Kansas StreamLink
...a watershed exploration
StreamLink Collaborator
Earhart Environmental Magnet School
Little Arkansas River

Date: April 29, 2002
Time: 10:10 AM

Visual Assessment

Weather in the past 24 hours:
Clear/Sunny
Weather Today: Clear/Sunny

Major Land Uses in the watershed:
Parking lots, paved driveways, roads; Golf courses, manicured lawns, or city parks; Rural homes with septic systems; Cropland; Construction; Old KGE power plant

Trash at the Creek:
Broken glass, cans, plastics, metal barrel
Animals at the Creek: Frogs, Raccoons, Deer, Snakes, Duck
Animals in the Creek: Fish, Water Striders

Stream Bank Cover (1 is the least, 8 is the greatest):
Left Bank:
Concrete (0), Big rocks/rip rap (4), Bare soil or sand (0), Grasses (5), Woody shrubs/small trees (1), Big trees (0), Lawn (0)
Right Bank: Concrete (0), Big rocks/rip rap (0), Bare soil or sand (5), Grasses (7), Woody shrubs/small trees (1), Big trees (0), Lawn (0)

Stream Bank Conditions:
Left Bank:
Steeply Sloping, rocks added to left bank to prevent erosion
Right Bank: N/A

Habitat Types: Pools
Shape of the Channel: Wide Banks (>6 feet), Shallow Water (<3 feet), Shallow Bank (<3 feet)

What's in the water?:
Naturally Occurring:
Large branches or logs; Sticks or twigs
Human Impact: N/A

Is the creek in the sunshine or shade?:
Sun

What type of algae are present?:

Algae Present: No Algae
Type of Algae: N/A

Conditions in your stream: Muddy water; Yellow-brown to dark brown water; Foam

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



Chemical Assessment

Temperature: 20 C
Dissolved Oxygen:
8 ppm
Percent Oxygen Saturation: 88%
Nitrate:
N/A
Phosphate:
4 ppm
pH:
8
Turbidity: totally cloudy
Total Coliforms:
positive
Biological Oxygen Demand: 0 ppm
Stream Flow: 0.34 m/s


Macroinvertebrate Assessment

Sensitive Species: Mayfly Nymphs
Somewhat Sensitive Species: Damselfly Nymphs, Dragonfly Nymphs
Tolerant Species: N/A

How many times did your group sample with the kick net?: 2

Water Quality Determination (as calculated from number of species present): 7
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.