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Stewardship Research Project Water Quality

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Temperature (°F)

Aquatic organisms breathe oxygen that is dissolved in the water. Warmer water may mean less dissolved oxygen is available for aquatic animals to breathe.

Dissolved Oxygen (mg/L)

Dissolved Oxygen is the amount of oxygen in the water and is required by aquatic life to breathe. A healthy range for salmon and their eggs is 7mg/L and above.

pH

pH is a measure of how acidic or basic (alkaline) the water is. Pollution can change the pH of the water. If the water is too acidic or too basic aquatic life can die. The best range for most aquatic life is between 6.5 and 8.5.

Turbidity (NTU)

Turbidity is the cloudiness or haziness of a fluid caused by large number of individual particles that are generally invisible to the naked eye. The most common measurement for turbidity in the United States are the Nephelometric Turbidity Units (NTU). Drinking water should have a turbidity of 5 NTU/JTU or less.

Salinity (PSU or PPT)

In fresh water the concentration of salts, or salinity, is nearly zero. The salinity of water in the ocean averages about 35 parts per thousand (ppt). The mixture of seawater and fresh water in estuaries is called brackish water and its salinity can range  from 0.5 to 35 ppt.

Conductivity (µS/cm)

Dissolved Matter (mg/L)

Biochemical Oxygen Demand (mg/L)

Fecal Coliform (CFU / 100 mL)