A great way to start your students off with water quality monitoring and watershed studies!

3. All life depends on water.

5. Water is necessary for human health.

7. Water is a limited resource.

9. What is a watershed?
All of the land that drains into a common body of
water including the living and non-living
components, it’s people cultures and traditions.

11. The Nisqually Watershed begins
on the Nisqually Glacier…

13. …and ends at the
Nisqually Estuary

14. The
Nisqually
Indians
were the
first people
to live in
the area.
The Nisqually people were first known as “Squally-absch”,
meaning “people of the grass, people of the river”.
Americans later changed the spelling to Nisqually.

16. Alson Brown’s Farm

17. Nisqually Watershed is part of a
larger watershed called the
Puget Sound Watershed

18. 37% reduction in high vegetation coverage (1.26 million acres)
During the 1990s the conversion rate from forests was 70,000 acres/year (NRCS)
twice the rate of the 1980s
Puget Sound Land Conversion (1972-1996)

20. Salmon are an important piece of our ecosystems,
economy, culture and traditions.

21. Point vs. Non Point Pollution

22. Point vs. Non Point Pollution

23. Puget Sound Watershed

26. Dissolved Oxygen
 How much oxygen is in the water
Optimal Values:
Optimal Acceptable Poor Fatal
> 9 mg/l 7-8 mg/l 3.5-6 mg/l < 3.5 mg/l

27. Why it matters....
 Animals in the water breathe in oxygen.

28. Fecal Coliform
 How much bacteria is in the water from feces of warm
blooded animals.
Optimal value
< 50 FC/ 100 ml

29. Why is this test important?
 There are human health concerns that are effected by
fecal coliform and bacteria in the water.
 Some bacteria from
warm blooded animals
such as E. coli can make
people very sick.

30. pH How acidic or basic
the water is.
Optimal Acceptable Fatal
7-8 6.5-8.5 < 6.5

31. Why it matters....
Changes in pH affects aquatic organisms.

32. Biochemical Oxygen Demand
(BOD)
 How much oxygen is being used in the water from
bacteria.
Day 1 DO – Day 5 DO
<6.0 mg/l
Optimal Value:

33. Why it matters....
When there is more bacteria in the water the
bacteria uses up more oxygen and there is less
oxygen available for other animals.

34. Temperature
 How hot or cold is the water
Optimal Value
< 12° C

35. Why it matters....
Hot water=
dead fish
Cold water=
Healthy fish and
stream
Warmer water holds less oxygen so…….

36. Nitrates
 How many nutrients are in the water
Optimal
Value
<1 mg/l

37. Why it matters....
When there are more bacteria in the
water, the bacteria uses up more oxygen.
Too many nitrates feeds
bacteria and they
multiply.

38. Turbidity
 How clear or cloudy is the water
Optimal
Value
< 20 JTU’s

39. Why it matters....
Turbidity…..
•Increases temperatures
•decreases visibility- can’t avoid predators
or find prey.
•Affects breathing
• smothers salmon eggs.

40. Total Solids
 How much does the cloudiness weigh.
Optimal
Value
<25 mg/l

42. Scenario #1 White Water

43. How will this effect Water Quality
Increases
 Turbidity
 Total Solids
 Dissolved Oxygen
 Temperature?

44. Scenario #2 Fertilizer

45. How will this effect Water Quality
Increases
 Nitrates
 Turbidity
 Total solids
Decreases
 D.O.

46. Scenario #3 Trash

47. How will this effect Water Quality
Increase
 Fecal Coliform
 Temperature
 Turbidity due to leaching
Decrease
 D.O.

48. Scenario #4 Farm Animals

49. How will this effect Water Quality
Increase total solids
 Nitrates
 Fecal Coliform
 Turbidity
 Total solids

50. Scenario #5 Cities

51. How will this effect Water Quality
Increases
 Turbidity
 Total Solids
 Temperature
 Nitrates
 Fecal coliform
Decrease
 Dissolved Oxygen

52. Scenario #6 A healthy Riparian Zone

53. How will this effect Water Quality
Increases
 D.O.
Decrease
 Temperature
 Turbidity
 Total solids