Mr. Stephens' Team - Ammy, Ashley, Geo, Gus, Jackie, and Yancy
Research Project-Water Quality in Los Angeles
Our team gathered water samples from various beach in order to determine the water quality of Los Angeles. We wanted to investigate pollution, its effects on wildlife, people’s awareness of it, and what we can do to help the future of the watershed. First, we wanted to determine a couple of major causes of the Los Angeles watershed’s poor condition.
We concluded that pollution caused lots of trouble for the watershed, and that the lack of people’s knowledge was one major contributor to the pollution. Global warming is another cause of the poor water conditions in the LA basin along with unsafe treatment of raw sewage and other materials that travel through the LA water system. To further our understanding of the water quality in Los Angeles we gathered our samples from our surrounding beaches, arroyos, and creeks such as the Arroyo Seco, Los Angeles River, and Ballona creek. We then tested them for many different substances. For example, we tested pH and dissolved CO2. We determined that the water quality varied between bodies of water. Some water samples were of higher quality than others, some were very poor in water quality. We found that some of our water samples lead to the death aquatic organism and other wildlife. With poor water quality the amount of clean and drinkable water decreases, and the number of dirty, hazardous beaches increases. We gathered our data on a chart and analyzed what it all meant. We found patterns in the water that might have lead to the quality of the water and decided we had to find solutions. We realized that our first step would have to be education, not only academic, but educating ourselves about the Los Angeles water system, groups that are already established, what is and is not yet being done, and networking ourselves through all of the many aspects that contribute to this movement. We then joined organizations, participate in a club on campus and our schools recycling program.
The years have changed everything around the world. Life as we know it made changes. The world just is not the same. We have been studying about the different qualities of water and we have concluded that the ocean water or any other source of water that we have tested has been quite acidic. In order to figure out how this is done we have to test for the pH of the water. pH is the potential hydrogen,we found that from freshwater to ocean water, it varied greatly. We also tested for the ammonia in the water. Ammonia is a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen. We also found out that ammonia could be a gas. It is toxic and dangerous for some materials, plants, and animals. We tested for nitrite, which is another nitrogen compound. We also tested for chlorine which is a powerful oxidant and is used for disinfectants. Dissolved oxygen was another one of the really important tests we were able to conduct. Oxygen saturation was calculated by examining the water’s temperature and the levels of dissolved Oxygen in parts per million.
There are many different effects to the environment and to the world. That is why we chose to study the quality of water and the effects that take place inside the water, what changes the water, what makes the water fresh and not so fresh. One source of the water quality being low is because the beaches are dirty from the trash that is being left behind. For example, cans, bottles, plastic, bags from markets, foam, and other sources of trash. These and more are all cause of the aforementioned defects. This is why we have created the Mean Green Team. It’s a group of students that get together on their own time, go, and help clean a beach or any other place in which we receive water from. We can be one way to slow the pollution down, keep beaches clean, and keep our water quality level at a level we would want to drink from.
Another source of the effects is acid rain. Acid rain is a result of the air pollution. When there is any type of fuel that is being burnt, there are lots of different chemicals that are being produced. The smoke that comes form a fire or fumes that come out of an exhaust of a car contain lots of gases that we can not see. That was another reason why it is harmful for our environment. We have learned that power stations, factories and cars all burn fuels that produce the polluting gas. Some of these gases like nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxide react with the drops of water that are in the clouds to form a nitric acid. The rain from the clouds mix with the gases then falls as acid rain. Some of the most important effects of acid rain can be carried from one place to another, from one continent to another, practically all over the world. This acid can also take the forms of dust, snow, and mists. Sometimes the rain does not fall too close to where it is being produced. It can travel from a stream and into the area in which case it will effect it. The acid rain can also be transferred through soil, trees, buildings, and the water. Most of the serious effects of acid rain occur on the forest and the ocean. Acid rain can have some major effects. It dissolves and washes away nutrients and minerals in soil, which help the trees grow. They release harmful substances such as aluminum into the soil, and wear away the protective coatings on leaves. It damages them and prevents them from being able to photosynthesize properly. If this happens then we lose more oxygen because trees give off the oxygen we need to survive.
Green house gases are other sources that cause the effect on the Earth. When the sunlight reaches the surface of Earth, some is absorbed and warms the Earth. Some of the major natural greenhouse gases are water vapor and carbon dioxide, which causes the greenhouse effect on the Earth. Other greenhouses include, but are not limited to, nitrous oxide, and sulfur dioxide.
Ride the Wave to Top of Page
