Tischer Creek: Washburn Edison Middle School
• This slide show is adapted from slides used on 5/29/03 to
introduce the website and discuss data collected by the 8th
grade science class at Washburn Edison Middle School.
• It is viewable on-line via either the Netscape or Internet
Explorer browsers and may be saved as a Powerpoint
(.ppt) file for instructional use by educators.
• There are Notes attached to some of the slides that provide
additional information.
[R.Axler 6/19/03; revised C.Hagley 7/8/03]
Developed by: R. Axler and C. Hagley
Updated:
Tischer Creek: Washburn Edison Middle School
National Water Quality Monitoring
“Day,” Oct 2002, and then beyond…
Developed by: R. Axler and C. Hagley
Updated:
What’s the biggest, nastiest, costliest, most
difficult to fix problem facing our streams ?
Developed by: R. Axler and C. Hagley
Updated:
It’s not litter…
although trash and
garbage add to the
problem
Developed by: R. Axler and C. Hagley
Updated:
It’s not exotic species
Developed by: R. Axler and C. Hagley
Updated:
It’s no longer pipes from factories and
sewage treatment plants that dump toxins,
carcinogens, and….
Developed by: R. Axler and C. Hagley
Updated:
….nutrients.
Algae blooms
Developed by: R. Axler and C. Hagley
Updated:
It’s not from disease-causing
microorganisms (pathogens),
although these can be a
problem and are certainly
linked to “it”
Developed by: R. Axler and C. Hagley
Updated:
It’s not floods…
although they are
more likely to occur
because of “this”
problem
1972 Brewery Cr @ 6th St and 6th Ave East
Developed by: R. Axler and C. Hagley
Updated:
Polluted Runoff
(Nonpoint Source Pollution)
The #1 water quality
problem in the U.S.*
Many of the pollutants described contribute
to Nonpoint Source Pollution
* USEPA
Developed by: R. Axler and C. Hagley
Updated:
The stuff that washes in is either…
Dissolved –
• You usually can’t see it
• You are measuring EC25 to estimate total
dissolved substances
• distilled water is ~ 0 uS/cm
• Lake Superior is ~ 90 uS/cm
• Tischer Creek has been ~ 150 to ~
3000 uS/cm
• EC25 is a great indicator of road salt
• Road salt is a good indicator of how quickly
pollutants can wash into streams
$50 hand-held
Developed by: R. Axler and C. Hagley
Updated:
….or it’s
Particulate –
• Water gets cloudy (“turbid”)
• You use a transparency tube
to estimate turbidity
• We use turbidity sensors
Turbidity increases due to
•high water from rainstorms
•snowmelt runoff
Developed by: R. Axler and C. Hagley
Updated:
Automated stream water quality and stage height (flow) sensors
Developed by: R. Axler and C. Hagley
Updated:
Developed by: R. Axler and C. Hagley
Updated:
High chloride can be toxic to fish….
• But first you need to understand how
chloride levels relate to electrical
conductivity, the measurement that
we collect on our streams.
Brook trout
Developed by: R. Axler and C. Hagley
Updated:
How to estimate chloride from electrical
conductivity (EC25) data
Developed by: R. Axler and C. Hagley
Updated:
The first snowstorm of the season as seen by www.duluthstreams.org from
October 21-22, 2002
Tischer Cr.
Chester Cr.
Kingsbury Cr.
Higher chloride level = higher electrical conductivity
(Look for darker blue to magenta)
Developed by: R. Axler and C. Hagley
Updated:
…and then the 2nd snow on November 13, 2002
Drivers beware
Cold weather and a heavy dusting of snow Wednesday afternoon contributed to a rash of
traffic accidents in and around the Twin Ports. Between 12:40 and 3 p.m., 65 accidents
were reported in Duluth and 5 more in Superior, according to the Duluth and Superior
police. ...The black ice conditions forced the temporary closure of several hilly roads in
Duluth, including parts of Mesaba Avenue, until sand and salt trucks could ... Source:
Duluth News-Tribune (MN)
Developed by: R. Axler and C. Hagley
Updated:
Duluth, MN – Second Snow November 13, 2002
Road Salt
Developed by: R. Axler and C. Hagley
Updated:
Tischer Creek: Washburn Edison Middle School
National Water Quality Monitoring
“Day” Oct 2002 and then
beyond…
Developed by: R. Axler and C. Hagley
Updated:
Here’s your transparency tube data plotted against
turbidity
Transparency
(lab NTU)
(cm)
4.0
2.3
2.5
22.5
34.7
2.4
135.2
29.2
6.1
1.8
1.2
1.3
35
120
120
43
40
80
7
10
100
120
120
103
Tischer @ Washburn (Oct-Nov 02 & Apr-May 03)
160
Turbidity (NTU)
Turbidity
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
0
20
Developed by: R. Axler and C. Hagley
40
60
80
100
120
Transparency Tube (cm)
Updated:
140
160
Here’s your transparency and turbidity data vs our
automated sensors downstream
Developed by: R. Axler and C. Hagley
100 cm
MAY 20 – NO RAIN
• The creek “came down”
(stage height decreased)
• Water cleared (turbidity down)
• Washburn turbidity tube –
now 100 cm
10 cm
MAY 19 – RAIN!
• The creek “came up” (stage
height increased)
• The water “clouded up”
(turbidity increased)
• Washburn turbidity tube –
only 10 cm!
Updated:
Invertebrate Stream Quality Indices
• Varying degrees of sensitivity to water quality
• Easy to collect and identify
• A key resource to be protected (fish food)
• Specific pollutants are expensive to measure
• Which ones are you going to measure?
• Chemical changes are “flashy” – you might
miss the peak levels, but the bugs won’t
Developed by: R. Axler and C. Hagley
Updated:
Many types of Invertebrate Indices
Washburn-Edison used a Stream Quality Assessment
I (3 pts): Dobsonfly, Caddisfly, Stonefly, Mayfly …
II (2 pts): Dragonfly, Damselfly, Crayfish, Scud, beetles, clams …
III (1 pts): Blackfly larvae, Midge larvae, worms, leeches, snails (left)…
Developed by: R. Axler and C. Hagley
Updated:
Stream Quality Assessment Index
Tally the number of major groups seen
(such as Caddisflies or clams)
Score by tolerance: I = Sensitive
= 3 points
II = Semi-sensitive = 2 points
III = Tolerant
= 1 point
Sum the points to characterize water quality:
> 23
17-22
Excellent
Good
Developed by: R. Axler and C. Hagley
11-16
< 10
Fair
Poor
Updated:
Summary of Class Data – 7 groups
Mean Score: 21
SQA or PTI
Washburn-Tischer Cr Invertebrate Index
30
GOOD
20
Range: 13-25
10
0
1
2
3
4
5
Group #
Developed by: R. Axler and C. Hagley
6
7
Median: 23
Mode: 23
Updated:
Other DuluthStreams Data - Check out the GIS Utility
Map–based data: from a Geographic Information (GIS) System
Tischer Cr
Washburn Edison
You can zoom in and overlay streams, roads, land uses, etc.
Developed by: R. Axler and C. Hagley
Updated:
The rest of these slides are leftover from
other talks and may be useful to teachers
for introducing the website
Developed by: R. Axler and C. Hagley
Updated:
DuluthStreams “Rationale”
Duluth has 42 named streams
 High density for size of urban area
Developed by: R. Axler and C. Hagley
Updated:
12 are designated trout streams
Developed by: R. Axler and C. Hagley
Updated:
Stormwater issues
Like many urban streams across the country, Duluth
streams face a number of environmental threats
related to stormwater runoff
Developed by: R. Axler and C. Hagley
Updated:
Goal of DuluthStreams
Enhance public understanding of aquatic ecosystems
and their connections to watershed land use to provide
both economic and environmental sustainability
But with a focus on collecting and
presenting real-time data
www.duluthstreams.org
Developed by: R. Axler and C. Hagley
Updated: