Magazine water cops

stances to a body of wa-

ter can damage its qual-

ity, which stops it from

being suitable for what it

was designated.

The concept of water

pollution depends on the

purpose to which the wa-

ter is designated.

Where does the water

you use come from? Do

you always have enough

water or is it limited at

the place where you live?

What factors affect the

amount and quality of the

water where you live?

The over enrichment

with nutrients and the

contamination with patho-

gens of the bodies of wa-

ter negatively affect

their use for public con-

sumption, for industry

and agriculture, and as

being habitat for wild life

(USEPA 2005).

The Clean Water Act

(CWA, for its acronym in

English) establishes that

water quality should be

evaluated and maintained

in accordance with estab-

lished (USEPA, 2002).

Excessive amount of

nutrients to bodies of

water reduce their water

quality, which can lead to

an eutrophic state.

We understand that

the addition of sub-

The multidisciplinary

project Water Cops PR

CL, will make students to

explore their own water-

shed and understand what

happens to the flow of

water over them. The

students will also visual-

ize the way in which hu-

man activities impact the

river’s hydrology and the

way in which the change

of land use can affect

plant and animal communi-

ties that live along it.

This project also in-

tends to develop technol-

ogy skills on students in

applications such as Log-

ger Pro and Vernier Soft-

ware LabQuest, MS Pub-

lisher 2007, ArcGIS Ex-

plorer , Adobe Premier

and Think-quest.org or

Blogger.

This project also has the

purpose of making stu-

dents create conscious-

ness about the environ-

ment they live in.

Introduction

Abstract

PR Water Cops CL

A P R I L 1 3 , 2 0 1 1

Introduction p. 1

Abstract p. 1

Purpose p. 2

Materials p. 2

Procedure p. 3

Results p. 4-5

Result Analysis p.

5-6

Conclusion p. 6

C L C W A T E R Q U A L I T Y . B L O G S P O T . C O M

V O L U M E # 2

P A G E 2

Materials Water Cops CL project is a multi-application where students have the oppor-

tunity to perform research on water quality from several points of Rio Pie-

dras. The students will be using technologies such as: Vernier Technology to

take water quality measurements. It will be chosen an urban water body close

to the school and two sampling locations will be selected in this body of water.

There will be three trials for each sample using the different sensors of

Vernier LabQuest. Some of the measurements which will be performed are:

-Turbidity

-Conductivity

-Alkalinity

-pH

-Temperature

-Dissolved Oxygen

- Stream Flow

P R W A T E R C O P S C L N E W S

Purpose Students will investigate their own water-

shed to understand the flow of water in

them, how human activities can affect its

hydrology, and how the usage of land by

humans can also affect the hydrology wa-

tershed.

Students from elementary through high

school level will be involved in this project.

During the development of the students are

in-they involve sub-tasks and tasks to com-

plete the following products :

"In Science, Mathematics and Technology -

Scientific Article (Journal)-In English

(Spanish), and Technology - Video Docu-

mentary - Adobe Premier. Geography

and Technology - GeoMapping - ArcEx-

plorer, in English (Spanish), and Technol-

ogy - Blog Thinkquest.org Google Blog-

ger.

Vernier

Labquest Water Quality

kit

This measurements were took using :

Vernier Labquest Sensors

Procedure Part I. Physical Assessment of Wa-

ter Quality

Description: As a component of

water quality research, the students

observe, measure and map the

physical characteristics of a stream

of water. Quantitatively, using

handheld computers scientific Lab

Quest Vernier sensors and current

flow, the students measure different

parameters (mentioned in the ma-

terials section). Qualitatively, stu-

dents use the skills of observation

to notice specific characteristics of

the river.

Objectives: Upon completion of the

project, students will be able to:

1. Define the terms of the water-

shed, erosion, and deposition.

2. Identify local watersheds by

name.

3. Use scientific tools to determine

physical water quality by collecting

data.

4. Build a watershed model-map

using the titles, legends and their

role.

5. Develop ways to maintain a

healthy water body based on physi-

cal, chemical and biological evalua-

tion.

Part II. Chemical Evaluation of Wa-

ter Quality



use handhelds LabQuest Vernier

scientific and current sensors for

measuring pH, dissolved oxygen,

temperature and turbidity. Students

develop a hypothesis, record data

obtained including measurements

and observations. So students may

do a scientific conclusion.

Objectives: Upon completion of the

project, students will be able to:

1.Define the terms of watersheds,

source of pollution including indi-

rect sources, pH, dissolved oxygen

and turbidity.

2. Identify different sources of con-

tamination.

3. Explain how pollutants travel

through the river basin and explain

how different chemical proportions

of a stream affect water quality.

4.Develop products with the ob-

tained results.

5. Use math while collecting data.

6. Apply the scientific method.

P A G E 3 C L C W A T E R Q U A L I T Y . B L O G S P O T . C O M

Part III. Biological Assessment



collect, identify and analyze data.

This information is analyzed to

draw conclusions given the local

creek water.

Objectives: At the end of the pro-

gram, students will be able to:

1. Define the terms watershed, ero-

sion, contamination and local water-

sheds.

2. Make graphs with the collected

data.

P A G E 4

Water Quality Sampling in the Rio Piedras

On Saturday, January 22,

2011, at 10:21 A.M. we,

The Green Team, went to

the Rio Piedras to collect

water samples. The water

state was normal and the

sky was clear with isolated

clouds. The latitude was

18.38837 and the longitude

was 66.05904.

The temperature of a

body of water influences

its overall quality. Water

temperatures outside the

“normal” range for a

stream or a river can cause

harm to the aquatic organ-

isms that live there like

stonefly larvae or mosqui-

toes. The average tempera-

ture of this river is 23.7 °

C.

The dissolved oxygen of

a body is the quantity of

oxygen that the water has.

The measurements took in

the two points of the Rio

Piedras have the minimum

quantity of DO for optimal

for optimal conditions for

the organisms. The average

DO of this river is 4.7 mg/L.

The pH is a measure of

acidity or alkalinity of a solu-

tion. The pH indicates the

concentration of hydronium

ion (H30 +) present in cer-

tain substances, in this case

water. According to our re-

search, the Rio Piedras has

an average pH of 7.68. This

pH is optimal for the survival

of all marine organisms. Water quality at this point of the Rio Piedras is generally acceptable for

domestic use and water.

Turbidity is a measure of water’s lack of clarity. Water with high turbidity is cloudy, while

water with low turbidity is clear. The cloudiness is produced by light reflecting off of particles in

water; therefore, the more particles in the water, the higher the turbidity.

Stream flow or discharge is the volume of water that moves through a specific point in a

stream during a given period of time. Stream flow is an important factor in the stream ecosys-tem and is responsible for many of the physical characteristics of a stream. Stream flow has two components. The first is flow velocity, and the second is the volume of water in the stream.

The average of the stream flow was 0.18 cfs. The conductivity of a substance defines as the ability or power of conducting heat, electricity.

Pure water is a good conductor of electricity. According to our results, the sample has medium

levels of conductivity. The normal conductivity level in a river or lake is of 5.5 μS/cm, however

our readings were of 381 μS/cm. The average of the conductivity was 381 μS/cm.


Water Quality Sampling in the Guaralcanal Stream


On Saturday, January 29, 2011

at 9:30 A.M. we, The Green

Team, went to the Guaralcanal

stream to collect water samples.

The water state was normal and

there were no clouds. The lati-

tude was 18.37715 and the longi-

tude was 66.04630.

The temperature of a body of

water influences its overall qual-

ity. Water temperatures outside

the “normal” range for a stream

or river can cause harm to the

aquatic organisms that live there

like stonefly larvae or mosqui-

toes. Our results can compare to

the temperatures of the rivers

in the US during the summer

time. The average water tem-

perature was 24.1°C.

The DO of a body is the quantity

of oxygen that has the water.

The measurements took in the

two points of the Rio Piedras

have the minimum quantity of

DO for optimal living condi-

tions for the organisms. The

DO is around the 4.7mg/L

which is the average in this

zone. The average of the DO

was 4.3 mg/L.

The conductivity is a substance

define as the ability or power to conducting heat and electric-ity.. Pure water is a good con-ductor of electricity. According

to our results, the samples has medium levels of conductivity. The normal conductivity in a

river or lake is of 5.5µs/cm, however our readings were of

521µs/cm.

Stream flow or discharge is the

volume of water that moves

through a specific point in a

stream during a given period of

time. Stream flow is an impor-

tant factor in the stream eco-

system and is responsible for

many of the physical character-

istics of a stream. Stream flow

has two components. The first

is flow velocity, and the second

is the volume of water in the

stream. The average of the

stream flow 0.20 cfs.

Turbidity is measure in

Nephelometric turbidity

Units, NTU. According to

the USGS, the turbidity of

surface water is usually be-

tween 1 NTU and 50 NTU.

Water is visibly turbid at

levels above 5 NTU. The

average turbidity in this

site of the Guaralcanal

stream is 25..3NTU.

P A G E 6


According to the dynamic model created with the ArcGIS

Explorer can be seen clearly that the population density surround-

ing the sampling area is extremely high. Research tells us that most

of the parameters are expected and normal levels, but we have to

watch some of these which are the maximum allowed or are al-

ready at higher levels than expected.

With this model, students can create spatial analysis of data ac-

quired, organized and manipulated by them.

Discussion of the Results

Students sampled two areas of Rio Piedras river: Jardín Botánico and Guaralcanal

stream. In the first site of the stream the samples showed normal levels of measurement,

except turbidity and conductivity that are in the maximum level of the accepted range. In

the second site the samples showed a level of nitrate and ammonium above the maximum

level of range accepted. This second point is the most affected by pollution which the

NH4 and NO3 levels are strongly affected, reflecting a level far above the expected level.

The possible causes are the agricultural runoff, some kind of human pollution entering the

water, animal feedlots, runoff from fertilized fields, or treated municipal wastewater being

returned to streams.

Analysis of a Watershed in Puerto Rico a) climatic data including seasonal and station densi-

ties of both: extremes and averages.

b) road map

c) hydrographic maps

d) hydrological data (inventory of water, surface

runoff, river network);

e) lists of species for the fauna and flora, land and water, its distribution, life histories, economically important species, rare species and unique or that

are in danger of extinction;

f) population density

g) flood map

h) ecosystem

i) Soil maps (distribution, nutrients, toxic minerals);

j) Anthropological studies;

k) Sources of pollution past, present and future can

do so by searching or a tour of the area using

GPS.

l) location and description of existing environmental

problems, location of critical areas.

Possible dynamic models : a) Buffer zones map vs actual construction or aerial photos.

b) Population density vs. amount of available water re-

sources

c) Analysis of potential areas for reforestation preventing

contamination of the canal.

d) Map of places that could be designated as protected re-

serves or for the benefit of all.

e) Map of the hot spots and dividing by their effect(minimum, medium, severe) .


Contact us

clcwaterquality.blogspot.com

Edificio BBVA

Calle Amarilla

#206 San Juan

Puerto Rico

COMPUTER LEARNING

17 años apoyando la educación en

Puerto Rico

Phone: 787-764-2222

Fax: 787-764-9999

[email protected]

Colegio Mater Salvatoris

Magazine water cops

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