|
Convening two weeks after scheduled date, due to postponement
because of concerns about high water and safety, we had a good morning.
We picked up one
enthusiastic new member - Dave Farkas who is also a member of the
Env'l. Quality Commission.
The results were very much in line with previous testing. Temps ranged
from 45 to 48 F; pH at 7.5 with the exception of one site that was
recorded at 6.5; dissolved oxygen ranging from 10 - 14 mg/l. One site
(Bruggers Bog) tested at 4 and 5 for DO - extremely low - so Mark
Phillips went back to re-test and got results of 12
and 13. His guess is that it was a problem with the test - bad
chemicals, not emptying the whole amount from the packets, air bubbles
in the jar, although it seems that would tend to push the DO
in the sample up. We might want to add a step to our procedure that in
the case of a very low reading, go ahead and retest completely,
starting with fresh chemicals.
Adam Officer accompanied one of the teams and did some side-by-side DO
testing with the meter. The meter and the chemical process were pretty
close, even closer than the previous side-by-sides: 11.6 (meter) vs.
12, and 11.9 vs. 12.
One thing of note is that the LFP
Stewardship Foundation has submitted a grant application to
do an engineering design study of the Ballinger Automotive site (across
the street from the LFP market on Ballinger), which Stream Keeper Mark
Phillips helped to write. That is the site of a culvert
collapse back in 1996, and has been a major barrier to fish passage and
source of siltation since then. The grant would fund work to figure out
the best restoration option and create a related detailed construction
plan. The application lists StreamKeepers as a project partner, so if
it is funded, our input and other participation will be sought. They'll
find out if they got it in March.
The January 30, 2010 Basic Quality data can be seen at: http://lfpstreamkeepers.org/data/chemical/WaterQlty2010.htm
|