Water Quality Lab Report

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The water quality in the UHS creek was identified as excellent in the last lab report the was purposed on finding the quality of water. But some creeks or other bodies of water are not as clean as the UHS creek. This is mostly caused humans that negatively impact the water causing the quality to deteriorate. One way humans can negatively impact water quality is by famers putting fertilizers and pesticides on their crops. The chemicals can be washed off by rain and can run into rivers. This in turn causes algae to overgrow in the river (called eutrophication), this turns that water green. When all of this algae dies bacteria break them up using all of the oxygen in the river killing all of the other organisms (http://www.lenntech.com/rivers-pollution-quality.htm). …show more content…

A riparian zone would be an area surrounding and aquatic area like a creek (around 25 feet on each side). This area would be a transition from the aquatic environment to the terrestrial environment of everything around the creek. It would left alone and not be interfered with by human activities such as mowing or spraying pesticides on them. Any trash would be removed from the zone and signs would be put up around the area to let people be aware of the zone. All of this would allow for natural growth of plants and other organisms in the environment surrounding the creek. One pro of this idea would be that all of the plants would filter storm runoff and remove some pollutants before they reach the water. Another pro would be that all of the new environment would protect the bank from being eroded as severely as before. On the other side one con would be that it may take up a lot of space that would be hard to be kept natural and untouched. Another con would be that it may be too pricey for the government or organization that would start this area and make to maintain it and enforce the rules, leading to it not working.

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