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Environmental Biology Water Analysis Report
Environmental Biology Water Analysis Report
October 3, 2019
Introduction:
Water quality testing is necessary for the health of a population. Many different types of
pollution can affect a water source and thus, affect how healthy the water is for its own habitats
and for human use (Brathwaite, 2019). Bodies of water are rarely in isolation, and they connect
to other bodies and rivers and are a part of a watershed. Thus, if a body of water is polluted, all
the other bodies of water downstream from it are affected (NOAA, 2018). Dickinson Creek is
within the Battle Creek Watershed, which flows into the Kalamazoo River, which flows into
Lake Michigan. So if Dickinson Creek were to be polluted, Lake Michigan could be affected
because the water from Dickinson Creek eventually flows into Lake Michigan, a much bigger
Dickinson Creek was tested to determine the water quality of the creek. Temperature,
Dissolved Oxygen, BOD, pH, Phosphate levels, Nitrate levels, Turbidity, and E.coli were all
tested. These different chemical tests were used together to calculate a value (Q-value) that
would gauge how healthy the stream was. In addition, Macromolecules, physical attributes, and
Citizens Qualitative Habitat Evaluation Index were also observed to find the overall health of the
stream.
There are many different types of pollution, but they can be placed into two categories:
point or nonpoint source pollution. Point source pollution is discharged from the end of a pipe,
and accounts for 25% of all water pollution. Nonpoint source pollution originates primarily from
runoff, and accounts for 75% of all water pollution. Organic, inorganic, toxic, thermal, and
biological pollution are the 5 different types of pollution. Organic pollution comes from the
decomposition of living things. Inorganic pollution can come from mineral deposits, which
DICKINSON CREEK FIELD STUDY 2
suspends solids in the water. Toxic pollution is heavy metals and lethal organic compounds.
Thermal pollution is heated water from runoff, altering the temperature of the stream. And
Department of Environmental Management, 2015). All of these types of pollution can alter a
component of stream health which affects other components which affects the overall health of
the stream (Indiana Department of Environmental Management, 2015). A healthy stream has lots
of obstacles that allows for habitats to be formed. Streams that meander and have boulders and
logs above the surface that causes riffles allows for different types of habitats in the water for
Figure 1: A map of Dickinson Creek and its physical attributes was created. The stream
meanders with little human interaction. There was lots of vegetation, undercut banks, cobble,
and logs. The direction of the stream was flowing from the arches to the Kalamazoo River.
There were forests and shrubs which gave the stream shade. These physical attributes gave the
stream lots of variety and lots of different habitats for different species, which makes the
stream healthier.
DICKINSON CREEK FIELD STUDY 3
pH 6.66 65 7.8
the same location: the head of the stream. All tests had an above average Q value except the
E.coli and pH tests. The Q value of each test was multiplied by a weighting factor, which was
Table 2: Group 2
pH 6.33 60 7.2
the E.coli and pH tests. The Q value of each test was multiplied by a weighting factor, which was
Table 3: Group 3
pH 6 52 6.24
and phosphate tests. The Q value of each test was multiplied by a weighting factor, which was
Table 4: Group 4:
pH 7 88 10.56
value of each test was multiplied by a weighting factor, which was determined by how vital the
Table 5: Group 6
pH 9 47 5.64
Figure 2: The groups Q-Values for the chemical testing was shown in the bar graph. Group 4
had the highest Q-Value of 90.58 and Group 3 had the lowest Q-value of 79.83.
Excellent 90-100%
Good 70-87%
Medium 50-69%
Bad 25-49%
shows what that chemical test data says about the quality of the stream but does not determine
The test of water temperature also affects dissolved oxygen levels, the rate of
photosynthesis, and the metabolic rate of aquatic organisms. Higher temperature can lower
dissolved oxygen levels, which weakens aquatic life. Dissolved oxygen measures the amount of
oxygen in the water. The oxygen comes from the atmosphere and aquatic plants. Higher levels of
dissolved oxygen can indicate stream health as most aquatic life depends on it (CIESE, 2019).
DICKINSON CREEK FIELD STUDY 9
Biochemical oxygen demand is a measure of the amount of oxygen used by aerobic bacteria as
they consume and break down organic waste. Higher BOD levels indicate that there is a lot of
organic waste, as aerobic bacteria has to work hard and use a lot of oxygen to break down the
organic waste. If the bacteria is using a lot of the dissolved oxygen available, that leaves little for
other aquatic life, meaning that the stream isn’t very healthy (YSI, 2019). The pH test measures
the concentration of H+ ions. The pH scale ranges from 0-14 with 0 being the most acidic and 14
being the most basic and 7 being neutral. Aquatic life thrives at a pH range of around 6-8
(USGS, n.d). The phosphate tests measures the amount of phosphate present in the water. Higher
amounts of phosphate can lead to rapid algae growth. The decomposition of the excessive algae
leads to lower oxygen levels within the water (Green, 2018). The Nitrate test measures the
amount of nitrate present in water. Higher levels of nitrate contributes to rapid algae growth. The
decomposition of the algae leads to lower oxygen levels in the water (WRIG, n.d.). Turbidity is a
measure of how clear water is. More turbid water doesn’t let as much light through the water and
limits photosynthesis. Water with high turbidity also increases the temperature of the water,
which lowers dissolved oxygen (Lenntech, 2019). E.coli bacteria comes from the feces of
warm-blooded animals. Water with higher amounts of E.coli in it can result in illness from those
The Q-value, or quality value, helps to calculate the overall health of a stream into one
value. A higher Q-value indicates a healthier stream, while a lower one indicates an unhealthy
stream. To calculate a Q-value, at least 6 of the 8 tests need to be done so the value can be
accurate. Each test has to have its own Q-value calculated, which are found through their specific
graphs. The Q-value from each test is then multiplied by a weighting factor, which is determined
DICKINSON CREEK FIELD STUDY 10
by how important the test is to water quality. This gives the calculation factor for each test. All
the tests are added up which gives the overall Q-value. If less than 8 tests are used, the number
2015).
Macroinvertebrate Results:
Weighting 4 3 2 1 n/a
Factor
Total 20 15 0 0 35
Table 8: Many intolerant and moderately intolerant macroinvertebrate species were found. No
tolerant macroinvertebrate species were found. The different tolerance levels were weighted
based on how important that tolerance level was to the stream health.
DICKINSON CREEK FIELD STUDY 11
Table 9: Group 4
Weighting 4 3 2 1 n/a
Factor
Total 8 12 2 2 24
Table 9: Many moderately intolerant macroinvertebrate species were found. Some intolerant,
fairly tolerant, and very tolerant macroinvertebrate species were also found. The different
tolerance levels were weighted based on how important that tolerance level was to the stream
health.
Weighting 4 3 2 1 n/a
Factor
Total 20 15 0 1 36
Table 10: Many intolerant and moderately intolerant macroinvertebrate species were found. No
fairly tolerant macroinvertebrate species were found and 1 very tolerant macroinvertebrate
species was found. The different tolerance levels were weighted based on how important that
Excellent 23+
Good 17-22
Fair 11-16
Poor 10 or less
Table 11: The PTI Rating shows the quality of the macroinvertebrate species in the stream in a
sample.
Macroinvertabrae were collected by jabbing at the bottom of the stream with nets and
kicking in front of the nets to loosen macroinvertebrate from the rocks and sediment at the
bottom. The macroinvertebrate were sorted and classified in their correct type and tolerance
levels. Data was analyzed by adding together the number of species present and weighting the
number based on their intolerance to pollution. This number was then classified into a PTI rating.
Figure 3: CQHEI
Figure 3: The CQHEI gives a score for different physical attributes of a stream, like substrate,
fish cover, and stream shape. Dickinson Creek had mostly small substrate with no smothering
or silting. There were lots of habitats for fish and other aquatic animals in the river, including
roots, shrubs, and logs. The stream meanders a lot as well which allows for more vegetation
and possible habitats. The Riparian width was narrow, which allows for less vegetation. The
vegetation was mostly forest and wetland which allow for some shading. The water went knee
deep and had both riffles and runs.
Discussion and Conclusion:
By using chemical tests, the Citizens Qualitative Habitat Evaluation Score, and
determining the types of macroinvertebrate present, the overall health of a stream was analyzed
DICKINSON CREEK FIELD STUDY 14
by determining a Q-value and using PTI ratings. Dickinson creek was deemed healthy using
these evaluations. Data was only collected for one day, therefore, the data may not be accurate to
the overall health of the stream, but rather, the stream at that time.
In the chemical testings in Tables 1-4, the Q-values listed are all above 70%, which
according to Table 6, the WQI rating, puts Dickinson Creek in the ‘Good’, which is 70-87%,
category for stream health for this test. This is also shown in Figure 2, where the Q-values for the
groups are compared. In Table 1, which showed groups 1 and 5, the Q-value was 87.1. In Table
2, which showed group 2, the Q-value was 82.22. In Table 3, which showed group 3, the Q-value
was 79.83. In Table 4, which showed group 4, the Q-value was 90.58. In Table 5, which showed
group 6, a Q value could not be determined because the results did not meet the requirements to
formulate one.
In the macroinvertebrate results in Tables 7-9, all the PTI scores were all above 23,
which, according to Table 10, puts Dickinson creek in the ‘Excellent’ category in stream health
for this test. In Tables 7 and 9, groups 1,2, and 5 all had 5 species present in the intolerant
category. In table 8, group had 4 species present in the moderately intolerant category.
The Citizens Qualitative Habitat Evaluation Index observed the streams physical
attributes and gave the stream a score on those attributes, which was shown in Figure 3. The
stream got an overall score of 69. The stream lost points mainly in the substrate, because it
consisted mostly of small substrate and lacked variety. The stream had lots of fish cover and
meandered a lot. The maximum amount of points for the CQHEI was 114. Dickinson Creek
scored enough points to be considered a Warm Water Habitat (WWH), which means that it had
DICKINSON CREEK FIELD STUDY 15
good depth, flow, substrate, and forest canopy over the stream. This is the second best rating
The Q-value is a single value calculated from multiple test results. Q-values are
calculated by weighting some chemical tests more based on how important they are to water
quality. For example, the weighting factor for dissolved oxygen is 0.18, while the weighting
factor for turbidity is 0.09, indicating that dissolved oxygen is more important for stream health
(Pathfinder, 2006). Q-values combine all these tests because they are all interrelated. In Figure 4,
all of the different tests connect to each other and usually relate back to dissolved oxygen. Which
makes sense because the oxygen is the most essential element for an organism to live (Lenntech,
2018).
Figure 4: Different chemical attributes of a body of water affect each other. Which means
different chemical tests can reveal other attributes from a body of water.
Certain species of macroinvertebrate can tolerate a lot more pollution than others.
Therefore, the presence of certain macroinvertebrates would indicate the amount of pollution the
DICKINSON CREEK FIELD STUDY 16
stream has, or the health of the stream. For example, Stonefly Nymphs are categorized in the
intolerant column, while the Aquatic Worm is categorized in the very tolerant column. This
means that Stonefly Nymphs have very little tolerance for water pollution, thus their presence
The data collection for this study was completed in one day and tested one stream. If the
health of Dickinson Creek and other bodies of water within the Battle Creek Watershed were to
be determined, a variety of locations and different times would need to be used. There are also
many more tests that can aid in determining stream quality that weren’t used in this study. For
example, the flow rate of Dickinson Creek was not tested. The flow rate is a measure of how fast
the water in the stream is moving. A slower stream increases temperature which lowers the
amount of dissolved oxygen in a stream (NIWA, 2016). This test could aid in calculating the
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https://www.niwa.co.nz/our-science/freshwater/tools/shmak/manual/9habitat.
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DICKINSON CREEK FIELD STUDY 19
WRIG. (n.d.). Nitrates and Their Effect on Water Quality - A Quick Study. Retrieved October
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