The City of Durham has drafted a Water Quality Recovery Program Plan for Northeast Creek. The citizen review of this document is September 9, 2009, 6:30 pm at City Hall. Here is the draft document for your review:
Water Quality Recovery Program Plan PDF (27 pp, 568K)
For more information, contact Michelle.Woolfolk), 919-560-4326 ext 30219
Northeast Creek Streamwatch will train new volunteers in stream monitoring.
Stream monitoring Saturday March 21, 3:30 pm. Meet at the Parkwood Library parking lot. New stream monitors welcome.
Four members monitored at the Grandale Bridge site on March 7, 2009, starting around 3:30 pm.
The weather was warm, probably low humidity, mostly clear, with a few ’soapy’ looking small cirrus clouds and light wind. A lot of chorus frogs were calling along the power line west of Grandale Road. A stream monitor saw a 1-foot large slider turtle in the side slough. There were one or two cricket frogs at the site, along with some flies. At one point a black pickup with some guys in back drove by, then turned and drove in a circle on the west side of Grandale under the powerline, dropping two beer cans, and then drove back north. There wasn’t much other trash around.
The water was seemed to be less than 3″ above the usual level, but there was evidence of some flooding relatively recently. It was easy to slip in in places, but the banks were firm. The water color was brown and a little clear. There did not seem to be any algae. Cover on the banks was around 80%. The water temperature was 60 degrees. The air temperature was 73 degrees.
Test strips: Chlorine ~1, total alkalinity between 80 and 120, phosphate slightly over 15 ppm, nitrite ~15 or slightly higher, nitrate ~2 or slightly less, and pH 7.
Turbidity was less than 15 JTU.
Ammonia 0.1-0.3.
Conductivity was 417 and later 421, and the meter fell in a little. The pH meter gave a reading of 7.5.
Later the air was 72, near 73, and the water temperature was slightly less than 60.
Debris went one foot in 00:07:06, 00:06:84, 00:08:37, and 00:06:90.
Later tests the fixed dissolved oxygen samples read 8.4 and 8.6ppm.
Walking around, the group saw a lot of a carrot-like Corydalis coming up by the bridge. Lots of trout lilies, possibly including some of the later blooming species, are blooming or have buds and along with a few spring beauties, rue anemone, and liver-leaf hepatica at the bottom of the hill). There were female flowers on the hazelnuts. The first buckeye leaves are coming out. An owl called. There were two cricket frogs in a puddle on the gas line. There were unusually large pebbles in the sandstone boulders blocking the gas line. Twenty-seven (27) vultures were in the first powerline pylon west of Grandale, and at least one more was flying in. Spring peepers or perhaps toads called north of the old beaver pond and in the marshy pool west of the road. Upland chorus frogs called in the brush. Pondweed leaves have emerged. An ATV trail cut through. There might be a few mosquitoes. There were some flies around the water and a lot of small wolf spiders on land. Birdfoot violets or blue wild pansies are blooming west of the road.
Northeast Creek Streamwatch will be monitoring Northeast Creek at various test sites on the following dates:
Saturday, September 6
Saturday, September 13
Saturday, September 20
Saturday, September 27
Meet at the Parkwood Library at 3 PM. New volunteers welcome. Be sure to wear clothes and shoes that you don’t mind getting muddy.
One person conducted this monitoring on March 23rd after 3:35 PM. The usual site is in a low spot southwest of the bridge, but in March I moved for the first time to a spot on the east side under the bridge, where there is riprap and concrete in the water. The weather was clear and mild, with low humidity and warm sun. I heard crows and geese (?), and there were several large and relatively wary slider turtles (possibly one was a snapping turtle) on logs downstream of the bridge. Relatively large carp were jumping up to 3 or 4’ into the air upstream and downstream every few minutes. The water was very silty, a turbulent brownish color through the riffle and yellow in the sun in deeper water. The banks were soft in about 0% of the area and the cover was < or = 60%. The water was about the same as before, possibly slightly less or with more silt deposited in at the former site. There was a large giant water bug or a small turtle downstream on the west side. There was some fibrous dark green – brownish algae, especially on the rocks, with maybe 70-80% or 20-30-50% coverage. There were some lunged snails near shore, but not on the rocks. The air was 59 degrees and the water was 59.
I was surprised that there were not animals, such as crustaceans like water fleas and copepods, in the water column. The DO was tested on the
23rd at 7.6, 7.4, and 7.8 (average 7.6). The BOD bottle was stopped and tested on the 28th, yielding results of 6.4, 6.4, and 6.2 (average 6.3), so the BOD was 1.3. It had a little bit of floating algae and was not completely covered with foil (but ‘algae’ grows when it is covered also, and often in a greater amount at other times of year).
This was measured at 25mL, as 70, <70, and <60 JTU. We need to find out if this is due to silt from RTP or Kit Creek, and if rules are being broken somewhere.
I thought it was < or = 0.3ppm, probably les than 0.3.
Phosphate - >0?, pH 6+, nitrite – white - ~0, nitrate – beige - ~0, chlorine – surprisingly it seemed to be >1 and the pH test on the same strip was more accurate than usual, with a reading of ~8, and copper –0.
Resting the pH was 7.5 and when held in the water. The conductivity was 423 and then 431 held in the water. Conductivity rose by the concrete.
The results were 00:02:74 and (more accurately I thought) 00:08:03 to go 1.’
I walked upstream to find other possible sites. There was a lot of silt in places and the water was brown. There were deer tracks in places, a few bluets and trout lilies with immature seed pods. A stinkpot or mud turtle dove in a small clear beaver pond. There were a few cricket frogs by the bridge and I heard some calling briefly at the bend downstream. There were big mistletoes in a maple fallen over the Creek by the dam, with immature reddish seeds. The impoundment dam was open, so the gate was not providing oxygenation. A sign for Amberly (?) was planted by the bridge and I think vetch, bluets, and wild pansies/field violets were blooming northeast of the bridge along the road. Traffic might have been less than it often is there.
Highway 55 at Meridian Parkway, down the second concrete ditch east of the first building on the south side of the business park. The old site was down the first ditch.
I did this site myself after 5:22 after the Sohi site. I was getting a bit cold without a jacket and the sky was relatively clear with low %. There was less cover than at Sohi, > or = 40% and no soft banks, though there was silt deposited and leaves moved by recent flooding. I think the last rain was a day or two earlier. There was some brownish green algae and I think a snail on the riprap rocks, so the cover was maybe <1%. The water was 12 7/8’ in front of me, 10 < ½ right, and ~ 20 to the left. The air was 51 and later 48 and the water was 50 (but maybe that was also an air temperature).
The DO sample might have been in the new bottle from inside the suitcase that was tested on the 23rd that had results of 7.4 near 7.45, 7.8, and 7.4 (average 7.5). Or maybe it was mixed up with the Grandale DO. The BOD bottle was stopped on the 13th, which was too early. I think the BOD sample was in the old bottle that was tested on March 25th, yielding results of 6.4, 7.0, and 6.8 (average 6.7). If this pairing is correct, the BOD was 0.8.
This was done at 25mL and was < or = 40 JTU twice.
It seemed to be < or = 0.4.
Nitrite – white - ~0, nitrate - ~0, phosphate – pale gray - maybe <5, alkalinity – yellowish - ~0?, copper - ~0, Cl yellow ~0, pH red – 4
pH was 6.8, 6.7 in the water and conductivity was 117, and 118 (?) held in the water.
Some measured speeds were 00:02:43, 00:01:97, and 00:01:49 to go one foot.
A few days later I went back during the day and noticed that pools of flood water by the road were dense with small crustaceans, some larger ones, and a few mayfly nymphs and some guppies.
This site was done by one person on March 2nd after 3:18. The weather was warm, clear, and sunny. I think some frogs and later toads were calling along the power line. A red headed woodpecker was calling and pecking across the Creek. Vines and bushes were becoming green. There were immature
seeds on the red maples. Large areas along the road were cleared on the east side north of the old beaver pond and on the west side between the
power line and the Creek, and uphill from the bridge on that side. Cover might have been < or = to 80% and seemed to be = or less than at Sedwick. There was some brownish algae on the bottom, less than at Sedwick, and <1% coverage, but later I thought it was > or = 30%. The banks were soft only at the edge of the water, where a silt and debris seemed to have been deposited, while the banks were less covered. The water was around the same level as before I think. There were many waterboatmen. The air temperature was 62 and the water was 56. There was a plastic bag (now gone) with deer parts that attracted some beetles and flies and there were some animal droppings in the water. Fish were jumping and before I left I saw a beaver swim by the bridge from the north channel to the south, where there seems to be a burrow.
There was a mix up and I am not sure which samples came from Grandale, Sohi, Highway 55, and maybe Sedwick also, though I think I know which
were BOD samples. I’m sorry and to fix this problem I will number the sample bottles. Maybe the DO was in the new bottle that yielded readings of 9.2, 9.6, and 9.45 (average 9.4) on the 25th. The Grandale BOD bottle was stopped on the 7th. What I thought was the BOD sample was in a new bottle tested March 23rd, yielding readings of 7.4(6), 8.0, and 7.4 (average 7.6). If this pairing is correct, the BOD was 1.8.
I did it at 50 mL and it looked clearer than at Sedwick and slightly brown, with a muddy and musty smell. I added 4 drops, but <3 was enough, so the turbidity was <3 JTU.
It was <0.2, and probably < or = 0.1.
Strips
Nitrite –white - ~0, nitrate – pinkish - ~0, alkalinity – greenish - < or = 80, phosphate – light gray but not pinkish - ~ 15, pH < but near 7, Cl < or = 1, pH brown.
The pH meter was 7.4/7.3 resting and was 7.4 held in the water and later 7.3. Conductivity was 435 then 438 in the water and 437 near the edge.
A piece of dry vegetation went 1’ in 00:05:17 near the center of the channel before the fallen tree downstream, and 00:01:84 between the shore and a board.
This site was done after an orientation meeting at the Parkwood Branch Library at 3pm on March 1st, after 4:47. There were four people at the meeting and three came to the test site. The weather was mostly clear, sunny, with small (?) contrails, and relatively warm with low humidity. There were chorus frogs calling to the north and I think we also heard birds like geese and grackles. Alders or hazelnuts were blooming nearby. The water was clear brown. 65-75+ % cover. There was greenish fuzzy algae in spots, maybe covering <1% of the area. The shade air temperature with our electronic thermometer (the only one we had) was 62 and the water was 52. The water might have been higher than last time, and the island was covered. The banks sank in many places near the water, but not deeply.
We collected dissolved oxygen (DO) and biological oxygen demand (BOD) samples, and it was hard to do it without getting tiny crustaceans, such as two female copepods, in the bottles. On March 9th I tested the samples. The oxygen was 8.6, 9.0, and 8.8 ppm (average 8.8). The BOD bottle was stopped on the 6th and measured as 6.8 ppm twice, on the 9th. This means the BOD was 2 ppm. I will try to calculate some rough percent oxygen saturation values soon, which was recommended by the person in charge of testing New Hope Creek for the New Hope Audubon Society.
We tested with 50mL of water, which looked milky turbid in the tube, without much of a smell. Five units of standard turbidity reagent was too much, so around 4.5 might have been more accurate, so the turbidity was <25 Jackson Turbidity Units (JTU).
The kit is past its expiration date, but we are following the City in using it up. I thought the turbidity was <0.2ppm, or around 0.1, while others thought it was >0.1 or < or = to 0.2.
Phosphate < or = 5, nitrite ~0, nitrate ~0 (pinkish), pH strip < or = 7, but it got bluer, total alkalinity >0, chlorine ~1 and pH 5 (obviously too low, usually the case with this combined strip for chlorine and pH, I assume because it is designed for pool use), and copper ~0.
The pH was 6.8 resting and held out in the water. Conductivity was 178 and then 180 held in the water.
00:08:24 to go 1’ between the island and the bay.
We scooped the net along in the bay where we were testing and along an overhanging bank. We caught 2 water boatsmen, a 3” pumpkinseed sunfish
(accidentally, under the bank), 4 shrimp, 1” dragonfly nymph, >1cm guppy, 4 lunged snails, >1cm damselfly nymph, 1cm crayfish, a beetle, 2 damselfly nymphs, and we saw at least one cricket frog. Another scoop netted a damselfly larva, 3 beetles, and 2 shrimp. Violets were blooming nearby. We might have seen an adult mayfly. There were sticks chewed by beavers and a school of Gambusia (wild guppies or mosquito fish).
Later I went up the easement and found lots of crustaceans (water fleas, copepods, amphipods, and isopods) in the ponds, and 3 1” diving beetles and one of another kind of water beetle in the last pond before the junction behind Radcliff Circle. I couldn’t see the frogs calling in clumps of plants. The pondweed was probably coming up by then or soon after.
Three members monitored Northeast Creek on the south side of the Sohi Drive bridge.
Three people did this testing on March 9th after 3:33. The weather was clear, sunny, and warm, with low humidity, and mild light wind. We parked at the edge of the road. The water was relatively high and clear brown, while milky white water was coming from the lagoon off the main channel. The channel was < 5’ wide and < or = 20’ wide downstream at the bend. The water was 15 2/8 inches deep in the channel in one spot and 9 in inches and 1/8, ½, and 3/8 deep in the lagoon. Cover was around 60%. There were some small guppies in the lagoon and water fleas in the Creek. The air temperature was 56 and the water was 53.
What might have been the DO was in inside the kit, in a new bottle and tested March 23rd, with readings of 8.4, 8.8, and 8.8 (average 8.7). The BOD was in a new bottle stopped on March 13th, which was too early. It might be the sample in a new bottle that was stopped and then forgotten until March 30th, giving results of 6.2 three times. If this pairing is correct the BOD was 2.5, but that seems high given the speed of the Creek there, the apparent lack of animals or algae, and the short time the BOD sample was left to incubate (it is supposed to be left for 5 days).
A small water flea was caught.
pH was ~6, nitrite – white - ~0, nitrate – pink - ~0, alkalinity 20, phosphate 30 to ~ 45, Cl – 1, pH 4.5.
This was tested at 50mL. In the first trial we used 4 drops, but 3 was probably closer, so the turbidity was ~ 20 JTU, and 30 JTU the second time. It did not have much of a smell.
The pH was 6.8 and conductivity 176.
0.2 or less, possibly 0.3.
This was measured as 00:02:14 and maybe a better try was 00:01:88.
Walking up the stream there were many blooming spring beauties and trout lilies. Joven, which is planning apartments up the road east on Ellis Rd., seems to own the mixed or pine woods across the street from the Glaxo daycare now. There did not seem to be any changes at the apartment site.
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