CHARACTERIZATION OF WATER QUALITY IN AN EASTERN KENTUCKY STREAM: A STUDENT RESEARCH PROJECT

Quality of water in small streams of the eastern United States can be impacted by land uses within the watershed. The Muddy Creek Watershed, a subbasin of the Kentucky River, contains a total of about 52 miles of streams draining 43,491 acres. The creek receives effluent from permitted sites and runoff from agricultural areas. Among the threats to water quality are pathogens, nutrients, and pesticides, cumulative downstream stormwater impacts from suburban development, and proximity to the U.S. Army Bluegrass Depot. A volunteer monitoring group, Kentucky River Watershed Watch, samples four sites along the 29-mile stream three times a year. One Kentucky Division of Water ambient water quality monitoring site along Muddy Creek is sampled annually.

While occasional targeted samplings may be useful for determining permit compliance or identifying critical areas on a broad basin-wide scale, documenting overall stream or watershed health on a subbasin scale may require greater coverage and more frequent sampling.

We collected monthly baseflow surface-water samples (May through October, 2002) from 8 sites along Muddy Creek and analyzed them for ten parameters commonly used to characterize water quality, such as pH, conductivity, nutrients, and metals. Because agricultural impacts on surface water sources are of particular interest, we also collected nitrate and phosphate samples from stream sites upstream and downstream of targeted agricultural areas following major storms. We examined trends in data through time and space and compared results obtained from commonly-used, lower cost testing equipment such as might be available to student or volunteer groups, and more expensive equipment that might be used by industry professionals or researchers.

While trends for some parameters (for example, nitrate) were reasonably well correlated with land use, other parameters did not follow anticipated trends. Levels of orthophosphate, for example, were highest at the most upstream point, a fish and wildlife management area with no known sources of phosphate. Results of this initial water-quality survey will be incorporated into an ongoing study of the Muddy Creek watershed.