Intro to the Raystown Branch of the Juniata River
The Raystown branch is a major tributary to Juniata river and eventually the Susquehanna River. The Raystown branch starts in Somerset county and flows 118 miles before its confluence with the Juniata river. This tributary alone drains approximately 1,000 square miles of Pennsylvania, and is part of the Susquehanna River watershed. This river is also the inflow and outflow for Raystown Lake which is the largest reservoir in Pennsylvania. This river is home to both, cold-water trout species, cool water species like smallmouth bass, and various warm water species such as largemouth bass, muskellunge, and various panfish. providing a unique and abundant angling opportunity.
Water Chemistry
Dissolved Oxygen
Dissolved Oxygen (DO) Is one of the largest limiting factors in aquatic life. Most of all aquatic organisms use dissolved oxygen in some way. Every fish, and many benthic macroinvertebrates “breathe” this dissolved oxygen using gills. Gills are simply an external extension of the circulatory system that allows the oxygen that is dissolved in water to diffuse directly into the blood stream. Without dissolved oxygen most aquatic organisms could no longer breathe, making this a very important chemical aspect to monitor.
To learn more, visit the EPA at the link below:
Temperature
Water temperature is a chemical aspect of a stream that often will ultimately determine what species live there. Freshwater fish species tend to be divided into three categories. These categories are cold, cool, and warm water fish. However there will sometimes be multiple species from different categories in one body of water. For example a trout can only be found in cold water, and occasionally cool water fisheries, but it is possible to find a warm water species like a largemouth bass, in a cool water stream alongside cool water smallmouth bass, and cold water trout species. The cold water will often have a higher dissolved oxygen supply due to it being more dense than warm water. This gives it the ability to trap oxygen and prevent it from escaping into the atmosphere.
pH
pH is a measure of how acidic a stream is. Most healthy streams will have a pH of around 6-7, but it will vary depending on how water enters the stream. Rain water is naturally acidic and has a pH of around 3-4 so if a lot of rain directly enters a waterway, it could make it slightly more acidic. If the water would runoff of an alkaline material like limestone prior to, or during its entry to the waterway it will reduce the acid in the rainwater and ultimately the stream itself. The opposite could also happen where the water flows over an acidic material like iron pyrite and becomes highly acidic prior to its entry to the waterway. pH levels can have a large impact on benthic macroinvertebrates, and even fish spawning.
To learn more, visit the EPA at the link below:
Alkalinity
Alkalinity is a measure of the ability of water to neutralize an acid. Like pH, alkalinity will also vary depending on what the water runs off of prior to entering the stream. A limestone stream will naturally be more alkaline than a sandstone stream as the calcium in limestone is very effective at neutralizing acid.
To learn more, visit the EPA at the link below:
Total Dissolved Solids
Total dissolved solids, or TDS is the amount of minerals, and other solids that are dissolved into the water. TDS readings will often be higher in areas with a higher turbidity or higher erosion rates.
To learn more, visit the EPA at the link below:
https://www.epa.gov/caddis-vol2/urbanization-water-and-sediment-quality
Pollution
Point Source
Point source pollution is a pollution source that can be easily pinpointed to a single location like a pipe from a factory pumping effluence directly into a stream. Point source pollutants are often much easier to treat or confine as it comes from only a single location.
Non-Point Source
Non-point source pollution is a pollution source that cannot be easily pinpointed to a single location. A good example of this would be pesticide runoff from multiple farm fields. There are often many farms along streams, and finding where the pollution is coming from could be difficult, and treating it could be even more difficult.
Agricultural (Nutrient Runoff, Erosion, Pesticide/Herbicide runoff)
There are many different types of agricultural pollution. One large one is erosion caused by livestock in and around streams, or depleted riparian zones due to farm fields along stream banks. Sediment and nutrients enter the stream and can cause sedimentation and eutrophication that can ultimately be harmful to fish, and macroinvertebrates in the stream. Nutrient runoff in moderation could actually be healthy for a stream and make it more productive. However, sedimentation is almost never beneficial as it covers rocks and can drastically decrease the diversity of benthic macroinvertebrates, and gravel spawning fish. as many rely on the crevices in submerged rocks. Another form of agriculture pollution is farm field runoff. Field runoff can put large amount of fertilizer and occasionally pesticides and herbicides.
Mine Run-off
Mine runoff can be very harmful to streams because when rain water runs off of the exposed rock that often contains iron ore, it becomes very acidic. When this enters a stream it can drastically change the pH to a level that is harmful to fish and macroinvertebrates. Affected streams often look very healthy and unimpacted as the water is often clear. However when an index of biotic integrity (IBI)is taken, as well as water chemistry with a YSI meter, it is often clear that mine runoff is present. The pH reading will be around 3 or lower, and macroinvertebrates and low tolerant fish species will not be present.
Treatment
Acid Mine Drainage- There are two major ways to treat acid mine drainage, direct treatment and indirect treatment. Indirect treatment is used to intercept a single source prior to entering a stream. this is done by diverting runoff through a limestone filled trough where acidic water is neutralized by the alkaline limestone. The water then runs into a wetland where metals like iron and aluminum are precipitated before the water enters the stream. Direct treatment is used when there are multiple non-point source pollutants from mines that could not be easily pinpointed or treated. In these cases a more direct approach is taken by adding limestone dust directly into the stream since it is the convergence point for all of the pollution sources.
Agricultural pollution- Agricultural pollution can be reduced or treated in many different ways. The most effective way is to ensure there is a sufficient riparian buffer zone to help stabilize banks and slow the rate at which runoff enters a stream. Others consist of using best management practices such as no till farming to reduce the amount of loose soil that will run off with rain and lead to sedimentation.
Stream Assessment Procedures
- Thalweg- Consists of using a meter stick to find the deepest part of the creek channel at various transects as well as its distance to an organic matter retention feature, and fish cover. Bank Stability is rated for both the left and right bank on a 1-10 scale, and Bed Stability is taken by counting substrate across the streambed in the various size categories, Silt, Sand, Pebble, Cobble, Boulder, and Bedrock. Any substrate that is really fine or clay like is counted as silt. slightly larger, but not clay like substrate is sand. Then anything from 1/14″-3″ in diameter is a pebble. Larger than 3″ but smaller than 1 1/2′ is cobble, and anything larger than this is a boulder. A bedrock bottom will be a continuous slate creek bed. Then find the percentage for each category. A stream that is majority cobble, boulder, bedrock and gravel, will have a higher bed stability than a stream that is majority silt and sand.
- Canopy Cover- Canopy cover is taken by using a dome shaped mirror that has a grid of 24 squares, count the number of squares covered by canopy to the nearest quarter square while facing the left bank, right bank, upstream, and downstream, at each transect. Having effective canopy cover will help keep water cool during the hot summer months, as well as add allochthonous nutrients to the stream in the fall months.
- Water Chemistry- Water chemistry is taken using a YSI meter. The meter has a probe that is carefully placed in the stream that will give you the following water chemistry readings, pH, alkalinity, total dissolved solids, dissolved oxygen, SPC, conductivity, and temperature.
References
- http://www.raystowncanoeclub.com/raystown-branch-juniata-river-water-trail