Water Quality Sample for Four Pole Creek

As a part of the WV Forest & Rail Project, we as teachers were responsible for assessing the water quality of Four Pole Creek at Ritter Park. Our field outing in April provided us time to collect water, but many questions had to be answered for the other group present in the shelter on that afternoon. After reviewing the data I had acquired, I decided to retest the water due to some missing information and to practice the procedure.

On June 24, I went to Ritter Park to collect a water sample from the creek and to take a few pictures. The results of the water quality testing are shown in the table below.

For this sample on this day, the water quality overall is at the low end of the medium spectrum. I was surprised by the Turbity outcome for the sample as even with agitation of the sample water before collection, that number seems low based on what my eyes told me. I calibrated the sensor and the number stayed the same.

To test water quality, follow the procedures listed here from Investigating Environmental Science.

1. Collect water sample.
2. Using Vernier Labquest, test temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, turbidity,  using the appropriate sensors or probes.
3. You will also need DO tables to determine dissolved oxygen for the conditions on the day of the test.
4. Once the data is collected, it will be entered into the spreadsheet. You will need to compare the data to the chart to determine Q values for each parameter.
5. Check outcomes on spreadsheet to make sure no errors are present.



Think about the following:

• How does the water quality vary with changes in temperature?
• Why would water flow rate change quality?
• Would changing the collection point alter the results? Why or why not?