WATER QUALITY 



Several indicators of water quality are be- 

 ing monitored on the watersheds. They in- 

 clude measurement of suspended and bed- 

 load sediments, water temperature, and 

 chemical and bacteriological quality. 



Sediment Measurement 



Gravimetric measurements of bedload and 

 suspended sediment on the East and West 

 Branch drainages indicate that good quality 

 water is obtained from both. Nearly all of the 

 sediment produced comes from runoff during 

 the snowmelt period and in conjunction with 

 summer storms. A major contributor to bed- 

 load appears to be abandoned beaver ponds 

 which are now releasing their accumulation of 

 sediment as the dams deteriorate. 



Bedload sediment is trapped in the 

 Polyakov type of river bottom samplers which 

 were installed on the East and West Branches 

 of Chicken Creek in 1967. The entire stream 

 passes over each sampler, resulting in a 75 to 

 95 percent catch of the total bedload. The 

 West Branch produces almost no bedload, 

 only 0.07 lb. per acre per year. The East 

 Branch produces considerably more, but still 

 only 1.14 lb. per acre per year. The material 

 in the bedload from both streams is primarily 

 sand and small gravel (90 percent of it less 

 than 3/4-inch diameter). Organic matter aver- 

 ages about 8 percent in each of the streams. 



Both streams produce about the same 

 amount of suspended sediment during the 

 summer months. The highest amount re- 

 corded was only 59 parts per million (p. p.m.) 

 from the West Branch and 48 p. p.m. from the 

 East Branch. Suspended sediment measure- 

 ments during peak spring runoff are no great- 

 er than during rainy periods during the 

 summer. 



Water Temperature 



Water temperatures have been recorded 

 continuously near the gaging stations on each 

 watershed since April 1971, and periodically 

 at other locations. Water temperatures fluc- 

 tuated slightly between 31.1° and 35.6° F. 

 while the streams remained snow-covered. Be- 

 ginning with snowmelt, temperatures in- 

 creased until mid-August. The monthly maxi- 

 mum and minimum water temperatures of the 

 two streams were within 4° F. except during 

 July, August, and September. At this time 

 maximum temperatures were much higher on 

 the West Branch. The maximum recorded 

 temperature was 75° F. compared to 64° F. 

 at the East Branch gage. Water temperatures 

 at the highest continuously flowing springs on 

 each watershed were fairly constant (44° F.) 

 throughout the summer. 



Chemical Quality 



Monitoring of various chemical properties 

 and constituents of the water from the re- 

 search area was begun in March 1971. Water 

 samples were collected weekly until October 

 and monthly thereafter; the samples were usu- 

 ally taken near the gages and occasionally 

 from the source areas. Conductivity and pH 

 were determined and samples were analyzed 

 for the following inorganic components: 

 calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, total 

 phosphorus, nitrate, and bicarbonate. 



The range of values for each parameter is 

 listed in table 9 of the Appendix. Generally, 

 values are higher for the West Branch than the 

 East Branch. The exceptions are for the mini- 

 mum values of conductance, magnesium, and 

 sodium, which are slightly higher for the East 

 Branch samples. The low conductivity values 



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