3. Results
Figure 2: Spring DO and temperature measurements
3.2 Seasonal Changes in Water Quality
During the spring all land use classifications have average water quality levels with most dissolved oxygen (DO) measurements between 5 to 10mg/L and temperatures between 12 to 16oC as shown in figure 2. The forested sites, had the best water quality with the majority of DO levels around 9.5mg/L and temperatures below 13oC. A few agriculture sites had elevated DO and temperature levels, above 10mg/L and 16oC respectively.
During the spring all land use classifications have average water quality levels with most dissolved oxygen (DO) measurements between 5 to 10mg/L and temperatures between 12 to 16oC as shown in figure 2. The forested sites, had the best water quality with the majority of DO levels around 9.5mg/L and temperatures below 13oC. A few agriculture sites had elevated DO and temperature levels, above 10mg/L and 16oC respectively.
Figure 3: Summer DO and temperature measurements
In summer, the forested site again had the best water quality, with average DO levels at 7mg/L and temperature levels averaging 15.5oC as displayed in figure 3. About half of the agricultural and industrial sites had DO levels below 4mg/L, which are considered hypoxic (Diaz, 2001). All land uses except forest, had temperatures above 16oC with industry having the highest temperatures, exceeding 20oC. Figure 3 also show a significant positive correlation between DO and water temperature. Figure 4 shows that the average specific conductivity levels approximately doubled between spring and summer at agricultural sites, while other sites only experience a small increase.