Water Quality

There are many substances that affect stream health.

Nitrates are very important to stream health as they are necessary for plant growth. This also means that it can be very dangerous. Excess levels of nitrate can cause excess algae blooms, blocking sunlight from reaching the plants underwater and restricting their ability to conduct photosynethesis and create more dissolved oxygen.

Another important factor is pH. Most creatures can only live in moderate levels of pH, about 6.5 and 8.5. Any more acidic or basic and stream life can suffer.

Conductivity is the measurement of how well water conducts electricity. Because pure water is a poor conductor, we use conductivity to measure the amount of total dissolved solids, which can also block sunlight or affect the quality of water for stream life.

Turbidity is also very important because it measures the clarity of the water. Water that becomes too turbid blocks sunlight, and can limit plant's photosynthesis and DOC output.

Dissolved oxygen content is one of the most important indicators of stream health. Like land creatures, underwater creatures need oxygen to survive. Oxygen is much more limited underwater. Fish and other life need certain levels of oxygen to survive underwater. Plants produce oxygen through photosynethesis. It is also added through ripples on the water's surface.

Temperature is also very important because of DOC levels. If water is too hot, oxygen evaporated, leaving less oxygen for creatures to breath. The colder the water is, the more oxygen it can hold.

Alkalinity is the measure of a streams resistance to pH/acidity. This is very important. Waters that are too acidic can cause fish to die, and as acidic substances are added to the streams naturally, the water must resist it. Alkalinity is high in area near limestone.

E-coli is often released when fertalizers are introduced to areas near streams and run-off into the stream water. This can harm people who eat creatures from the stream and recieve kidney damage.