Kansas StreamLink
...a watershed exploration
StreamLink Participant
Nemaha Valley Junior High School
Harris Creek

Date: October 11, 2001
Time: 8:00 AM

Visual Assessment

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

Major Land Uses in the watershed: Parking lots, paved driveways, roads; Rural Homes with Septic Systems; Cropland, and Active Grazing Land and/or feedlots.

Trash at the Creek: Old tires, barbed wire, broken glass, cans, rusty pots and pans, cement with wire running through it
Animals at the Creek: frogs, raccoons, deer, snakes, crane, earth worms
Animals in the Creek: fish, water-striders, minnows

Stream Bank Cover (1 is the least, 8 is the greatest):
Left Bank: Concrete (8) Big Rocks (7) Grasses (2) Woody shrubs (2) big trees (5)
Right Bank: Concrete (8) Big Rocks (8) Grasses (8) Woody shrubs (2) big trees (3)

Stream Bank Conditions:
Left Bank: Undercut
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, sticks or twigs, fallen leaves
Human impact: None

Is the creek in the sunshine or shade?: Both

What type of algae are present?: Algae in spots: Brown coat of algae on rocks

Conditions in your stream: Yellow-brown to dark brown water, muddy in areas

Embeddedness (1 is the least, 4 is the greatest): 3
Content of the Stream Bed (1 is the least, 5 is the greatest): Mud (2), Silt (2), Sand (5), Gravel(4), Cobbles (1), Boulders (0), Bedrock (0), Cement Platforms (5)


Chemical Assessment

Temperature: 9.5 C
Dissolved Oxygen: 4 ppm
Percent Oxygen Saturation: 35%
Nitrate: 5 ppm
Phosphate: 1 ppm
pH: 8
Turbidity: 40 JTU
Total Coliforms: Positive
Biological Oxygen Demand: 8 ppm
Stream Flow: N/A


Macroinvertebrate Assessment

Sensitive Species: 3 Species
Somewhat Sensitive Species: 4 Species
Tolerant Species: 4 Species

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

Water Quality Determination (as calculated from number of species present): 21
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.