Water Quality Primer

Water quality in different bodies of water in a watershed tell us "how we're doing" at managing our lands. Is the quality of our water good? Is it bad? How does it vary from season to season? Are there issues we need to do something about?

When we sample our College Creek watershed sites, we measure water temperature, dissolved oxygen concentration, salinity, and acidity in the field. We also bring water samples back to the Keck Lab to analyze suspended sediment load, the abundance of fecal coliform bacteria, and nutrient levels.

Sediments, bacteria, and nutrients-specifically nitrogen-are the major contaminants found in the streams and lakes of local watersheds. These contaminants also are pollutants that contribute to declining fisheries productivity in Chesapeake Bay. If we don't want these pollutants in Chesapeake Bay, then we need to keep them out of the streams and lakes of our local watersheds, and all of the other smaller watersheds that collectively make up the Chesapeake Bay watershed.