical
perspective on
cultures and society, forming an idea basis for learning about
cultural diversity and engaging in global dialogue through the web.
We sampled water from the Detroit River at Belle Isle in Detroit, MI.
The weather conditions were cold and windy, at the banks of the South
Fishing Pier. The temperature of the water was 11 degrees Celsius, ph
was 7.7, Dissolved Oxygen was 11. Nitrates were 1ppm and Phosphates
were .24.
These results were evaluated according to a water quality monitoring
quantitative analysis of process. This process involved giving a
number value for each of the parameters measured in our data set, for
example if the pH was between 6.5-7.5, then the value(4) was assigned,
which stood for excellent quality.
According to this system, the overall quality of the Detroit River was
2.4 which is fair quality. therefore our original hypothesis was
confirmed. |
ROC Charter High School
Nowhere to go but upstream?!
Students at our school are worried about their local river (the Zumbro)
and decided to search out point sources of pollution. We suspected
that the city sewage treatment plant might be one of these sources. We
surveyed 14 miles of river starting just above the plant. (please see
attached data table)
Not only did we see effects from the plant in the first mile, but
throughout the 14 miles. Over the entire distance we sampled we
observed an overabundance of algae covering the river’s banks. We may
not have conclusive evidence that what we’ve found is harming fish and
invertebrates, but we suspect that the
high levels of nitrates, CO2 and elevated temperatures may be causing
stress to the animal life.
We were able to confirm our hypothesis that there is at least one
point source of pollution on the Zumbro River in the 14 mile stretch
that we surveyed. More importantly we discovered that the effects of
the plant are felt far downstream!
No matter how perfect you always want to be some improvements that
could be made in the experiment include the following. We could have
marked the spots where the tests were run one day and then run them at
the same spots again to see if the numbers would remain consistent.
Another improvement that
could help would be to compare the effect of this sewage treatment
plant to sewage treatment plants of other areas and see if they were
having the same effects. We also believe that there could be errors in
the test results because of some lack of understanding about how to
get accurate answers every time.
One way that this could have been improved before carrying out the
experiment would have been to allow more time with practicing all of
the tests.
| Zumbro
|
Date |
Temp |
pH |
DO |
N |
Phos |
CO2 |
| 37th |
Oct 6 |
10 C |
7.5 |
9.4 |
3 |
1 |
7 |
| STP |
Oct 6 |
19 C |
? |
8.2 |
.40 |
5 |
60 |
| STP + 0.5 |
Oct 6 |
15 C |
6.5 |
8.3 |
18 |
2 |
35 |
| STP + 3.0 |
Oct 6 |
15C |
7.5 |
12.4 |
14 |
2 |
10 |
| STP + 6.0 |
Oct 9 |
15 C |
7.5 |
9 |
10 |
1.5 |
15 |
| STP + 9.0 |
Oct 9 |
16 C |
8 |
11 |
8 |
1 |
13 |
| STP + 10.0 |
Oct 9 |
14 C |
8 |
10 |
8 |
1 |
7 |
| STP + 12.0 |
Oct 7 |
14 C |
8 |
12 |
5 |
<1 |
? |
| STP + 14.0 |
Oct 7 |
13 C |
8.5 |
11.3 |
5 |
<1 |
? |
|
Viborg Agriscience Class
Swan lake is a natural lake
supplied with runoff from agricultural lands. We expected to find
nitrates and phosphates due to the sediments that accumulate from the
runoff entering the lake. When we conducted our test we found the
following results:
pH = 7.0
Temperature = 6 degrees C.
Dissolved Oxygen = 6 ppm
With our low water temperatures, we found no macroinvertebrates
Nitrates = 0 ppm
Phosphates = 1 ppm
Turbidity = 40 JTU
Although we wouldn't consider Swan Lake a source of potable water, we
were pleasantly surprised at the general quality of water for aquatic
plants and animals. |
Montessori School of Maui
FINAL REPORT --THE KOA CLASS
2003
GLOBAL WATER SAMPLING PROJECT
We learned that water can be the same in some ways like temperature and
the pH level. We were surprised that even though the rivers are in
different parts of the island of Maui, they have many of the same
qualities.
To conduct our tests we used a LaMotte Water Testing Kit. We followed the
instructions as we performed each of the tests. Then we recorded the data.
Our conclusions are:
· PH test-both of our water sources had similar PH levels
· Nitrates-both our water sources had exactly the same nitrate levels.
· Dissolved oxygen, was 6ppm and 5ppm.
· Phosphates-we were unable to test for this.
Next time we participate, we will do a number of things differently. Take
pictures of the actual sampling. Post them early in the study. Allow
ourselves more time to do each test. Do more research about prior tests,
and use the reference materials more than we did this time. |
Holy Nativity Episcopal School
The new thing we learned is how to
do water testing in general. We also learned that there was no
hardness in Martin Lake. The water was not suitable for most life due
to all the surrounding pollutants such as the paper mill and the
garbage cluttered all throughout the lake.
We interpreted the results by putting them in a graph according to
group numbers and then we combined each result into one total
according to test type. We also conversed about the results and
what type of water was in Martin Lake .
| D.O. (ppm) |
CO(ppm)
|
Hardness Test
|
Alkalinity
Test |
| 0.9 |
0.2 |
0 |
120 |
| 1.7 |
0.3 |
0 |
90 |
| 0.9 |
0.1 |
0 |
unable to detect |
| 0.9 |
0.2 |
0 |
unable to detect |
| 0.9 |
0.2 |
0 |
unable to detect |
| 0.9 |
0.3 |
0 |
unable to detect |
| 1.2 |
0.1 |
0 |
240 |
| 2.4 |
0.3 |
0 |
105 |
| 1.4 |
0.5 |
0 |
120 |
| 1.8 |
0.1 |
0 |
105 |
| 0.9 |
0.1 |
0 |
180 |
| 0.8 |
0.2 |
0 |
140 |
| mean: 1.2 |
mean: 0.2083 |
mean: 0 |
mean: 91.6 |
| median: 0.9 |
median: 0.2 |
median: 0 |
median: 105 |
| mode: 0.9 |
mode: 0.1 |
mode: 0 |
mode:120/105 |
Please note we were unable to detect results for the nitrogen test.
However we performed hardness and alkalinity tests. |
Jeppe High School for Girls
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