Linking Land Management to Water Quality at Dixie Drain, Canyon County, Idaho
Additional Funding Sources
The project described was supported by the Pacific Northwest Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation through the National Science Foundation under Award No. HRD-1410465.
Abstract
The condition of streambanks impacts water quality. Streambank vegetation acts as a natural filter to keep pollutants such as sediment and nutrients out of the water. Benthic organisms such as periphyton can be a useful indicator of water quality, growing in excess when too many nutrients runoff into the stream. The streambanks of Dixie Drain were disturbed during construction of a phosphorus removal facility. Some streambanks are bare or rocky and some have vegetation. To demonstrate how bare streambanks, impair water quality, researchers placed labeled river rocks into vegetated and non-vegetated areas of Dixie Drain. Bi-weekly measurements of the growth of benthic organisms were made using a BenthoTorch, which uses light fluorescence to measure chlorophyll in bacteria and algae growing on the rocks. The measurements are still being made, but observations infer poor water quality associated with bare streambanks. Vegetated streambanks help alleviate water pollution by collecting and filtering nutrients from excessive runoff from agricultural and industrial land use. In conclusion, retaining and improving streambank vegetation helps improve water quality.
Linking Land Management to Water Quality at Dixie Drain, Canyon County, Idaho
The condition of streambanks impacts water quality. Streambank vegetation acts as a natural filter to keep pollutants such as sediment and nutrients out of the water. Benthic organisms such as periphyton can be a useful indicator of water quality, growing in excess when too many nutrients runoff into the stream. The streambanks of Dixie Drain were disturbed during construction of a phosphorus removal facility. Some streambanks are bare or rocky and some have vegetation. To demonstrate how bare streambanks, impair water quality, researchers placed labeled river rocks into vegetated and non-vegetated areas of Dixie Drain. Bi-weekly measurements of the growth of benthic organisms were made using a BenthoTorch, which uses light fluorescence to measure chlorophyll in bacteria and algae growing on the rocks. The measurements are still being made, but observations infer poor water quality associated with bare streambanks. Vegetated streambanks help alleviate water pollution by collecting and filtering nutrients from excessive runoff from agricultural and industrial land use. In conclusion, retaining and improving streambank vegetation helps improve water quality.
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