Upper Great Miami River

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Upper Great Miami River
ByDanielle Bare Christina Lam Nisha
Rao
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• 245 miles long
• Area is mostly agricultural
• Some urban land Bellefontaine,
• Indian Lake
• Has greatly improved over
• last few decades.

Background Info
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Location
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Vocabulary
IBI- index given to a watershed according to how
many species of fish are present. BOD
(Biochemical Oxygen Demand)- amount of oxygen
used by bacteria to decompose waste Nutrients-
elements such as nitrogen and phosphorous used
for fertilizing crops Urban- land that is
occupied by a city Siltation- loose soil that
gathers in a river Eutrophication- the adding of
unwanted nutrients that lead to overgrowth of
algae
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METHOD At Darby Creek we learned to test for
Dissolved Oxygen and Nutrients. We also learned
how electro-fishing works to give us IBI.
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• 4 Major Threats
• Point source Pollution
• Hydromodifi-cation
• Agriculture
• Urban Runoff

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Bellefontaine
Land Use
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As the Nutrient level increases, the BOD also
increases.
Hypothesis 1
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Bellefontaine
Nitrate N ppm
Analysis

• In the urban areas, nutrients and BOD levels
  skyrocket.
•  
• At the end of the graph, the factors decrease and
  remain constant.
• Agricultural areas have had less pollution
  problems than urban areas.

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Conclusion

• As nutrients, such as fertilizer, increase, BOD,
  (or the oxygen loss due to bacteria), also
  increases.
• Excess nutrients cause overgrowth of algae
  (eutrophication).
• When the algae dies, the bacteria decomposes the
  waste and uses up the oxygen.

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Hypothesis 2
As the urban land use increases, the IBI
(population of fish species) decreases.
Where are my friends?
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Analysis
Percent of Urban Land

• The higher red areas represent cities.
•  
• Indian Lake pollution in 1988 caused a large dip
  in the fish population but in 1994 the IBI
  recovered.
• Bellefontaine did a better job of protecting
  their fish population.

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Conclusion

• The more populated the area, the more the IBI
  decreases.
• The urban community channelizes the river,
  destroys the Riparian Zone, and pollutes the
  water ruining the fishs habitat.

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Hypothesis 3
As the BOD increases, the IBI decreases.
Where is my oxygen?
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Level of BOD

• Indian Lake had a large drop in IBI in 1988.
•  
• In 1984, Bellefontaine had a lot of bacteria in
  the water.
•  
• Both cities seemed to have solved their pollution
  problems after a few years.
•  
• The factors are inversely related.

Analysis
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Conclusion

• As the BOD increases, the IBI decreases.
• The more bacteria there is, eating the waste,the
  more oxygen they consume. The fish that need a
  lot of oxygen cannot survive, thus, the IBI
  decreases.

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Current Health

• Water quality has greatly improved.
• Improvement due to upgrade of water treatment
  plants.
• One of the most extensive and important
  recoveries witnessed by the EPA.
• Education is vital to ongoing improvement.

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Nisha says, YWSI is number one!
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Thank You!
This program was brought to you by YWSI! Special
thanks to Steve Snake, Leslie Lion, Paula
Penguin, Virginie Vulture, Kathryn Kangaroo,
Julie Jackal, Rebecca Raccoon, Diana Dolphin,
Shannon, Judy Fountain, EPA staff, the OSC staff,
and especially Melanie Moose!!!!!!!!!!!! We had
a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful week!!!!!