Researchers: Amanda Gasper, Anjuli Mostek, Jamie Lorenzen, Katie

Stone, Courtney Bennett, Mike Voelker, Aaron Hallgren, Instructor: Mark Seier

Mission Collect data to report to the Shell Creek Watershed Improvement Group and Nebraska Wildlife Federation

Learn about the geography and location of the Shell Creek and the area it involves

Become knowledgeable about water chemistry parameters and their significance to the stream’s inhabitants

Learn about biological stream factors and how they indicate water quality

Procedures

A total of four sites were selected and latitude and longitude were determined by using Global Positioning System (GPS).

Sampling was done in two day sets. First day was chemical testing and the second was macroinvertebrate sampling.

Chemical tests run include: pH, water temperature, turbidity, conductivity, velocity, nitrates, dissolved oxygen, and oxygen saturation

Macroinvertebrate sampling was done using a D-net and included 20, 1-foot square samples at each site.We also used Hester-Dendy samplers. Fish were sampled using a seine.

Water Test Natural Readings Cautionary Readings

Dissolved Oxygen 5-14 ppm Below 5: water quality violation 1.5-5: stress resulting in abnormal feeding and reproduction 1.5: mortality 0: anoxic

pH 6.5 - 8.5 Below 6.5 Above 8.5

Nitrates 0.0 - 1.0 ppm Consistent readings above 3 ppm

Temperature Varies Above 27o Celsius

Turbidity 0 – 8 JTU Increasing trends in turbidity measurements

pH Turbidity Nitrates Dissolved Oxygen

JTU NO3-N ppm

June 3, 4

Site 1 8 30 6 6.8

Site 2 7.5 30 4 4.9

Site 3 8 25 3 5.9

Site 4 8 40 2.2 5.6

June 24, 25

Site 1 7.5 50 2 4

Site 2 7.5 40 2 2.2

Site 3 8 50 1 6.4

Site 4 8 75 0.25 3.8

pH Turbidity Nitrates Dissolved Oxygen

JTU NO3-N ppm

July 29, 30

Site 1 7.5 10 < 0.25 1

Site 2 7 15 0.25 0.6

Site 3 8 80 0.25 1.8

Site 4 8 20 < 0.25 4

August 8,9

Site 1 7 10 1 0.4

Site 2 7 35 2 0.9

Site 3 7.7 100 2.5 2.8

Site 4 7.5 110 2.5 3.7

Dissolved Oxygen

Conduc-tivity

Velocity Water Temp.

% Sat. uS m/sec. Celsius

June 3, 4

Site 1 62 800 .04 18

Site 2 53 810 .06 19

Site 3 70 720 .11 22

Site 4 63 740 .13 21

June 24, 25

Site 1 45 765 0 22

Site 2 24 776 .02 22.3

Site 3 75 723 .15 25.8

Site 4 47 757 N/A 26.1

Dissolved Oxygen

Conductivity

Velocity Water temp.

% Sat. uS m/sec Celsius

July 29, 30

Site 1 11 655 0 23.6

Site 2 7 655 .28 22.1

Site 3 21 655 .05 25.3

Site 4 48 610 .13 25.3

August 8, 9

Site 1 9 496 0 24.9

Site 2 10 360 .28 23.3

Site 3 22 391 .05 24

Site 4 43 503 .13 24.1

Anjuli and Courtney are using fish nets

Anjuli and Courtney are performing the dissolved oxygen test

Amanda is writing the data form

Mr.Seier at work

Anjuli and Katie are using the D-nets to collect insects

Katie Stone collecting sample water and Aaron Hallgren getting the GPS readings.

Aaron and Mike are using the seine to collect fish

Collecting water samples for oxygen tests

Amanda is collecting different plants

Scoured banks possibly caused by erosion and runoff

Aaron is performing chemical test

Conclusions and Concerns

•Low dissolved oxygen and % saturation rates

•High levels of turbidity

•High amounts of silt and sediment

•Low macroinvertebrate diversity

•Scoured banks at site 4

Suggestions for future studies:

• We would like to add the tests: fecal coliform, biochemical oxygen demand, total phosphates, and total solids; to calculate the overall water quality index number.

• Continue to monitor same sites and add one or two new locations

We would like to thank the Shell Creek Watershed Improvement Group and the

Natural Resource District for providing us with the testing materials.

We would also like to thank the landowners who owned the area around the sites we tested

for their cooperation in this study: Paul Cederlind, Fred Fehringer, and Katie Hallgren.