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

Date: March 8, 2002
Time: 12:39 AM
GPS Coordinates: N 37° 45.520', W 97° 20.784'
Elevation: 1320 ft

Visual Assessment

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

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; Native Prarie; Flood Control Dikes

Trash at the Creek:
Furniture, Broken glass, cans, plastic bottles, old car parts, 55 gal. rusty drum
Animals at the Creek: Frogs, Deer, Beavers, Horse, Spiders
Animals in the Creek: Fish, Spider

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

Stream Bank Conditions:
Left Bank:
Steeply Sloping
Right Bank: N/A

Habitat Types: Runs
Shape of the Channel: Narrow 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: None

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: Yellow-brown to dark brown water; brown sludge foam (not natural looking)

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 (5), Silt (4), Sand (3), Gravel (2), Cobbles (1), Boulders (0), Bedrock (0), Cement platform (0)



Chemical Assessment

Temperature: 18 C
Dissolved Oxygen:
4 ppm
Percent Oxygen Saturation: 42%
Nitrate:
did not register
Phosphate:
1 ppm
pH:
8
Turbidity: 40 JTU
Total Coliforms:
N/A
Biological Oxygen Demand: N/A
Stream Flow: 0.66 m/s


Macroinvertebrate Assessment

Sensitive Species: Caddisfly Larvae, Mayfly Nymphs, Gilled Snails
Somewhat Sensitive Species: Damselfly Nymphs, Dragonfly Nymphs
Tolerant Species: Aquatic Worms

How many times did your group sample with the kick net?: 3

Water Quality Determination (as calculated from number of species present): 14
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.