Big Loop Watershed

In the field today there was a high of 90 degrees with a heat index of 98 degrees and 94 percent humidity. Our faces were glistening with sweat. From the data collected today we found all of the streams to have increased levels of DRP (dissolve reactive phosphorous).

From the data collected above, you can see that the DRP levels have increased. For example, Morgan creek was 0.138 last week and today the DRP level was found to be 0.225. Most all streams have doubled in amount of DRP, due to the recent rainfall from this weekend.

As we were heading to North Bear Creek we saw that the town of Vinton, IA is recovering from the storm that hit the town three weeks ago. Fallen trees and debris have been cleared and picked up. Stop signs have been replaced. The corn stalks went from being flat to standing up straight again. The town is doing much better due to the help and cooperation of the community.

ICS Watershed

During sampling today, we observed the effects of the recent rainfall from this past weekend. We found that the water levels and DRP levels were very high. See the DRP (dissolved reactive phosphorous) data below. 

From the table you can see the effects of the rainfall. For example at ICThomas the DRP level was 0.156 last week and today it quadrupled, 0.409. At Dry Creek the DRP level was 0.057 last week and today it tripled, 0.357. The extreme increase in phosphorous is detrimental to the water quality of the streams. 

High amounts of phosphorous cause an increase in plant growth. After the algae die, they break down with the help of decomposing bacteria. Because these bacteria use oxygen, the more organic matter present, the more oxygen they use. This ultimately decreases the amount of dissolved oxygen available to other organisms in the river system. Eventually, increased decaying matter affects temperature and other river characteristics, and the stream becomes choked with aquatic weeds and filled with vegetation. The result is that the types of plants and animals that live in the river changes. This process of human-created increase of nutrients in the river is called cultural eutrophication. (Testing the Waters, 133)

Lime Creek Waterhsed

On Thursday, we were unable to measure water quality at the Lime Creek Watershed because of the storms. The rainfall was recorded to be 0.19inches. The rain continued on Friday morning so we went out in the afternoon following the morning showers and we successfully retrieved all of our samples.  We had expected all of our samples to have been affected by the rainfall, but at all of our sites the water levels were at their very lowest (see the data below.)

Table 1: Data collected on 7/22/11 and 7/14/11 (this week vs. previous week). The labels are explained: DO-dissolved oxygen measured in milligrams per liter; Temp-temperature measured in degrees celsius; pH-measures the acidity of the water samples on a scale of 0-14; Conductivity-measures the ability of water to pass an electrical current, microsiemens per centimeter (µs/cm); Turbidity- measures the intensity of light scattered by particles in the water in nephelometric turbidity units (NTU); DRP- Dissolved Reactive Phosphorous measured in milligrams per liter.

While we were sampling the wind started to pick up and a few of our bottles had fallen over the bridge. Kaycee was willing to get into the stream, good thing the water was very low.

At the next stream we spotted a Northern Western Snake slithering across the surface of the water. We were very cautious that the wind didn't cause anything to enter the stream. Northern Western snakes are very familiar to Iowa for more information see the following link: Northern Western Snakes. 

Later that night, Kaycee and I had attended the Jones County Fair in Monticello, IA (North of Cedar Rapids, IA). During the Lady Antebellum concert it started lightening and thundering. About 20 minutes later the clouds released forceful raindrops. We all felt refreshed by the rain, but then the wind picked up and the rain came down faster. Everyone started to leave, it was a stampede to exit the fair. The grass had turned to mud, branches from the trees had fallen, and the sidewalks were flooded with water. On our way out we had seen at least two people who had fallen. Once we got to the parking lot it was impossible to see anything because the wind blew all of the rain in our faces. We ended up walking around the whole parking lot before finding our car. Some cars got stuck in the mud and needed a tow truck. I was very thankful our car was not stuck in the mud, nor did a tree fall on it. Since everyone was trying to leave the fair cars were backed up, it took us over 30 minutes to leave the fair. We made it back to Coe safely but it was quite an experience in the rain. The town of Monticello, IA had a rainfall of 2.31inches Friday night. Monticello is about 15 miles North of Brandon, IA, where the Lime Creek Watershed is located. The town of Brandon, IA experienced a rainfall of 2.01inches Friday night. I expect the watershed to have high water levels and high amounts of bacteria, turbidity, nitrates and phosphates.

Flow Analysis

Due to the storms this morning, in Brandon, IA, we were unable to collect our water samples for the day. However we did finish recording flow measurements this morning at County Home Road, next to the landfill. Kelsey and I got in the stream and found massive amounts of red wiggler worms along the shoreline. There were tons of worms some alive and some dead. A pound of Red Wiggler worms are able to consume a half pound of organic matter such as: paper, food scraps, egg shells, etc. The presence of the Red Wiggler worms was an ingenious idea, for every pound of waste processed by the worms, is one pound less for the landfill to process.

We stretched the measuring tape across the stream and measured the stream to be 47 feet wide. The water level was very low along the sides and there was a huge sandbar from 10ft. to 38ft. across the stream. We measured the water depth (inches) and the flow (ft/sec) at the marks of: 4ft, 8ft, 42ft, and 46ft. While untying the measuring tape I spotted a leopard frog hopping from rock to rock. The leopard frog is commonly found in the southern and western parts of Iowa. More details about the leopard frog are provided below, courtesy of Jeff LeClere, HerpNet.net.

The leopard frog is the most familiar frog in Iowa. They may grow to 3 1/2 inches body length. Plains leopard frogs are always brown or gray on top with round black spots scattered randomly about the back and on the sides and usually one   on the snout. These spots have a light outline. The belly is plain white. There are two light (sometimes golden) incomplete dorsolateral ridges down the back. These ridges are continuous nearly to the groin. Here they break and the very short remainder of the ridges are inset. There are spots on the forelimbs and tiger stripes or bars on the hind legs. these are dark, sometimes even greenish. The groin and thighs have a greenish (very rarely yellowish) wash. They differ from pickerel frogs by having round spots scattered randomly about the about the back, and a greenish wash on the thighs. Also          

Plains leopard frogs calling from Muscatine County, IA

pickerel frogs are found only in the trout streams of extreme eastern Iowa.

Big Loop Watershed

In the field today there was a high of 106.2 degrees with a heat index of 104 degrees and 69 percent humidity. Our faces were glistening with sweat. From the data collected today we found some streams to have very high water temperatures and low dissolved oxygen levels.

Temperature levels:

previous week vs. this week

Morgan- 18.68 vs. 22.64

Bear- 22.37 vs. 26.82

Otter- N.A. vs. 26.12

Blue- 21.88 vs. 25.17

Mud- 19.22 vs. 23.00

N. Bear- 22.04 vs. 25.73

From the temperature data, you can see that the levels in all of the streams have increased. These streams are not very well shaded, they do not have the vegetation they require to protect them from the sun's heat. 

Dissolved Oxygen levels:

previous week vs. this week

Morgan- 8.42 vs. 7.33

Bear- 8.27 vs. 6.86

Otter- N.A. vs. 6.8

Blue- 8.05 vs. 8.37

Mud- 8.7 vs. 8.00

N. Bear- 7.85 vs. 8.00

From the DO data, you can see that the streams Morgan, Bear, and Mud have been affected by the rise in temperature because the DO levels have decreased.

ICS Watershed

Today we collected samples in the baking sun. Today there was a high of 102 degrees with a heat index of 105 degrees and 61 percent humidity. We were sweating bullets. From the data collected today we found some streams to have very high water temperatures and low dissolved oxygen levels.

Temperature levels:

previous week vs. this week

MCJ- 19.08 vs. 16.63

ICTHOM- 21.91 vs. 22.29

DRY- 19.24 vs. 15.16

ICLM- 22.66 vs. 26.24

ICS- 22.66 vs. 25.15

From the temperature data, you can see that the levels in ICThom, ICLM, and ICS have increased. These streams are not very well shaded, they do not have the vegetation they require to protect them from the sun's heat. 

Dissolved Oxygen levels:
previous week vs. this week
MCJ- 7.52 vs. 9.41
ICTHOM- 6.18 vs. 7.1
DRY- 6.29 vs. 10.91
ICLM- 5.84 vs. 4.53
ICS- 6.99 vs. 8.43

As temperature increases, dissolved oxygen decreases. In general, solids dissolve readily in warm water whereas gas dissolves in cooler water (think about how easily sugar dissolves in hot tea versus iced tea) (Testing the Waters, 94.) This is because the movement of molecules increases, when water is heated, forcing the gas out of the water and therefore decreasing the amount of dissolved oxygen. Most pre-mature fish need high amounts of DO. If the level of dissolved oxygen gets too low there is not much chance for aquatic life to survive.

Lime Watershed

Even after the storms this week the Lime watershed has not been as affected as the ICS and Big Loop Watersheds. The data from the streams were found to be linear (similar, not a big difference) with last weeks data. Nothing out of the ordinary. As well the town of Brandon, IA looked as if it had not been affected badly by the storms. If we would have retrieved data immediatley after the storms then we would have been able to measure the impact of the rainfall at that moment. We measured the water quality of this watershed 4 days after the storm and the run off has been running through the streams most of the effects of the storm have dissipated.

Tubridity levels:

previous week vs. this week

Lime 240- 15.2 vs. 16.4

Lime 250- 18.3 vs. 25.5

Lime 290- 5.91 vs. 4.56

Lime Ham- 16 vs. 5.79

Lime- 4.93 vs. 5.59

Lime Fin- 5.77 vs. 4.65

From the data you can see that Lime240, 250, and Lime show higher levels of turbidity compared to last week. This is because turbidity increases sharply during and after a rainfall due to the force of falling and flowing water causes sediment to get dislodged and carried into rivers.

Bacteria levels:

previous week vs. this week

Lime 240- 2909 vs. 3873

Lime 250- 1450 vs. 889

Lime 290- 3255 vs. 2187

Lime Ham- 4611 vs. 1043

Lime- 1723 vs. 1989

Lime Fin- 1553 vs. 2310

From the data you can see that Lime240, Lime, and Lime Fin have an increased difference in bacteria amounts where Lime250, 290 and Ham have lower amounts. The effects of run off are different to each stream due to the environmental surroundings of the streams. For instance if some streams are surrounded by crops or lawns the stream will be affected by amounts of fertilizer run off.

TSS levels:

previous week vs. this week

Lime 240- 23.2 vs. 29.6

Lime 250- 18.4 vs. 28

Lime 290- 4.4 vs. 6.4

Lime Ham- 15.2 vs. 7.6

Lime- 10.4 vs. 4.4

Lime Fin- 7.2 vs. 0.7

From the data you can see that Lime240, 250 and 290 have higher amounts of TSS and are showing a gradual increase down the watershed. TSS levels are affected by any type of run off into the stream such as sand, soil, etc. Suspended particles absorb more heat, a high amount of turbidity can cause water temperatures to increase and eventually lower the amount of dissolved oxygen. If dissolved oxygen is reduced then photosynthesis will be reduced. High amounts of suspended particles have the capability to clog fish gills and eventually increasing the mortality rate of aquatic life. 

Big Loop Watershed

The storms from this past Sunday night effected not only the ICS watershed but the Big loop watershed. Each site had numerous debris and brush in and around the streams. Some streams were affected differently by the rainfall, look at the data below and see that for example, the turbidity of Blue Creek doubled where North Bear Creek (near Vinton, IA) increased by a factor of six (see data below.)

Turbidity levels:

previous week vs. this week

Morgan- 16.6 vs. 15.1

Bear- 14 vs. 14.6

Otter 2*- N/A vs. 5.21

Blue- 7.89 vs. 14.4

Mud- 15 vs. 6.74

N. Bear- 3.78 vs. 20.4

*On our route, we had to retrieve our water sample from otter creek at another bridge due to road construction. Therefore we have renamed our data for Otter creek "Otter 2."

Bacteria levels:

previous week vs. this week

Morgan- 882 vs. 1872

Bear- 1785 vs. 2613

Otter 2*- N/A vs. 670

Blue- 7.89 vs. 14.4

Mud- 15 vs. 6.74

N. Bear- 3.78 vs. 20.4

Amount of Total Suspended Solids:

Morgan- 20 vs. 16

Bear- 19.6 vs. 20

Otter 2*- N/A vs. 4

Blue- 6.8 vs. 16.4

Mud- 16.8 vs. 4.4

N. Bear- 0.8 vs. 20.8

Normally after rainfall we find increased levels of  turbidity, bacteria and total suspended solids (TSS). The turbidity levels are increased due to the mud being stirred up in the stream. The bacteria levels are increased due to the run off into the stream. The amount of total suspended solids is determined by any material (sand, soil, etc.) that runs into the stream and flows through the water. 

See the photos below, for the description of Blue, Mud and North Bear Creek.

Blue Creek

Left, Kaycee with the pH meter .
Right, Kelsey with the Turbidimeter.

Kelsey bucket sampling at Blue Creek

Mud Creek

North Bear Creek

Tree cracked in half on the side of North Bear Creek

While traveling from Mud creek to North Bear we passed through the town of Vinton, IA. The storm caused a major destruction throughout the town (see the photos below).

Around 500 power lines were down

The shingles of the roof was swept off

The Vinton Public Library

Stop signs were destroyed

The city hall of Vinton

Crossing the Cedar River in Vinton

Telephone poles were bent over

Most crops were flattened by the wind and rain

The top of a silo was blown away

The house in front of the silo

The top of the silo

Debris from the silo in the field across from the house

ICS Watershed

Due to the recent storms, the CWQL found a lot of debris and brush around and within the streams. The rainfall had also caused run off to enter the streams causing a spike in turbidity levels and bacteria levels (data will be revealed later today). Normally after a storm, the water will turn murky or turbid, because dirt and mud is flowing into the streams which increases the percentage of e.coli found in the water.

Turbidity data
previous week vs. this week
MCJ- 1.96 vs. 23.7
ICTHOM- 8.27 vs. 54.5
DRY- 3.57 vs. 25.3
ICLM- 17.6 vs. 56.7
ICS- 3.86 vs. 74.8

Bacterial data
previous week vs. this week
MCJ- 836 vs. 17230
ICTHOM- 839 vs. 54750
DRY- 393 vs. 41060
ICLM- 1565 vs. 14970
ICS- 185 vs. 10460