Pike River analysis

By Cooper White block 2

Mr.Gransee
11/13/2014

Introduction
The pike river watershed is an area of land in the Kenosha/Racine region that the Pike River and other
tributaries flow through. It provides water for the south-west of Wisconsin through its many tributaries

and groundwater. Lake Michigan is the lake the Pike River watershed drains into and its watershed
provides water to a number of states through direct contact or by feeding their rivers and is an
important resource for all the states around it. My research aims to show the impact the Pike River
watershed has on the Lake Michigan watershed.
The Pike River affects Lake Michigan by accumulating runoff over the course of its rout then
depositing it into the lake.
The Pike River has a unhealthy amount of nonpoint source pollution and soil erosion. Only 8%
of the Pike River watershed is forest, this lack of trees can cause increased soil erosion which allows
the chemicals in the soil to absorb into the water and that can end up harming things like dissolved
oxygen levels by way of too much phosphorous it can lead to eutrophication, a dangerous cycle that
can kill entire ecosystems. Also the amount of runoff in the river is concerning. It can also lead to soil
erosion, and pick up harmful garbage and oil all things that can decrease the turbidity of the water.
The rout along the river is rife with things that cause pollution. Today most of the area is
dominated by cash grain agriculture, vegetable crop, and urban development. Agriculture is one of the
biggest contributes to excess nutrients and fecal matter in water due to fertilizer runoff. The farms have
also replaced wetlands which would have naturally filtered runoff, now only collect more of it. Much
of the surrounding area not used by agriculture is being developed into urban areas. Much of this urban
area is non-permeable and tends to flood easier increasing runoff amounts notably in areas with sewers
where it is more likely human waste will follow the floodwater back into the river. It also reduces
groundwater amounts and raises the level of the river increasing soil erosion and throwing off the
balance of things like flow speed and temperature.
The Pike River empties into Lake Michigan. The fact that all the pollution from the runoff to
the soil erosion and so on go solely into the lake greatly affects it by not allowing the chemicals and
other pollutants to be spread out into many locations where it may not as greatly affect the ecosystem.
Rivers and other smaller water sources have more lax laws on them for things such as industrial
dumping and other point-source pollution, so by draining into the lake it causes it more pollution than if
it was being directly dumped.

As you can see the effect on the water quality in Lake Michigan by the Pike River
by allowing large amounts of runoff to enter into it through the river. This runoff of can have serious
consequences for the lake's chemical and water levels. The largest contributors to the runoff are
agriculture, urban surfaces that don't permit absorption, and soil erosion.

Methods
The Harborside class collected the data by doing tests on the Pike River. They collected the data in the
month of September. The class tested for temperature, dissolved oxygen, stream flow, turbidity, pH,

habitat, and biotic index.

The information on temperature is on the water action volunteers website. Warmer water is
harmful to aquatic life that lives in it. Warm water does not hold as much oxygen as colder and many
fish cannot breathe past a certain temperature. The likelihood of aquatic animals also increases in
warmer water as it increases chances of getting bacterial or parasitic infections. The first step to
measuring the temperature is getting materials such as a thermometer most likely alcohol based, and
something to mark the spot you are measuring. Go to the river and take your thermometer attempt to
put it 4in. below the water as close to the middle as possible. Keep it submerged until the temperature
is constant then record the data in degrees C.
All living things require oxygen to survive. Dissolved oxygen is the oxygen that aquatic
animals breathe and use to survive. Dissolved oxygen is affected by many different factors, such as
temperature, stream flow, turbidity, and habitat. Oxygen is diffused into the water mostly through
photosynthesis but also by rolling water and high winds. To find dissolved oxygen you must first plug
a tube then submerge it in the river. Unplug it and let it fill with water, then re-plug it while still
submerged and take out of the water. Lastly use the steps indicated on a basic hach kit/test.
pH is the measure of how acidic the water is, 0 being the most acidic and 14 being the least. pH
affects how fish absorb minerals and pollutants and an off balance pH can cause mineral deficiencies or
can cause them to over absorb pollutants or minerals. Low pH can be deadly to fish as anything lower
than 4 could make water unlivable for fish of any age. To test pH use a pH strip and dip it in the water.
Pull out the strip and compare its colour to the colours that come with the test, whichever one matches
the closest the corresponding number is the pH of the river.
Turbidity is one of the most visual indicators of water quality. High turbidity can cause partials
to get lodged in fishes gills reducing their ability to filter out the oxygen from the water. High turbidity
may also block sunlight impeding plants from photosynthesizing, one of the largest producers of
dissolved oxygen. To measure turbidity first get a turbidity tube and fill it with river water. Remove all
large solids and keep the water mixed up as not to let the partials set. Then remove water until you can
clearly see the base of the tube. Measure the amount of water left in the tube.
Biotic index is what level of pollution tolerance is required in micro-invertebrates to live in
number. If there is a much higher percentage of pollution tolerant to intolerant it means there is likely
high levels of pollution in the region. There are different levels of pollution tolerance the microinvertebrates can have indicating how bad the pollution in the area is. The best thing for an area to have
is a wide swath of micro-invertebrates with many different levels of tolerance in similar numbers. To
tell biotic index use a net and bucket with 1in. of water in it and use the net to scrap the microinvertebrates from under rocks in the river, from the vegetation at the banks, and from leaf piles and
debris. Put them in the bucket and list how many from each level of tolerance there were.
Habitat is the living equilibrium of nature. A proper habitat can slow and filter water reducing
pollution and helping prevent floods. Poor habitat can have adverse affects on stream health by
increasing runoff and soil erosion through lack of root stability and ground permeability. Just one
alteration to the area and it can unbalance the equilibrium and degrade the habitat. Habitat is easiest to
assess in the summer or late spring time. To check for habitat look to see what kinds of man made
buildings could be harming it. Also look for biodiversity of plants and animals and in what number
they come in. Tell the colour and smell of the water in the habitat. Lastly record the data.
Stream flow is the amount of water moving in a set amount of time. Stream flow can be
affected by rain, flooding, freezing, and drought. If the stream flow is too fast it may negatively affect
the migration and egg laying patterns of the fish in the river. It may also increase soil erosion through
the increased speed. To get the stream flow first find the volume of a 20ft section of the river and with
a yardstick find the depth of the river and the width, then multiply the two figures. Next float a raft over
the same 20ft distance and measure the time in seconds dividing the feet by time to get the velocity.
Now multiply the volume and velocity to get the flow.

It is seen that each of the seven types of quality measurement are important because if just one
of them is skewed it can be devastating to a river's health and can also be detrimental to the other
measurements as well. All these tests are easy and relatively cheap to get materials for, everyone
should educate themselves and see firsthand how water testing is done.
Results
Harborside Academy went to petrified springs park on the 25th of September. It was a partly
sunny day, 24.3 degrees C air temperature, 17.46 degrees C water temperature. Transparency was
obtained at an average of 29.95cm or 17.3 ntu. The amount of dissolved oxygen in the water was
7mg/L. The habitat was 34/52. The biotic index was 3.16/4. The pH was 8 on the pH scale as shown in
figure 1. Lastly the stream flow was 7.663 square feet per second. These are the results from the water
testing done by Harborside Academy.

Figure 1 a pH scale (drsircus.com)

Discussion
The analysis from the pike river tell about its quality. This is important because it could affect
the ecological state of the river.
The water temperature was 17.46 degrees C. The temperature is in the range it should be in
allowing for all fish who live in the river to survive there. This cold temperature is also good as it holds
more oxygen and lowers the metabolic rate fish need to maintain. 12.8-18.3 degrees C is the range for
the coldest water fish in the river. ...warm water holds less dissolved oxygen than cold water and
triggers higher plant growth and respiration rates. says water action volunteers.

The river had 7mg/L of dissolved oxygen. 7mg/L is good as it supports the aquatic life in the
river. However it does not give the whole picture as it does not say the dissolved oxygen out of
spawning season. Trout and stoneflies, for example, require high dissolved oxygen levels. Trout need
water with at least 6 mg/L D.O. Trout need 6mg/L out of spawning season but in it they require
7mg/L, according to water action volunteers.
The river had a pH of 8/14. In theory it would be better as a neutral rather than a base but
having it be constant (and preferably not an acid) is more important. It is impossible to know weather it
is better as a 7 or 8 given it is unknown what the river tends to be over a period of time. Anything under
7 is an acid and everything over 7 is a base. When acid waters (waters with low pH values) come into
contact with certain chemicals and metals, this often makes them more poisonous than normal. states
the water research center.
The river's turbidity was 17.3 NTU. The river is slightly turbid but not enough to affect the
fishes health unless it is a part of a long high turbidity trend. The water is not clear enough to drink or
perform recreation in. The longer the water remains at unusually high values, the greater effect it has
on fish
and other aquatic life. 1-5 is acceptable for consumption and 5 is acceptable for recreation according
to water action volunteers.
The biotic index was 3.16 out of 4. This is a good index and the high pollution sensitive microorganisms may indicate low river pollution. The river also has a wide diversity of sensitivity tiers,
improving its biotic index. A healthy stream will have many different organisms, both pollutanttolerant and those sensitive to pollution. Good, just below excellent, is within the range of 2.6-3.5
according to water action volunteers.
The habitat was 34 out of 52 in the area around the river. The score is not particularly good but
it serves more as a comparison to see whether or not the area is degrading. This rating only gives a
general score for the surrounding area, to truly tell what is wrong and right with the river the quality of
the individual features must be known. The range for habitat is 13-52 putting us in the middle. This
value is an important baseline measure for future comparisons of habitat scores for the same site and
within the same watershed. According to water action volunteers.
The steam flow of the river was 7.663 ft squared per second. Steam flow quality is hard to
determine if you cant compare it to other stream flow at different times for this river. Faster steam
flow could lead to higher turbidity and affect mating habits.
Conclusion
Water quality is important because it affects not only the drinking water and aquatic life of one
river but of all the places that river flows to. The tests done helped to find many factors that contribute
to water quality. From the temperature and dissolved oxygen that determined if fish could survive the
water, to the tests that showed if it may be polluted based on the types of micro-invertebrates that can
live there. The overall quality of the pike river could have been better but was in all areas at least as
good as it needed to be. It is best to care for all rivers because they affect everyone.

Citations

Stepenuck, K. (2010). Water Action Volunteers - Stream Flow. Retrieved November 11, 2014, from
http://watermonitoring.uwex.edu/pdf/level1/7StreamFlow-Monitoring2010.pdf
Oram, B. (2014). Watershed Assessment Studies Training Monitoring Pennsylvania. Retrieved November 12, 2014, from http://www.waterresearch.net/index.php/watershed
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, W. I. (2010). 2010 water quality management plan update. Retrieved November 12, 2014, from
http://dnr.wi.gov/water/basin/rootpike/wtplans/SE02/SE02_WTPLAN.pdf
Plant and Soil Sciences eLibrary. (2011). Retrieved November 12, 2014, from
http://passel.unl.edu/pages/informationmodule.php?idinformationmodule=1086025423&topicorder=4&maxto=7
E, P. A. (2014, July 9). Agriculture | Polluted Runoff | US EPA. Retrieved November 12, 2014, from http://water.epa.gov/polwaste/nps/agriculture.cfm
Stepenuck, K. (2010). Water Action Volunteers - Temperature. Retrieved November 11, 2014, from
http://watermonitoring.uwex.edu/pdf/level1/4Temperature-Monitoring2010.pdf
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http://watermonitoring.uwex.edu/pdf/level1/2BioticIndex-Monitoring2010.pdf
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http://watermonitoring.uwex.edu/pdf/level1/6DissolvedOxygen-Monitoring2010.pdf
Stepenuck, K. (2010). Water Action Volunteers -Habitat. Retrieved November 11, 2014, from
http://watermonitoring.uwex.edu/pdf/level1/3HabitatAssessment-Monitoring2010.pdf