Water Quality in Lynchburg

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Water Quality in Lynchburg
Study Conducted by Lynchburg College Freshwater
Ecology Class
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Back Ground

• The creeks studied are a part of the James River
  watershed.
• Physical Monitoring of stream conditions is
  important part of our assessment.
• The watershed health reflects water quality in a
  stream.
• Watershed management through control of
  urbanization.

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Blackwater Creek Watershed
The Blackwater Creek Watershed has a drainage
area of just over 42,000 acres (170 km2).
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Watershed Health

• Agriculture 25 Good
• 50 Degraded
• gt 50 Poor

• Forest 75 Good
• 50 Degraded
• lt50 Poor

Development 5 - Good 15-20
Degraded 25 Poor
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Sites Studied

• Hollins Mill at Blackwater Creek
• Hollins Mill Road, Lynchburg City
• Dreaming Creek
• McConnville Road Lynchburg City
• Rock Castle Creek
• Wards Road Lynchburg City
• Ivy Creek
• Peaks View Park, Chaffins Farm, Hooper Road

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Hollins Mill

• Land Use
• Recovery

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Dreaming Creek

• Land Use
• Restoration

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Rock Castle Creek

• Land Use Urban

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Ivy Creek at Chaffins Farm

• Land Use Agriculture,

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Ivy Creek at Hoopers Road
Land Use Forested and Pasture
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Ivy Creek at Peaks View Park

• Land Use
• SubUrban and Recreation

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Sampling Analysis and Interpretation

• Teams were assigned to Sample, Analyze, and
  Interpret
• Macro-invertebrates
• Fish
• Nutrients
• Physical Characteristics

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Stream Characteristics

• Ryan Fletcher
• Kate Skaggs

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Stream Bottom Particles
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Physical Assessment

• Eric Anderson
• Richard Jones
• Andy Rollins
• Joel Parker

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Jefferson Forest
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Jefferson Forest
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Jefferson Forest
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Peaks View
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Peaks View
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Peaks View
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Chaffins Farm
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Chaffins Farm
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Chaffins Farm
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Dreaming Creek
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Dreaming Creek
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Dreaming Creek
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Hollins Mill
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Hollins Mill
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Hollins Mill
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Cracker Barrel
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Cracker Barrel
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Cracker Barrel
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Nutrients and Water Chemistry

• Andrew Washington
• Holland Hersey
• Wendy Bush

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Phosphorous
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Interpretation

• Site with the highest total phosphorous reading
  was Chaffins Farm.
• Site with the lowest total phosphorous was
  Cracker Barrel.
• High amounts of total phosphorous suggest high
  amounts of agricultural pollution.

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Concentration of Ammonia
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Total Ammonia

• The sites with the highest amount of ammonia was
  Chaffins farm and Hollins Mill.
• The site with the lowest amount of ammonia was
  Peaks View Park.
• The amount of ammonia recorded was relatively
  through the sites.
• Low ammonia suggests a healthy stream.

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Macroinvertebrates

• Stef Huffer
• Molly McWithey
• Matt McCarroll

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Species Richness
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Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera
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Percent Model Affinity
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Family Biotic Index
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Fish

• Tim Garnier
• James Bethune

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TOTAL FISH
26 TOTAL SPECIES CAUGHT
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Water Quality Groups

• Minnows
• Percids
• Sunfish
• Suckers
• Catfish

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MINNOWS
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PERCIDS
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SUNFISH
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SUCKERS
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CATFISH
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PERCENTAGE COMPARISON