On Wednesday, 11/08/2006 the Callisburg Middle School collected water samples from the North Fork of the Elm Creek River. We attempted to collect the water samples on Sunday 11/06/2006 but the weather was stormy and for the safety of my students I decided not to make the attempt to collect the samples.
We were able to take water samples from two points on the river. We also collected soil samples from the riverbank where the water meets the land.

The weather was warm with an air temp of 86F and a water temp of 70F. The water was this warm because of the severe drought for the last three years has caused water levels to be very low. We could see green algae and water bugs but no fish life in the area we checked (also due to the very low and warm water).

On Thursday 11/09/2006 at about 200PM we conducted a water quality check. We tested for Total Hardness (TH), Free Chlorine (FC)/ Bromine. Ph, Total Alkalinity (TA), and Cyanuric Acid (CYA). All the results will be registered in Parts per Million or PPM. I will use the abbreviations for each in the remainder of the report.

The area of the river tested is at the west end of the City of Gainesville. On the east bank of the river is a park containing a zoo. Crossing the river is Farm to Market Road 678. This area has multi-purpose usage and is environmentally impacted from vehicular traffic, human interaction, and animal waste.
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The first area tested was near the FM678 overpass that is affected by vehicle traffic pollution and run off from the farms up river. The water was a light green color indicating the presence of green algae. The results were: FC 400, FC 0/0, Ph 8.4, TA 240 and CYA 30/50 PPM.

The second sample was taken south of FM 678 where there is a park and a zoo. The water was much darker a green-brown color. The results of the examination were: TH 400, FC 0, Ph 8.4, TA 240 and Cyanuric Acid 100 PPM.

We also ran the same tests on the soil samples to see if the results were the same or increased through years of accumulation. The results of the soil examinations were: TH 1000, FC 0/0, Ph 7.8, TA 240 and CYA 30/50 PPM.

We did observe some water bugs which we were able to photograph with the help of the hand held microscopes from FMF. I was also able to put my camera lens on the stationary microscope and take a photo of the same bug. My students love working with these hand held microscopes because they are so portable.

We will compare the results and make an hypothesis and post the results on XOOPS.

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