Hiawatha High School
Wolf River

Date: March 12, 2002
Time: 1:30 PM

Visual Assessment

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


Major Land Uses in the watershed: Cropland

Trash at the Creek: Broken glass, cans, iron and other metal, sacks
Animals at the Creek: Frogs, raccoons
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 (0), Bare soil or sand (2), Grasses (8), Woody shrubs/small trees (3), Big trees (2), Lawn (0)
Right Bank: Concrete (0), Big rocks/rip rap (0), Bare soil or sand (3), Grasses (8), Woody shrubs/small trees (5), Big trees (4), Lawn (0)

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

Habitat Types: Pools, Riffles, Runs
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: none


Is the creek in the sunshine or shade?: Sun

What type of algae are present?:
Algae Present: Algae everywhere
Type of Algae: Brown coat of algae on rocks; Algae matted on rocks; Hairy Algae

Conditions in your stream: Greenish colored water

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


Chemical Assessment

Temperature: 6 C
Dissolved Oxygen: 6 ppm
Percent Oxygen Saturation: 48%
Nitrate: <5 ppm
Phosphate: <1 ppm
pH: 8
Turbidity: 40 JTU
Total Coliforms: Positive
Biological Oxygen Demand: 0 ppm
Stream Flow: 1m/s


Macroinvertebrate Assessment

Sensitive Species: Caddisfly larvae, hellgrammite, gilled snails, riffle beetle adult
Somewhat Sensitive Species: Crane fly larvae
Tolerant Species: Aquatic worms, blackfly larvae, leeches

How many times did your group sample with the kick net?: (not available)

Water Quality Determination (as calculated from number of species present): 17
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.