Water quality for a particular waterway is the current condition of the water in that ecosystem. Every waterway has a different capacity for handling 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.