SOUTH FORK CHEWELAH CREEK WATER QUALITY STUDY: A LOOK AT STREAMSIDE DATA COLLECTION AND SECONDARY

SCIENCE CLASSROOM APPLICATIONMichelle A. Cregger

Winter 2009/2010Montana State University

Masters of Science in Science Education Capstone Project

Methods

South Fork Chewelah Creek

Chewelah, WA

The purpose of this study was to determine the Water Quality Index (WQI) of South Fork Chewelah Creek (SFCC) during the winter months; a time when water quality testing is not typically done on this stream. The data gathered from this study provided a better understanding of the overall stream health when cattle are not grazing on the U.S. Forest Service allotment upstream of the collection site. Of particular concern to this study was the amount of fecal coliform concentrations found in stream. This study was conducted in partnership with the Colville National Forest, located in northeastern Washington State.

In addition, this study provided insight as to how a similar project could be applied to the secondary science classroom. Hands-on water quality education is lacking in many public school programs. Due to funding issues, time constraints, and/or lack of knowledge, educators typically do not address water quality issues in depth. I believe that long-term water quality monitoring may be done in the classroom, and would be beneficial to both student participants and community members.

The study of South Fork Chewelah Creek consisted of measuring nine water quality parameters taken at weekly intervals over a period of five months from December 2009 through April 2010. Field data was collected on the following water elements:

Dissolved Oxygen (mg/L)Fecal Coliform (CFU/100 mL)

Biochemical Oxygen Demand (mg/L)pH

Temperature (Change) (oC)Total Phosphates (mg/L)

Nitrates (mg/L)Turbidity (NTU)

Total Solids (mg/L)

In addition, weekly surveys/reflections and journaling were used to determine the ease and necessity in which a similar study could be carried out in today’s science classroom with middle school (MS) and/or high school (HS) students.

Question Hypothesis1. The WQI for South Fork Chewelah Creek is expected to range from Medium to

Good levels. This is based upon the fact that the stream will be less disturbed during the winter months from human and livestock impacts, and therefore allow certain indices of water quality health to be lower.

1. Due to the absence of cattle on the upstream grazing allotment, fecal coliform counts will be much lower throughout this study in comparison to summer [field] season results collected by the Colville National Forest hydrologist.

1. My experience with this study will enable me to develop hands-on, field-based activities related to water quality monitoring that may be utilized in the classroom with the assistance of and/or full responsibility carried out by secondary science students.

1. My skills and knowledge as a teacher-researcher will greatly improve as a result of conducting this study and will lead to learning news methods for conducting scientific research in addition to broadening my abilities as a teacher-researcher. Knowing I’m capable of designing, implementing, and analyzing a scientific study will increase my confidence to develop similar projects with students.

ConclusionResults

WHAT IS THE WATER QUALITY HEALTH OF SOUTH FORKCHEWELAH CREEK DURING THE WINTER SEASON? COULD A

SIMILAR STUDY BE IMPLEMENTED INTO THE SECONDARYCLASSROOM?

1. What is the overall stream health, according to the Water Quality Index, for South Fork Chewelah Creek during the winter season?

2. Does cattle absence/presence on the Colville National Forest grazing allotment upstream of the collection site affect fecal coliform concentrations in stream?

3. Do my experiences with a field-based research project enable me to determine if experiential learning activities related to water quality monitoring could be used in lieu of basic textbook education methods with MS and HS students?

4. Reflecting upon my experiences conducting this research project, did my skills and knowledge as a teacher-researcher improve?

The 18-week water quality study at South Fork Chewelah Creek was a beneficial project in a number of ways. The WQI for the stream remained in the Good level for the entire duration of the study, indicating strong water quality health during the winter months. In stream concentrations of fecal coliform were low throughout the study, indicating a correlation between cattle presence/absence and fecal coliform impacts to the stream. In addition, I determined that secondary science students are quite capable of conducting hands-on streamside science with direction and supervision from adults. Finally, my skills and knowledge as a teacher-researcher improved greatly throughout the study, and will enable me to develop future projects of similar magnitude.

In conclusion, this study has been a great success. Data was collected according to protocol and provided useful results for both the Colville National Forest and myself. I now have a solid grasp on conducting water quality monitoring and look forward to starting a long-term water quality study in my own science classroom to provide a window into environmental education in a real and meaningful way for my students.

Fig. 1 WQI results for SFCC ‘09/’10 water quality study. Fig. 2 Fecal coliform results for SFCC ‘09/’10 water quality study.

Fig. 3 Student involvement feasibility results for SFCC ‘09/’10 water quality study.

Fig. 4 Teacher-researcher results for SFCC ‘09/’10 water quality study.