2. Our first thought of the river is that it was
muddy, dirty, ucky, and nasty. We tested
the dissolved oxygen, total solids, and
pH to see if it was healthy or unhealthy.
3. Data Gathered
Dissolved oxygen is the first test. The
higher the dissolved oxygen the better.
We got: 10mg/l and 115% saturation,
10mg/l and 115% saturation, 8mg/l and
90% saturation.
The average is 9.3mg/l and 106%
saturation. This is okay because if it’s
over 110% it could be harmful to animals
in the river. If it’s below 5% it puts stress
on animals in the water.
4. The two main sources of dissolved oxygen
in the Mullet River is the atmosphere and
photosynthesis. Currents and small waves
in the water mix air into the water where
oxygen dissolves until saturation occurs.
Oxygen is also the result of aquatic plants
and algae going through photosynthesis.
5. Total Solids
Total solids is the second test we took.
500mg/l is considered drinking water so
the higher the total solids is the more
pure the water is. Before evaporating
the water it weighed 141.5 grams. After
the water evaporated it weighed 110.75.
After subtracting and multiplying the
numbers, it ended being 30.75 mg/l of
total solids.
6. Sources of total solids include industrial
discharges, sewage, fertilizers, road runoff,
and soil erosion. All of the above could be
the source of total solids in the Mullet River
because we have factories in Plymouth
that could release harmful gases into the
air and land in the river. The river is by a
road so there could be a lot of road runoff.
7. pH
The last test we did was pH. Pure water
is 7. Anything below 7 is acidic and
anything above 7 is basic. We tested it 3
times and got 7, 7, and 8. The most
common value is 7. Therefore the water
is healthy.
8. When rain drops fall through the
atmosphere, they dissolve gaseous carbon
dioxide, creating a weak acid. We do not
have acid rain here. It is caused when
there is too much sulfur and carbon in the
air from a car’s exhaust and discharge from
factories. Canada has a lot of acid rain
because there are a lot of cars and
factories there.
9. Improvements
As you can see the river is very healthy.
We can maintain the river by keeping the
water clean and not polluting it. We can
improve the river by opening the dam and
then closing it so the water can stay fresh
and clean.
10. The insects we found in a water sample of the river are:
Mayfly Larva, Water Boatman, Tetrahymena, Euglena, and
many more. In order to keep these insects healthy in the
river, we have to keep a constant pH otherwise the insects
will die because of the dramatic change. We also should
keep the water healthy by not polluting it.
The pollution sometimes comes from the Youth Center when
kids don’t feel the need to throw their trash in the garbage.
They throw it where ever and it eventually ends up in the
river.
Other times it comes from road runoff when cars drive past
the river, the wind blows trash over to the river.
