Kansas StreamLink
...a watershed exploration
StreamLink Participant
Shawnee Mission Northwest High School
Mill Creek

Date: 5/8/03
Time: 15:00
HUC8: 10270104

Visual Assessment

Weather in the past 24 hours:
showers
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; Active grazing land &/or feedlots;

Trash at the Creek:
Old tires, Fishing line and lures, Broken glass, cans
Animals at the Creek: Raccoons, Snakes, horses
Animals in the Creek: Fish, Water Snakes

Stream Bank Cover (1 is the least, 8 is the greatest):
Left Bank:
Concrete (0), Big rocks/rip rap (4), Bare soil or sand (3), Grasses (1), Woody shrubs/small trees (2), Big trees (5), Lawn (0)
Right Bank: Concrete (0), Big rocks/rip rap (5), Bare soil or sand (1), Grasses (2), Woody shrubs/small trees (3), Big trees (4), Lawn (0)

Stream Bank Conditions:
Left Bank:
Steeply Sloping
Right Bank: Steeply Sloping

Habitat Types: N/A
Shape of the Channel: Wide Banks (> 6 feet), Shallow Water (< 3 feet), Deep Banks (> 3 feet)

What's in the water?:
Naturally Occurring:
Large branches or logs; Sticks or twigs; Fallen leaves
Human Impact: human impact

Is the creek in the sunshine or shade?:
equally sunny and shady

What type of algae are present?:

Algae Present: No Algae
Type of Algae: n/a

Conditions in your stream: No unusual color

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


Chemical Assessment

Temperature: 20 C
Dissolved Oxygen:
8 ppm
Percent Oxygen Saturation: 88%
Nitrate:
5 ppm
Phosphate:
2 ppm
pH:
8
Turbidity: 40 JTU
Total Coliforms:
positive
Biological Oxygen Demand: 4 ppm
Stream Flow: 1.3m/s


Macroinvertebrate Assessment

Sensitive Species: caddisfly larvae, Mayfly Nymphs, Riffle Beetle adult
Somewhat Sensitive Species: clams, crayfish, damselfly nymphs
Tolerant Species: leeches, midge larvae, pouch snails etc.

How many times did your group sample with the kick net?: 4
(Note: Dip nets and kicknets were used in collecting macroinvertebrates at this site.)

Water Quality Determination (as calculated from number of species present): 18
Scale: Excellent (>22), Good (17-22), Fair (11-16), Poor (<11)

StreamLink Participants 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.