Geography Internal Assessment
How does the water quality of South Creek in the Narrabeen catchment vary downstream and what do these variations infer about human influences?
Candidate Number: 003047 0022
Word Count:
Table of Contents
Fieldwork Question and Geographical Context 3
Nature and Purpose of this Investigation 3
Location of this Investigation 4
Hypothesis 5
Methods of Investigation 6
Method of Measurement 7
The Water Quality Index 8
Treatment of Information Collected and Written Analysis 10
Data Collection and Processing-The Headwaters-Point A 14
Testing Conditions and Results 15
Qualitative Observations 15
Interpretation of Results 16
Data Collection and Processing-The Midpoint-Point B 17
Testing Conditions and Results 18
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This investigation is derived from:
Part 1. Patterns and change
1.3 Patterns in environmental quality and sustainability
3. Water and Change
Concerned with both environmental and human factors affecting water quality.
Part 2. Optional themes
Option A: Freshwater issues and conflicts
Which focusses on both the physical geography of freshwater and human impacts on water quality.
Location of this Investigation
South Creek is located in Narrabeen, New South Whales, Australia, within the Warringah area. The Narrabeen basin is approximately 7km from north to south and 7km from east to west (Entrance from Narrabean Lakes, Forest Way) (Mona Vale at Tumbledown Dick to Warringah road ). South Creek flows through Oxford falls, Beacon Hill, Cromer, Narraweena, Wheeler Heights before flowing into Narrabeen Lakes. The landscape of the area is dissected sandstone plateau with some areas of flat land at height, such as Collaroy Plateau with an average height of 42 metres above sea level.
Figure 1.1 Location of South Creek
Figure 1.2 Annoyed Location map of South Creek
Hypothesis
South Creek will start off with good water quality, but the water quality will degrade downstream due to proximity to human influences.
Although South Creek begins adjacent to residential infrastructure, since it is the beginning of the stream, I suspect the stream won’t be that polluted
Introduction: The purpose of this research is to determine whether there has been a change in the overall water quality of the Lake Tarpon Basin, and if so, whether the quality has improved or worsened. The variables that will determine whether the quality has changed are: nutrients (phosphates and nitrates) and dissolved oxygen (DO). The expected changes are lower dissolved oxygen levels (from the already low levels), higher nitrogen levels (from the already high nitrogen levels), and the state qualifications still are not met for nutrients and dissolved oxygen (Levy, Flock, Burnes, Myers, Weed, River 2010). This topic relates to environmental management because the changes in water quality would be due to pollution, which relates to the question “How does human activity lead to the pollution of water stores?” The hypothesis that will be tested is that Lake Tarpon’s water quality will have worsened since the last measurements by Levy, Flock, Burnes, Myers, Weed, and Rivera in 2010.
Extensive amounts of litter were observed both in (figure 8) and around the creek, this aspect of human interaction clearly is degrative within this environment Increased flood risk due to surface impermeability this disrupts the water cycle and increases subsequent erosion
Newtown creek is a 3.8-mile waterway located on the border of Brooklyn and Queens in New York City and was once a busy center for industrial activity. More than 50 factories were located along its banks, including oil refineries, petrochemical plants, sawmills, and lumber and coal yards. The Creek was also the site of one of the largest oil spill in the U.S. (EPA, 2007). As a consequence, the soil surrounding the area became polluted with toxic heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and was declared a Superfund site. The Superfund Program requires responsible parties to perform cleanups or reimburse the government for cleanups led by EPA. Superfund sites are hazardous to human health and to the environment. benz[a]anthracene,
Our class has concluded that the conodoguinet creek is not polluted. If we test the Conodoguinet Creek for signs of pollution, then the creek will be polluted. That was my hypothesis for the creek, but it was wrong. There are many creatures that are pollution sensitive, which means they can’t survive in pollution. We found many of these creatures in the stream. Also, we have tested the creek for pollutants and other chemicals. Lastly, acid rain is a problem, so we tested the rocks for neutralizing acid. Here are some reasons why we think the creek is not polluted.
Task 2 Investigate an environmental issue of significance in Australia Global Warming and climate Change
I’m reporting to the watershed area of the Conodoguinet Creek to discuss possible pollution in the creek. A type of pollution that can be a problem is Eutrophication. Eutrophication is the enrichment of an ecosystem with chemical nutrients. The Conodoguinet Creek runs through agricultural land, which means a lot of fertilizer. Phosphates and nitrates are found in fertilizers. When farmers use too much fertilizers, it can leak into the creek when it rains. When a lot of fertilizer gets into the creek in can get too many nutrients, and then excessive amounts of algae will grow causing many more problems. Acid rain is also another problem. Acid rain is caused by fossil fuels being burned, from cars, factories, etc. Acid rain can get into the
To investigate the various impacts of Water pollution on Prospect Creek in particularly if recreational activities affect the creek and how rubbish is managed.
Is the Conodoguinet creek polluted? I thought it was, but multiple tests from my peers and I proved my hypothesis wrong. To prove our hypotheses, my peers and I did multiple tests of the organisms living in the creek. We also tested the water quality. You may be wondering, “ How does this apply to me?” “ Why should I care?”, the fact is that the Conodoguinet runs through 100 miles of Pennsylvania. It runs through farms, towns, communities, and maybe even your backyard. So, making sure we protect it should concern all of us.
The big question of this study is, Does Sawmill Creek have a good water quality, and a healthy ecosystem? We made a hypothesis stating that Sawmill Creek has a healthy ecosystem, and a good water quality. The findings were quite liked amongst people, with the pH right around 7, making it nearly neutral. The DO was a little different with getting two very different answers for both tests, but making it appear as though it has a good level, right around 10 ppm. The ecosystem is decently diverse, with the findings of different trees and plants around the stream, and the different macroinvertebrates, with only 1 aquatic plant found, which was algae. With all the plants, and macroinvertebrates, none of them seem to be polluting, or causing poor
Let’s start out with the pollutants in this water. There was a surprising amount of pollution found downriver of Sioux Falls, the largest city in South Dakota. It makes sense that more pollutants would be coming from more heavily populated areas, but it doesn’t change the fact that it is harming all those around it. It is thought that a lot of this pollution is coming from the city waste
Today, this briefing note is put to you the 'National Taskforce on Environmental Science and Sustainable Development' in response to Urbanisation and its effects on Australias’ waterways. This is fast becoming a critical environmental issue affecting Australia.
Background (1 ¶): What is the Duck Creek Watershed? What problems is it facing? What is being done so far to remedy these problems? Who is working on this problem?
Richard Smith, Richard Alexander, and M.Gordon Wolman, Water Quality Trends in the Nation's Rivers. 235 Science 1607, 1987.
I believe that Conodoguinet creek is polluted, but only very slightly. In 3 different experiments, my group tested the quality of the water. Below are the results.
Turbidity is the degree to which water has clarity which is also related to secchi depth. Each of these parameters, like many of those parameters discussed in this assessment, are based on the individual water body’s conditions and require continuous monitoring to relay information on pollution. Banita Creek had lower overall turbidity and secchi depth and a trend increasing from North to South. This could be due to increase in erosion and or discharge. La Nana, meanwhile, did not have a relationship between discharge and turbidity and secchi depth. The highest turbidity measurement for La Nana creek was found at the northern most point nearest to industrial activities. Perhaps this area was subjected to high erosion from the inputs of urban stormwater runoff. Each parameter, turbidity and secchi depth, is important to understanding stream health. Excessive turbidity can clog the gills and other orifices of aquatic organisms. Concurrently, secchi depth describes the light compensation point of a stream, in other words, the depth to which light can penetrate the water to 1% to that of the light at the surface.