Water quality for a particular waterway is the current condition of the water in that ecosystem. Each waterway has different capacities of handling (adapting and compensating) natural changes in the environment, such as heavy rain or leaching from soil, or unnatural changes imposed by pollution.
 

Pollution is generally divided into two categories:

• Point Source Pollution: Any single identifiable source of pollution from which pollutants are discharged, such as a pipe, ditch, ship or factory smokestack

• Nonpoint Source Pollution: Pollution caused by rainfall or snowmelt moving over and through the ground. As the runoff moves, it picks up and carries away natural and man-made pollutants, finally depositing them into lakes, rivers, wetlands, coastal waters and ground water.

Questions:

Q: How can we tell if a stream is impacted by pollution?
A: We can look at what species are living in the stream. This is called a biotic index.

Q: Why do scientists use biotic indexes?
A: Biotic indexes are easier than most chemical tests, though chemical tests may be needed if an impact is found.

Q: Is “dirty” water polluted?
A: Some water has sediment, like soil. Too much sediment can be harmful to aquatic organisms but does not by itself indicate pollution.

Q: What can you do to keep our waters healthy?
A: Making sure that only rain goes down our storm drains helps keep our water safe.
Look at www.h2ohero.org for more tips.

Q: What is a watershed?
A: It is an area of land where all precipitation collects in a common area. Ellison Park is in the Irondequoit Creek watershed because when it rains, all the water flows into Irondequoit Creek.