Tue, Jun 23 2009 - Alberta Water Quality Awareness and Geocaching (View Original Event Details)
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We conducted our water testing and searched for geocaches at a location that we referred to as the Intuit storm ponds, as they are located adjacent to the Intuit offices in south-east Edmonton. We actually found out that the proper name for the place is the Mill Creek Roper Pond, and it is a ten hectare wetland that was developed in 2004. It is actually a lovely area – there are trails around the pond, and a number of interpretive signs. It is, however, located in an industrial area, which makes it an unusual, slightly out-of-the-way, place to visit. You can read all about the Mill Creek Roper Pond, and the work that was done there, if you click here.
Our water sampling was conducted in three locations – within a small pond located at the southern end of the wetland, and at the southern and the northern end of the main pond. I (Ryan) sampled water using the same kit at several spots within the Mill Creek Ravine last year, and found that the measurements were relatively similar even when we compared samples taken from both stagnant and flowing water within the creek. The water within Mill Creek (last year) tended to have a pH of 8 (slightly basic – fairly typical for Alberta), dissolved oxygen content of 4 parts per million (ppm; fairly normal, and what would be required to support aquatic life). The water samples that we took within Mill Creek Roper Pond were much different. In particular, the dissolved oxygen content was relatively low (our colour scale only shows 0, 4 and 8 ppm, and we were guesstimating that our samples were approximately 1-2 ppm). This isn’t surprising – the ponds had lots of algae, which would reduce the dissolved oxygen content. It does suggest that these ponds probably couldn't support huge amounts of fish or other aquatic wildlife.
When we added the pH testing tablets to samples from our first and third sampling locations, the water turned a greenish colour, which corresponded to a pH of 8 according to the test kit. At our second location, the tablet turned a bright purple, indicating a very basic pH of about 10. Water flows through a berm (earthen dam) to get from the first, smaller pond to the main pond, and the first and second samples were taken from water on each side of this berm. Perhaps there are materials within the berm (concrete perhaps?) that raise the water pH? The result was definitely interesting.
Anyone who is interested can read much much more about the water parameters that we measured if you visit the website for the Alberta Water Quality Awareness Day program. There are also lots of links on the sidebar of the AWQA page with lots of information about the importance of the four water quality parameters that we tested (temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, and turbidity). We had a couple of GPS’s with us, which allowed me to get exact coordinates for where we sampled the water. I will be compiling all this information, and sending the information into the Alberta Lake Management Society.
As we needed to have a GPS to find out where we took our samples, it seemed a natural fit to combine water sampling with geocaching – a fun activity where people can obtain the coordinates for hidden treasures (caches), then use their GPS to search for these. We found two geocaches hidden in the area, looked at what we found inside these caches, and added in/exchanged items in these caches. Most of us were newbies at geocaching, and I think we all had a lot of fun participating in this. At least some of us were mulling over the idea of purchasing a GPS of our own, so that we can search for some of the other caches probably hidden, quite literally, under our noses.
Thanks all for coming out! We hope to see you again at a future event.
- Ryan and Shirley
Have some photos from this event that you'd like to share in our photo album? Please forward them to Mark G at photos@edmontonoutdoorclub.com. If you have a LOT of photos, please submit up to thirty of your favourites (only) for a day event, or up to sixty of your favourites for a multi-day event. Thank you.