Started Analyzing Data

I have started comparing water quality data from each site by looking at the average measurements of temperature, turbidity, pH, salinity, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, ad chlorophyll from each site. Here is a summary of those values: 

Almost every site had a chlorophyll level that fell below 1.5 µg/L. The only exception being Soledad Canyon Creek, which had an average chlorophyll level of 2.15 µg/L. However, any chlorophyll level falling below 2.6 µg/L is considered oligotrophic, or nutrient deprived. Moreover, all five sites fall into this category. Turbidity varied amongst the three sites but all levels fell under 8 FNU which indicates the water is very clear and has a minimal amount of particles floating in the water that would otherwise make it cloudy and less transparent. Four out the five sites had an average temperature between 50 and 57 degrees Fahrenheit. The Santa Clara Bouquet Bridge site however, had an average temperature of 72 degrees Fahrenheit. This is also the location where most of the wastewater from the Valencia treatment plant is released. Specific conductivity was measured in µg/L and is an indicator of dissolved solids which contribute to water pollution. Bouquet Creek and San Francisquito Canyon had the lowest levels, falling between 400 and 600 µg/L. Whereas, the other three sites had values ranging from 1100 to 1400 µg/L. All sites had an average pH falling between 7.5 and 8.5, which means none of them were too acidic or too basic. For salinity measurements, San Francisquito Canyon and Bouquet Creek had the lowest salinity values at around 0.26 psu. The Santa Clara River McBean Bridge site had the highest value at 0.73 psu, while the other two sites had an average of around 0.63 psu. Lastly, dissolved oxygen was measured by percent saturation. A value measuring above 90% saturation means the stream is healthy. San Francisquito Canyon and Bouquet Creek were the only two sites that had dissolved oxygen levels above 90%. The Santa Clara River Bouquet Bridge site almost reached this mark and only fell short 0.03% saturation. Soledad Canyon had an average value of 81.6% and the Santa Clara McBean Bridge site fell at 73.4% saturation.