Poultney River - Guy Merolle, 01/01/15

General Info

Investigator Name(s): 

CVS students

Collection Date & Time: 

Thursday, January 1, 2015 - 2:00pm

Present: 

Clear/Sunny

School: 

Castleton Elementary School

Watershed: 

Poultney/Mettawee South Basin

River: 

Poultney River

Monitoring Site: 

Castleton River

Latitude: 

43.365400

Longitude: 

73.104700

Physical Assessment

Embeddedness: 

0-25%

Relative Flow Patterns: 

Slow-Deep

Slow-Shallow

Water Odor: 

Odorless

Water Appearance: 

Clear

Surrounding Development or Land Use: 

Farm

Park

Residential

Is there a water treatment plant upstream?: 

No

Do you see any pipes entering into the river?: 

No

Appox. Channel Width: 

26.00ft

Avg. Depth: 

1.10ft

Current Velocity: 

1.40ft/sec

River Bottom Composition

Bedrock: 

0%

Boulders: 

5%

Cobble: 

40%

Sand, Silt, Clay: 

40%

Organic Matter (leaves, fallen twigs): 

15%

Algal Growth

Bottom covered by algae: 

14%

Bank Vegetation

Left bank: 

0%

Right bank: 

100%

Riparian Vegetation Zone

Left bank: 

240ft

Right bank: 

380ft

Overhead Canopy

Canopy Cover: 

40%

Turbidity

Trial 1: 

2NTU

Trial 2: 

3NTU

Avg. Turbidity: 

3NTU

Biotic Assessment

PT Group 1 (Intolerant)

Enter the number of each observed

Stonefly Nymph: 

16

Mayfly Nymph: 

11

Caddis Fly Larvae: 

26

Dobsonfly Larvae: 

0

Riffle Beetle: 

0

Water Penny: 

0

Right-Handed Snail: 

2

PT Group 2 (Moderately Intolerant)

Enter the number of each observed

Damselfly Nymph: 

0

Dragonfly Nymph: 

2

Sowbug: 

0

Scud: 

0

Cranefly Larvae: 

7

Clams/Mussels: 

0

Crayfish: 

1

PT Group 3 (Fairly Tolerant)

Enter the number of each observed

Midges: 

0

Black Fly Larvae: 

0

Planaria: 

0

Leech: 

2

PT Group 4 (Very Tolerant)

Enter the number of each observed

Left-Handed Snail: 

2

Aquatic Worms: 

0

Blood Midge: 

0

Rat-Tailed Maggot: 

0

Pollution Tolerance Index Rating

= 4*(Total # in PT Group 1) + 3*(Total # in PT Group 2) + 2*(Total # in PT Group 3) + 1*(Total # in PT Group 4)

23+ (Excellent)
17-22 (Good)
11-16 (Fair)
10 > (Poor)

PT Index Rating: 

28.0

Other Biological Indicators

Aquatic Plants

Chemical Assessment

Temperature

Trial 1: 

2°F

Trial 2: 

2°F

Avg. Temp.: 

2°F

pH

Trial 1: 

7.5

Trial 2: 

7.5

Avg. pH: 

7.5

Orthophosphate PO4-3: 

0.20mg/L

Dissolved Oxygen: 

10mg/L