Water Quality

Introduction to Water Quality

Water quality describes the condition of the water, including chemical, physical, and biological characteristics, with respect to its suitability for a particular purpose or use such as drinking, swimming, or supporting aquatic life. Poor water quality can pose a health risk for people, as well as for ecosystems. In the following videos, Ms. Rachel walks us through some of the physical (e.g. color/smell) and chemical (e.g. pH and dissolved oxygen) characteristics that teach us more about the water quality or health of a stream.

In Part 2, Ms. Rachel walks us through a quick biological assessment of Mill Creek in Lexington, KY. Organisms called Aquatic Macroinvertbrates can teach us even more about the health of our waterways. Let’s break down the name: aquatic=lives in water; macro=can be seen without a microscope; invertebrate=lacks an internal skeleton. These creatures are an important part of the food chain and are categorized as sensitive to pollution, moderately tolerant to pollution, and tolerant to pollution. Their abundance or lack thereof in a waterbody can teach us a lot about the environmental health of a creek or stream.

Water Quality Testing

Macroinvertbrates

Useful Water Quality Testing Tools:

Clean Stream Kit - Check out a water quality testing kit for free from Bluegrass Greensource's Resource Library

Breaking Down the Parameters - A great tool to explore what all these water quality testing parameters really mean (see below for some examples)

Habitat Assessment Form - Use this form to track your stream habitat assessment

Habitat Assessment Reference Card - Use this key to help with making visual, odor and other observations

Biological Assessment Field Data Sheet - Use this form to track your stream biological assessment (See Macro ID Key below)

How to use the Macroinvertebrates.org website - Check out this video tutorial for your Macro IDs

Biotic Index Data Sheet - Print this sheet or use the online calculator from the Leak Pack Network

pH

Dissolved Oxygen

Conductivity

Temperature

Use this macroinvertebrate ID Key to help you identify the type of marcos collected in your own biological assessment.

Kentucky Water Health Portal:

Explore the Kentucky Water Health Portal by zooming to an area of concern or by using the search bars along the top of the map. This map shows stream impairments of tested waterways across the state. Red means a stream was tested and does not support a designated use, such as swimming or aquatic habitat. Click on the red, yellow, and green stretches of streams to learn more!

Click the map to the right to be redirected to the KY Water Health Portal.

2016 Integrated Report - Summary of water quality conditions in the state prepared by the Kentucky Division of Water.

Student Activity for Water Quality:

pH at Home

PH is one of a chemical measurement used to determine water quality. PH is important because most organisms need a neutral pH to live - in the middle between an acid and a base (6.5 to 7.5 on a scale of 0-14).

Conduct the following experiment to learn the pH of liquids in your refrigerator.

Materials:

Red Cabbage
Parent to Chop Cabbage
Pot
Water
Lemon-Lime Soda
Baking Soda
1 Tablespoon Measuring Spoon
Dropper
Timer

Step 1: Gather all supplies.

Step 2: Have a grown up chop a red cabbage and boil it for 20 minutes. Save the water and put it in the fridge to cool.

Step 3: Fill one glass with lemon-lime soda.

Step 4: Add the purple cabbage water drop by drop to the lemon-lime soda, until it turns the liquid a different color.

Step 5: Fill a second glass with water and add 3 tablespoons of baking soda. Add the cabbage water to this glass drop by drop until it turns the liquid a different color.

Step 6: Liquid that turns red when cabbage water is added are acidic while bases turn green. See if other liquids in your refrigerator are acids or bases.

This work was funded in part by a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under §319(h) of the Clean Water Act.

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