Agriculture has great impacts on water quality. Water quality is important because organisms depend on it to survive. We were sampling the organisms living in a stream. It can give us a broader picture of the quality of the water in a long period of time. The water quality of any ecosystem cab is determined by looking at the chemical characteristics, the biological characteristics and physical characteristics (Kleski, 2004). .
The purpose of this project was to collect data from Dug Run situated in Lima, Ohio, behind the tennis courts of the University of Northwestern Ohio (UNOH). We collected data on 22nd of January, 2015. The goal of this research was to determine the water quality by observing the characteristics, chemistry and animals that live in Dug Run.
Discussion.
During the time we were testing the stream, it clear, there was rainfall before and signs of erosion were seen in some parts of the stream. The width of the stream was 3 m, and the depth was 10.5 cm. The water temperature was 4.4 °C and its flow rate was normal. Moreover, the water was clear, there was light trash, and little bit of ice. It was lightly wooden on one side and grassy field on the other. The bed composition of the stream was 45% silt, 25% sand, 15% gravel, 15% cobbles. The water tested positive for Coliform bacteria. The presence of these bacteria in the water may indicate that the water quality is poor (Sanders and Zimmerman, 2000). These bacteria could cause botulism, typhoid, dysentery, cholera, and viruses that account for hepatitis and intestinal pathogenic coliform if taken by humans (Symons, 2009).The turbidity of the water was 0 JTU, and its EC/TDS was 711 ppm. The dissolved oxygen (DO) in the water was 8 ppm with a saturation of 80%. According to Sanders and Zimmerman, the measure of the concentration of the hydrogen ions in any solution is called pH; values less than 7 are acids and values greater than 7 are alkaline or basic.