Proposal
Introduction:
British Columbia has a vast amount of water recourse's coming from rivers. Vancouver's North Shore has many rivers and creeks that originate in the mountains and flow south into the Burrard Inlet. They cross large urban areas including the municipalities of North Vancouver, West Vancouver, and the North Vancouver District. Because these rivers and creeks come from high up in the mountains the water is clean and fresh. Once the rivers/creeks enter an urban area, then the water quality could be affected by urban development and other activities nearby. One way of impacting the water quality and ecosystems is if lots of dust, solid particles, and sewage waste that come form these urban areas go into the water. One way of evaluating the impact is by measuring the amount of suspended solids in the water.
Question: Does urban development affect in a negative way the amount of suspended solids in river water along Vancouver`s North Shore?
Reference articles:
1. Province of British Columbia, “Guidelines for interpreting water quality data.” This Guideline describes among other, the importance of suspended solids measurements in the river water, how are they measured and their limits in BC river water to protect ecosystems. This guideline defines each water quality variable, discusses the importance of the variable to the aquatic environment, and lists potential sources. Suspended solids is one of the variables that we are evaluating in this project
2. State of Washington, Department of Ecology, “Measuring total suspended solids and turbidity in lakes and river”. This article shows us how to measure the amount of suspended solids in water, how to sample the water, and the how to calculate the amount of suspended solids.
3. City of Boulder /USGS Water Quality Monitoring, “General Information on solids”. This article explains the differences of different types of solids, factors affecting total suspended solids, and measurement of total solids.
Purpose:
The purpose of this science project is to evaluate the amount of suspended solids in 3 different rivers and how urban development affects the amount of suspended solids along each river. These suspended solids come form dust, solid particles, and sewage waste that travels through the air and through our sewage systems.
Suspended solids sources could include: large urban developments, road building, industrial effluents, placer mining, municipal sewage treatment plants and forest harvesting.
Suspended solids are bad for river water because they can result in damage to fish gills, limit spawning habitat by smothering fish eggs. Suspended solids interfere with water treatment processes. It negatively impacts aquatic ecosystems.
Suspended solids in river water are measured in milligrams per liter (mg/L). Each Province has its own criteria for suspended solids in rivers.
Hypothesis:
If the river flows through an urban area, then the concentration of suspended solids in the water would increase than a river that is flowing through a non-urban area. Suspended solids from urban areas are carried through storm drains and directly into creeks and rivers.
Independent variable: Amount of suspended solids
Dependent variable: Presence of urban area
Controlled variable: Amount of water
Sampling procedure
Drying time for each sample
British Columbia has a vast amount of water recourse's coming from rivers. Vancouver's North Shore has many rivers and creeks that originate in the mountains and flow south into the Burrard Inlet. They cross large urban areas including the municipalities of North Vancouver, West Vancouver, and the North Vancouver District. Because these rivers and creeks come from high up in the mountains the water is clean and fresh. Once the rivers/creeks enter an urban area, then the water quality could be affected by urban development and other activities nearby. One way of impacting the water quality and ecosystems is if lots of dust, solid particles, and sewage waste that come form these urban areas go into the water. One way of evaluating the impact is by measuring the amount of suspended solids in the water.
Question: Does urban development affect in a negative way the amount of suspended solids in river water along Vancouver`s North Shore?
Reference articles:
1. Province of British Columbia, “Guidelines for interpreting water quality data.” This Guideline describes among other, the importance of suspended solids measurements in the river water, how are they measured and their limits in BC river water to protect ecosystems. This guideline defines each water quality variable, discusses the importance of the variable to the aquatic environment, and lists potential sources. Suspended solids is one of the variables that we are evaluating in this project
2. State of Washington, Department of Ecology, “Measuring total suspended solids and turbidity in lakes and river”. This article shows us how to measure the amount of suspended solids in water, how to sample the water, and the how to calculate the amount of suspended solids.
3. City of Boulder /USGS Water Quality Monitoring, “General Information on solids”. This article explains the differences of different types of solids, factors affecting total suspended solids, and measurement of total solids.
Purpose:
The purpose of this science project is to evaluate the amount of suspended solids in 3 different rivers and how urban development affects the amount of suspended solids along each river. These suspended solids come form dust, solid particles, and sewage waste that travels through the air and through our sewage systems.
Suspended solids sources could include: large urban developments, road building, industrial effluents, placer mining, municipal sewage treatment plants and forest harvesting.
Suspended solids are bad for river water because they can result in damage to fish gills, limit spawning habitat by smothering fish eggs. Suspended solids interfere with water treatment processes. It negatively impacts aquatic ecosystems.
Suspended solids in river water are measured in milligrams per liter (mg/L). Each Province has its own criteria for suspended solids in rivers.
Hypothesis:
If the river flows through an urban area, then the concentration of suspended solids in the water would increase than a river that is flowing through a non-urban area. Suspended solids from urban areas are carried through storm drains and directly into creeks and rivers.
Independent variable: Amount of suspended solids
Dependent variable: Presence of urban area
Controlled variable: Amount of water
Sampling procedure
Drying time for each sample