Winooski River - Tier 2 Report - Kim Brockway, 05/17/17

Physical Parameters Assessment

Investigator Name(s):

C.P Smith Elementary (school not present on list)

Collection Date & Time:

Wednesday, May 17, 2017 - 8:45am

School:

University of Vermont

Watershed:

Lake Champlain Direct & Grand Isle Basins

River:

Winooski River

Site Description:

near a forested area with a road and farms nearby, deep water moving quickly (erosion), nature park closeby

Surrounding Development or Land Use:

Farm

Park

Residential

Forest

Crops

Do you see any pipes entering into the river?:

Is there a water treatment plant upstream?:

Canopy Cover:

0-25%

Water Appearance:

Milky

Cloudy

Muddy

Water Odor:

Odorless

Average Velocity:

0.05m/s

Physical Summary:

*for safety reasons we did not go into the center of the stream to measure velocity

Weather

Present:

Clear/Sunny

Past 48 Hours:

Clear/Sunny

Overcast

Showers

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:

27.00cm

Turbidity:

27.00NTU

Chemical Assessment

Average Temperature:

10.00°C

Average pH:

5.60

Average Orthophosphate PO4-3:

0.08mg/L

Average Dissolved Oxygen:

12.00mg/L

Field Notes:

Orthophosphate tests slightly off - gear needs recalibration

Stream Habitat Assessment

Streambed Composition:

Mostly sand and silt (1)

Streambank Stability:

Unstable banks – lots of erosion present (0)

Deepest pool is at least:

Chest deep (3)

Velocity:

Moderately fast – slowly takes objects downstream (1)

Riparian Vegetation:

Mixture of trees, shrubs, and grasses (3)

Riparian Vegetative Zone Width:

Buffer zone is greater than 100 feet (3)

Streambed Cover

Rock ledges:

Submerged logs, stumps, or tree roots:

Large rocks:

Artificial objects:

Other:

Stream Habitat Quality Score

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

18-22 (Excellent)
11-17 (Good)
6-10 (Fair)
0-5 (Poor)

Stream Habitat Quality Score for This Report:

Biological Assessment

PT Group 1 (Intolerant)

Stonefly Nymph:

Mayfly Nymph:

Caddis Fly Larvae:

Dobsonfly Larvae:

Riffle Beetle:

Water Penny:

Right-Handed Snail:

# of Taxa:

PT Group 2 (Moderately Intolerant)

Damselfly Nymph:

Dragonfly Nymph:

Sowbug:

Scud:

Cranefly Larvae:

Clams/Mussels:

Crayfish:

# of Taxa:

PT Group 3 (Fairly Tolerant)

Midges:

Black Fly Larvae:

Planaria:

Leech:

# of Taxa:

PT Group 4 (Very Tolerant)

Left-Handed Snail:

Aquatic Worms:

Blood Midge:

Rat-Tailed Maggot:

# of Taxa:

Pollution Tolerance Index Rating

Calculated as follows:
4*(# of Taxa in PT Group 1) + 3*(# of Taxa in PT Group 2) + 2*(# of Taxa in PT Group 3) + 1*(# of Taxa in PT Group 4)

23+ (Excellent)
17-22 (Good)
11-16 (Fair)
0-10 (Poor)

PTI Rating for This Report:

12.00