Water Quality of the Long Island Sound

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Water Quality of the Long Island Sound

• Study of the Scantic River as it affects the LIS
  Watershed

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Goals

• Establish baseline data for water chemistry
  and stream flow of the Scantic River
• Relate water quality parameters of the
  Scantic to the Connecticut River and to the Long
  Island Sound estuary
• Develop GIS maps of the Scantic which
  highlight test sites (data and photos)
• Develop, among students and community
  members, an awareness of the Scantic and how its
  quality relates to Long Island Sound
• Propose appropriate mechanisms for
  protecting the Scantic riparian zone

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What is a watershed?

• All the lands whose water contribute to a
  specific body of water.
• Our watershed includes

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Parameters for Water Quality

• Flow Rate
• Temperature
• Dissolved Oxygen
• pH
• Conductivity
• Turbidity
• Nutrients

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Flow Rate

• Flow rate is the measure of the water speed.
• Certain organisms can only live in slow moving
  waters or in fast moving water.
• If a flow is faster moving, it dilutes the
  contaminants of the water.
• A higher flow rate can contribute to more
  dissolved oxygen in the water.

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Temperature

• Temperature is the measure of the kinetic energy
  in the water and the air surrounding it.
• Organisms cannot survive in temperatures below 0
  degrees Celsius or above 36 degrees Celsius.

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Dissolved Oxygen

• It affects aquatic life. Most fish require 10 mg
  of oxygen per liter.
• The depth and air temperature impact the
  dissolved oxygen levels.

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pH

• pH is a scale to measure the acidity of water.
• Most species have a range of pH values that they
  can survive in.

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Turbidity

• The measure of water clarity is not necessarily
  harmful.
• The goal is .5 NTU
• High turbidity can hinder photosynthesis.

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Conductivity

• The ability of a water source to conduct
  electricity
• Organisms living in waters with high or low
  conductivity can have defects such as hemorrhagic
  injuries, spinal compressions, and skin
  discoloration

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Nutrients

• Nutrients enter the watershed through septic
  systems, farms, industry, and storm water runoff.
• A stream that is ogliotrophic has too few
  nutrients.
• A stream abundant with nutrients is eutrophic
• Evidence of nutrients can be water discoloration
  and a variety of colors on the river bed.

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Pesticides

• While testing at the river sites, we took a test
  for 19 pesticides.
• Of the 19 tested, zero were detected.
• The tests were for DDD, DDE, DDT, Dieldrin and
  other harmful pesticides.

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Community

• In the community the LIS Storm Drain Marker
  Program is underway.
• This program is to raise awareness of pollution
  in the community and help prevent pollution from
  getting into storm drains

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Applying GIS
to the GULF Project
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GIS What is it?
Geographic
Information
Systems
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Using GIS as a tool for GULF
Allows one to associate data with map features.
Such as
Polygons
Scantic River Watershed
Points
Lines
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Streams
Roads
Aerial Photo
GIS software allows for themes of spatial data
to be layered
For example, an aerial photo may serve as a base
for a map that shows roads, streams, data
collection sites, and residential areas
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GIS Why?
Used by many types of businesses and agencies to
map and analyze different types of regional data.
Allows us to look at patterns and relationships
in the data associated with map features.
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The Data
Using GIS, one can link Tabular Data to map
features
The GULF project included a study of chemical,
physical, and GPS data
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Site Durkee Road Elevation 246 ft.
Latitude 42o00180 N
Longitude 72o27645 W
Data
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Site Mill Pond I Elevation 180 ft.
Latitude 41o58980 N
Longitude 72o 29229 W
Data
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Site Mill Pond II Elevation 286 ft.
Latitude 41o58886 N
Longitude 72o 29609 W
Data
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Site Holden Trucking Elevation 290 ft.
Latitude 41o55903 N
Longitude 72o31642 W
Data
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Site Melrose Road Elevation 132 ft.
Latitude 41o 56312 N
Longitude 72o32810 W
Data
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Site Gulf Stream Elevation 180 ft.
Latitude 41o58925 N
Longitude 72o27841 W
Data
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Somers High School G.U.L.F. Project
Project Goals
Test Sites
Visit our GULF Project Web Page linked
to http//www.somers.k12.ct.us/shs/shs_home.html
Results
Classroom Lessons
Related Links
Teacher Profiles
Credits
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Special thanks to Somers High School and the
Connecticut DEP License Plate Program for their
support
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Non-point pollution below Mill Pond
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Current Speed at Durkee Site
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Determining water temperature at Mill Pond
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Holden Trucking sampling site
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Works Cited Page

• Jacobson, Cliff. Water, Water Everywhere, But
  Loveland, Colorado. 1983
• Watershed. 15 May 2004. Online. Available
  www.epa.gov/owow/watershed/
• Devine, Tamera and Wagner, Craig. Presentation of
  Water Quality Issues. Hartford, CT. 2004
• Dissolved Oxygen and Water. 20 May 2004.
  Online. Available http//www.state.ky.us/nrepc/wa
  ter/wcpdo.htm
• pH of Water. 12 May 2004. Online. Available
• www.water.nv.gov/Water20planning/dict-1/wwords-p.
  pdf