French Creek Water Analysis

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French Creek Water Analysis
Presented by Mrs. Pingreys SEA Chemistry classes
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Purpose of this Lab
The overall purpose of this lab was to test the
conditions of French Creek as it flowed through
Custer community and to compare French Creek data
to the data the Hot Springss Biology class
collected for Fall River. We used a GIS program
called ArcView to show the results. We did five
different tests using five different probes in
four different locations. We tested for pH,
nitrates, dissolved oxygen, temperature, and flow
rate. We entered our data into ArcView and
collaborated with Hot Springss Biology class
over the DDN.
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Our first site that we tested was
West Dam
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The West Dam site was our warmest temperature
reading. The reason for the high temperature
reading of 1.2 degrees is that the water is very
close to the source of the river where it comes
up from under the ground. The reading for the
nitrates was low and the DO was high. This is a
result of the lack of animals and high vegetation
in this area.
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Our second site we tested was
The Bait Shop
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Site 2 had a very high level of nitrates. This
is a result of the pollution that has run off
into the creek from the community. It has a low
temperature because it is well shaded, very
shallow, and has little movement. The slow
movement of the water, little to no vegetation,
and the smooth creek bottom also helps the DO
level remain low.
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The third site we tested was
Outlaw Ranch
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The Outlaw Ranch site contained a very low level
of nitrates compared to the last site. This is
because the area is so far from the previous site
that it has had time to dilute. Dilution is the
solution to pollution. The site was also very
cold and ice covered. The DO had a chance to
rise because of the rocky bottom that allowed air
to be folded into the water and the colder
temperature allowed more oxygen to be dissolved.
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Our final site that we tested was
The Stockade Spillway
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Our last site, the Stockade spillway, has one of
the highest DO levels because of the fast flow
rate and the rocky bottom. It also has warmer
temperatures and high nitrate levels due to the
lake it is flowing from. The lake allows time
for nitrates to concentrate and the temperature
to rise.
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Water analysis of Black Hills streams has been
done by Hot Springs High School, Custer High
School and Southwest Middle School. All schools
used ArcView to show their results.