Missisquoi River - Tier 2 Report - Todd Marlow, 10/02/17

Physical Parameters Assessment

Investigator Name(s):

Todd Marlow

Collection Date & Time:

Monday, October 2, 2017 - 9:30am

School:

Richford HS

Watershed:

Missisquoi/Pike Basin

River:

Missisquoi River

Monitoring Site:

Richford High School Missisquoi main stem

Site Description:

adjacent to the school property having forest and abandoned field along stream

Surrounding Development or Land Use:

Farm

Residential

Factory

Forest

Crops

Logging

Road Along Bank

Do you see any pipes entering into the river?:

Is there a water treatment plant upstream?:

Canopy Cover:

0-25%

Water Appearance:

Clear

Water Odor:

Odorless

Average Embeddedness:

0-25%

Average Velocity:

32.76m/s

Physical Summary:

The stream is fairly wide which limits any canopy cover. The stream has a variety size of rocks and embeddedness of rock. The weather has been dry for the past month which has allowed the stream to become shallower and the sediment to settle. The water was very clear.

Exact Location

Latitude:

44.99

Longitude:

-72.67

Weather

Present:

Clear/Sunny

Past 48 Hours:

Clear/Sunny

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:

120.00cm

Turbidity:

0.00NTU

Chemical Assessment

Average Temperature:

12.00°C

Average pH:

6.00

Average Orthophosphate PO4-3:

0.03mg/L

Average Dissolved Oxygen:

10.00mg/L

Field Notes:

The orthophosphate reading varied from .0008476 to .05542. The oxygen level of the stream was very good and will likely be good for aquatic life of the stream.

Stream Habitat Assessment

Streambed Composition:

Mixture of cobbles, gravels, and sand (3)

Streambank Stability:

Moderately stable banks – some areas of erosion visible (1)

Deepest pool is at least:

Waist deep (2)

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:

Riffle Beetle:

Water Penny:

Right-Handed Snail:

# of Taxa:

PT Group 2 (Moderately Intolerant)

Damselfly Nymph:

Dragonfly Nymph:

Scud:

Clams/Mussels:

Crayfish:

# of Taxa:

PT Group 3 (Fairly Tolerant)

Midges:

# of Taxa:

PT Group 4 (Very Tolerant)

Aquatic Worms:

Blood Midge:

# 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:

55.00