(2005) Jordan Creek - Water Quality Assessment

Scope

This project occurred during the second phase of a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) assignment to improve flood control on Jordan Creek in Springfield, Missouri. Intended outcomes of the project included the reduction of potential damage from floods, stream ecosystem restoration, and improved water quality.

In order to evaluate progress toward these secondary project goals it was necessary to have an accurate assessment of pre-project conditions, including pollutant concentrations and the stream/watershed conditions that impacted those concentrations.

This project was intended to support the USACE assignment by developing and utilizing methods to monitor pre-project water quality trends in Jordan Creek, thereby establishing a baseline for use in evaluating future water quality improvements.

Objectives

  1. Locate sampling/monitoring sites and monitor those sites for a 1-year period,
  2. Collect data on water chemistry including temperature, pH, DO, specific conductivity and turbidity,
  3. Collect data on typical urban pollutants including nutrients (total nitrogen and total phosphorus) and metals (arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead and zinc),
  4. Collect 2 to 4 samples monthly at each site - about equally divided between base flow and storm runoff,
  5. Determine sub-watershed conditions for each site (drainage area, flow frequency tables, impervious area/land use),
  6. Determine the discharge at the time of each sampling, and
  7. Interpret the monitoring results in terms of degree, hydrology, and source of water chemistry pollutants in the Wilson-Jordan watershed

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