It’s been a while since I blogged on here about stream water testing at Feather Run (the stream that runs in the easement behind my property in far southeast Indianapolis, Indiana) for Hoosier Riverwatch (this is Site #2885 in their database). I actually did my first tests this year five weeks ago on Saturday, February 3, 2024. With all of the rainfall that we experienced over the past week, I decided to walk out there again this afternoon (Sunday, March 10) to gather some more data and compare it to the data I found a little over a month ago.
This little stream is actually a natural tributary to other streams and creeks on the southside of Indianapolis, which connect to the West Fork of the White River a dozen miles away, which of course itself becomes a tributary to the Wabash River, the Ohio River, and eventually the Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico.
Here are the findings (so far) from Sunday, March 10, 2024:
Date: Sunday, March 10, 2024, 3:55 PM — 4:25 PM EDT.
Weather: After a sub-freezing morning, it was mostly clear and sunny with just a few ragged-looking, fast-moving low clouds in the sky. Winds were moderate and gusty. It was cool with a colder wind chill, all the result of a cold front that had moved through the day before.
Air Temperature: 8.0°C (46.5°F) (Temperature taken at 4:10 PM EDT.)
Worst Weather in Past 48 Hours: Rain (Periods of rain throughout Friday, March 8 with the approach of a cold front and overcast on Saturday, March 9 with light rain and drizzle still around Saturday morning. Clearing skies and winds overnight before today. We have had 1.86” of rainfall in the past week.)
Stream Flow: Moderate
Water Level: High (It wasn’t extremely high, but the “inner bank” of the stream was full and there was standing water here and there in the outer bank. The stream itself had a width of 6 — 8 feet in most places, while the deepest water in the stream was 6 inches or more.
Other Notes: I saw no reptiles, amphibians, fish, or insects today. The new Cattail sprout growth that I spotted a week ago at the start of the month was still going on.
Water Temperature: 10.0˚C (50.0°F) (Temperature taken at 4:05 PM EDT.)
Dissolved Oxygen (ppm): 9 (Reading taken at 4:30 PM EDT in sunlight.) (This is the same as I measured on February 3).
pH: 7.5 (Three strip tests performed. Third test completed by 4:40 PM EDT.) (On February 3, I measured the pH as 8.0, so there was only a slight change here.)
Orthophosphate (ppm): 0.0 (Measured at 5:42 PM EDT. I tried it in sunlight. No color change seen at all.) (On February 3 I measured the Orthophosphate level as 0.1 ppm, so there was only a slight change here.)
Nitrate (as N) (ppm): 0.5 (Two strip tests performed. Second test completed at 5:55 PM EDT) (No change since February 3.)
Nitrate (as NO3 – Multiply by 4.4) (ppm): 2.20
Nitrite as N (ppm): 0.15 (Two strip tests performed. Second test completed at 5:55 PM EDT) (No change since February 3.)
Nitrite as NO2 – Multiply by 3.3) (ppm): 0.495
Heavy Metals: (This is the first time I’ve tried this kind of test on any waterway, and it’s not included in the Hoosier Riverwatch database. I used JNW Heavy Metals Water Test Kit strips. All of the readings showed undetectable levels.)
Iron (ppm): 0.000 (Two strip tests performed. Second test completed at 6:05 PM EDT.)
Copper (ppm) = 0.000 (Two strip tests performed. Second test completed at 6:05 PM EDT.)
Lead (ppm) = 0.000 (Two strip tests performed. Second test completed at 6:05 PM EDT.)
Mercury (ppm) = 0.000 (Two strip tests performed. Second test completed at 6:05 PM EDT.)
E Coli:
I prepared two Petri dishes on Sunday evening with 5.0 ml and 3.0 ml of stream water in the gel and put them in the incubator to sit for about 36 hours or more. I’ll take them out and do the colony counts then and post the results on here. I don’t usually add this much stream water to my samples, but on February 3 I found out that when I’m using colder water, I need to add more to get a measurable count! On February 3, the result was 120 CFU (Colony Forming Units) / 100 ml. It will be interesting to see if this low level has changed as late winter is changing to early spring!
I have more sites to visit soon and more data to collect, but this is what I have so far in 2024.
