Poultney River - Tier 1 Report - Guy Merolle, 11/06/15

Physical Parameters Assessment

Investigator Name(s):

Class of 2018

Collection Date & Time:

Friday, November 6, 2015 - 10:45am

School:

Castleton Elementary School

Watershed:

Poultney/Mettawee South Basin

River:

Poultney River

Monitoring Site:

Castleton River

Site Description:

Castleton River where it flows through a forest behind Dewey Field.

Surrounding Development or Land Use:

Park

Forest

Do you see any pipes entering into the river?:

Is there a water treatment plant upstream?:

Water Appearance:

Clear

Water Odor:

Odorless

Average Embeddedness:

0-25%

Physical Summary:

The river here has a nice forest buffer. However, there is a major highway (highway 4) and a significant amount of farms in the area upstream.

Canopy Cover:

26-50%

Average Velocity:

0.46m/s

Exact Location

Latitude:

43.61

Longitude:

-73.18

Weather

Present:

Overcast

Past 48 Hours:

Overcast

Average Transparency/Turbidity

No Impact: >60 cm - 17cm = 0-50 ntu
Possible Impact: 17 - 8cm = 65-150 ntu
Impacted: 8 - < 6 cm = >150 ntu

Height of Water Column:

56.00cm

Chemical Assessment

Water Temperature:

12.00°C

Stream Habitat Assessment

Streambed:

Big, medium and small particles (12)

Streambank Erosion:

Medium erosion (4)

Speed (Velocity):

All of these speeds (12)

Streambank Plants (Riparian Vegetation):

All of these plants (12)

Streambank Plant Width:

More than 20 paces (12)

Stream Habitat Quality Score

Calculated by adding all of the points from the above fields.

50-60 (Excellent)
40-49 (Good)
30-39 (Fair)
0-29 (Poor)

Stream Habitat Quality Score for This Report:

Biological Assessment

Observed: Many kinds of animals, from sensitive to tolerant

Which suggests: Good water quality