Kansas StreamLink
...a watershed exploration
StreamLink Collaborator
Blue Valley North High School
Field Biology - 3rd Hour
Tomahawk Creek

Date: December 5, 2001
Time: 9:45 AM

Visual Assessment

Weather in the past 24 hours:
Overcast
Weather Today: Overcast

Major Land Uses in the watershed:
Parking lots, paved driveways, roads; Golf courses, manicured lawns, or city parks; Construction

Trash at the Creek:
Broken glass, cans; Plastic
Animals at the Creek: Frogs (Leopard, Plains, and Northern Cricket), Deer, Mourning Doves, Mallard Ducks
Animals in the Creek: Fish (Slender Madtom), Mussel shells

Stream Bank Cover (1 is the least, 8 is the greatest):
Left Bank:
Concrete (1), Big rocks/rip rap (0), Bare soil or sand (2), Grasses (4), Woody shrubs/small trees (7), Big trees (4), Lawn (4)
Right Bank: Concrete (1), Big rocks/rip rap (0), Bare soil or sand (4), Grasses (3), Woody shrubs/small trees (6), Big trees (2), Lawn (1)

Stream Bank Conditions:
Left Bank:
Gentle Slope
Right Bank:
Undercut

Habitat Types: Pools, Riffles, Runs
Shape of the Channel: Wide Banks (> 6 feet), Shallow Water (< 3 feet) with deep pools (> 3 feet), Deep Banks (> 3 feet)

What's in the water?:
Naturally Occurring:
Large branches or logs; Sticks or twigs; Fallen leaves
Human Impact: None

Is the creek in the sunshine or shade?:
Sun

What type of algae are present?:

Algae Present: Algae in spots
Type of Algae: Brown coat of algae on rocks; Algae matted on rocks

Conditions in your stream: Yellow-brown to dark brown water; Orange to red coating on stream bed; No unusual color; Multi-colored sheen on water or oily smell; Foam

Embeddedness (How much silt is around the rocks, 1 is the least, 4 is the greatest): 2
Content of the Stream Bed (1 is the least, 5 is the greatest): Mud (1), Silt (3), Sand (0), Gravel (2), Cobbles (5), Boulders (1), Bedrock (2), Cement platform (0)



Chemical Assessment

Temperature: 14C
Dissolved Oxygen:
4 ppm
Percent Oxygen Saturation: 38%
Nitrate:
< 5 ppm
Phosphate:
2 ppm
pH:
8
Turbidity: 40 JTU
Total Coliforms:
N/A
Biological Oxygen Demand: N/A
Stream Flow: 1.5 m/s


Macroinvertebrate Assessment

Sensitive Species: Caddisfly Larvae
Somewhat Sensitive Species: Damselfly Nymphs
Tolerant Species: Pouch Snail

How many times did your group sample with the kick net?: N/A

Water Quality Determination (as calculated from number of species present): 6
Scale: Excellent (>22), Good (17-22), Fair (11-16), Poor (<11)

StreamLink Collaborators are in no way conducting professional water quality sampling. The information gathered is for educational purposes only. Students across Kansas share their creek experiences via the internet. If you have concerns about your water, please contact your local drinking water supplier or the KS Dept. of Health & Environment.